I Became the Drug-Addicted Childhood Friend

I don’t believe it.

A story this convenient?
No way.

I had to doubt it. Again and again.

It’s coming. Any second now.
I could feel it.
The hallucination was about to break.

Because it had been over a day since I last used anything.

I braced myself.
I would not be disappointed.
I refused to be disappointed.

The figure in front of me wavered.
Like a screen full of static, distorting.
As I inhaled, cold sweat dripped down my back.

"Heh."

I smiled.
At Shihu.
Or at the hallucination.

"I know it’s not real."

I reached out.
Shihu flickered.
Overlapped.
Something shattered.

And then, I was alone again.
Or maybe not.

If I kept using, I could see this hallucination again.
Again and again, as many times as I wanted.

"No."

Shihu spoke.
Or maybe I had just whispered to myself.

Shihu pulled me into a hug.
I felt warmth.

But it was probably just my own body heat.

"This is a hallucination..."

The symptoms had gotten worse.
That was the only explanation.
Even with my vision completely distorted, I was still seeing things.

Everything was blurry.
Ah, maybe it was just the tears in my eyes.

A brief silence.

Then, Shihu spoke.

"—A long time ago."

A long time ago?

"I promised I’d protect you."

He never did that.
Shihu never said that to me.

...Did he?

Maybe he did.
Maybe more times than I could count.

"I couldn’t say it to your face back then. But I swore it to myself. Hundreds of times."

"......"

"...It was my responsibility. One I couldn’t abandon. Even if it was the only way to stay myself."