"What a boring lesson," thought Yui.
The lesson seemed endless: every minute felt like hours. At the end, Yui left with her best friend Suzu and they headed to a fast food restaurant near the school.
"Did you hear the news last night? Apparently, a woman was stabbed by her husband after she was about to leave him," said Suzu.
Femicides had been increasing ever since the feminist movement had made progress. Perhaps some conservative men felt threatened and feared change. Were they afraid of losing the authority they once had over their wives? Or maybe, more simply, this generation was going downhill? Killing your wife just because she wanted to leave you was unthinkable. Yui couldn't find a convincing answer and decided to drop the subject for the moment.
While heading to the fast food, Yui noticed a clothing store recently opened by a wealthy young designer. Apparently, the store had excellent reviews.
"Hey, Suzu! Later we have to check out that store. I heard they have really amazing clothes!"
"Sounds good to me!" replied Suzu.
After eating a sandwich, they went to the store.
"This pair of pants is so nice, I think I'll—" Yui stopped mid-sentence when she saw the price.
"21,600 yen???" The pants were way too expensive for her.
"Come on, Suzu, let's go. This store is way too pricey."
"Scary prices," replied Suzu. "I'll come back when I'm rich."
After visiting the store, they took the subway home. Meanwhile, Yui checked her phone.
"A missed voice call from Mom."
She tried calling back, but with no success.
At her stop, she said goodbye to Suzu and headed home. In front of the building, she rang the doorbell.
"Who is it?"
"It's me," Yui replied.
She opened the gate and went to her apartment on the third floor. Upon entering, her mother scolded her:
"Yui, where have you been? You're half an hour late! I even called, but you didn't answer."
"You're right, sorry Mom," Yui replied and went straight to her room.
It was 5:30 PM, and she had to study for a test the next day. At 9:20 PM, however, she heard noise from the kitchen:
"What are you doing, woman?! You're supposed to wash the dishes, not break them! If it happens again, I won't just stop at hitting you!"
The usual fight between her parents resumed. Yui hated her father: he believed that a woman's only role was to be a housewife and raise the children. He didn't even let her mother work, and for this reason, if she had left him, she would have ended up penniless and unable to support Yui. So she decided to stay, until the day she chose to rebel.
Her father, however, did not accept it. From that day, Yui's mother was beaten daily. Unable to endure it any longer, Yui made a drastic decision: murder. She grabbed a knife from the kitchen and ran at her father, but she did it with fear and little conviction. Mixing all her emotions, she couldn't go through with it.
Her father didn't understand and reacted: he punched Yui, took the knife from her hand, and in a rage, stabbed her. Yui died soon after.
"What…" thought Yui.
"How cute! You're really lucky to have such a beautiful daughter!" said a woman, dressed like a medieval noble.
"Yes, truly a magnificent young lady!" added a man next to her.
Confused, Yui looked around. The room was large and luxurious, with a huge golden chandelier, stairs leading to a second floor, and a faint scent of wood in the air. After looking around a bit, Yui found a mirror and approached it.
She saw a magnificent girl of about 17 years old, 168 cm tall, with short silver hair reaching her neck, one white eye and one gray. She was wearing lipstick and her nails were painted gray.
"Always in front of the mirror! Incredible," commented a very handsome boy, also around 17 or a bit older, with short black hair, black eyes, and about 180 cm tall.
"So, you won't answer me, little sister?"
"What is happening?" thought Yui.