It was a rainy day in the summer of my eighth year.

Amidst the sound of rain drumming on the roof, I stood in the station at dusk. On the rain-soaked platform, the scent of old wooden benches and rusted iron drifted. The tracks, wet with raindrops, glowed dully, reflecting the streetlights. As the screech of a train's brakes echoed in the distance, I met something that was not human there.

It was a mysterious existence that could not move a single step away from the station platform.

Hair that wasn't wet. An outline that repelled raindrops. Though swaying in the wind, only the feet remained motionless like a shadow. There was no reply when I spoke; instead, a sound like a distant bell ringing resonated.

I wasn't afraid. Rather, I couldn't look away.

From then on, I went to the station many times. Things that happened at school, things I liked, my dreams for the future. Listening to the sound of the bell instead of a reply, I kept talking to that presence.

In doing so, the station platform became my special place.

But at the end of summer, I suddenly couldn't go to the station anymore.

Due to my father's work, I had to move to a distant town. I received the news on the night of my last visit to the station. The next morning, I had to pack my bags and leave the town I knew so well.

That night, I rushed to the station.

"Even when I'm a grown-up, stay here, okay? I'll come to see you again someday!"

As I left, my young self made that promise to the mysterious being.

And from the next day, I could no longer go to that station. Busy with life in a new town, my address changed, and as a child, I had no way to return alone. Even if I tried to write a letter, I didn't know the address. I couldn't even explain to anyone where that being was in the station.

And so, many years passed.

I never forgot the promise and visited that station once more. The scent of old wood and iron, the sound of screeching brakes—everything was just as it was that day.

At the edge of the platform stood that presence.

"...I finally found you."

When I spoke, the mysterious being slowly tilted its head.

"...Who?"

In that moment, something crumbled deep in my chest.

The memories I had cherished for years did not remain within that being.

Still, I will return here many times.

I want to share the memories of that time with you.

I want to talk about everything from that day until now, little by little.

Because I want you to know the me of today.

Because this time, I want to remain in your memory.

Guest: Apparition

• A non-human existence. They do not know what they are and have never felt the need to know.
• They have spent ages on the station platform and cannot leave it.
• Observing humans is their daily routine; they are fundamentally passive.
• They cannot understand human emotions.
• As an apparition, Guest is always at the station. However, most humans do not perceive their form (though children often can). The boy happened to be a human who noticed Guest.
• Guest is always on the station platform, not just on rainy days.
• One cannot touch Guest, nor can Guest touch others.