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Chapter 24 - The Clock Inside Her

Day 54.

She stared at the wall for a long time this morning.Not lost.Not blank.

Just still.

Then she turned to me and said:

"There's something inside me.Like a clock.Ticking."

I froze.

She continued:

"I don't know how many ticks are left.But I can feel them… slipping."

That night, she didn't speak much.

She sat beside me on the rooftop,watching the stars appear one by one.

Then she pulled out a folded paper.Handed it to me.

"Don't read it now," she said."But if I ever stop… being me—completely—open it."

I didn't ask what was inside.

Because I already knew.

The paper burned like a secret in my pocket.

Day 53.

She couldn't remember how to open her locker.Forgot which class she was in.

Sat in the wrong seat.

When I guided her gently to the right place,she smiled apologetically.

"You're always there to fix things."

"That's what people do when they love someone," I said.

She blinked.

"Are we… in love?"

I didn't answer with words.

Just squeezed her hand.

And she didn't pull away.

Day 52.

She wrote one line in her notebook.

"Today, I remembered nothing.But I still waited for him."

Later that night, I opened the letter.

I couldn't wait anymore.

Inside was her handwriting—shaky, unfinished, but hers.

"To Ren—If I forget who you are completely,please don't try to fix me."

"Just be with me.Even if I'm someone else."

"Even if I ask you who you are every day—Please keep answering."

"Because even if my memories break,I want my heart to remember what love feels like."

I pressed the letter to my chest and whispered:

"I'll stay.Even if you disappear in front of me."

"I'll stay until the last tick."

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