The Café Between Worlds

Ren felt a dull, throbbing pain in his head as he slowly regained consciousness. Everything around him was white—unnaturally white. His vision blurred for a moment before sharpening, revealing a sterile room, the walls and ceiling matching the stark white of the hospital bed he lay in.

His body felt heavy, the pain intensifying in his right leg as he shifted slightly. He groaned, instinctively moving his hand to his head. Everything felt surreal—his thoughts, his memories, the strange dream of the afterlife. Was it real? Had it all been in his mind?

He groaned again, trying to make sense of the situation. Where am I?

Suddenly, the door creaked open, and a familiar voice broke the silence. "Oh, Ren, finally, you're awake! Thank God!"

Ren blinked, his gaze shifting to the doorway where a middle-aged woman rushed in, her face filled with warmth and relief. It took him a moment, but recognition finally hit him—it was Miss Belle. She wasn’t just any staff at the orphanage; she had practically raised him and Kazuha from the moment they arrived. She had always been a mother figure to them both.

"Miss Belle…" Ren’s voice came out weak, almost fragile. He felt dizzy, disoriented. "What…what happened to me? I’m sorry, I still feel a bit out of it."

"You got into an accident, dear," Miss Belle explained gently, coming closer and placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You’ve been in a coma for five days."

Ren’s breath hitched. "F-Five days?"

"Yes," she confirmed, her voice soft but steady. "You’ve been unconscious, but we’ve all been praying for you to wake up. And now, thank God, you have."

Five days. The number echoed in Ren’s mind like a haunting bell. Five days? He shivered, recalling everything that had happened in what he thought was the afterlife. It felt like months…maybe even longer. The café, Kazuha, the strange man in the black coat, Yusuke—all of it. Was it real? Or had it been a dream?

Before he could ask more, Miss Belle straightened up. "I need to call the doctor and let them know you’ve woken up. Stay here and rest, okay?"

Ren nodded weakly, still processing everything. As Miss Belle left the room, his mind started racing with questions—overwhelming, suffocating questions. But the most important one clawed at his throat, refusing to be silenced: Where is Kazuha?

He had been with her before the accident. That much he could remember. They were running errands together, riding his bicycle when everything went dark. He couldn’t remember the exact moment of the crash, but they had been together—he was sure of it.

If I’m alive… Kazuha must be too, right?

Ren's heart raced with panic and dread. His thoughts spiraled. What if she wasn’t okay? What if—

No. He needed to calm down. Kazuha had to be alright. She had to be in the hospital somewhere. She was strong, resilient. She wouldn’t leave him like that.

Ren’s mind flashed back to their time in the afterlife—their café, their moments together, the way she had started to fade, becoming more transparent. His chest tightened as he remembered how she had seemed so worried about him, how she had been terrified of losing him.

Had it all been some elaborate dream conjured by his subconscious while he was in the coma? Or was there something deeper, something more unsettling about what he had experienced?

His heart hammered in his chest as he waited for Miss Belle to return, his mind a tangled mess of fear and uncertainty.