Rui

Rui walked downstairs hesitantly.

What if it didn’t work?

What if dad comes back?

Is… is it even right to use something like this?

“Rui-chan.” Her mother chirped. “How was school?”

“Good. Practice got canceled.” She answered, sitting down at the dinner table.

“Oh I bet. It was really coming down hard after class let out. The parking lot by the bank was completely flooded.” Her mother went on. “Is your father here?”

“I haven’t seen him.” Rui lied.

“Well… if he’s not here, let’s just enjoy our dinner.”

Rui agreed as they both dug in, leaving just enough leftovers for if her father came back, but that prospect hung over Rui without ever really materializing. She and her mother chatted, but things were awkward as Rui tried to navigate the emotions of her now very different life.

What if this app really did work? What if they never saw dad again.

It excited her, having mom all back to herself again. Being taken care of like when she was young, before their family fell apart.

Rui still thought about it while helping her mom clean the dishes and put away the leftovers. But her mind kept flashing to everything she could do to change her life. To make her mom better off than being a college dropout, to make their lives better and their bond happier.

She couldn’t help herself.

She excused herself after they were finished cleaning and ran up to get her phone back. When she did, shd opened her version of the hypnosis app.