S1022B

I...

Know...

<Did they just speak?!>

Hoh?! Young Pwie, thou possessed the gift of speech all along?

... I know... you two...

Pwie's gaze wavered warily between Meursault and me.

I cried... a lot... 'Cuz it hurt a lot... and 'cuz I was sad... And I couldn't get up...

'Cuz of you two... I was scared... And it only got scarier and scarier...

<... Pwie remembers what happened before the Liquidation.>

.......

I am sorry.

... Why?

Because our actions have led to your suffering.

<Meursault...>

... But I stopped crying now.

... So... I dunno what tears mean anymore.

I wanna forget... but... I shouldn't...

Somehow... they seem very confused.

Pwie muttered for a bit while staring at the ground, then took a tentative step toward us.

Why'd you... come to me?

Because you called to us.

Why... did I?

That's... not a question we have an answer to at the moment. Perhaps something drew us toward you.

... I gotta go up to fifth floor.

When I was sleeping... there were others there with me...

They said... They whispered that... everyone's gonna be so happy to see me and welcome me when I wake up. They even sang a really nice song... too.

Did you sing to me?

No. We did not sing to you. The one who sang to you is the woman whom you laid your hands on shortly after your awakening.

But... she didn't move. Or speak to me.

That's because... she is dead.

You can't move... when you're dead?

No.

Why...?

Because the body has ceased to function, and the mind has been extinguished.

Extinguish...? Mind...? Weird words.

I don't like that.

<Hmmm... Yeah, they're not the most straightforward of concepts. Especially inside the Grand Magasin.>

I was lying on the ground... and my eyes were closed...

I think... that was death. But I woke up again. Didn't get extinguished.

... Because dying within the Grand Magasin is a fundamentally different concept from dying outside of it.

... Why is it different...?

Because...

... I don't know. I don't know if there really is any difference.

... I don't... like that.

I don't want to... get extinguished.

... And I...

I'm hungry.

So I tried to eat something, but... someone took it from me.

Fie, to think that there were other souls with young Heathcliff's antics!

<Oddly specific, but... also spot-on.>

I don't see any restaurants on this floor, but... if this really is a "department store," there has to be places selling food somewhere.

Let's go find one together, hmm?

... Okay.

Though Pwie seemed to be giving us a somewhat wide berth still, I noticed that they weren't hanging as far back as they were before. They were standing some distance from us with a blank stare in their eyes...

... as though they were waiting for us to go somewhere.