Paradox-Roid | Chapter 1

[healingbonds]

| index | >> Chapter 2


(Sirens)

......I hear a familiar sound.
A sound I used to hear every day. A sound which I’ve stopped hearing......
I smell something nice, too. Flowers......? Right, this is the scent of......

Akira: ......Hmm.....?
Did I fall asleep somewhere like this...... Where am I......
A shopping district.....?

I look around and find myself in a bustling shopping district. Colorful, jelly-like neon lights shine and dance around.
Dolphin-shaped vehicles overtake women clad in dresses with mermaid silhouettes, and holograms of stars explode right in the middle of the road.
Or so I think, but then a hologram of a pink soft serve bursts from the shattered stars, infusing the streets in pink.
Petals of passionate pink on the city walls scatter wildly before vanishing.

Child: Mama, I wanna eat that~.

Woman: It looks yummy, but the CBSC wagon is always so crowded. Next time, okay?

Child: Mo~m, why do you hate waiting in line?

Woman: Fufu, you’re terrible at waiting in line too, sweetie. Let’s line up first thing in the morning.

Akira: (CBSC wagon.....? Is that where they’re selling that pink soft serve? Where is it......?)

(Whirring)

Akira: Woah......!

As I gape around my surroundings, something like a giant bike flies in front of me.
The air hits me in the face, sweeping aside my fringe. I don’t smell exhaust fumes, but something calming and minty.

Akira: (That’s an airbike. I know......It’s a bike that flies in the sky. There’s also air cars and air ships, too.)
(Why do I know that? No, why wouldn’t I? I live here, after all......)
Huh......? I......What’s my name......?
............

I can’t recall anything at all.

Akira: ......Huh? But why......?

I press a hand to my mouth, bewildered. An animal-shaped, robotic thing walks right past me.
I can barely afford a single moment to marvel at it as I desperately try to recall my own name.
But no matter how hard I think and try to search through my memories, I can’t find anything about myself.
As I’m about to start panicking and begging for help......
I notice a young man standing beside me.



???: ............

He stands alone, gazing up at the night sky.
His eyes are like the colour of that flower. Pale red flowers in full bloom, fluttering and whirling in the air, glowing enchantingly against the nighttime shopping district.
A loud gust of wind blows through the streets, scattering pale red petals from the tall trees.
Standing motionless amidst a storm of falling blossoms, he too looks like an electrical tree rooted in the inorganic neon streets.
Suddenly, his pale red eyes flicker.

???: What?

Akira: (Whoa...... He spoke to me. But of course he would. I’ve been staring so intently that I must seem rude......)
Sorry. Um......
(......I’ll just trouble him if I say, “Please help me. I’ve lost my memories,” so......)
Um...... What are you doing?

He doesn’t put on a pleasant smile, but he doesn’t ignore me either. He simply answers, as a matter of fact.

???: I was spacing out.

Akira: Spacing out......

???: I was spacing out and looking at the sky. The street lights are bright, so you can’t really see the moon.

Akira: I see......

???: And you? What were you doing?

Surprisingly, we’re carrying on a lively conversation. I decide to tell him.

Akira: Well, about that...... I can’t remember. I don’t suppose you know anything about me?

???: Nope.

Akira: Right...... Um, do you know if there’s somewhere people without memories should go......?

???: I don’t know. But maybe I should go there too?

Akira: Why?

???: I don’t know anything about myself either.

Akira: Huh......

Both of us have lost our memories.
I’m admittedly flustered, but not quite enough to scream or burst into tears.
I can’t say that I’m not nervous, but a part of me is calm. It’s probably because he’s so composed.

???: Well, it’s no big deal. Maybe it’s not that we can’t remember, but that we were only born right here, at this moment.

Akira: ........ Born here, right now......?

???: More importantly, what do you think that is — that pink thing that’s been popping out of those dying stars in the middle of the road for a while now?

Akira: It looks like soft serve.

???: Soft serve?

Akira: I guess you can call it ice cream......? It’s a dessert that’s cold, soft and sweet. Since it’s pink, it might be strawberry-flavoured?

???: You sure know a lot.

Akira: Y-you think so?

???: Ah...... I remember the name.

Akira: The strawberry’s?

???: Mine.
Owen. That’s my name.

Akira: .......Owen.......

I look at him again.

Akira: (I feel like I’ve heard it before....... The same way I recognize his face.......)
(But something feels off...... Especially the way his eyes are the same colour......)
(I wonder why. It should be normal for them to match. But I still feel like a splash of colour is missing.......)

Owen: What, you’re making a weird face. You don’t like the name Owen?

Akira: No, it’s not that. I like it.

Owen: Me too. What’s your name?

Akira: I really have no idea.......

(Siren)



That moment, an airbike with an attached sidecar approaches us with sirens blaring.

| index | >> Chapter 2