Chapter 23

I honestly hadn’t seen that coming. This whole affair had been nuts, though, so maybe this twisted outcome was the most fitting, all things considered. I guess I should be happy since it’d brought about the result I’d been hoping for. The summer passed, and the cicadas disappeared, but a summery smell still lingered in our small apartment—the scent of Umi Mizuike. It had become so settled in my room that at times I didn’t even register it. I was becoming desensitized, which made me a little sad. That aside, time seemed to flow differently in the mornings. There never seemed to be enough of it, as if I’d sliced the available amount of time too thinly, carelessly discarding the bits I’d cut off. But although I was busy in the morning, another creature in my room still had her face pressed against her pillow, hair spread around. As I’d learned, Umi didn’t get up on weekday mornings unless someone made her. “Wake up,” I said, shaking her shoulder. No longer was she the vigilant, evasive creature she’d been when I’d first met her. Now I could shake her delicate body and she’d just mutter sleepily, not bothering to open her eyes. Maybe that’s how it was having a younger sister. Not only had she stopped being wary of me, she’d become perfectly habituated. Better to think more about that later in the classroom, when I had the time. “Okay, then.” Unable to wake her up normally, I grabbed her by the ankles and dragged her out of the room, still wrapped in the blanket. The blanket got pulled off when it caught on the doorway, and Umi’s head landed on the living room floor awkwardly, jaw first. “Nguh!” “Oh, sorry.” I hadn’t been trying to hurt her, but at least she was awake now. She pressed her hands to her jaw and rolled over before trying to get up, bent backward with her feet and head against the floor. As if there were no easier way to get up. Then she propped herself up with her hands, inadvertently trapping her long hair underneath her. As a result, she lost her balance and fell back down. “Owww!” She hurriedly took her hands off her hair, rolling to the side in another quick burst of motion. She clutched her head, which hurt from pulling her own hair, and finally rolled into a sitting position. “That was your own fault,” I told her. “Maybe it’s time I cut it…” She ran her fingers through her hair, which was looking even more unruly than usual since she’d been lying on the bed. “Morning,” I said. “Mornin’…,” Umi replied weakly. She looked up at me groggily. “What? Sorry about your chin, but that was an accident.” “Can you cut my hair?” “Who, me?” “It gets in the way.” She brushed her hair off her shoulders. “I only want it shorter. No need to go to a salon for that. You can do it just as well.” “No, I totally can’t. It’s going to be a mess. Hairdressers actually know what they’re doing.” “Really?” Somehow, she didn’t seem to believe me. I swear, living with this girl meant teaching her about everything. On the other hand, I was learning a lot from her, too. Never a dull moment with her around. “We can talk on the way to school.” Instead of showing her the time, I stomped my feet to convey the urgency. I extended my hand to help her stand up. Umi looked from my combed hair to my clothes, finally stopping her gaze at my fingers. “Okay.” She took my hand compliantly and lightly jumped to her feet. As she stood next to me, her scent wafted up past my shoulders. I couldn’t describe it. It wasn’t exactly flowery. What was it? Umi turned on her heel like a dancer, let go of my hand, and scuttled away. A slight feeling of loss crept into my heart when she took her hand away. As I watched her busily running around getting ready, other feelings began to rise in my chest. I closed my fist, as if I could hold on to the sensation of Umi’s hand. I never would have guessed things would turn out this way. It was a dream, something unimaginable that couldn’t have happened. Something that wouldn’t have happened even if it were imaginable. An impossibility.