The Night I Couldn't Think Badly of the One Who Left

Airnote  ·  Leina  ·  Jun 6, 2026

On the bed in Room 308, Leina talked about the leader from the group.

The one who always decided things quietly — food, the order for dangerous routes. The one who said I'll be back in a bit and walked out and never came back.

Leina had been standing somewhere between two things ever since: the possibility that it had been deliberate, that she'd been left on purpose — and the sense that something had simply made it impossible to return. Neither had ever resolved into the other.

Yu waited a moment, then said: that doesn't sound like someone who would just leave you behind. And then: so I can't think badly of them either. When Leina heard those words, the small sharp thing in her chest went just slightly soft.

Because that person had left, Leina was here now — alive, listening to the rain and the sound of Driprimba, lying in the same bed as Yu.

Held gently, Leina let that fact be the only thing. And decided that tonight, the words would end here.