“Open your mouth.”
“It’s okay, nii-chan,” Akira would whisper. “It wasn’t real.” baku otouto
Not the gentle flame of a candle, but the roaring, sentient blaze of the Great Kanto Earthquake, of firebombs from a war long past, of a mouth that opened in the earth and swallowed cities whole. He would wake screaming, his pillow soaked with sweat, and Akira would sit beside him, small and useless. “Open your mouth
“Can you eat Haru’s dreams?” Akira asked. “Open your mouth.” “It’s okay