He opened the window, trying to catch any sound.
Yuko: "How is it possible there's no noise? And yet there's a light on the hill… I can't leave Toria alone."
He closed the window and went to his daughter's room. Toria was sleeping like a rock.
Yuko (thinking): "She's asleep… I'll just go take a look."
He grabbed a pen and left a note stuck to the door: "Stepping out for a bit. Call me if you need anything."
Something didn't feel right.
He quietly shut her door, grabbed his bike helmet, and headed toward the hill behind the house.
He started pedaling hard, aiming straight for the source of the light.
Yuko: "How can there be no explosion, no sound…"
A rough path opened up before him, and at the top, behind the trees, a red glow shimmered.
Back at home…
Toria: "Mmm… so thirsty."
She reached toward the nightstand but found only empty space.
Toria: "Ugh, I have to get up…"
She got out of bed and walked to the kitchen. The house was cloaked in darkness.
She opened the fridge; its light flooded the room. She grabbed a bottle and drank straight from it.
Toria (thinking): "Dad doesn't want me to do this, but I'm too thirsty…"
As she put the bottle back, she suddenly remembered.
Toria: "Wait a sec… where's Dad?"
She turned in the dim kitchen and called out.
Toria: "Dad? Dad?!"
No answer. Just the ticking clock marking the silence. Then she noticed the note on the door. She picked it up and read:
Note: "Call me if you need anything."
Toria: "He left me home alone?! What the hell…"
Putting the note back where it was, she returned to bed. She slipped under the covers, staring at the ceiling for a few seconds before falling back asleep.
Toria: "…Hope he's not getting into trouble."
On the hill…
Yuko was almost at the top, thoughts racing as he pedaled.
Yuko (thinking): "Maybe it's a satellite? Could have some landing mechanism… No, that doesn't make sense. A meteorite wouldn't just stop like that."
The air around the hill felt charged, heavy. A mix of adrenaline and fear — that protective fear only a parent can feel.
He finally reached the top, left his bike by a tree.
The vegetation was thicker there: trees and shrubs partly obscured a yellow-red glow.
Yuko: "There it is… but what the hell is that? Damn weeds!"
He pushed through leaves and branches until it revealed itself to him: a floating rock.
Yuko: "What the fuck is that?! A meteorite?!"
He couldn't believe it. The meteorite pulsed like a living heart, its mystical markings glowing on the surface.
Yuko: "These markings… what do they mean? I can't read them…"
The stone radiated a warm, soothing heat. His fear slowly melted, replaced by a strange calm.
Yuko: "What… are you?"
An irresistible urge drove him to touch it. He reached out, eyes fixed on the glowing surface.
Yuko: "I shouldn't… but…"
His hand drew closer. Tiny electric sparks danced in the air.
Then — contact.
THUMP.
A deep thump echoed in both the stone and Yuko's chest, as if they had synced.
A blinding flash of light exploded outward.
Then — darkness.