"Alice, are you okay?" Amy ran toward Alice when she noticed her approaching. Concern etched across her face as she saw that something was amiss with her friend.
Alice appeared blank, lost in deep thought, but Amy's voice seemed to snap her back to reality.
"Yeah, I'm okay," she replied with a weak voice and began to look around, as if she was disoriented and unsure of her surroundings.
"You got your phone back," Amy pointed out.
"Eh?" Alice was puzzled, she realized that the phone that had been stolen from her was now in her hands. The problem was, she couldn't recall anything at all.
'Did I sleepwalk again?' she muttered to herself. She had been diagnosed when she was a child because she tended to, from time to time, forget and do things she did not remember.
Her doctor said it was sleepwalking.
It was supposed to be an incurable mental disorder, but her episodes stopped when she received treatment from a foundation. She couldn't recall the name of that foundation, but she remembered seeing many girls there who also suffered from some kind of mental disorder as her. Sadly, the organization shut down before she could complete her treatment.
The episodes began to resurface after some time had passed, but they didn't significantly impact her life. In fact, as she grew older, these episodes became even more rare, to the point that it had been a few years since she last had one.
As she realized the return of her sleepwalking episodes, fear gripped her heart, making it race. She worried that people might think she's crazy if they found out about her condition.
A wave of anxiety swept over her, and she couldn't help but wonder why her sleepwalking had come back after so many years without it. The thought of doing things she couldn't control, especially in public or around others, was deeply frightening.
She tightly clenched her fists, breathed rapidly, and felt very alone. Keeping this secret had always been a heavy burden. She had worked hard to seem normal and in control, but now, her condition threatened to expose her true self.
"Are you okay? You look pale," Amy asked.
I decided to head back home after I settled some things here and gather more details about Alice from Alyssa. I knew that I needed to have a better understanding of the situation before I could come up with a new plan.
For now, it didn't seem like Alice posed a danger to me. We had been in contact many times, and I had remained perfectly fine.
If things get too bad, I'll just abandon the mission and keep my distance from her until I'm strong enough not to be concerned about anyone.
'It's not as if I'll die if I don't complete that mission. ' I thought to myself.
RING RING RING
My phone rang, and I answered it.
"Ayumi, what's up?" I spoke with a gentle voice. I had plans before this peculiar revelation to visit her after I was finished dealing with Alice .
"Yeah, I'm in Goyang right now," I replied.
"You're with your middle school friends. You want me to come?" I asked after she mentioned that she was with her middle school classmates and inquired if I had some free time to join her.
To be honest, Ayumi was my favorite girl right now. I dotted her a lot because of her personality, so her request didn't seem like a big deal.
Plus, I had just realized that I also needed some time to cool down. I had been in one extreme situation after another. Taking a little time to relax didn't sound like a bad idea at all.
In fact, I believed I deserved some relaxation time, and Ayumi's refreshing personality was just what I needed.
"Tell me the address; I'll head there right away," I replied with a cheerful tone. I wanted her to know that I was coming because I genuinely wanted to, not because I felt obligated. Ayumi was a very considerate girl, and I didn't want her to overthink things.
"Got it ,"