I'm doing abstract animation

"I...I remember shopping with Eriri...and then..."

Sawamura Sayuri rubbed her slightly aching head, looking around blankly, and was immediately startled when she saw what was happening.

The once clean and tidy shopping mall looked like it had been attacked by a bomb. The ground was covered with dust, dirt, and broken glass. Several shops were completely destroyed, and a few people were sitting slumped at the entrance, looking like they were about to cry. They must be the owners.

The first floor of the mall, especially the fountain pool, was destroyed in the explosion.

It was completely destroyed, leaving only a large crater where water occasionally spurted out. Little Lily guessed that the pipes below were probably broken as well.

She quickly called out to her daughter in her arms, "Eri, Eriri, wake up!"

However, no matter how she called out to her, her daughter wouldn't open her eyes. If it weren't for the fact that her daughter was still breathing, she would have thought...

She panicked immediately and quickly pulled out her phone to dial the emergency number.

Eriri, whom she was calling, was in a strange state... no, it should be said that she was in a strange dream.

"here it is……"

The familiar yet unfamiliar scene left her feeling somewhat lost.

This is a park with sand and slides for children to play in, but everything looks very old, as if a filter has been applied to her eyes.

"Eri, come here quickly..."

A little boy's voice rang out, and she turned around and froze on the spot.

"Lun Ye?"

Aki Tomoya, you could say, is her childhood friend, but the two haven't spoken to each other for a long time due to some misunderstandings—well, not in a physical sense.

"Hahaha!"

A blonde little girl followed behind Tomoya Aki, laughing heartily.

"this is me?"

She stared in disbelief as two children ran past her.

"Hey, wait a minute!"

She reached out to grab the little girl's hand, but her hand moved as if grasping a phantom, creating ripples but grasping nothing.

"What the hell is this?!"

Eriri irritably shook her twin tails.

Soon, she felt a wave of dizziness.

The scene before her changed again. This time, she found herself outside a small shop, where she and a pink-haired little girl sat side by side on a bench, happily munching on popsicles. An old fan whirred behind them, and the setting sun cast a beautiful glow on their faces.

"Yui, how about we swap snacks at summer camp tomorrow?"

Young Eriri seemed more lively and enthusiastic than she is now.

The pink-haired little girl grinned and said, "Okay, but Eriri, why should we switch? Can't we just mix our snacks together?"

"No, because Yui eats a lot."

"Hey, did I eat a lot?"

"Yes, Yui is a glutton!"

"Hehe, Mom says being able to eat is a blessing!"

…………

The scene of the two children was incredibly harmonious, but Eriri only felt a headache. The moment she saw the pink-clad little girl, something seemed to break in her mind, and scenes she had never seen before began to surface in her mind.

"That's Yui..."

"But why..."

"Why don't I remember this scene..."

"What exactly were those images...?"

"what is going on?"

Clutching her aching head, Eriri staggered toward the pink-haired little girl, but then the world spun around her again.

"here it is……"

Eriri covered her head and struggled to look around at the scene.

This was a parking lot, and she was surrounded by children wearing little yellow hats, with a few worried parents talking to their children.

"Mom, why didn't Yui come?"

Little Eriri asked her mother, looking somewhat unhappy.

In Eriri's eyes, Sawamura Sayuri, who looks at least ten years younger than her current mother, is no different. She smiles and pats Eriri's head: "Yui was too happy last night, so she got a fever from being too excited!"

"Yui is an idiot!" Eriri said angrily.

Sawamura Sayuri's smile faded: "You shouldn't say bad things about your best friend, okay? Does Eriri want Yui to say bad things about her too?"

"No way! If Yui says anything bad about me, I... I'll never talk to her again!"

"Hehe, isn't that fine? So Eriri can't say bad things about her best friend!" Sawamura Sayuri laughed and patted Eriri on the back. "Go on, Tomoya's over there, go find him and play!"

"Okay mom!"

The scene before me was both familiar and strange...

Summer camp...

My friend can't come because of a fever...

Eriri felt like her head was about to explode. Unfamiliar scenes kept flashing through her mind, and the stabbing pain made her kneel down.

Suddenly, the image in my mind froze on a single scene.

That was a scene where the entire sky had turned black...

P.S.: There will be another chapter later.

A City of Ghosts and Monsters: Chapter Fourteen - The Incident Eight Years Ago

drop by drop...

The heart rate monitor beeped rhythmically. Sayuri Sawamura, looking haggard, stood by the hospital bedside, while Eriri slept soundly on the bed.

Three days have passed since that day.

For the past three days, Eriri has been like a vegetable, remaining in a deep sleep. As a result, Sayuri Sawamura has been running around trying to find a way to cure her daughter.

But no matter which doctor it was, the conclusion was the same.

"Your daughter is physically normal, and her brain waves are very active. I know this might not be normal, but she is definitely just asleep."

I'm asleep... Have I been sleeping for three days in a row?

Sawamura Sayuri felt like she was going crazy. She couldn't understand how simply taking her daughter out for a walk had turned into this mess.

Wow…

The door was pulled open, and a slightly overweight white man appeared.

“Sayuri, you should go and rest first,” Leonard Spencer said in a deep voice. “You haven’t had a proper rest for two days. I’ll look after Eriri for now.”

Sawamura Sayuri gently shook her head: "No, I'll stay and watch over Eriri a little longer..."

She was somewhat afraid to look at her husband's face, because Eriri's incident was caused by her.

Leonard sighed: "This isn't your fault, and I... I think I'm starting to figure out why Eriri is acting this way."

Towards the end, he hesitated, seemingly unsure whether to tell his wife.

"What?!" Sawamura Sayuri was instantly energized, her whole body trembling with excitement: "What's wrong with this child?!"

Seeing his wife's haggard face, Leonard took a deep breath and decided to break his promise.

"This matter is a bit complicated. Before we get to that, let me ask you something: do you remember what happened eight years ago?"

Sawamura Sayuri was taken aback, then frowned in thought: "Eight years ago... I'm sorry, I don't quite understand what you mean."

That's too vague a question. Eight years is such a long time ago, and many things are already fuzzy in her memory. Of course, she also knows that her husband would not ask such a question without a reason. If he asked such a question, it means that something big must have happened eight years ago, something so big that she could not possibly forget it.

"As expected... you really don't remember that incident..."

Leonard shook his head, his expression inexplicably grave: "Then let me ask you, do you know about the Dewa Summer Camp incident eight years ago?"

"The Dewa Summer Camp incident?" Sawamura Sayuri nodded. "I know about that."

The Dewa Summer Camp Incident began when an elementary school organized a summer camp, but all the teachers, students, and parents who came to see them off disappeared without a trace. A week later, these missing people inexplicably reappeared near the parking lot. Shockingly, nearly half of the parents and teachers had lost their lives, while all the children were safe and sound.

"This incident caused a great uproar at the time, but what does it have to do with Eriri's matter?"

Sayuri Sawamura expressed her confusion. The incident back then was indeed a big deal, and even the prime minister came out to bow and apologize. But how could something so long ago be related to Eriri?

"Lost their lives, huh..."

Leonard sneered, "Is it really that simple, Lily? Do you know how terrifying the scene was back then?"

Sawamura Sayuri frowned and shook her head. She felt that her husband was acting strangely today, as if he harbored some resentment.

"To describe it in four words...wreckage everywhere..." Leonard's lips twitched, and there seemed to be an unyielding fear in his eyes: "That's beyond what humans can do. Do you know what the most intact corpse looks like?"

"A huge tooth mark, biting off half of the corpse, made it the most intact body preserved in that incident."

Sawamura Sayuri seemed to have thought of something, and her already pale face became even paler.

She shook her head decisively: "Darling, I don't want to hear about that right now. I just want to know what happened to Eriri."

"..." Leonard took a deep breath and looked at her with a serious expression: "What if I told you that you and Eriri were survivors of that incident back then?"

"This is impossible!"

Without even thinking, Sayuri Sawamura shook her head and denied it: "I don't have that kind of memory!"

"That's exactly what I wanted to say. Those survivors from back then... none of them have any memory of that time!"

Leonard waved his hand excitedly: "Moreover, not only did they not have the memory of that time, but as time went by, the survivors and even the people around them gradually lost their memory of that event. Gradually, the event really just became an event, and no one could clearly remember it anymore."

"And haven't you noticed how similar your experience a few days ago is to the events of that year?"

After catching his breath, Leonard continued, "And there's one more thing. The incident you experienced a few days ago was actually circulating online. Although it's mostly been deleted now, I still found a few photos. Take a look."

After saying that, Leonard took out three photos from his pocket.

Sayuri Sawamura reached out and took the photo to examine it.

The first photo is blurry; you can only vaguely make out two dark figures.

She frowned; she couldn't tell anything from that.

The second photo is clearer, but you can only see two people facing off: a blonde girl whose back is visible, and a waiter with a strange expression.

This is nothing, right?

When she saw the third photo, her pupils contracted slightly.

This is an outrageous photo. Why is it outrageous? Because the person in the photo looks like they've been given special effects. Their mouth is almost half the size of a house, and what's even more terrifying is that there's a human... or more accurately, human remains inside that mouth.

"Woo..."

She hurriedly put down the photo. The contrast between the small person and the large mouth, along with the dismembered limbs inside that large mouth, made her already uncomfortable body feel nauseous.

After calming herself down, she frowned and looked at her husband: "Is this photo really not fake?"

Leonard didn't speak, but instead pulled out the second photo and pointed to the far corner of the photo, where there was a half-person's back view.

Sawamura Sayuri was instantly flustered: "W-This is Eriri?!"

There's no mistake, that ponytail, and that outfit...

Leonard nodded: "That's right, this is Eriri, so you must have been there, but for some reason, you lost your memories... just like eight years ago!"

Sawamura Sayuri's eyes were glazed over. It was really true... she really had lost her memory. This was too surreal...

"What about Eriri?"

Suddenly, Sayuri Sawamura panicked. Even if she knew the truth, there was nothing she could do. The fundamental problem still hadn't been solved!

"Don't worry, I've already asked my friend for help, a friend who has had the same experience as you, except that he didn't lose his memory..."

..............................