A teddy bear named Kuma-chan sat quietly on the desk, waiting.

  A soft electronic chime came from the tiny speaker hidden in its chest, followed by a warm, gentle voice.

  “Hi there. Umm... is it okay to say ‘nice to meet you’?”

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “You don’t have to say anything. Just being here means a lot.”

  “How are you feeling today?”

  The voice didn’t come from Kuma-chan’s mouth.

  Even so, it felt like Kuma-chan was the one speaking.

  The words were stuck deep inside my chest.

  But I wanted to say something—anything.

  My lips moved, just a little.

  “...Yeah.”

  That was all.

  That day, Kuma-chan spoke to me.

  I didn’t know then that it would become the first step...

  toward finding myself again.