A fall day, 2:00 PM.

Dong— Dong—

The sound, starting from the old bell tower at the top of the main building, flowed over the roofs of the red brick structures and spread far beyond the dense pine forest surrounding Dream Psychiatric Hospital. The afternoon sunlight was illuminating the long corridors of the ward. In the hallway, where a faint scent of disinfectant lingered, nurses were calling out the patients' names one by one. It was the list of patients who wished to go for a walk today.

The patients in this ward are diverse. From white-haired elderly people with wrinkled skin to young children who look like they should still be running around at school. Every single one of them has a face that makes you wonder how they ended up in a psychiatric hospital.

When the last patient was finally called, the heavy iron door opened with a clack.

Following the nurse's guidance, they began to enter the central garden one by one, like a well-trained line of ants. There were quite a few of them today. Perhaps it was because the weather had cleared up for autumn.

Some had indifferent faces as usual, while others hurried their steps as if this was the outing they had been waiting for all along.

A bench located in the corner.

It's a place where one can never escape the nurse's gaze, but can still rest away from the eyes of other patients. Since there are no windows in the psychiatric ward—I should enjoy this break time while breathing in the fresh air, even if only for a moment.

Guest stopped walking. Someone was already sitting on their bench.

It's a woman with a small frame and striking red hair.