Chapter 8

CHAPTER THREE Morning came again. Asuna’s day always began with eating breakfast and fixing her lunch of rolled omelets, sausages, spinach, and fish left over from the previous evening. While Asuna was putting it all together as usual, she heard a car outside. Her mother was home from her night shift. “Welcome back, Mom!” Happily, she called out as soon as the door opened. Her mother came to the kitchen. “Hi, Asuna. What’s this? Two lunches?” Asuna’s heart skipped a beat. She couldn’t possibly tell her she was making the second one for a boy. “Uh-huh. One’s for my friend.” Speaking as casually as she could manage, Asuna put the lids on the lunchboxes. She didn’t want her mother to notice she’d put just a little extra effort into them. “You’re going to have breakfast, right, Mom? It’s all ready.” “Thank you, Asuna.” “Maybe we can eat together…” Asuna loved eating with her mother. Nothing was lonelier than eating alone. When she was with someone else, her food seemed twice as good—although that might have been because she’d been raised by a single parent. However, her mother said, “You’ve already eaten, haven’t you?” She sounded a bit surprised. That was true; Asuna had already had breakfast. However, she didn’t back down right away. “I could handle one more bowl. I’m still a little hungry.” She just wanted to sit at the table with her mother. And yet… Her mother glanced at the clock, then turned back to Asuna. “No, honey. Leave for school, so you won’t be late.” With that, she started for the living room, taking off her jacket as she went. “……” It wouldn’t do to be late for school, of course, but Asuna had been planning to allow enough time. Her mother could have let them eat together, at least. Mom probably hadn’t seen that she was pouting, but Asuna heard her voice from the living room. “Asuna.” “?” What could it be? Whatever it was, she was happy her mother was talking to her. She waited for the next words, and although she’d let her hopes rise a little, what she heard was more than she ever dreamed. “Would you like to go out to eat tonight? I have the day off.” “Do you mean it?!” How long had it been since they had gone out to eat together? Asuna thought back, but it was so long ago that she couldn’t remember. “In that case, I’ll be home by six!” “Hmm? By six? That’s a bit late, isn’t it? Where are you going?” Her mother’s questions were reasonable. But if Asuna said she was going to meet a boy, Mom might worry, or she might tease her about it. She wanted to avoid both. “To see a friend!” Asuna grabbed her backpack and headed for the front door. “Okay, I’m leaving!” Her mother had come out to see her off, and it only took her one glance to notice. “Asuna, where’s your scarf?” “Um.” She couldn’t tell her the truth. “I lost it! I’ll buy one at the co-op!” With that, Asuna stamped her feet into her shoes. “Have a nice day.” With her mother’s voice behind her, she flew through the front door. That day, dark clouds covered the sky, and by afternoon, it was raining hard. Still, Asuna headed for the outcrop to meet Shun. He wasn’t there. Feeling a trace of loneliness, Asuna went under the trees, taking shelter from the rain, and waited for him. After all, he might show up later. We did say we’d see each other today. So Asuna kept waiting. Maybe it’s because of the rain… What if he’d decided he didn’t like her? What would she do then? Had she said something weird yesterday and unknowingly upset him? What if he didn’t even want to see her? She shook her head to dispel those dark thoughts. Asuna stayed until she absolutely had to leave—after all, she’d promised to go home for dinner—but Shun never came. Her disappointment felt rather like her sodden, heavy clothes. She trudged home, opened the front door, and called into the house. “I’m home. Mom, can you get me a towel?” Her mother appeared with a bath towel, looking rather tense. Huh? Did something happen? Asuna wondered. “Didn’t you take an umbrella?” “No.” She shook her head, and her mother began drying her hair with the towel. “Wait, I can do it myself!” What kind of sixth grader lets someone else dry her head?! But her mother kept ruffling her hair with the towel, and then— Out of nowhere, she hugged Asuna to her. “Huh? Wha—? Mom, what’s wrong?” “Asuna, listen, and stay calm.” Sensing something serious, Asuna swallowed hard. “…Okay.” The gravity in her mother’s voice was enough to give Asuna a bad feeling. Slowly, as if giving a simple explanation to a young child, she said, “A boy was found on the dry riverbed below that outcrop you like to visit. He had your scarf wrapped around his arm. Asuna…he was dead.” “______” Asuna couldn’t absorb what she’d just heard. There was a pause. I have to tell her she’s wrong, she thought. Shun, dead? Unbelievable. “It wasn’t him. I mean, he wouldn’t fall.” “…Asuna.” “It’s fine. It’s not him. Don’t worry.” All she could do was say the words in a rush to stave off the anxiety. “Oh, it’s raining, so could we maybe go out to eat some other time? I’ll go do my homework.” With that, Asuna ran toward her room. “Asuna…,” her mother said behind her. “Really, it’s okay.” Asuna went up the stairs… …and gazed out the window. The rain was falling steadily down. Mount Obuchi, Asuna’s favorite place, was dark and indistinct. “……” She couldn’t possibly believe that Shun was dead.