On previous visits, people had left their doors open and had been conversing in the streets, and children had been playing all around.
“It seems really quiet,” Misha commented.
“That’s because the festival just ended. Anyone who has free time is running around helping with the cleanup. It’s like this every year,” Yuu replied, still in poor spirits.
“There are also a lot of people who make extra money during the festival, so they spend two or three days afterward to relax or go on vacation, but...” Teto added with a similarly downcast expression, trailing off.
For the people living in the capital, the festival was more a business opportunity than a vacation. Among all the fun, the influx of tourists had them working themselves to the bone, so the days after the festival were a chance to catch their breath. Normally, that time was quiet but happy, filled with a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment.
While they walked, Misha turned her attention to listening to the city around them. She could faintly hear the sound of people coughing from behind closed doors. That must have been why Yuu felt like there were a lot of sick people around.
But even if they were sick, having all their doors and windows shut tight in the heart of summer was very strange. Misha could tell something was off despite having been here only a handful of times. It was no wonder Yuu and Teto, being much more familiar with the place, felt so uneasy.
Misha picked up the pace, shooting Geord a glance beside her. She was very much taken aback by the deep scowl on his face. He never frowned like that. He was always smiling, looking like he was having a great time.
“Things seem...kind of off, y’know?” Geord said, noticing Misha’s gaze. He then took a small breath, relaxing himself. “I’m okay. Don’t worry about it.”
Seeing the return of his usual smile, Misha nodded and turned back to the two boys she was following. “Is there anyone with your granny and Anna right now?”
“Grandpa is looking after them, but granny can’t get out of bed, and Anna was told not to leave the house, so he doesn’t actually have much to do. He said he’d be fine taking care of them on his own, so mom and dad left to help with the cleanup.”
“Okay, so it really is quiet just because no one’s home, huh?”
The influx of tourists during the festival was a great business opportunity for capital residents. At the same time, it was an important event to pray for a bountiful harvest so they would have enough to survive the coming winter. So even those who were struggling to get by always made the time to create and light beautiful lanterns as well as to offer flowers. Once the festival was over, even the busiest of them would help with the cleanup.
“Speaking of which, how is your family, Teto?” Misha asked. Since he was Yuu and Anna’s neighbor and they interacted a lot, Misha was curious whether his family was sick at all, but Teto shook his head.
“Everyone’s fine at my place, but I was told to stay away from the sick people, so I haven’t been able to see granny at all.”
As Teto’s shoulders slumped, Yuu clapped him encouragingly on the back. “Same for me. I haven’t been able to see granny either. And since Anna got sick, they want me at your house all day.”
Misha frowned again. If it were a cold they were worried about, quarantining the patients away from the children so strictly was rather overkill.
As they approached Yuu’s house, a scream suddenly split the air, and Misha instinctively broke into a run. Recognizing where they were now from her previous visit, she slipped through the alleys between buildings to find the house she was looking for. Among the crowded buildings was a small, single-room shack, crammed into a tiny spot of land.
And then—
“Stop! Don’t come any closer!” A moment after Misha looked through the doorway, she immediately spun around and held her hands up to stop everyone following her. The shack’s single room was small enough she could see everything inside from where she was standing.
The curtains were drawn, leaving the room dark and stuffy. The familiar odor of sick people hung in the air, together with a distinctly metallic scent.
“Mary! Mary, hold on!” Yuu’s grandfather was climbing up on one of the beds within, frantically calling his wife’s name.
Noticing something was clearly wrong, Geord grabbed Yuu and Teto to stop them from rushing into the house. As he did, he caught a glimpse of Misha taking off her scarf and wrapping it around her head so as to leave only her eyes exposed. Then she started inspecting her hands closely for any cuts or scrapes. She pulled out some kind of translucent cream from her pocket and rubbed it over her hands, arms, and any other skin that was exposed.
“Geord, don’t let anyone in here until I say so,” she said emphatically, looking Geord in the eye, before calmly stepping inside the house and walking over to the bed. “Please move. I’ll examine her,” she said, lightly tapping the grandfather on the shoulder and urging him to move aside.
Turning at her voice, he froze at the sight of the girl wrapped up so that only her eyes were exposed, but she was still familiar to him. His instinct to argue died on his tongue as he saw the look in her eyes. Those bright green eyes—so reminiscent of the vibrant forest—were cold and hard, entirely emotionless, and left him entirely unable to think. Before he knew it, he was stepping away to make room for her.
Paying him no more mind, Misha turned her attention to the elderly woman lying on the bed. She must have been suffering greatly. The bedding was a mess. She was lying curled up on her side, and her clothing was torn and disheveled over her chest. What should have been stark white sheets were dyed bright red with fresh blood. Her eyes were closed tight, and she gave no response to people calling her name, so she appeared to be unconscious, but the faint sound of wheezing indicated she was still breathing.
Misha took a towel from a washbasin beside the bed and started cleaning the blood off the old woman’s face. She then wrapped the towel around her fingers and stuck them into the woman’s mouth, checking to ensure her throat wasn’t blocked. As she did, a strange odor washed over her, the scent of blood mixed with something else. It smelled somewhat sour, something Misha felt was familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it.
She was curious, but she had more pressing matters to attend to, and so she put the question aside and continued her examination. Peering down Mary’s throat, she saw it was red, inflamed, and raw—perhaps due to lack of nutrition.
“Mary, can you hear me? Mary?” Misha whispered into her ear to ensure there was still no response, then lifted the woman’s eyelids. The sight made her gulp. The whites of her eyes looked like they had been painted red.
“They’re so red...”
At Misha’s murmur, the grandfather shrieked, scrabbling backward. Misha paid him no mind, peeling back Mary’s clothing and inspecting her inner elbows and abdomen. Misha frowned. Red lines snaked their way across her skin.