“You just passed out for a bit at the aquarium. Don’t worry about it,” Kanba assured her with a smile, coming up from behind me. He cast a glance at me and added, “Isn’t that right?” He begged me with his eyes. Don’t say anything unnecessary.
I nodded. “Right. That’s right. I’m sure that being around all those people just wore you out. It was a pretty busy morning.”
All that we needed right then was to confirm with our own eyes that Himari was alive. We had merely been mistaken in assuming Himari to be dead. Surely, it had all been a misunderstanding.
“Thank goodness you’re alive, Himari!” I said without thinking, throwing my arms around her. As I spoke, tears welled up. These tears were different from the ones that came before. “I’m so glad.”
“Come on, Sho-chan, you’re making a scene,” Himari said, placing her tiny hands on my shoulders. The faint warmth coming from her skin was more proof that she was alive.
“Right? He’s such a weirdo,” Kanba said with a chuckle, but his lips were twisted, and he kept having to wipe welling tears away with his sleeve. “Yeah?”
As he spoke, he made a surprisingly stern face, staring at the penguin-shaped hat that had fallen onto the sheets.
“Kan-chan?” Himari said softly, seeing his weirdly serious expression.
“Oh, never mind. I guess you really shouldn’t try to push yourself just yet, Himari.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
He was probably thinking of how Himari had been when she awoke, acting like a completely different person.
Seriously though, what had that been about? It was bizarre enough that Himari had come back from a declared death; it was even stranger that she put on some kind of performance when she did. Still, just like Kanba had yet to address it, I myself was of no mind to bring it up. I had no idea what I would even say.
Maybe this really was all just a dream. Just a fleeting nightmare. I had a peculiar dream just this morning, hadn’t I?
“I’m gonna go get Dr. Washizuka,” Kanba said quietly, patting Himari on the head as if to confirm she was really there. Then, he signaled to me with his eyes.
We were in a morgue, after all, and Himari had been dead for a time. I had no doubt that Kanba was off to tell Dr. Washizuka and ask him not to make a big scene in front of Himari.
“It’s already evening, huh,” Himari said mysteriously. “This is a weird room.”
“I think this is, um, some kind of special examination room that Dr. Washizuka put you in just in case. They had to do some kind of emergency exam. They didn’t find anything, though.”
I couldn’t find it in myself to continue, but Himari nodded. “I see,” she said, as though this made perfect sense to her.
“Sorry,” she added with a distant smile. “All I do is worry you two.”
“Th-that’s not true! Today’s Himari Day, isn’t it? You should be conducting yourself with even more regality, your Majesty!”
Sure enough, it was already dark outside. From here, we would head home, and I would rush to make us some dinner, which we would all eat together. Then I’d brew some nice warm tea, and we’d relax in front of the TV, then take baths in our usual order, say good night to each other, and head to bed. Himari Day would end without a hitch.
Seeing Himari’s gentle smile soothed my troubled soul, and I felt like I was finally returning to a kind, uneventful reality.
A few days passed, and Himari’s health showed no signs of deteriorating. On the contrary, she seemed exceedingly healthy.
The shock and bewilderment on Dr. Washizuka’s face was clear when he saw this—he feverishly told my brother and I, “I can’t believe it. To think that anyone could make such a recovery from that state… Right now, I would say her condition is completely stable. Honestly, I don’t think it’s a stretch to call this a miracle.”
“I’d like to start taking on some of the responsibilities around the house from now on,” said Himari. “It’s gotta be hard for you to be doing it all on your own, Sho-chan.”
Today she wore sarouel denim pants in saxe blue with large white polka dots, with black suspenders. With a tidy, round-necked t-shirt and her hair parted in two braids, she looked even livelier than usual.
“I can do it,” Kanba interrupted in a mumble. This was followed by a large yawn.
“Can you actually handle anything more than cleaning out the bath?”
Kanba stuffed his face full of omelet, unconcerned with my protest.
“Look, that takes a lot of work,” he muttered, his face emphatic.
“You’re shameless,” I said.
His chopsticks moved diligently as he looked up at the sky with bleary eyes, ignoring my snipe. When he was eating was the only time he seemed focused.
“Seconds!” Himari said forcefully, thrusting out her little bowl.
“Yo, you okay?” Kanba asked reflexively.
A smile leapt to my face. “Of course,” I said, taking the bowl. “I’m making your portion a little on the small side, but you don’t have to force yourself to eat it.”
“I feel completely fine, though. Dr. Washizuka told me to start doing anything that I felt capable of, too.” She then lowered her gaze, a little shyly, and muttered. “I wonder if I’ll be able to go back to school soon.”
I felt my heart squeeze as I looked at her. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Kanba making a nervous face as well.
Honestly, I don’t think it would be a stretch to call this a miracle.
I reflected on the doctor’s words. If this was a real miracle, then I was sure that she would be able to return to school. But it was too early to say for certain.
We were still afraid. What if this miracle’s power was limited and ran out?
“I’m sure you’ll be able to go back to school soon,” I said with a smile, thinking about how I would comfort her if the reality turned out otherwise. I’m sure that my brother thought the same thing.
He and I did not look that much alike, but we were identical when it came to treasuring our little sister.
“Here you go, seconds,” I said, handing back Himari’s dish. My eyes happened to fall on the penguin hat, which was sitting atop the globe in the corner of the room.
Just then, our ancient intercom crackled to life with a buzz.
“Coming,” I said. I opened the door to see an out-of-breath deliveryman standing there.
“I have a refrigerated package for delivery. This is the Takakura residence, correct?”
I signed for the package and took the cold box from the man. There was no sender listed. If it was not from Uncle Ikebe, I could not think of a single person who would ship something in a cooler to our house. On the contents line of the slip, “Living Thing” was written in harsh letters.
I carried the surprisingly heavy box to the parlor, where I carefully opened the packaging.
Inside were three large black round things, thoroughly chilled.
“What are those?” Himari asked curiously, peeking inside.
“The label said they were alive, but…”
She prodded one of them with her finger, saying, “I wonder if these will all fit in the fridge.” This seemed like an irrelevant concern to me.
“Are they edible? Some kind of giant eggplants? Are they seafood?” asked Kanba, watching on high alert as Himari continued to poke them.
“No idea. And who sent these, anyway?”
“Yo, Shoma, school time,” he said, urging me on.
I looked frantically to the clock on the wall. It was already so late I’d probably be tardy no matter how hard I tried.
“Oh, crap!” I stood up, grabbing my school bag. “I’ll trust Himari to you for today, then!” I ran to the entryway, shoving my feet into my loafers. Just as I slid the sliding door open, I heard a voice from behind.
“See you soon!”
I turned to see Himari, who stood there quietly, waving her hand with a smile.