But from long ago she’d always had a scene etched in her heart. And a strong, sharp pain she felt in her arm. The memory of someone yanking her, hard. I was rescued. There are children somewhere who, trembling, and at the risk of their own lives, pulled me by the arm and brought me back into this world. It’s OK, Aki. Grow up to be an adult. I’m in the future, where you are too. Children who said these words to me, kept me tethered to the world, gave me the chance to grow up. Their faces weren’t clear, but somehow she always saw Mio’s image overlaid on them. Why, she didn’t know. But this
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