Before I Count To Three by @nashipo

Reviewed and recommended by W.

"When will I be able to meet you again, Onee-chan?"

The point where the theme of family and reality intersects with what humanity has difficulty to identify: is it all a dream? Is it real? For everything seems to touch the impossible. A story of family bonds, friendship and slice of life: Before I Count To Three is a CPN by nashipo, a well-known author and a veteran in the CPN community.

A narration about real life, and where fantasy breaks in at the same time, leaving questions and curiosity behind. The author leaves the main voice to the 1st POV of their protagonist,  Minato, a teenager who is presented to the readers as she returns home, a home where no one is there to wait for her, to tell her "welcome back!", until... her past is revealed. She never met her mother, her father passed away in a car accident and her sister, Minami (and core of the story), is mysteriously disappeared: nothing, apart from a message, seems to allude about the real reason she "abandoned" her home, her only family being Minato. The protagonist's friend, Miyuki, is there, described as the comfort softening her days full of solitude.

A delicate plot, chapters overflowing with simple, easy-to-read sentences, yet rich in solid descriptions of details, where the quality of beauty and intensity of emotion reaches the top of poetry at its purest form. More than 40 chapters enrich this CPN, which is still on-going, capable to let the readers dive in curiosity about the destiny of both Minato and her sister.

Many questions will find an answer with the progressing of the story, as the author updates frequently. This is a story truly recommended to read, not only for its fabulous narration, but also for inspiring authors in learning even more how to write and enjoy the reading of a poetic cell-phone novel. Without a doubt, a must read.