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"mom? dad? can you hear me?" there wasn't a response like y/n had hoped there would be. she crawled onto the bed and sat down near their feet. y/n focused her attention on her mother first. something seemed off. shaking her legs gently, she waited for movement. there was none, so she repeated the same thing with her father. once again, no movement. y/n was confused. why weren't they waking up? they always scolded her for sleeping past nine in the morning, but it was nearing 10:30 and neither of them had come into her room. she was getting hungry and her mother had promised to make y/n's favorite breakfast in honor of her passing her spelling test with a perfect score the week prior.
y/n stirred in her sleep, fully aware of the experience that she was about to relive. she'd dreamt about the death of her parents countless times, each worse than the last. no matter how hard she willed for her body to wake up, it refused.
"mom?" y/n crawled towards the headboard. she placed a hand on her mother's face and jerked it away almost immediately. why was her mom so cold? it was summertime and she doubted it was because of the thin blanket her parents were using. she touched her father's face next, reeling back when he felt the same way. what the heck? she thought. what's going on? she scooted off the bed, taking their blanket with her in hopes of gaining a reaction. still, there was nothing.
she exited the room, deciding to let them be until after she got dressed. she brushed her teeth and changed into the outfit her mom set out for her yesterday. she went to go sit in her designated seat at the dining table—a chair on the left end that had its back against the wall. she never let anyone else sit in it.
staring at the clock on the stove, she waited for another half hour. her parents had yet to leave their room. she got up from the chair and made her way to them again.
"dad?" she called. she stood at the edge of the bed and waited, waited, waited. "if you get up, i'll let you sit in my chair!" she promised, blissfully unaware of the situation at hand. he didn't spring up and cheer at her words like she wanted.
in a split second decision, she walked out of the room and towards the front door, unlocking it and turning right. she reached her destination in a few feet, knocking on her neighbor's door. in no time, it opened, revealing a relatively young man.
"y/n? what a pleasant surprise!"
"hi, mr. saito! i'm sorry to be a—" y/n wracked her brain for one of the new words she learned in school. "—disturbance, but my mom and dad don't wanna listen to me! can i eat here instead? i'm hungry," she complained.
the man looked confused, and rightfully so. "what do you mean?"
"they don't wanna wake up!"
his eyebrows shot up in surprise. coming up behind him, mrs. saito grinned down at the young girl. "what's going on?" she asked. mr. saito invited her inside and whispered something to his wife. the woman gasped and then crouched down to her level, holding her shoulders to keep her in place. y/n took notice of her distressed expression but paid it no mind. "w-what would you like to eat, sweetie?"
