*　　　*　　　*

Gray eyes seem to reflect the winter sky. 

Why is it that you feel a trace of anxiety when you stare at the self you see in the mirror?

You should be used to seeing them by now, but those gray eyes still cast a feeling of malaise at you, like a pebble finding its way into your shoe.

>>>

Nineteen years ago, a girl named Miriam was born weighing less than thirty-six ounces. 

According to the story her mother told her, the high concentration of oxygen in the incubator caused a condition called “retinopathy of prematurity” to affect her eyes, and although she was able to avoid being blinded, one of her eyes turned gray because of it.

Miriam’s mother, Thelma, works as a librarian in a public library and raised her daughter alone.

She never spoke of Miriam’s father, and Miriam never asked. But just once, on her tenth birthday, a man wearing glasses appeared at her home.

“Miriam, when you grow up, I’ll come to see you again.”

She thought that the man with that kind-looking smile might have been her father, but as time passed, she forgot about it all. 

>>>

Miriam washes her face in the bathroom. After quickly putting on makeup and getting dressed, she’s putting on her shoes by the front door, when her cell phone rings.

“Hello...”

“Miriam, I see you’re finally awake.”

Her mother’s exasperated voice comes through.

“You’re a terrible oversleeper. If you keep dawdling, you’ll be late for school.”

“I get it. I’m leaving the house now.”

“Did you eat breakfast? There’s a sandwich on the kitchen table.”

“Yeah, but I’m in a hurry.”

“Speaking of which, you cried out in your sleep this morning. Are you alright?”

Miriam answers that she’s alright. She doesn’t want to make her mother worry, so she doesn’t speak of the dream where a white crow appeared. 

“Mom, I said I’m in a hurry.”

“Alright, alright. Be careful and have a good day. I love you with all my heart.”

Miriam hangs up the phone, unties her shoelaces, and goes back to the kitchen to bag up her mother’s homemade sandwiches.

As she goes through the front door and turns the key to lock it, the sight of the doorplate, stating “Room 101”, ever-so-slightly tilting must have just been her imagination. 

*　　　*　　　*

The Royal Academy of Dramatic arts that Miriam attends is a 20-minute subway commute from her home.

When she was in elementary school, she saw a stage production of Joan of Arc that inspired her to become an actress. 

Jean was a maiden of Orleans who heard the voice of God, fought for her country, and was sentenced by the Inquisition to be burned at the stake.

In that play, there’s a scene in which the imprisoned Jean confides her heart’s troubles to a white crow that had landed by her prison’s window. 

That scene took Miriam’s breath away.

【White Crow】

A crow with pale feathers. Highly intelligent, it appears in Greek mythology as a “messenger of the gods”. A symbol of non-existent, impossible things.

According to the book she found in the library, the white crow is described as a sublime being. But to Miriam, it’s a sinister bird that descends on the earth stained by the blood of the dead.

Why has this terrifying dream plagued her since her childhood? 

Miriam is shocked back to reality when the subway car stops with a creak. This morning as well, she makes haste to chase away the memory of the crow in her dream. 

As she rides the flow of people heading for the ticket gate, she suddenly gets the feeling that someone is watching her.

Even if she turns around, she wouldn’t know who it is. As she stands frozen by the escalator, a plump, annoyed-looking middle-aged man pushes past her. 

“Hey there, Miriam.”

As she exits the station, a voice calls out to her. It’s a young man from the same school who has feelings for her. 

“So it was you, Simon?”

“Huh? What was?”

“You were staring at me when I got off the subway.”

“That wasn’t me. I rode a bike to get here.”

Simon points at the public-use bicycles lined up by the roadside.  Miriam shrugs. 

“Anyway, were you painting yesterday?”

“Um... what do you mean?”

“Weren’t you walking around all covered with paint? I called out to you, but you just walked away.”

Miriam frowns at Simon’s words. 

She doesn’t remember that in the slightest.

“It wasn’t me. That must have been someone else.”

“No way. I’d never get someone confused with you. There aren’t many people with gray eyes like yours.”

*　　　*　　　*

Morning classes wound up being canceled due to circumstances with the acting teacher.

Miriam goes to a nearby park, sits on a bench, and fills her mouth with the sandwich her mother made. She shares a bit of bread with a wild squirrel who was watching enviously, and it eats wholeheartedly.

A girl with eyes just like hers—

As she thinks about Simon’s tale, the image of her face reflected in the bathroom mirror at home enters her mind. All of her little anxieties come back at once.

“Were you painting yesterday?”

Covered with paint? What could that mean?

Simon said that he saw the mysterious girl on the south bank of the river in the brickwork warehouse district. He said she was wearing a yellow raincoat. 

“There hadn’t been any rain, so that coat stood out to me.”

A yellow raincoat.The same as the little girl in her dreadful dream... 

Miriam stands up from the bench after she’s done eating her sandwich, still deep in thought. On instinct, she starts toward the warehouse district.

*　　　*　　　*

The river’s powerful current makes one reflect on the perpetuity of time. 

In this area where the past and the future collide, old buildings and new shops stand side by side, elderly people loitering on the street corners stare indifferently at the youths rushing around.

Miriam gets an uneasy feeling as she walks through the stone-paved alley under the overpass.

Feeling like she could encounter the girl in the yellow raincoat at any second, she’s startled by her face reflected in a window.

At that moment, she hears the screech of a crow.

Miriam’s head whips around instantly. She can’t see the crow, but she can hear the flutter of its wings. As she follows it down a small path, she smells a rotten stench. The smell of fresh blood, it’s her nightmare come to life.

Just as she’s about to go deeper down the alley, someone grabs her shoulder from behind.

“You’re Miriam, right?”

While she’s paralyzed with shock and fear, a tall man speaks to her in a cool voice. Although he’s wearing sunglasses, she remembers the gaze peeking out from under them.

In the subway, amidst the flow of people heading to the ticket gate. When the annoyed middle-aged man, pushed past her as she stood in front of the escalator, a calm-looking man wearing sunglasses was nearby. She’s been followed since then.

“...who are you?”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have time to explain. For now, please, just follow me.”

Miriam struggles when the man tries to pull her along. She bites the man’s hand and runs as fast as she can.

“Oww... hey, wait!”

Run, run, run, through the maze-like alleyways. 

Before she knows it, Miriam enters a dead-end alley. Surrounded on all sides by brick walls, she’s shocked by the graffiti art painted on the wall at the very end. 

“...a white crow...”

Something clicks inside of her. 

The scene from the ominous dream she’s had countless times since her childhood is recreated in this mysterious mural. As she cautiously approaches it, the man who had chased her calls out.

“Stop! Don’t get near that painting!”

Ignoring him, Miriam touches the white crow. The next second, something strange happens to her body.

《Miriam’s gray eyes, stained with white and black, are able to concurrently perceive the events of reality and dreams.》

Reflected in her white right eye is the reality of the man staring at her in the back alley. Suddenly, a crack runs through one lens of his sunglasses, and he drops to his knees with a groan, covering his eye.

Reflected in her black left eye is the dream of the little girl standing on the blood-stained earth. She casts off the hood of her yellow raincoat and gazes over the deceased with her jet-black eyes. 

“...don’t look!”

Miriam shouts at the girl in an instant.

“Why?”

While Miriam is stuck speechless, the girl tells her with an innocent smile—

“I’m the one who killed them.”

*　　　*　　　*

“...please, help me...” The witness bound by handcuffs nervously begins to speak.

“What are you going to do to me?”

“What happens to you is of no concern.” Without budging an inch, the apathetic interrogator speaks.

“I’m the one who’s asking the questions, not you.”

Inside this room with no windows or clocks, closed in by walls, one loses the ability to track the passage of time.

It feels as if the witness could have been thrown into the authorities’ interrogation room either a few minutes ago or a few weeks ago.

And what’s most terrifying of all is that we don’t know how long this state of terror will be made to continue.

*　　　*　　　*

“Let’s begin the interrogation. I want you to tell me what you know about those wicked children from the slums, Liu and Tough."

“I don’t know anything about them.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

“It’s the truth! I really don’t know anything! No matter what you ask me, I won’t be able to give you an answer.”

“Anyone who’s being interrogated would claim to know nothing at first.”

The interrogator turned upon the witness with a cutting gaze that felt as if it could see into the depths of his soul.

“However, when I pry open the mouths of those witnesses who refuse to speak and tear out their teeth one by one, they cry like babies and promise to tell me anything if I have mercy. Now, what will you do?”

The witness hardens his expression. A faint smile flickers across the interrogator’s face as he takes out a small bottle.

“Do you know what this is?”

“....?”

“Jelly beans. Something Liu carries with him. Why is he always eating them? What secret could he be hiding?”

“Secret...? It’s just his favorite food...”

As if displeased with the victim’s answer, the interrogator shakes his head. “That’s not the case. There has to be some secret to it. If there isn’t, why would he consume such massive quantities of candy every day?”

“Because he’s strange.”

“Ah, that’s correct. I already know that Liu isn’t an ordinary person— you don’t have to tell me that. What I want to know is what effect the intake of so many jelly beans has had on his body. What is the cause of the special power residing in Liu’s body.”

The witness stares blankly, completely missing the point. The interrogator clicks his tongue with irritation and pushes the lights on the desk closer to the witness. The blinding light, intensely painful, pierces his eyes.

*　　　*　　　*

“Let me change the question. Have you ever seen the tattoo on Liu’s arm?”

“Of course I have.”

“And have you heard what that tattoo means?”

“No. It seems that he doesn’t know either— and that having a mystery that even he can’t explain is something he can’t stomach.”

“In other words, it wasn’t engraved by Liu’s own choice?”

“Most likely... At any rate, he’s hesitant to let people get close to him. It appears that the only person Liu can allow to be his companion is Tough.”

“In that case, let’s talk about Tough.”

“He’s a straightforward idiot. However, he’s terrifyingly strong. No matter who his opponent is, he’ll crush them. I’ve heard rumors about him as well. About things like why he’s fond of ‘hide and seek’, and why he always takes up the role of a demon.”

The interrogator carefully considers those rumors, now floating in his head. As his fingertips steadily drum against the desk, the witness’s eyes are suddenly captivated by how shockingly neat those nails are. Beautifully maintained nails. He can’t help but feel the divide between the haves and have-nots.

*　　　*　　　*

“All you’re telling me is lies.” The interrogator stops tapping his fingers and opens his mouth.

“Your parents, their parents, and their parents’ parents, all they say are lies. Whatever you’re hiding, I’m also good at telling lies. We, humans, were able to evolve because we stacked up lie after lie, and the fabrication made in this way is known as history.”

The witness merely nods while staring uncertainly at the interrogator.

“I’ll tell you something good. This room is called 'Room 101', but in this very building, there are hundreds of other rooms all numbered the same. Do you know why that is? It’s because the world itself is composed of the fabrication we’re created. Within it, you and I are merely playing the roles called ‘Interrogator’ and ‘Witness’. How different are our shadows and our true selves?”

The figures of two people are reflected on the walls of this inorganic room. Staring absentmindedly at them, the witness ponders his own role.

*　　　*　　　*

“All I’ve told you is lies.”

The interrogator’s rage-filled voice shakes the air.

“In this make-believe room known as Room 101, every word becomes a lie the moment it is spoken. It’s the same as a black crow being dyed white. It’s only natural that you’d speak only what’s untrue.”

“...I can only say lies...?”

“Exactly right! Truth is born from our lies, and excels beyond a paradox!!” Unable to control his excitement, the interrogator stands from his chair. The lights are knocked over by the force of it, and the figures reflected on the walls tremble and sway.

“NoIDs (Noise)” who live and have no registered families are trying to encroach upon our taboos. Liu, a person bursting into the spotlight, and Tough, a person bursting with intensity. What are those two scheming? What are the true faces they’re hiding under their masks?”

The witness grins knowingly.

The moment the interrogator scowls, a ringing phone resounds.

“Hello... Wh-What did you say!?”

In a frantic rush, the interrogator turns on the TV monitor. What plays is a video of NoIDs in masks and yellow raincoats invading the state reception hall, revealing the truths that the authorities try to hide— things that appear to be such as forgeries of illustrious paintings and overrunning of the slums.

“Hurry up and shut that broadcast off!”

The witness strikes the desk at the same time the interrogator shouts. As he continues with the clatter of his handcuffs, from the other Room 101’s, the same thud of pounding desks sounds in response. It becomes a massive noise that resounds throughout the building.