The Distance from Tracen to the Swing

Dense woods surrounded her, mottled specks of light filtering through the branches and leaves. In the distance, she could vaguely make out the familiar outlines of amusement facilities.

She stood there in a daze for quite a while before her chaotic thoughts gradually settled, allowing her to realize where she had run to.

"----?"

Somewhat bewildered, she looked around to either side, then blinked her sweat-dampened eyes and finally confirmed her surroundings.

"----Isn't this," she murmured, her voice still carrying the slight panting from her run and a trace of a sob, "the park I used to come to play at all the time when I was little?"

She stared blankly at the scene before her.

It was a small but fully equipped neighborhood park.

Brightly colored plastic slides and swings stood quietly beside the sandbox. The paint on the climbing frame was somewhat chipped, yet that only added a few more traces of time.

Several winding gravel paths led deeper beneath the shade of trees and toward benches. In the center lay a small, carefully trimmed lawn, now glowing with a gentle green beneath the afternoon sun.

Everything was not too different from how she remembered it from her childhood.

The wind passed through the woods, bringing a soft rustling sound and lightly stirring the sweat-dampened hair on her forehead.

Then, she suddenly realized something.

Wait----

This place----this park was right beside the elementary school she had attended.

And that elementary school----

She instinctively raised her head and looked toward the even more familiar outline of the street beyond the park, then turned toward the direction she had come from—an endless road and a cluster of buildings so distant their outlines were nearly impossible to make out.

Where was Central Treisen Academy----?

A clear realization, carrying a hint of