Chapter 5: Just a little bit more

Êyavia lay motionless in bed. It was 7:30, the time when she should have completed her usual morning routine and gone down for breakfast. But this time, she felt no motivation for any of that, even though she had never felt any motivation before.

She did not even move; her whole body lay stretched out on the bed. Her chest rose and fell very slightly, almost imperceptibly; one would think that she had stopped breathing. Her dark brown eyes sometimes glanced at the clock, sometimes at the window, and sometimes just stared at the ceiling. Not a sound, not a sigh, at least not in this room. On the other side of the window, the birds chirped, and the sounds of people around her starting a new day continued.

Perhaps it was a new day for them, but for Êyavia, she had already experienced the day. Because it had not been that long, she still remembered some of the day vividly. In short, nothing special happened today, just like any other day. It was just another ordinary day, quietly passing by and disappearing into the flow of the past, and no one bothered to remember it.

At least two more days until Alisa's birthday, and then three more days until that day…

Thinking of "that day", Êyavia slowly closed her eyes. In her mind, the image of that land reappeared, where she looked up at a magnificent and endless starry sky. And from that starry sky, a hand gently descended, reaching out to Êyavia to take her away. Taking her back to those stars, to some strange world beyond that sky.

Then she returned to that dark land, this time not looking at the stars, but at the pitch-black ground below. In the distance, a gate made of light appeared before her. The scenery behind it vaguely shifted and changed, but one image kept repeating: a vast, verdant meadow. As she stepped to the other side, the gate vanished, unwilling to let her return.

Then, from downstairs, Stalas's voice echoed: "V! Aren't you going down for breakfast? The food's getting cold!"

The echoing sound, like an invisible force, pulled her eyelids open, revealing dark pupils that contracted at the light. There was no longer a starry sky, no longer a dark, gloomy land, only a room painted in a soft yellow. The walls were decorated with several small, pretty pictures and stickers.

Êyavia did not answer immediately, remaining silent. Her eyes, which had been fixed on the window moments before, now returned to the ceiling. After a long silence, Stalas's voice rang out again: "V! The food's getting cold!"

The only response was silence.

This voice is so familiar, but soon it will no longer echo in my ears…

I still don’t understand why, why did he do that? I’ve seen it happen three times already, but how am I supposed to respond to him? I want to help, but I don’t know where to begin...

What can I say? Speaking has never been my strong suit. But if things continue like this…

The minute hand had unknowingly moved to the next number, its pounding sound echoing faintly in the room, mingling with the ticking of the wall clock. Outside, the sky was clear and bright, the sunlight overflowing with life, completely oblivious to the gloomy atmosphere that was enveloping Êyavia at this moment.

Knock, knock~ The knocking stopped for about two seconds, followed by Stalas's soft, slightly anxious voice: "V, are you in there?"

Creak. The white wooden door creaked open, revealing only half of Stalas's body behind it as she looked towards Êyavia, who lay still on the bed.

The moment their eyes met, Êyavia pursed her lips and whispered, "I'm a little tired today. You go down and eat first."

"Do you need…?" Stalas had not finished speaking when Êyavia interrupted, "No, I just want to rest a little."

After saying that, Êyavia turned and lay on her side, facing the wall. Stalas stood outside the door, reaching out to say something, but the words stopped in his throat. He silently closed the door and left.

Êyavia's expression at that moment betrayed her restlessness and unease. Her mind was sometimes blank, sometimes chaotic. She did not know what to say or do with Stalas, and since she did not know, it was best not to act on her own.

If she did nothing, today would probably be the same anyway, since nothing significant would happen today. Thinking this, Êyavia calmly composed herself, adjusting her breathing so it was not as rapid as before. She knew that if she did not stay calm, she would not be able to think clearly about a solution. That day and that event would happen exactly like the three times before.

But where was the problem? She did not even know the reason why, so how could she figure out a way to help Stalas? Asking directly was definitely out of the question; it might even accelerate things. Perhaps the only way was to observe and investigate herself.

Whether she could find what she needed in these five short days was uncertain, but even if she failed, she could always try again!

Her eyes lit up, and she sprang up, her face bathed in sunlight streaming in from the window. Her previously heavy gaze was now filled with determination and seriousness.

In this age of information technology, if you do not know something, just ask online! Êyavia immediately opened her phone, her movements swift and efficient. But when it came time to type a question into the search bar, she paused for a few seconds. What should she write?

How to stop someone… The question was deleted and retyped before she even finished typing.

Why would someone happy give up… This time, the question was not finished either. Before she could delete a single word, the search bar reached its limit, unable to enter any more characters.

The process of deleting and retyping repeated itself several times, each time with Êyavia's fingertips moving quickly and decisively, as if venting her anger on the phone screen. None of the questions seemed appropriate to her.

After ten minutes of struggling, she finally sighed and rewrote a sentence she had deleted a few minutes earlier: "If a person is always happy and optimistic, would they choose to end their own life?"

Immediately, a series of different results appeared on the screen. But mostly, they were all unrelated to the information she was looking for. What did learning about the benefits of positive thinking have to do with what she wanted to do?

She scrolled through countless different information pages for half an hour without finding anything useful. They were all about the signs of depression, and the more she read, the less applicable any of them were to Stalas. Others were about the effects and benefits of positive thinking, which were not very helpful either.

The most useful information was probably some research pages, but they were usually very long, full of information, and full of technical jargon. Even after reading everything, she only understood a part of it, not to mention the related research.

Besides the information above, there were only a few recent news stories that seemed quite prominent about the sudden increase in suicides. Many suspected this might be related to some newly emerging extremist superstitious organizations.

Apart from conspiracy theories, there was no other evidence to prove the existence of these extremist organizations. Êyavia could only keep that suspicion to herself, unable to be certain but also unable to rule it out.

After browsing for half a day, she stopped, collapsed onto the bed, and sighed, running her hand through her tears. The information she had read fit her situation better than it did her younger brother. She did not know if she would be able to save herself or that kid after reading it.

Her only plan now was to observe and monitor; she only had six days anyway. With her limited abilities and knowledge, she could not come up with a viable plan. Asking for help was not feasible either; no one would believe her anyway. At least she had the possibility of going back in time, so there was no need to rush.