SWNOVELXO Chapter 15: Similarities
Her chest felt tight.
Even as she inhaled fresh air of the prosper city, the anxiety couldn't escape.
It's like she's stuck inside of a box. Not only does she feet claustrophobic, she was also out of breath.
But why?
"...I'm gonna walk around."
It happened the moment she woke up. She had a dream. She knew she had dreamed of something, something quite important.
But it's quite hard to put a finger onto what she had actually dreamed about.
It was like a fading memory, locked inside a chest with a million different locks preventing anyone from opening them.
Even she herself doesn't have the keys to any of the locks.
Taking notes of her surrounding so that she'd be able to return back to Phoebe's house, she listened to the surrounding chatters.
Most of them were very energetic conversation since the Carnevale was around the corner.
Stuff about what kind of shows would appear, which guest would make an appearance and so on.
But Katsuri knows there's a storm brewing behind the scene.
But she can't do anything about them. She felt useless. What's the use of all these knowledge if she has nowhere to utilize them?
Even if there was a chance, how could she have the heart to use them?
She's just a teenager. A weak one at that.
In the big stage, she'd be categorized as an Extra. A person who could be replaced by literally anyone else.
'...Should I just do it?'
"Oh no! My cat! Where'd she go?!"
Right as dark thoughts appeared, a exasperated voice sounded in her ears. It was the voice of an old lady who was selling fruits on a stall.
Some other people glanced at the old lady but none actually went over to help.
Katsuri was one of them.
'I don't know her, why should I waste my time?'
She watched as more and more people passed by the old lady, as if ignoring her pleas.
Suddenly, the sight overlapped with with some memories of the past.
A small child, wishing for salvation from anyone. Screaming for help as nobody bat an eye at her suffering.
"..."
Katsuri walked away from the scene.
Right as she left, a young man came over to the old lady, offering his help.
[Wuthering Waves]
"Sigh...."
In the end, her mood was not getting better.
Not only can she not remember anything from her dream, she had also been reminded of a past she had long left behind.
Nothing good at all. All of it was just slowly raising her frustration meter.
In hindsight, maybe staying home was the move she should've done.
"Hey young lad. Are you interested in buying some apples?"
Suddenly, a stall man called her. Turning around, she saw a guy with a mask over his face, as if trying to hide his identity.
"Um, sir. Why do you have a mask?"
"Oh? You're new around here, aren't you? No wonder you don't know. Everyone participating in the Carnevale are required to wear a mask. We treat it like a Masquerade Ball."
"Masquerade?"
"Yeah. We hide our identities from one another. In that case, everyone is equal! Isn't that great?"
"...yes. You're right. And thank you for answering my questions but I don't have any money to buy an apple."
"Well that's alright! Having such a cute tourist visiting our land is already a blessing in and of itself! Here, take an apple as a sign of gratitude from the masses of the Ragunnesi."
As the man threw an apple through the air, Katsuri flailed her hand to catch it.
As she got a hold onto the apple, the man smiled.
"There we go. Make sure you have fun out there, young lady!"
"...Hm."
Murmuring her thanks, Katsuri moved quickly to get away from the growing crowds.
Due to that, she arrived in an alley. A very quiet, moist and dark alley.
Usually, it would've worked up something deep inside her but for some reason, today nothing happened.
She simply felt calm now as if the turmoil earlier never existed.
She walked deeper into the alley, out of the masses' view, slowly integrating herself into the backdrop of the stage.
That was until a noise caught her attention.
"Meow~"
"...?"
Katsuri's gaze locked onto the cat that was licking itself on top of a box. At first she thought it might've been a stray but as she got closer, she could finally make out the red collar on it's black fur.
Which meant that it had an owner.
Her thoughts turned back to the old lady that was asking the others for help in searching her cat.
Could it be hers?
It couldn't be. There's no such coincidence in this world.
"I should just leave it here. It's not my problem. The cat probably would return on its own whenever it wants."
"Meow~"
As she slowly walked deeper into the alley, she stopped.
"..."
"Hah... What a pain."
[Wuthering Waves]
"Don't worry, we can post some missing posters around Ragunna! Perhaps someone would bring it back soon. Do you happen to have a picture of the cat, ma'am?"
"Ah... I do not. I had just gotten that cat a couple of weeks ago. Since she's pretty new, we weren't able to build up much memories together."
As the old lady explained her situation to the young man, a familiar sound voiced behind her.
"Meow!"
Turning around, she saw her cat that had been missing.
"Alfred!"
"Alfred?" The young man became confused.
Didn't the old lady say the cat was a girl? Why is its name Alfred?
The cat jumped into the arms of the old lady, rubbing its face against hers.
"Where'd you run off to? I got so worried!"
"Meow!"
The young man smiled. Although he was baffled, he was still happy that the old lady got what she wanted.
Although, the body of a small black haired girl caught his attention. But before he could make an idea of the situation, she disappeared into the crowds.