"Hey, Hideo-kun"
"Hmm? What is it?"
“Hypothetically asking, If you or someone else had to die. Who'd you choose?"
"Huh? What is this out of the blue?"
"Just tell me, Who would you choose?"
“You're kind of acting weird today. This isn't like you. What will you do after you know- ”
“I just want to know… is that not enough?” She asked politely in a low voice.
Once again…How many times has it been now, five times? ten times? I've lost the count but…it's nostalgic. For some reason, I remember it sometimes…This nostalgic memory from my high school days. That's right, it's a conversation with “that” person which I can't forget…
{Nakabachi hideo, 18 years old. High school 3rd year, reading a book on the rooftop while talking with a long-haired girl with beautiful blue eyes }
I paused and let out a sigh at her response. Sigh,
"Isn't it obvious? If really someone is supposed to die and if I am forced to make a choice. I'll choose myself. There is no need to think."
"Then, What if that someone else is a person you love, would you still choose the same?"
Nakabachi closes the book and speaks,
"Listen, Nova. Even if It's between me and my father, my mother, a friend, lover or some rando, no matter who it is.
I'LL STILL CHOOSE MYSELF.
I have dreams, I have a future and I have the determination to reach that future. My parents' role was already done when they brought me to this world. That's why It only makes sense for me to live. And If my lover genuinely loves me then she would die for me without giving a second thought. Much less I won't sacrifice myself for the sake of some loser's future.
In this world, nothing is more important than yourself. In the end, everyone leaves you someday. That's why choosing myself is the most logical thing. "
"Heh, I see, Pfft-", She chuckled on hearing my answer.
"Hmm? What is funny? "
"Nothing. I expected you to say something like this. As always, Heartless aren't you?"
"Think as you like, That's who I am. So What about you? Who'd you choose?"
"Me?....hmm, If I am forced to make a choice then probably..No, nodes, I am sure I would choose the other person"
"Even if that person is a complete stranger?"
"Even so, I'll choose that person to live"
Nakabachi narrows his eyes.
"You really are an idiot, aren't you?"
"Eh?! That's mean! Why?"
"You don't make sense, sacrificing yourself for a stranger is just absurd. Even if you die for their sake, I am sure they won't even feel grateful to you. They just forget about you as if nothing happened. That's how this world is. That's why, You would be just wasting your life-"
YOU ARE READING
DreamScape: Survival of the Smartest
Mystery / ThrillerAraki Ryota, a 16-year-old boy, is involuntarily drawn into an experiment called D.R.E.A.M. There, participants can remember and control their actions in dreams with the help of a pill provided by DreamLink Corp and the company promises the particip...
