Colonel had gotten drunk with alcohol. He wanted to talk to him—his father. But at the same time, he was ashamed to go to his room. He had thousands of questions in his mind. Never-ending questions... The only thing he knew was that just before the Collapse, his mother and father were at home. The hundreds of nuclear bombs America dropped had killed millions of Japanese people. Those who survived were either part of the community living on the military base or abandoneds. But there was still something he hoped for. If his father was alive, there was a chance his sister—even his mother—might be alive too.
He felt like there was nothing else he could do, so he began walking toward his father's room.
"Where am I?"
"You're at the medical center. I know you have a lot of questions, but first, just do what we say without questioning. It'll be better for both sides."
I thought, my friend is gone. I'm left alone. Now I've fallen into this strange place. What kind of luck is this?
"Just answer one question. What is your purpose?"
"That's none of your concern."
The woman said and left the room immediately. There were sounds coming from the room next door. The sound seemed familiar to me.
I couldn't think. The person entering my room was Kaito.
"I'm here, Dad."
Kaito looked at his father. He was shocked at his father's mental state. What he was about to say would drive him crazy.
"Kaito, what are you doing here? Why are you wearing a military uniform? Where am I? What's going on? Where's your mother? How did you find me?..."
"Okay, Dad, I'll answer everything one by one."
And the Colonel explained everything that had happened. All the events. His father said only one thing:
"Are you messing with me?"
"I understand. Schizophrenia. The end of the world must have affected you badly. You survived with severe schizophrenia for six months. As scary as it sounds, everything you experienced in the past six months was fake, Dad!"
Tsuki fell silent. Then opened his mouth.
"You might be right. I've been experiencing very strange things these past six months. Unreal events...
At this time, you were supposed to be at school, but suddenly you're a soldier. The world is gone. And I'm stuck in a schizophrenic reality."
"Dad, I have questions. Please listen to me carefully. You're going to be okay from now on."
"Okay!? Really!?"
"Anyway, never mind. First of all, you're immune to radiation. That's quite surprising."
"That's probably how I survived all this time."
"Second issue—what did you eat? Outside, all food is spoiled because of the radiation. You can't eat radioactive food. Even if you have immunity, it's impossible to eat that stuff without vomiting."
"In my schizophrenic world, your beautiful mother kept leaving food in the fridge. I ate from there."
Kaito started thinking.
"Wait, if everyone in your schizophrenic world is fake, but what you're saying is true, then my mother must be alive. Because it's impossible for an imaginary being to prepare food for you. We have to find Mom right away, Dad. Do you remember any other being that interacted with you?"
"No, the rest ignored me. Maybe a bit your sister, but she also felt very fake."
"You even called her a ghost,"
Kaito said, laughing, then added:
"I'm glad to see you, Dad. I thought I'd never see my family again in this cursed world."
"Me too, son. I'm actually glad all those things weren't real."
"Anyway, let's find Mom. Where did you last see her?"
"In our house."
"We're leaving tomorrow. Major Aiko will show you around the bunker. Welcome to your new home. If you have any questions, just tell a soldier my name. Everyone should know you're my father."
"No, Kaito, don't tell anyone. No one must know you're my son. Trust me, I just feel it's the right thing."
A figure approached from behind and said:
_______: "You're doing the right thing, Tsuki."
After everything that happened, I felt nauseous. My son gave me an injection. Apparently, these shots would treat my schizophrenia. In other words, they'd allow me to see the real world. Maybe the new world is even worse than the old one. I was surprised that a kid like my son, only 18 years old, was given the rank of colonel. From what I heard, since the Collapse, he's been looking for his sister. And for me and his mother.
If Kiara is alive, why didn't she tell me about this? Why did she keep preparing food for me? Her preparing food is proof she's a real person. Otherwise, I couldn't have survived six months without food. Anyway, let's tour the bunker a bit.
"This is impressive,"
I said to the Major Kuragari.
"Of course, it's all thanks to Kaito. The main reason he was given this rank was for saving this bunker. No one knows, but it's a secret between us. He was one of the abandoned at first."
My son had done quite a lot. I laughed to myself. "Anyway," I said, "let's keep exploring."
To Be Continued...