Several hours later, the sky had deepened into a darker shade of blue-black. Luca woke to find himself still trapped in this reality. He stared up at the bridge's half-collapsed ceiling, a sight he had once dismissed as nothing more than a dream.
He really was dead…
Luca thought bitterly, the truth settling like a stone in his chest.
With bullets lodged in his heart and lungs, survival should have been impossible. It would have taken a miracle for him to live. He could still recall how his heartbeat slowed and his breath caught in his chest until it finally stopped.
He clenched his fists, then slowly pushed himself upright and leaned back against the wall.
From the look of their surroundings. They were living in poverty or perhaps they were survivors of an earthquake's aftermath. Luca let his gaze linger on his broken leg and the small, unfamiliar shape of his hand.
And this body... It wasn't his. Was he a ghost?
What was he supposed to do now?
What's the point of waking up?
Maybe… it would be better if he didn't.
Several questions lingered in his mind, especially one dangerous thought. Then the sudden voice jolted him.
"Lu!"
"Yes…?" he replied.
Evelyn emerged from the shadows holding something wrapped in cloth. Her worried eyes locked onto him, lips slightly parted as if about to speak.
"... Lu, are you hungry? I have bread here. You can have it, okay?" she said gently.
He blinked, staring at the small offering.
The darkness hadn't left him, not completely. It clung to his thoughts like a shadow. But at that moment, he made a choice.
To tell her the truth.
"…Evelyn… I don't think I'm really your brother." Luca lowered his head.
She froze, the bread still resting in her hand.
There was a silence… not the kind that lingered in awkward pauses, but the kind that only followed devastation.
"What…? Of course, you're my brother."
Luca shook his head softly.
"I look like him. I sound like him… but I'm not."
His voice was almost a whisper. "I think your brother's gone… and somehow, I ended up in his body."
"No," She said quickly.
"You're my brother. You just… lost some memories." Her voice cracked slightly.
"Evelyn… listen to me." Luca's voice was quiet, but firm, carrying a weight he didn't want to place on her.
"When I woke up… I didn't even know your name. I don't think I act like him either. Doesn't it feel different?"
She shook her head furiously and covered her ears with trembling hands, eyes squeezed shut as if she could block out the words.
"No. No, no!" she cried, her voice trembled under the weight of it. "Please, stop saying that!"
"I'm just saying you have the right to leave me," Luca murmured. "Or even… if you want, you can kill—"
Slap!
His cheek stung, the heat of her palm lingering. Her hand hovered in the air, fingers trembling.
"Don't ever say that again!" she shouted, voice cracking. "Why would you want to leave your sister all alone in this world?!"
Tears streamed down her face as she stared at him, her voice trembling.
"Mom's already gone… and now you want to leave me too? What am I supposed to do? Should I just… die with you?"
Her voice broke. Then she collapsed into him, burying her face in his chest, clutching at his shirt like it was the only thing keeping her from falling apart.
Luca watched as she broke down, tears spilling as if a dam inside her had finally given way. He realized it wasn't only his words that shattered her, it was the truth that had been waiting all along to break her apart.
Luca didn't respond. He stared at her, lips parted, but no words came. Only silence.
"Just… eat, alright? Please…"
She tried to smile, but it wavered beneath her tears. Her hands, still shaking, extended the bread toward him once more.
Luca watched her, heart twisting at how broken she looked.
She's not okay… Her mind was unstable, likely from losing her brother.
She'd already endured enough trauma, and Luca knew he was only making it worse by insisting on the truth.
His chest tightened as he watched Evelyn force a trembling smile through her tears. Guilt clawed at Luca's inside, he couldn't escape the harsh truth that he had stolen her brother's body, leaving her with nothing but confusion and grief.
But… for now.
All he could offer was the promise to do his best to help her.
He reached out slowly, fingertips brushing hers as he took the bread from her shaking hands.
"... Alright, sister."
She gave a small nod and managed a smile. It was a fragile smile, barely holding together. In a world stripped down to small acts of kindness, even a small gesture was enough to help them survive the hardship.
Luca studied her face in silence. It was streaked with tears and heavy with exhaustion, the face of someone far too young to carry such deep grief.
She stared back at him, blinking through the blur of tears.
"What?" She asked softly.
"... Nothing," He said softly, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "Your face is pretty funny"
"Dummy." She laughed a little.
They sat quietly as he ate the dry bread. It's enough to ease his aching hunger. She then gives him a cup of water, and he drinks it.
And that was when he noticed.
"Sister... you're not eating?"
"I already ate… earlier," she said softly.
Luca studied her face closely.
The subtle clues gave her away. The small shrug, and her gaze dropped to the empty bread cloth again. That movement spoke louder than words.
The single piece of bread he'd eaten was all they had, a stark reminder of their poverty. He'd sensed it already.
He kept quiet and merely nodded.
Next time, he would make sure she ate first.
"Alright then. Sister, can you tell me how old I am?" Luca asked softly.
"Hm… you're fourteen and I'm sixteen. That means I'm older, right?" She smiles gently, her voice soft but filled with quiet pride. "Which means you have to listen to me."
"…I see," Luca replied calmly.
He was fourteen, which explained his slight, youthful figure.
Soon, the sky grew darker, signalling the approach of night. A gentle wind slipped in, carrying a chill that brushed over their skin. There was no heater, no real warmth, only the worn, threadbare cloth beneath them.
"It's getting late… we should sleep now," she said, glancing up at the sky.
"Understood, sister,"
Luca settled onto the makeshift bed. It was rough and uneven, but still manageable.
Moments later, she quietly moved closer, lying down beside him. Her warmth touched his side, unexpected and close. It made him tense, just for a moment.
"Sister, don't you have your own bed?" he murmured, glancing at her.
She snuggled closer, then paused and asked sadly, "... You don't want to sleep beside me?"
"It's not that..." Luca said, unsure how to answer.
"We only have one bed. But… It's warm enough like this, isn't that okay?" she asked gently.
He sighed, resigned. "... Understood"
It was awkward at first. Feeling her so close, her steady breaths soft beside him. But gradually, he began to get used to it.
"Tomorrow we are leaving. This place… It's not safe anymore." Evelyn said.
"... Where will we go?"
"To another bridge. I know a place that's safer. It's not far."
"Alright."
"Mm... That's why we need to sleep early," Evelyn said, her voice gentle. "We have to move tomorrow."
Not long after as the quiet settled between them. She spoke again, soft and drowsy.
"Sleep well… Lu."
"... Good night, Sister"
Moments later, Evelyn slept with the trust of someone who still believed the world could be kind.
But Luca, even in a borrowed body, knew something was wrong. Not just with memory, but with the world itself.
As if the rules had shifted… and he hadn't caught up.
Then Luca noticed the light shifting. The light changed, as if the sky itself had opened a wound. A deep red glow bled across the bridge, casting their small shelter in a dreamlike dread. The world seemed to hold its breath under that crimson glow.
He blinked twice, as if trying to wipe it from his vision.
What… was that? Why is the moon glowing red like blood?
… Is that normal in this world?
Luca stared at it, uncertain. His breath caught for a moment.
The stillness felt wrong. Like something just started breathing. But, no sound, no tremor. Just that silent, glowing red in the sky. Sleep didn't come easily. He had already rested earlier, and now his mind buzzed with too many unanswered questions. They circled endlessly, like gnats in the dark.
How did he end up here?
Was it a god?
What is the purpose?
Or.. is it a mistake?
He shifted just a little, gaze settling on Evelyn as she slept quietly beside him, her breathing slow and even.
The red light spilled across her face, but she didn't wake. She breathed gently, peacefully—as if this world, strange and broken as it was, still felt like home to her.
Yet to him, this world remained a mystery, strange, and silently waiting for something he couldn't yet define.