WILL: A Wonderful World Part #26 - So Far, Yet So Close

Part 26: So Far, Yet So Close

_{content warning: suicidal ideation/suicide attempt, drug abuse}

[BGM: Broken Dream 2]

Well, shit. We've basically gone from bad to worse here, and this puzzle's a bit more complex than the last few have been. That said, there's primarily two specific rules to keep in mind here- the pills can't change position besides swapping order (and have to stay on Alicia's side), and the pieces involving the slipper, rope, and pipe have to stay below the black piece with the doctor answering his phone (but can be on either side). This narrows down the number of possible combinations we have to work with, but we've still got quite a few outcomes for both women, so let's get started.

That said, there's significantly more outcomes for Alicia than there are for Li Wen, mostly because, uh, she's got a lot more going on on her side. Interestingly enough though, there's only one more 'Bad' ending for Alicia; the rest are E or higher. So let's go ahead and get that out of the way now, as well as getting another Bad ending for Li Wen.

[BGM: My Mexican Guitar Gently Weeps]

I wiggled my left hand out of the loosened rope and reached for the kit.
I grabbed the bottle closer to my left hand ------ the poison.
I twisted the cap off with my left hand and poured the entire bottle into my mouth.

Ah... it was so painful...
Then I lifted the pipe and smashed it down on my own head.

I could finally end this life in hell...
Carlos... I'm sorry... your Alicia can't take care of you anymore... goodbye forever, Carlos...

[BGM: Broken Dream 2]

I was so close to reaching the pipe on the other side!

I was hanging between the third and fourth floors.
The rope tightened around my waist. Thankfully it was strong enough to hold me.
I could still make it.

I held onto the rope for dear life.
I carefully untied the knot and landed on the balcony railings of the apartment below me.

[BGM: Silence]
But then my feet happened to slip out of my slippers...

Twenty minutes later the paramedics woke me up in the bushes just outside the first floor. Apparently, I had fainted after the fall.
I suffered only some mild injuries.
But Mr. Wen...

I watched helplessly as they carried him onto the ambulance. He looked like he was only taking a nap.
I suddenly had a feeling of deja vu of the day I lost my father.

No... No!

[BGM: Broken Dream 2]

Let's just move on.

So for the time being, let's, uh, not have poison before sleeping pills. This solution will also give us the last non-S ending for Li Wen, but it's basically the exact same as the ending we just got except she falls due to a loose rope instead of slipping- nothing else changes.

[BGM: My Mexican Guitar Gently Weeps]

Well, we're at least making progress, even if it's going against what Alicia might want here. And we're already at a C, at least. Let's get to the B ending next...

I wiggled my left hand out of the loosened rope and reached for the kit.
I grabbed the bottle closer to my left hand.

It was almost the size of half of my palm. I needed to hide it somewhere.

The doctor came back from his phone call. I was still lying on the bed all spread out, with my eyes closed.
But when he checked my forehead, I winced.
Seeing my strange reaction, he carefully examined his medicine kit again and noticed the missing bottle.

There was no other furniture in the room except the bed that I was lying in.
Soon, he found the bottle under my pillow.

Once he had the bottle back, he didn't seem to be interested in giving me a hard time for it.
It was as if nothing had happened.
My life in hell continued...

And now, the A ending. (Regallion's guess for Alicia results in this ending.)

I tried to reach for the kit, but the rope on my left hand was too tight.
Whenever I had gotten a chance to be alone I would try to wiggle my wrist to loosen up the rope a little.
They must have noticed that it had gotten loose after my seizure yesterday; they had tied it up again.

Damn it. I hadn't expected the opportunity to present itself so soon, and I was not prepared.
I was such a failure...

The doctor came back from his phone call. I was still lying on the bed all spread out with my eyes closed, mumbling quietly to myself.
Just as he had left me.

He felt my forehead with his hand, fiddled with the IV a bit, closed his kit and left.

I opened my eyes when I heard the door close.
And I wept.

Let's just... get to the S ending.

The pipe has to be on Li Wen's side both to give her something to grab onto but also to remove it from the equation for Alicia- thus also removing both the attempt to get the bottle with it but also reducing her suicidal ideation. In turn, we still need the rope to be loose on her side (for obvious reasons), but most importantly, the slipper, so she has a place to hide the bottle! (Regallion's guess for Li Wen results in her S ending.)

[BGM: Misterio]

I wiggled my left hand out of the loosened rope and reached for the kit.
I grabbed the bottle closer to my left hand ------ the sleeping pills.

It was almost the size of half of my palm. I needed to hide it somewhere.
I saw the slipper that I had dropped yesterday when I was having a seizure. It was close enough for me to reach it.

The doctor came back from his phone call. I was still lying on the bed all spread out and with my eyes closed, mumbling quietly to myself.
Just as he had left me.

He felt my forehead with his hand, fiddled with the IV a bit, closed his kit and left.

I opened my eyes when I heard the door close.
The bottle of sleeping pills was still safely hidden inside the slipper.

I know that as long as I do my best, my dream will come true.

[BGM: Broken Dream 2]

The wind was strong that night.
I held onto the pipe and climbed up to Mr. Wen's balcony.
Mr. Wen had fallen to the ground in his living room. I could barely feel his pulse and he wasn't breathing.

I immediately ran through everything I had learned about CPR in my head.
I put both of my hands together, placed them upon his chest and began pressing.
One,
two,
three...
I used as much strength as I could with every press. I just hoped that I wasn't too weak to save his life.

After 30 presses Mr. Wen showed no sign of waking up, and he was still not breathing.
I lifted his chin up and started doing mouth-to-mouth with him.
Two sets of mouth-to-mouth, followed by 30 presses on his chest. I kept repeating this routine.

Mr. Wen's forehead was covered in tiny drops of sweat. His wet hair was stuck to the corners of his eyes.
Why... won't you... wake up...

[BGM: Silence]
Time kept passing. It had been way over 5 minutes.
But I wouldn't stop.

Hope was like a flickering light on a single candle. I couldn't tell when it would suddenly go out.
My tears and sweat were mixing together and falling on Mr. Wen's shirt, drop after drop, making it wet.

[BGM: Green Fog]
A rough hand grabbed my wrist.
Mr. Wen's eyes slowly opened.
I didn't know why I cried.
I must have looked horrible, with my ugly crying face.

A few minutes later the paramedics finally arrived.
They asked what kind of first aid I had given him. I suddenly realized what I had just done, and I couldn't get a word out.
I just... did THAT with Mr. Wen, with our... mouths, didn't I?

The ambulance had taken Mr. Wen away. The paramedics told me to bring some necessities for his hospital stay.
I finally calmed down, and for the first time I had the chance to look around Mr. Wen's apartment.

There were all sorts of paintings hanging on the walls.

A small seaside town glowing in the sunset.
A golden wheat field stretching endlessly.
A rainbow crossing a valley through rosy clouds after the rain.
They were all masterpieces...

Weirdly though, according to the signatures most of them were from over 10 years ago.

A portrait of a woman attracted my attention.
The woman seemed to be in her early 20s. Her long black hair spread out on a soft white pillow.
Her sleeping face looked mesmerizing, even to me.

Was she Mr. Wen's wife?
I remembered when Rocky had asked whether Mr. Wen had a girlfriend on his first day.
He hadn't answered the question.
But why was he living alone then?

Right, right. I should be collecting necessities for Mr. Wen.
Speaking of which, what did one need for a hospital stay anyway?
Pajamas, underwear, toothbrush, toothpaste, towel, slippers, razor, facewash, napkins...'

I scoured the kitchen and the bathroom thoroughly. The only door left had to be the door to the bedroom.
I should be able to find a change of clothes in it.

I pushed the door open...
To my surprise, what was behind the door looked exactly like what had often appeared in my dreams.

It was a graveyard.
A graveyard of paintings.
Torn apart. Painted over. Pieces so small that they were completely unrecognizeable. The remains of various paintings nearly completely filled the room.
In a corner of the room some blankets lay on the floor, with some clothes folded on top of them.

Was this where Mr. Wen... usually spent the night?
The room made me feel nothing but sadness and utter despair.

They... were so much alike, Mr. Wen and he.

One note here- Alicia actually has two S endings that are identical except for one key difference- whether the bottle she manages to hide is sleeping pills or poison.

…

[BGM: New Life]

NEW MESSAGE: The Taste of the Early Summer

NEW MESSAGE: One-Armed Man

NEW MESSAGE: The Fury of the Cat

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WILL: A Wonderful World

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Part 26: So Far, Yet So Close