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BACK in her room, Lille considered what Leo had said.
“Please take good care of that room.” The desperate cadence of his voice had almost made it sound like he was begging her.
Given how tidy it was, and the lack of any signs that someone lived there, she supposed it wasn’t a room they normally used. However, if it was so important to Leo, he must have some sort of emotional attachment to it.
“Maybe it used to be his room, but now it’s the guest room…?” she mused with a finger to her chin. “Hmm… No, I think there’s more to it.”
He had spoken about it as though it were a cursed piece of treasure: something incredibly valuable, something he desperately wanted to touch—yet couldn’t. Since Leo didn’t talk about himself very often, Lille was largely ignorant about his personal life. Even so, if she asked him, it was extremely unlikely he’d tell her anything.
“…Oops!”
Caught up in her own thoughts, she had snapped the nib of the quill she was using to write notes. In search of a replacement, she opened the desk drawer.
The drawer was utterly bare, not a quill in sight. Casually, she moved to shut it again, but then sensed something off, her hands freezing in place.
She felt a faint warmth emanating from the bottom of the drawer.
She reached further inside, running her hand over the wooden surface. Suddenly, the drawer’s bottom popped out, and she worried for an instant that she’d broken it. She could feel another layer of wood underneath, however, which indicated the bottom was removable by design.
“What could this be…?” Lille blinked curiously, peering into the drawer. Hidden between two panels was a single book—or, more precisely—a notebook. She couldn’t be sure, though, just looking at the cover. To go to such lengths to conceal the book, its owner likely hadn’t wanted anyone else to find it. Perhaps a past guest had stored it there.
She knew she shouldn’t read it, but couldn’t suppress the excitement and curiosity bubbling within her. With cautious fingers, she opened it to the first page.
Lines of neat handwriting filled her field of vision. Slowly, she read what they said, her eyes so transfixed by the words that she even forgot to blink.
“Today I found out I caught the plague. I might die soon. But even if I’m gone, I know my little brother Leo will stay strong.”
It was a diary. And it probably belonged to Leo’s older sister.
Lille swiftly closed the book with shaking hands, knowing it wasn’t appropriate for her to see something so private. Her heart was still pounding even after she put the diary back in the drawer, exactly as she’d found it.
The fact that Leo had an older sister was new information to Lille. The additional fact that Lille hadn’t met her earlier that day probably meant that she was already…
All of a sudden, she realized what Leo meant when he said “Please take care of that room,” and tears blurred her vision. This room had once belonged to his older sister.
Does Leo know about this diary? Does any of his family? No—if they did, they wouldn’t bother to hide it in such an obscure place.
She didn’t have the right to read any more, but if it was full of heartfelt messages about Leo, Lille had an idea of why she had written it in the first place.
When a knock at the door resounded through the silent room, Lille jumped out of her skin. She felt as though she’d been caught doing something she wasn’t supposed to.
“Mom says to come down. Dinner’s almost ready,” Leo called from the other side of the door.
“Okay! Thank you,” she replied. Hearing Leo’s voice, her heartbeat began to thrum even louder. Should she tell Leo? Or would it be better to tell his parents first?
✦ ✦ ✦
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“WHAT’S wrong, Lille? You’re squeezing that fork to death,” Leo’s mother said with upturned brows, concern clear in her tone. They were supposed to be eating dinner, but Lille kept zoning out, lost in thought about the diary.
“S-Sorry,” she apologized.
“Are you nervous because it’s your first time visiting someone else’s house?” Leo’s father asked gently. In truth, she felt terrible that she had read their daughter’s diary.
“It is her first day here, after all. But you’re staying for a while, aren’t you, Lille? She has plenty of time to open up a bit more.”
“Will you still be here tomorrow, Lille? Wanna play with me?” Leo’s little sister asked, her eyes shining with excitement. Her mouth, on the other hand, was stained orange with tomato sauce.
“Of course! We can play loads,” Lille promised.
“Yaaay! Let’s play with dolls!”
“You have more than one doll? Wow! I can’t wait to see them,” she said, smiling. Lille only knew how children had played ten years ago, so Leo’s little sister was more knowledgeable in that respect. In fact, it was more likely she would end up playing with Lille, rather than Lille playing with her.
“Yeah! My big sister had one ages ago, so now I have two!”
“Huh? Your big sister…?”
Leo’s mother looked over at them with wide eyes. His father was trying his absolute hardest not to let any emotion show on his face whatsoever. Leo was…
Lille was too scared to even look at him.
“So, you have enough dolls to share with Lille, don’t you?” Leo’s mother changed the subject, her throat tight. His little sister simply grinned, oblivious to the change in atmosphere.
“Yup! I’ll let her borrow one.”
“Oh, okay… Thank you.” Lille smiled, feigning ignorance. The tension in the air finally dissipated. Either they didn’t want Lille to know about Leo’s sister, or they simply didn’t want to talk about her.
When she peeked at Leo out of the corner of her eye, she could see him hanging his head and biting down on his bottom lip until it turned white. He appeared to be in a great deal of pain, as if willing himself not to break.