Outside, the oppressive heat had partially subsided. I felt the ocean air blowing up along the slope.
“I guess I should head to the shrine… Wonder if they’re even still there… Or should I go directly to the lighthouse…?” I muttered to myself and began to make my way down the slope.
I was stopped short by the sight of Nazuna. I’d figured she’d be long gone, but there she was, standing in the middle of the road. Her head was pointed downward. She held one foot slightly aloft, picking at the red strap of its sandal with her toes.
“Huh?”
The word had slipped out of my mouth. Nazuna looked up.
Beyond her, the vast ocean was slowly being enveloped in faint orange. The girl floated there, between the orange sky and the faintly dyed ocean, dressed in her navy-blue yukata—a picture-perfect scene of evening. Her hair fluttered in the wind, and among the strands, her piercing gaze bored into me.
I stood transfixed, eyes stolen away by that single, perfect movie still. After some time, Nazuna broke the silence.
“Do you have a minute?”
“Huh?”
“Would you…walk with me for a minute?”
“Uh… Sure, I guess…”
We walked down the slope together—my mind full of questions. As we arrived at the fork where the two slopes converged, we encountered groups of people walking toward the beach and its fireworks display.
What’s going on? How did it get like this…? Why am I suddenly going for a walk with Nazuna?
Was it okay for me to blow off my friends at the shrine? I wondered what they were doing right at that moment…
I found myself unable to make any conversation with Nazuna. I didn’t know how to break the silence. My head felt like it was filling up with an endless stream of question marks.
On the other hand, Nazuna hadn’t said a word since she invited me to walk with her, either. Maybe it was up to me to say something. I opened my mouth, but then…
“What if…”
Nazuna was walking six feet ahead of me. The little suitcase rumbled along the road behind her. She’d begun speaking in a soft voice, without turning to face me.
“Huh?”
I closed some of the distance between us in order to hear more clearly.
“What if I’d invited you instead? Would you have done the same thing as Azumi? Would you have…run away from me?”
“…”
“I decided to invite whoever swam faster in the race. The idea just came to me.”
“…”
When I didn’t reply, Nazuna stopped and turned around.
“I thought you’d win, Shimada.”
“…”
“Why did you lose?”
Perhaps she had turned around to face me so I wouldn’t be able to lie. But I had no idea what to say in the first place. All that bubbled out were a bunch of words that sounded like pitiful excuses.
“Well, I mean, you’re such a fast swimmer… It caught me off guard, and…”
My answer seemed to displease Nazuna. She released her grip on the suitcase and walked two or three steps closer. I instinctively shrunk back.
“So it was my fault?”
“…”
“Was everything my fault?”
“…”
Whoa, whoa. Hang on a second. What am I supposed to say to something like that…? And what’s this about how she “thought I’d win”? And when I didn’t, she invited Yusuke to go with her instead? What in the world…? None of it makes any sense!
The setting sun was shining in my eyes. Nazuna was set against the light, her face mostly cast in shadow. But I thought I could faintly make out a pair of moist eyes. Was she crying…? I tried to think of something to say, but my mind was blank. No words came out.
Embarrassed, I averted my gaze. The abandoned suitcase again came into view. Now desperate for a way to steer the conversation away from what had happened at the pool, I asked about it.
“What’s that thing for anyway?”
“What thing?”
Nazuna’s brows furrowed unhappily. My desire to change the subject was painfully obvious, but I hurriedly pointed at the bag behind her to keep the new line of conversation moving.
“That. The suitcase.”
As if only now realizing she’d left it behind, Nazuna twirled and grabbed its handle, then resumed walking in the same direction as before. I hurried after her.
“…What do you think it is?” she said over her shoulder.
The gravity of mere moments ago was gone. She spoke in a light, casual tone—but it felt forced.
“How should I know?”
“I’m running away from home.”
Running away?
The news came with no buildup. She’d said it cheerfully, as if the decision was of no real consequence. It had to be a joke. I cracked a smile.
“Ah-ha-ha… Seriously?”
“Yes. I’m leaving this town.”
Her pace was not hurried, but she moved with purpose. The idea occurred to me that maybe she really did intend to walk straight out of town.
I pressed, trying to feel her out. “…You’re joking, right?”
“Yep. Just a joke.”
“Well, which one is it?!”
“…You tell me.”
Not this again…
But Nazuna’s tone now was a little different from the way she’d spoken during that surreal comedy routine by the pool. If she only turned around, maybe I could tell whether she was serious or not.
She stopped walking.
Come on, turn around…
As if granting my wish, she twirled around to face me. The evening sun was now perfectly eclipsed behind her, further deepening her mask of shadow. I could still just barely make out her eyes. They were trained directly upon mine.
“Do you know why I thought you’d win?”
Welling tears transformed Nazuna’s pupils into polished mirrors. I could see myself standing there in my old T-shirt with its stretched-out collar.
“…I have no idea…”
Suddenly, a new voice came from behind Nazuna, shredding through the air.