Locked

"Mira?" The voice called to her.

However, Mira didn't hear that. She only hugged her body closer and trembled. She clutched her head and covered her ears but she could still hear that ringing sound you can only hear in a deafening silence.

But the voice called to her again, this time worried.

Mira thought that she must be hallucinating again. It was his voice she always heard in the darkness.

When the voice called to her again, Mira finally looked up. She was immediately blinded by the light that she had to close her eyes.

Seeing Mira in that state using the flashlight in his smartphone, Eugine immediately tensed.

He quickly ran to her side and knelt in front of her, putting the smartphone down in the floor.

"Mira? Mira are you okay?!"

Mira's body shook. She slowly opened her eyes.

Through the faint light the smartphone was providing, she saw Eugine's worried face. Her body still tense, she started to look around her. She could vaguely see the row of bookshelves around her before she looked again in Eugine's face.

She could no longer stop it. Tears suddenly started streaming down her cheeks. She let out a heartbreaking sob that rang through the silent library.

She was so afraid. Afraid that everything was just a dream and she was still trapped in that basement. She was terrified that everything that happened including going back to the past was nothing but an illusion her mind created to escape that nightmare.

Until she saw the young face of Eugine.

When she saw him, relief poured into her. She can't explain it, but she just felt crying when she saw him. In joy, in pain, conflicting emotions raged inside her heart that she was no longer able to stop herself from crying.

Eugine didn't know what to do.

Mira cried harder.

So Eugine did the one thing he could think of. He pulled Mira to his chest while patting her back.

"Its okay." He soothed. "Its okay."

Upon hearing his gentle and comforting voice, more tears gushed out from her eyes.

Why? She wanted to ask him.

Why didn't you come and save me from that place?

Why?

She wanted to say those words but held it in.

She only continued to cry on his chest.

Ten minutes later, Mira finally calmed down. Eugine brought her to the library counter, leading her using the light from the smartphone.

He took their bags and put it near them.

"Do you have a water?" Eugine asked her.

Mira shook her head.

Eugine opened his bag and took out a bottle of water. "I drank on it a little, you can drink it if you don't mind."

Mira paused, hesitant. Its not that she's disgusted or anything, Its just embarrassing. In the end, she ended up taking it because her throat feels dry while also thinking that it would be rude to reject Eugine's kind intentions.

"Thanks." Mira said, her voice hoarse. It kind of hurts to speak for her.

Mira drank the water. She waited for Eugine to ask questions while thinking of the things she could possibly say.

She didn't realized it. She didn't realized that she would have that kind of reaction to the darkness. It was a complete psychological reaction to the point that she forgot everything else. She was never afraid of the dark before. But for her to suddenly show that kind of fear...

Mira smiled bitterly. She didn't escape with her mind unscathed after all.

"... Are you okay now?"

She was startled by the question. She was expecting him to ask something else like the what happened to her? Or why was she like that? So it took her a moment before she answered.

"Mm. Im fine." Finding it awkward to just answer him, she turned to ask him this time. "What do you think happened?"

Eugine checked his phone and saw that there was zero coverage for the signal, something that shouldn't happen since ISOA is built near a signal tower.

"There's no signal for both internet and data. I think there was kind of problem with signal tower." He frowned.

"Let's just get out of here." Mira apprehensively looked at the dark surroundings.

Eugine nodded. They fixed their belongings and prepared to leave. He waited for Mira to be ready and once she's done, they went together to leave.

Eugine went to open the door but paused. Mira was sticking close to him.

Mira paused too, feeling her face becoming hot in embarrassment. It was an unconscious action.

"Sorry." she said before moving away. However, she didn't moved away too far, just about a step away.

Eugine didn't say anything. He doesn't really mind and Mira can't see it but the corner of his lips slightly went up.

He gave the smartphone to Mira instead, the smartphone's flashlight function still on. "Hold this."

She gingerly held the smartphone.

Eugine then proceeded to open the glass door.

He was soon met a problem. The door wouldn't budge.

He looked at Mira and saw that she also was also staring wide eyed at the door and him.

Eugine tried to open the door again but still got the same result.

He sighed before looking at Mira again.

"It's locked."