The day after I slept over at Mom’s house, I didn’t feel like going home, so I invited Shiori to hang out. We met at a park near our junior high, and then we started discussing what to do like it was any other day. If her mom had talked to her about marrying my dad, she was hiding it flawlessly behind her usual smile.
“Listen, Koyomi-kun, there’s somewhere I want to go today.”
That was uncommon. Usually, I was the one who suggested where to go based on recommendations from friends or researchers at the lab.
“Where’s that?”
“Tanoura Beach,” she said. “Ever been?”
“Oh yeah, by the aquarium? I think I went there once a long time ago.”
It was about thirty minutes away by bike, but since we’d be traveling along the highway, the road would be wide and paved—perfect for a little recreational cycling. Plus, the beach was the ultimate classic summertime destination.
“That’s where I want to go.”
“Cool, but we’ll need to go home and get our swimsuits.”
“No, we don’t need to swim. I just want to go there and talk.”
It felt like a missed opportunity to me, since we’d be right there at the beach…but on second thought, maybe it’d be awkward to go swimming with a girl in a one-on-one setting. And so the two of us hopped onto our bikes and set off.
With the ocean in view, we traveled north along National Route 10 for thirty minutes until we could see a seaside park coming up on our right-hand side. Tanoura Beach. There was no entry fee, so it was a great place for kids to hang out unsupervised. We parked our bikes in the parking lot and started walking along the promenade.
Summer vacation was still going strong, yet somehow the place wasn’t as packed as I expected. Maybe it was because all the major summer holidays were over by now. Still, there were tons of people swimming in the ocean, and given how sweaty I was, I was dying to dive in with them. Fighting the urge as I walked, I soon caught sight of a boat-shaped playground fixture out on the sand, with little kids swarming it like ants.
“Ever gone in there, Koyomi-kun?”
“Just once.”
“What’s it like inside?”
“Uhhh… I was pretty little, so I don’t remember.”
“Darn. I wish I could go in there.”
“Just go for it!”
“I can’t barge in on all those little kids!” she said. But the look in her eyes told me she’d kill to do just that. The only problem was, it’d be awkward to join in with kids half our age…
Wait, why am I getting déjà vu?
What made Tanoura Beach special was the pier leading out across the water to a tiny man-made island called Tanoura Isle. If you followed the little path around the isle, you’d see palm trees and people reclining on the grass in their swimsuits like you’d been transported to a tropical resort. Looking out across the ocean would give you a glimpse of industrial buildings in one direction and the famous monkey park in the other… Point being, this place had a lot to offer.
Shiori slowed to a stop and turned toward the ocean. “Gorgeous, huh?”
She gazed out straight north, where the entire view was nothing but blue sky and blue ocean—so blue, it felt like it was going to suck me in. If the guardrail wasn’t there, I swear I might have unconsciously taken a step forward and plunged straight into the sea.
“Wanna have a seat somewhere?” I asked her. There were benches on this side of the isle, and I could see an empty one right under the shade of a palm tree. But when I suggested it…
“No, let’s talk over there.”
She pointed to a roofed rest area hanging over the grass. A small bell hung over the wide entrance, like a chapel…and incidentally, it was the exact spot I had been hoping to avoid.
The last time I came here, I was with my parents. My mom pretended to hold a wedding right in that very spot. That was before they decided to get divorced. Now, with the topic of remarriage hanging over me, I would have preferred to steer clear of anywhere that brought weddings to mind.
But Shiori wanted to come here today, and as far as I knew, she had the same conversation with her mom that I had with my dad. She clearly wanted to talk about it.
“Okay, sure,” I conceded, and the two of us stepped into the fake chapel.
Honestly, the only thing “chapel-like” about this place was the entrance on the south side. The other sides didn’t even have walls. But when you sat down on one of the wooden pews, you could almost trick yourself into thinking you walked into a church.
Shiori sat beside me, and for a while, she didn’t speak or move a muscle. But just as I started to worry that maybe I needed to initiate the conversation, she finally broke the silence.
“Did you hear?”
“…Yeah.” No need to ask what she meant.
“Crazy, huh?”
“Totally. Like, yeah, I saw ’em together at the lab a lot, but I figured it was for work.”
“Your dad is the vice-director, after all,” she remarked.
“What? He is?”
“You didn’t know?”
“No! I mean, I knew he was somebody important, but…” I trailed off.
“Well, did you know they went to college together?”
“Yeah, he told me they set up the lab together.”
“You think maybe they were dating at the time?”
“No, Dad was already dating my mom in college.”
“What, really?” Shiori asked.
“Yeah. Last night, Mom was telling me the story of how they met when they were both at school. Supposedly, she was the one who asked him out.”
“So the three of them all went to college together?”
“No, no, Mom went to a different school.” I said. “Apparently, she met your mom through my dad. She said whenever they hung out as a trio, the other two would always get into these super complex conversations and leave her hanging.”
“…How does she feel about him getting remarried?”
“She said she saw it coming.”
“Oh.” Shiori fell silent at that.
I didn’t know what went on between Mom, Dad, and the director, or the details of how they all felt about each other. I never asked, and I wasn’t planning to—it was none of my business. I only took issue with the part that affected me and Shiori.
“Koyomi-kun… How do you feel about my mom being your mom?”
“That part I don’t mind at all. Sure, she’s a little kooky, but she’s cool, and she’s always teaching me stuff. Oh, and she’s really pretty.”
“Um… Thank you, I guess?”
“What about you? Think you can accept my dad as your dad?” I asked.
“Yeah, I don’t mind either. Same as what you said—he’s weird but cool, and I’ve learned a lot from him.”
“Sounds like our parents have a lot in common.”
“Yeah. That must be why they’re compatible.”
The conversation petered out again. This wasn’t exactly what I wanted to talk about. I wanted to ask her how she felt about us being siblings, and I was pretty sure she wanted to know the same thing. However, I suspected neither of us were prepared to answer that question ourselves…and we were both afraid to find out what the other would say. Much as it shames me to admit, it was Shiori who found her courage first. Maybe a “real man” would have broached the topic first, but I just couldn’t do it.
“I, um… I kinda thought…”
I glanced at her face in profile. She was nearly expressionless, her eyes squinting out at the sea. But…behind the long strands of dark hair, her cheeks…
“I thought you and I would get married someday.”
As she said those words, her pale cheeks lit up scarlet. Instantly, my mind went blank. She slid her hands between her knees and hunched over, and I suspected the sweat on her face was from more than just the heat.
“But…siblings can’t get married, huh…” she squeaked out.
All the fears and feelings I had—she had them too? It wasn’t all in my head? She didn’t think of me as just a friend? She wasn’t fine with being my sister?
In that instant, every last worry went straight out the window.
“Shiori!” I grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her to face me.
“Huh…? Wha…?”
She gazed back at me with damp eyes, her cheeks still flushed pink. And so, without stopping to think, I hit her with the first words that rose to my mind.
“Let’s run away together!”