“Urii! Hurry up, we can’t miss the flight!” Hino called from downstairs, her voice already tense.

  “Yeah, Uri, you’re wasting a bunch of time,” Jinah added.

  “Okay, okay! I’m coming!” Uri replied, pulling on his socks.

  “But do we really have to rush? The flight’s in like three hours.”

  “The earlier the better,” Jinah said firmly

  .

  “I guess you’re right.” Uri tied his laces and stood. “Alright, I’m done.”

  “Finallyy,” Komiki sighed. “We can go

  now.”

  “I didn’t waste that much time you know,” Uri muttered sarcasticly as they headed downstairs.

  “I’ve been ready for thirty minutes,” Komiki shot back. “If anything, you wasted my time.”

  “Alright, alright. Out to the car,” Jinah said, gently ushering them outside.

  “I really hope they have the new manga at the airport,” Uri said as he buckled in.

  “You can hope,” Hino replied, “but I can’t promise I’ll buy it.”

  “Come on, Mom. Please?”Uri begged

  “We’ll think about it,” she said, glancing at Jinah.

  “Yes, dear. We’ll think about it,” Jinah echoed as he pulled out of the driveway.

  *On the way, traffic stretched endlessly*

  “Traffic? Seriously?” Jinah groaned.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  *By the time they reached the airport and passed TSA, time had slipped away*

  “At least we still have an hour,” Jinah said with relief.

  “Yeah… at least,” Hino agreed.

  “So can we get the manga now?” Uri asked eagerly.

  “Alright,” Hino smiled. “Let’s go.”

  “2600 yen?” Jinah blinked at the price tag. “Manga’s gotten expensive.”

  “I really want it,” Uri said.

  *Before Jinah could finish speaking, the intercom blared*

  “Final call for Japanese Airlines flight 645 to Kagoshima"

  “I THOUGHT THE FLIGHT WAS AN HOUR FROM NOW!” Jinah shouted.

  *His watch. He had set it wrong on purpose to make them leave earlier — but he’d miscalculated*

  “Come on!” Hino urged.

  “But my manga—”

  “I don’t have that kind of money right now,” Hino said quickly, grabbing a nearby cap instead. “Here. I’ll get you this.”

  “I don’t want the—”

  “Uri, we have to go!” Jinah snapped.

  *Hino rushed to the counter*

  “Ma’am, you need your receipt—”

  “Keep it,” Hino said breathlessly, grabbing Uri’s hand and running.

  At the gate—

  “Sorry, your flight already took off,” the agent said.

  Jinah’s heart dropped.

  “But… there are spare seats on the next plane. I can put you on that one.”

  “Yes, please,” Jinah said immediately.

  After a tense phone call—

  “You’re cleared,” the agent said. “Just count yourselves lucky.”

  "My boss would never let that slide especially now because he's sick"

  “Thank you,” Hino said sincerely.

  They boarded.

  *As rain streaked across the windows, turbulence shook the plane*

  “Hold on tight, kids,” Jinah said.

  “How can anyone eat with rain this bad?” Uri muttered.

  “Daddy, I’m scared,” Komiki whispered.

  “It’s okay,” Jinah assured her, holding her hand. “I’m right here.”

  Uri rolled his eyes. “Nothing’s going to—”

  Lightning struck.

  The plane split.

  Screams filled the air.

  “URIIII! KOMIKIII!” Hino’s voice disappeared into chaos.

  The world spun.

  People shouting for their lives.

  Something slammed into Uri.His right eye red and ears bleeding.

  Everything went dark.

  When Uri opened his eyes, the sky was silent.

  Smoke drifted across an open field.

  Wreckage lay everywhere.

  “What… happened?” he whispered.

  Then it hit him.

  The crash.

  “MOM? DAD? KOMIKI?!” he shouted, stumbling through debris.

  He found his mother first.

  She lay still among the broken metal.

  The world went quiet.

  “M… Mom?” His voice shook. “Wake up.”

  She didn’t move.

  Tears blurred his vision.

  “You didn’t deserve this,” he whispered. “You never did anything wrong…”

  Nearby, he found his father.

  Gone too.

  “Why am I the one still standing?” Uri choked. “Why am I still here?”

  His chest tightened. His breathing faltered.

  “I was the selfish one… I was the one who complained…”

  "Why am I the one who survived?"

  "Why wasn't it mom or dad.."

  His voice broke.

  From the thick smoke—

  “URIII!”

  He froze.

  “KOMIKI?!"

  She emerged from the dust, running toward him.

  “Uri! Where’s Mom and Dad? Let’s go home!”

  Uri couldn’t answer.

  Komiki followed his gaze.

  And she understood.

  Her cry shattered the silence.

  As Uri fell to his knees beside his mother, something caught his eye.

  The cap.

  It rested beside her hand in the rubble.

  Untouched.

  Protected.

  She must have held onto it when everything fell apart.

  Uri picked it up slowly.

  His fingers tightened around the fabric.

  “Why didn’t I just say thank you…” he whispered.

  "But from beyond,this wasn't an ordinary crash"

  End of Chapter 1.