A Random in Re:Zero

Loop 5 - Part 21

I took out my smartphone to write down the exact date and time of the whale's appearance, setting an alarm to go off at that moment.

Rem leaned towards me to see what I was doing.

"Those strange symbols, how do you understand them?"

"Most of these are from the alphabet of my homeland. There are many languages, technologies, and concepts there that don't exist here."

She let out a small 'oh', looking at the screen with the same childlike curiosity as a few days ago, reminding me of that physical closeness we had, evoking in my thoughts the shame I felt for letting my imagination play tricks on me.

Nervous about having her almost right next to me, I felt my face start to heat up. I needed to do something to get away from her, but I didn't want to be rude or cruel. However, at that moment, Rem made an unexpected request.

"Are there more of those images you showed me?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Do you have any with your loved ones?"

It was easy to understand what she was getting at. Without saying anything, I selected a specific album, which was full of photographs of me with friends and family.

"Wow..."

Rem took her time looking at the photos, not just at the people in them; she seemed especially interested in the surroundings, the strange structures and vehicles that appeared there.

"You really come from far away... These places almost seem like they're from another world."

"Hahaha, right?"

"Besides, there are a lot of people with black hair like yours. That's not very common around here."

"I know, I'm very special..."

I combed my hair, exaggerating my gestures like a diva enjoying the attention. Rem pointed to another picture, one of me standing next to an adult woman and man, both of whom had similar features to mine.

"Are those...?"

"My parents, yes."

Rem looked at me, to which I smiled and nodded, as if to say I was okay with talking about it.

"What were their names?"

"Wanda and Marcelo." I decided not to correct Rem's mistake, which was that she'd mentioned them in the past tense as if they were dead. I'd supposedly lost everything I cared about, so I shouldn't suggest otherwise.

"You look like them. More like your mother."

"That's very flattering, thank you."

There was a brief pause. She probably didn't know what to say next.

"Do you miss them?"

"Yes a lot."

A shadow fell over my face as I said that wistfully. Wanting to change the subject so I wouldn't get depressed, she pointed to a video of a boy my age waving at the camera.

"Who is he?"

The video was of him walking down a narrow hallway, giving me a thumbs-up when he saw I was recording him. The hollow feeling in my chest deepened as I watched it.

"My best friend, Roman. He was the person who understood me best."

"Was he from a noble family?"

Rem's question confused me. What made her think that? Maybe it was the modern clothes, which she thought were expensive?