Into the Painting

"……What?"

Blood drained from my face as I stared toward the source of the sound. It was the painting I had drawn.

But when I looked again, the painting hadn't changed at all, and the tension drained out of me so completely that I let out an involuntary breath.

So now I'm hearing things.

That was a bad sign. It meant something was wrong with my body.

"Right, I've been awake far too long. I might as well just go to sleep—"

I was clutching my aching head, staggering toward my bedroom, when it happened.

"I called you. Over here."

"……Ah."

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The sound of my own heartbeat rang so loudly it seemed to echo in my ears.

Very slowly, in fits and starts, I turned my head.

And there it was, unmistakable: a single shaft of light spilling out of the painting.

"Haah……!"

A hand, wrapped in that radiance, extended toward me.

"Wh-what on earth……"

Had I finally lost my mind?

The luminous hand hovered in the middle of the dark room, as if it belonged to some other world entirely.

Like will-o'-the-wisps, or a mirage on the verge of shimmering into view.

Just as terror began to close in around me, the voice rang out again.

"Come to me, Aub."

A low, gentle voice. One I knew without a doubt.

"……Camille?"

"You love me, don't you?"

"……"

"Don't let this chance slip away."

Every stray thought vanished like noise cut to silence, and only that hand remained etched in my vision like a mirage.

At the same time, fear bloomed in my chest.

What if I hesitated again and lost him once more?

If I failed to reach him this time, I might lose him forever.

I can't lose him again.

A fierce impulse surged through me.

Perhaps the answer had been decided the moment I first heard that voice.

As if in a trance, I moved my hand.

And the instant my fingertips touched the light—

Whoosh—!

The canvas swallowed me whole, pulling me in.

My head throbbed as though it would split open.

A dull nausea rolled through me, the wretched sensation of being dragged out of a deep sleep against my will.

"Ugh……"

I forced myself to ignore it, keeping my eyes shut, and then— swish, swish… cold air brushed against my cheek.

In the end, I gave up the pretense and opened my eyes. And the scene that unfolded before me was……

"Where am I……?"

Sunlight shattered over a field blooming with flowers of every color. Each time the wind swept past, the hues rippled and swayed, and in the distance, a garden and a lake drank in the sky like a watercolor come to life.

At the painfully beautiful scenery, a gasp escaped my lips before I could stop it.

But something's strange.

I had never seen this place before, and yet it wasn't the least bit unfamiliar.

As I slowly pushed myself up and took a step, the strange sensation beneath me made me glance down instinctively.

Barefoot?

The crushed blades of grass rustled, letting out what sounded like tiny cries. I hesitated a moment, then pressed on.

Swoooosh—

With every step, the pain that had filled my head faded a little more. The breeze, so refreshingly cool I might have mistaken it for the sound of waves, threaded through my hair as if washing my very thoughts clean.

How long had I been walking? At the far edge of the field, just beyond the border where flowers gave way to grass, a small house came into view.

Drawn forward as if in a dream, I found myself standing at the door, knocking without a thought.

Knock knock.

Only after the sound died away did my senses finally return to me.

What am I doing right now?

But when the wooden door creaked open and a voice drifted out, I froze on the spot.

"Who is it?"

No way.

"……Aub?"

"……"

Pink hair like cherry blossoms melted into silk, and eyes of the deepest blue.

A woman—no, a man—with that face.

The moment I saw him, my thoughts simply stopped.

"You finally came!"

Beaming as though it were the most natural thing in the world, he flung both arms wide.

And without a moment's hesitation, he pulled me into a fierce embrace.

The instant I was wrapped in his arms, the flowers on all sides seemed to tremble at once, as if singing praises to our reunion.

I couldn't manage any reaction at all.

"I missed you, Aub."

His brow softened as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

With a touch so tender it brought tears to my eyes.

"I'm sorry. It was hard on you, wasn't it?"

"……"

"Are you all right?"

When his cold fingers brushed my cheek, my scattered mind snapped back into focus.

Retreating a step out of pure habit, I forced the words out, my voice trembling with disbelief.

"Ca-Camille? Why are you……"

"Hm?"

His blue eyes took me in, direct and unblinking.

"Why are you here……"

"Ah, I was wondering what you meant."

"Is it—it's really you?"

"It's me. Your husband, Camille."

The smile I hadn't seen in so long was achingly sweet. Sweet enough to raise gooseflesh along my spine.

"You've gotten so thin since I last saw you. Have you been eating properly lately?"

Trance-like, I nodded, but Camille's face said he didn't buy my answer for a second.

"Hmm. You've gotten better at lying, too. Or were you always this good?"

There was no doubt about it—the man standing before me was him.

The man I had loved, and lost. Camille.

The gentle voice, the way he always worried over me—it was all exactly the same.

And yet I couldn't believe it.

This is impossible.

My heart was beating at an absurd pace. Whether from joy or terror, I honestly couldn't tell.

But I was powerless to stop the ice around my heart from melting in the warmth of Camille's gentle voice.

"Aub. You cry a lot more now, too."

Camille gave a small, troubled laugh.

"If it's because of me…… I'm glad, but it also makes me feel guilty."

"……"

"Can I hold you?"

Without waiting for my answer, he tucked me firmly into his chest.

A flicker of displeased unease crossed my mind as I lifted my head, but other feelings surged past it before it could take hold.

"Don't worry, Aub."

Camille stroked my russet-brown hair, slow and careful. The affection poured into his touch was so sweet that my heart ached, tightening with every beat.

"From now on, I'll never leave your side."

A moment later, I managed to open my mouth, as though swallowing past a heavy weight in my throat.

"……Yes."

My vision blurred, and my consciousness grew hazy, little by little, as if going numb.

Like sinking slowly down into deep, dark water.

The inside of the little house was every bit as cozy as a home built for exactly two people.

So this was what an "ordinary family home" looked like—the kind of place I, who had lived my whole life in a manor, had only ever vaguely imagined.

A wooden nightstand and chairs, a shelf, and a stove.

That was everything.

"Shall I get you something to wipe your face with?"

Camille held out a white cloth he'd taken from the shelf.

Sniffling, I took it and blew my nose, then hunched my shoulders like a turtle out of sheer embarrassment.

To let him see me like this.

Meanwhile, he settled into the chair across from me, rested his chin on his hand, and watched me with a pleasant smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

"Even crying, you're beautiful."

"What kind of thing is that to say……"

Heat flooded my face, and I looked away.

Once the storm of emotions had settled, I stole a sidelong glance at Camille.

Everything still felt utterly unreal, yet the Camille before me looked exactly as I remembered him in life.

If there was one thing different, it was that somehow, somewhere along the way, he'd turned mischievous.

"You really do love my face, don't you? But if you keep staring at me like that, I'm going to get embarrassed."

"……I'm sorry, what?"

"Go ahead and check, if you want. Whether I'm really me."

Camille tapped his own cheek, gesturing for me to touch it.

Even as my expression locked up, he remained perfectly composed.

No.

Certain that I'd only be swept along at his pace if this went on, I decided to change the subject.

"So…… what happened? How is this possible?"

"Hm?"

I swallowed hard.

"You're—you're already…… dead."

That's right. Camille was dead.

No matter how sweet and dreamlike our reunion was, hadn't I watched with my own eyes as his coffin was lowered into the ground?

The belated confusion came crashing in.

He was alive? How on earth? Was this a ghost? But then…… then how did I explain the feel of him beneath my own hands?

Camille scratched the back of his neck as though deep in thought, then before long gave a careless shrug.

"Who knows? I'm not sure myself. By the time I came to, I was already here."

At that half-hearted answer, I frowned without thinking—then caught myself and went still.

……Hold on. That's exactly the same as me.

Don't tell me I'm dead too?

Just as a chill ran down my spine, Camille turned his gaze toward the window and went on.

"But Aub, it's thanks to you that we found each other again, isn't it? Isn't that enough?"

"What?"

"It's beautiful here, nothing like the outside world. Peaceful, and……"

But there was a word in there I couldn't let pass.

"Wa-wait just a moment, Camille."

"Hm?"

"What do you mean by that? Thanks to me?"

At my question, Camille blinked, both eyes going round.

As if to ask why I'd bother asking something so obvious.

"Because you painted all of it."

"……What?"

"This place. The flower field, the hill, even this house we're standing in right now."

And then came the words that explained everything, with perfect, terrible clarity.

"This is the inside of the painting you made, Aub."