Chapter 149

Chapter 13 August 1 The remaining days of July passed without incident. Although, for me personally, it wasn’t entirely without incident. Two days after I finished moving, I suddenly came down with a high fever and sadly ended up confined to my bed. Auntie Sayuri was concerned enough to take me to the neighborhood clinic, but the diagnosis was an ordinary summer cold. I was told to take in plenty of fluids and to rest quietly, and I would soon recover. If this had happened before the end of the “calamity,” I’m sure I would have been terrified, no matter how confident the doctor seemed. One way or another, it was August before I had completely recovered my health. After I got better, the rest of my summer vacation days were rather tranquil. There had been two messages from Mei while I was laid up. The first was a call to my cell phone. I had been knocked out by fever, so I didn’t notice her call and didn’t pick up. She hadn’t left a message. Once I was finally able to get up, I looked at my call history, and I thought about calling her back. While I was debating it, I booted up my PC and saw that there was an e-mail waiting for me. It was dated July 30. It had been sent after the call to my cell phone. SOU, I HEARD YOU’RE IN BED WITH A COLD? DON’T PUSH YOURSELF—TAKE YOUR TIME AND REST. That was what the e-mail said. When she couldn’t get through on my cell phone, she had probably called the house phone and heard about my condition from Auntie Sayuri. There was another e-mail, with the following report. JUST LIKE EVERY YEAR, I’M GOING TO THE VACATION HOUSE IN HINAMI FOR A WHILE. I’M LEAVING TOMORROW. I DON’T REALLY FEEL LIKE GOING, BUT IT WOULD PROBABLY CAUSE A LOT OF TROUBLE IF I TRIED TO BACK OUT NOW… I MIGHT SEE TSUKIHO WHILE I’M THERE. BUT I WON’T TELL HER ANYTHING SHE DOESN’T NEED TO KNOW, SO IT’S ALL RIGHT. DON’T WORRY. 2 By early August, I had moved back into my normal room and mostly finished sorting my things. Then I started leading the life I had told Yagisawa I would, a life of reading. Whenever I ran out of books, I would, as was my habit, make my way to the public library at Daybreak Forest. I thought I would wait awhile before taking advantage of Souta’s offer to borrow books from his room at the Freuden Tobii. It was around this time that I fell into a regular schedule, something that hadn’t been possible through July. I woke up early, and after finishing breakfast, I went to the bank of the Yomiyama River and spent several hours there. I resumed this habit, which I hadn’t really enjoyed since the incident with Shunsuke in June. It was the height of summer. Even in the early morning, the sunlight was strong and hot, but when I went out by the river, the breeze was somewhat cool. The row of cherry trees standing on the opposite bank was thickly covered in deep-green leaves, and the weeds underfoot were growing wild and tall. The cicadas and other bugs were chirping with enough energy to drown out the sound of the flowing river. I sat down for a moment on a bench by the river and noticed a kingfisher hovering there. I haven’t seen one of those since the time I was here with Hazumi in mid-April… No, that’s not right. I’m pretty sure I caught sight of one on the morning Shunsuke died, too. Instinctively, I formed my imaginary viewfinder with my fingers and captured the bird’s lovely movements. The fact that I was able to take such a spontaneous action made me realize that I might be working my way back to some sense of normalcy. There was no longer any need to fear the “accidents” or to think about the “countermeasures.” And of course, there was also no need for me to run away from this town, like Teruya did before me. I knew that I was supposed to be safe now, but something still felt strange somehow. What’s more, from time to time, sudden pangs of loneliness would grip me whenever I remembered the face, the voice, the little gestures of the “Izumi Akazawa” who was no more. My heart would throb with a dull pain every time I thought of her. Since leaving the Freuden Tobii, I hadn’t heard the piano playing or seen any phantoms. So I figured I was fine. Something like what happened three years ago wasn’t going to happen now. However, sometimes I did think back on it, of course, even though it was almost unbearable to remember. I wonder how long it will be before these memories disappear? How long before I forget, like everyone else, the truth that she existed in this world for three months, starting in April? I wonder if I’m allowed to forget… I also had moments when I thought about Mei being in Hinami. I mentally overlaid the deadly still lake surface of Lake Minazuki onto the surface of the gently flowing Yomiyama River and imagined I could hear a low, distant rumbling out over the water. “It probably can’t happen for a little while yet, but…” As I gazed at the river, these words that Mei had said to me at some point came back to me. “How about we go to Lakeshore Manor together again sometime? Of course, we’d keep it a secret from everybody—it would just be the two of us. How about it?” As Mei said, something like that would be impossible for a while yet. But if we were going sometime, then I could believe that the time would come, eventually, even if I couldn’t imagine when that might be… If it was like a normal year, Mei would be coming back from the vacation home before Obon—probably around August 10. I decided to find a good time to get in touch with her then. And to boldly invite her to go see Jurassic Park III. 3 It was just before noon on Wednesday, August 8. For the first time in a while, I went to the “clinic” in the annex building of the municipal hospital and met with Dr. Usui. “Ah, Sou, you look well.” It meant a lot to hear him say that today, as I sat across from him in the examination room. As far as I could remember, this was the first time he’d greeted me that way. “I was worried about you when I heard that your grandfather passed away last month; have you been all right? You weren’t terribly agitated again by the death of someone close to you?” “Ah, right, it was a shock, but…but yeah, I’m all right.” I didn’t hesitate to answer that way. I had been sleeping without trouble at night and having fewer nightmares. My health had also been good, once I’d recovered from that summer cold. “And you still haven’t seen your mother—is that right?” “That’s… Yes.” “Do you speak on the phone?” “Well, sometimes,” I answered in a deliberately quiet voice. It was unclear whether the doctor saw through my falsehood, but he nodded approvingly and blinked his small eyes. “I’m glad to see you looking well. But don’t push yourself too hard—don’t try to force yourself to put on a good face. Tough times are tough. Sad times are sad. Scary times are scary. You maintain a healthy mental balance by feeling these things honestly and recognizing and accepting them for what they are. Do you understand?” “Yes.” The weather this morning had been clear and summery, but as I arrived at the hospital, some suspicious clouds had been quickly spreading across the sky. By the time I was finished with my counseling and left the exam room, it had started to rain. The rain was strong enough that I winced and let out a reflexive, “Whoa!” I moved through the connecting passage into the main building and headed for the hospital lobby. In the time it took me to get there, the rain grew more and more intense, and the sound of it could be heard reverberating through the building. I looked outside every time I passed a window, and the view was dark like dusk even though it was the middle of the day. I didn’t have an umbrella with me. Thinking I would stay put until it slowed to a light rain, I joined the line of people waiting at the cashier’s window. Just then, something caught my attention. A pale figure, loitering inconspicuously in a section of the spacious lobby. It was someone wearing a girls’ summer uniform for North Yomi… But who? She was quite far away, and there were many people coming and going between us. But I strained my eyes to look at “her” face. “Ah!” I unconsciously made a noise. It’s her—it’s Izumi’s face. That’s impossible! I shut my eyes in a panic, denying what I had seen. After keeping them closed for a moment, I warily took another look. But the pale figure was still there. I could see her face. It really was her—it was Izumi’s face. A very white, blank face. Impossible. Of course, this is just my imagination. It’s some kind of hallucination or illusion. I tried very hard to convince myself that that was true, but even so, she did not disappear from that spot. I couldn’t pull my eyes away; it was like I was entranced. Finally, her lips moved slightly. I felt like I could hear her voice right by my ear, despite the distance between us. I thought I heard her call my name, So-ouu… It was definitely her voice—Izumi’s. I felt like I was losing my mind. Like I’d been pulled into some alternate dimension. All other sounds around me were drowned out by static, like a radio that has gone out of tune. The figures of the other people in the lobby and their movements lost their sense of reality, as if they had fallen back behind a kind of translucent wall. As this was happening— Her silhouette moved nimbly. Without a moment’s delay, I made to follow her. After that, I can remember only scattered fragments, bits and pieces of what happened. Like trying to think back on the events of a dream after waking. I remember leaving the lobby and jumping into the elevator. I saw her get in it, and I followed, slipping between the closing doors. However, when I got inside, there was no one there but me. So-ouu… Even so, the button for the destination was illuminated. <B-2>. The elevator cage arrived at the second basement level, and I hesitantly stepped out. Long corridors stretched off in three directions… So-ouu… I thought I heard my name being called and set off down the corridor on my left. Several meters ahead of me, her hazy white figure appeared. When it did, all the lights lining the ceiling abruptly began to flicker. I followed her. But shortly thereafter, burnout followed the flickering, and the figure melted away in the descending darkness. I lost sight of her whereabouts, and as I was puzzling over which direction to go, the figure reappeared, several meters ahead of me. I followed again. But I lost sight of her a second time… It seemed like the cycle would keep repeating forever. I think I climbed several flights of stairs as I was walking around, and I remember the corridor making many twists and turns along the way. I’m pretty sure I also went down some stairs and that the corridor had sections that sloped gently up or down. It was like I had wandered into a huge, eerie labyrinth in the spirit world. Following the figure had gotten me completely lost. I had no idea where in the hospital I might be. Honestly, I was gradually losing confidence that this place I was wandering around was even still inside Yumigaoka Hospital… ………… ………… I suddenly came back to my senses when my eyes were dazzled by an unexpected flash of bright light. Out the window—the true identity of the flash was a bolt of lightning, streaking across the dark sky. I correctly recognized that the noise made by the driving rain was not meaningless static but just the normal sound of rain. I also realized that I was standing in a gloomy hallway somewhere inside the hospital. There was a pale figure, several meters ahead of me. So-ouu… Sure enough, there she was, wearing a girls’ summer uniform for North Yomi. Izumi… “Huh?” She sounded surprised as she turned to face me. “Hiratsuka…?” Huh? …Ah, I was wrong. That’s not Izumi. She’s not Izumi. She’s taller than Izumi, and her hair is cut short. And she’s holding a little bouquet. This is… “Etou…?” She’s Etou, one of the countermeasures officers for Grade 3 Class 3. The girl who originally suggested having two “non-existers” for our “countermeasures” this year… “Ah…um, hello?” I greeted her idiotically. “Ah, um, uh…” Why is Etou here? I tilted my head to the side in confusion, and I felt as if I had just been released by whatever spirit had been haunting me. I looked around at my surroundings again, trying to get a grip on the situation. I was somewhere inside Yumigaoka Municipal Hospital. Probably rather far from the lobby of the hospital’s office building. From what it looked like outside the window, I was probably on the third or fourth floor above ground level. “Nnh…,” I groaned, and Etou tilted her head, too. And then, blinking her eyes with their large pupils, she asked, “You too, Sou?” I didn’t understand the meaning of her question. “Huh?” I tilted my head again. “I had a checkup scheduled with my doctor today.” “Oh, is that so? But…” “What about you, Etou? Why are you in the hospital?” I asked her in return. She indicated the bouquet she was holding. “I’m here to visit someone.” “A visit…” “She was in the hospital ward in the main building before, but they told me she switched rooms. The layout of this place is kind of confusing, so I got pretty lost before I finally found it.” I see—it was at this point that I finally realized something. If Etou the countermeasures officer was going to visit someone, it would have to be… Etou was currently standing in front of an unassuming cream-colored door. The room on the other side must have been her destination. I approached the door and checked the name on the nameplate beside it. “Makise… So she’s still in the hospital, huh?” “Makise and I have been friends since she transferred to our school around the end of last year,” Etou told me, lowering her voice somewhat. “Her body has always been weak, but she’s a really nice girl. I mean, just look at how she accepted ‘not existing,’ since she was going to be hospitalized anyway. You must have thought so back then, too.” Back then, huh? Back at the “strategy session” in March… “Since you took the trouble to come here, do you want to visit her with me, Hiratsuka?” “Ah…would that be all right? Out of the blue.” “She said she’s been feeling good lately. I’ll go ask real quick, okay?” Etou said that, knocked on the door to the hospital room and announced herself, then went in alone first. A minute passed. “Come on in.” I heard a voice from inside the room. A girl’s voice, but not Etou’s. Right. I’m sure I’ve heard this voice before; it belongs to that girl I met at the “strategy session” in March… “Hiratsuka…Sou? I’m so glad you came.” Drawn in by that voice, which had a carefree sense about it, despite its frailty, I entered the room after Etou. Thud. As I did, the low reverberation came out of nowhere. Simultaneously, the world went black, then went back to normal after just a moment… ………… And then… And then I realized, I remembered, I registered… I found an answer to a question I didn’t know I’d been asking. 4 “Just seeing the dinosaurs move around so freely like that was totally amazing! The Spinosaurus was huge and brutal, and the Pteranodon was flying all over the place… Incredible!” The look of excitement on Yagisawa’s face never faded as he went on about how amazing the movie was. “It felt a little plain compared to the first two, but…I mean, even so, it was really entertaining. Right, Sou?” He threw the question to me, and I answered obediently, “Sure was.” “You said you haven’t seen the first two?” “Yeah.” “And that you don’t have much interest in dinosaurs?” “Uh, yeah. Yeah, but, like, the movie was entertaining.” Watching it on the theater’s big screen with the surround sound, the dinosaurs were very impressive and looked incredibly realistic, so that I found myself drawn in to the movie despite the simple story. There were even scenes where I found myself literally on the edge of my seat. It was the afternoon of Monday, August 13. We had just seen Jurassic Park III at the movie theater in Akatsuki. The three of us—Yagisawa and me, plus Mei Misaki, who, contrary to my expectations, had readily accepted my invitation. After the movie, we two middle school boys had taken Mei up on her offer to treat us, and the three of us were in a juice bar near the movie theater. Outside, the midsummer sun was blazing. It was time for the Obon holidays, and the town was bustling with quite a crowd. Yet, the inside of the shop was strangely empty, offering a moment of calm quiet. “How about you, Misaki?” Yagisawa asked. He glanced up at Mei’s face across the round glass table but then looked away, as if he had panicked when their eyes met. “Um, what I mean is, did you see the first and second movies in the series?” When he asked this, Mei took her mouth off the straw in her orange juice and answered, “This was my first time seeing a monster movie.” If Yagisawa had been talking to me, he definitely would have come back with something like, It wasn’t a monster movie; it was a dinosaur movie. But all he said was, “O-oh, is that so?” and scratched his head. Mei stoically put her mouth back on her straw. Watching their exchange, I held back a smile. “But it really was incredible, right, Sou?” Undeterred, Yagisawa turned to face me. “Those dinosaurs are mostly done with CG now. But in the movie, they look like they’re right there in front of you, alive. The current CG technology is amazing. If O’Brien or Eiji Tsuburaya were alive to see it, it would knock ’em off their feet.” “Who’s O’Brien?” “Willis O’Brien. He handled the special effects for the 1933 version of King Kong. He was one of the pioneers of stop-motion animation. You know who Eiji Tsuburaya was, right?” “The Ultraman guy?” “Yeah, him. Before he did Ultraman, he worked on the first Godzilla in 1954…,” Yagisawa told me gleefully. I knew from spending time with him that he liked those sorts of movies and TV shows, but I hadn’t realized he was so much of an enthusiast. “…And while we’re on the topic, O’Brien had a real pride in his work and took only a single apprentice, who was the one and only Ray Harryhausen. You probably know his work from Clash of the Titans.” “I don’t, but—” “Hmm?” “But he’s pretty famous, right?” Yagisawa nodded approvingly, then sighed. Pursing his lips as if to say there was no point in talking to me about it any further, he reached for his cream soda. “I like Švankmajer,” Mei said quietly. Yagisawa abruptly tilted his head to the side, looking worn out. “Mm, who’s that?” “A Czech animator. Jan Švankmajer. You don’t know him?” “No, I mean, just the name.” “How about you, Sou?” “Uh…” “I think you might like his work, Sou,” she said with a composed smile. “I’ve got some videos, so I’ll loan them to you soon.” Today was Yagisawa and Mei’s first time meeting. They had been aware of each other for a while through hearing me talk, and when they met in person like this, each of their reactions was basically what I had expected. Mei was acting entirely normal. In contrast, Yagisawa had clearly been quite nervous from the moment I introduced him to Mei and he said hello. While we were waiting in the theater lobby for the previous showing to end, he had occasionally made a bold attempt to talk to Mei, but even though she hadn’t looked particularly displeased or anything, she also hadn’t smiled. I didn’t think she was being particularly unsociable, but to a young man who wasn’t used to her, she probably seemed difficult to approach. And yet, how do I put this, that only enhanced the illusion that Mei was one of the “Blue Eyes…” dolls come to life, a fair-skinned beauty far surpassing two middle school chumps. Yep, just as I expected—inwardly, on the one hand, I felt a little bit of satisfaction, while on the other hand, some part of me wanted to sympathize with Yagisawa. Mei was dressed that day in a black blouse with a ribbon at the neck and a deep-blue skirt. She had an even more mature aura about her than usual, and even in the bright afternoon sunlight, she somehow gave off the sense of being clad in twilight. To tell the truth, I was also a little bit nervous in her presence. “You’ve had a hard time since April, haven’t you, Yagisawa?” Mei said after drinking about half of her juice. This was the first time she had brought up the topic that the three of us hadn’t touched on yet—hadn’t been able to touch on. “I heard about it from Sou. About how your aunt was in Grade 3 Class 3 at North Yomi a long time ago…” Yagisawa looked up with a start and replied, “You were, too, three years ago, right? I’ve also heard everything from Sou.” No, no, not everything—I thought, but I didn’t interrupt. Yagisawa continued. “Looks like the ‘calamity’ stopped this year, just like it did three years ago, so…” “That’s wonderful,” Mei said softly, narrowing both eyes. In her left eye, she was wearing the black eyeball with brown flecks. Naturally, since she didn’t have the “doll’s eye” in today, she wasn’t wearing her eye patch, either. “That’s really great.” I could hear the unqualified relief in Mei’s voice. I felt the same way she did. “The two of you are graduating next spring, right? What are you doing for high school?” Mei asked. Yagisawa answered, “I’m planning to take the exam for First Yomi, the prefectural high school. You too, right, Sou?” “Ah…yeah. Probably.” Mei said, “I see. So we’ll just miss each other, then.” That’s right. She’s graduating high school next spring, too. I had been curious about her plans after graduation, but I had yet to ask her about it even once. “There aren’t any troubling ‘phenomena’ at First Yomi, so you can relax about that,” Mei added. Yagisawa pushed his round glasses up as he straightened his posture in his seat and threw out his chest. “Consider me relaxed!” But he immediately dropped his shoulders again. “Though before that, we’ve got exams, huh? I’m pretty scared,” he muttered to himself with a sigh. “I thought you were living it up over summer break?” I quipped. Yagisawa threw his head back in an exaggerated gesture and looked up at the ceiling. “Only half of my much-anticipated summer break remains. Oh, the cruel passage of time!” Mei let a quiet laugh slip out. Yagisawa’s cheeks reddened, and he cleared his throat awkwardly. I gazed out the window. The figures of the people walking down the street naturally caught my eye. I felt like there were more young people than usual. I also noticed a lot of happy, smiling faces. However— Before I knew it, I realized I was scanning the crowd of unknown men and women for the phantom of “Izumi Akazawa.” I quickly caught myself. It’s over now—you can forget about her, I thought. And then— I shifted my eyes and looked at Mei. I don’t know how she interpreted my behavior, but when she saw me looking at her, she drew her lips in and gave me a small nod. 5 That day’s dinosaur film festival broke up before evening set in. However— “Well, see you later. That was fun,” Mei said as she stood to leave. “Ah, Mei?” I ran next to her and called out to stop her. “What’s up, Sou?” “Um…there’s just something small I’d like to discuss with you…” I had spoken with Mei once on the phone since she’d returned from her Hinami vacation home—when I’d gotten her to agree to come with us to the movie. But ever since she came back, there had been something I’d wanted to tell her but was hesitant to say over the phone… It was a matter I wanted to discuss not by e-mail or phone but when we were together in person. “Hmm?” Mei stared at me with eyes that seemed to ask, Why are you being so formal? But there was no need to repeat myself. She seemed to understand what I was feeling and quickly nodded. “All right. Will you come to the gallery?” “Would that be okay?” “It’s fine. All right, see you later, Yagisawa.” “A-ah…sure.” So in that way, we ended up leaving Yagisawa behind. I would have to ask forgiveness from the class representative another day. He gave me a suspicious look as we were splitting up, and I resigned myself to the eventual interrogation about my relationship with Mei. And then— In the familiar basement space of the gallery in Misaki, I talked to Mei about that thing. Until then, my stance had been that I wouldn’t pry about things that she didn’t volunteer, or that she didn’t want to talk about, and that I wouldn’t want to hear them anyway—I abandoned that now. But I think that it was the correct decision in the end. We talked, I listened, we compared information…and in doing so, I felt the distance between Mei and me narrowing more than it ever had before. Of course, this should have been a welcome change for me. I mean, honestly, I was very happy that we were growing closer, so… ………… ………… “…That reminds me,” Mei had suddenly said as we were parting with Yagisawa that day. “Yesterday, I got a call from Sakakibara. From America—LA.” “Oh, you did?” “Apparently, they had all kinds of problems in Mexico. He said he’s coming back to Tokyo at the end of this month.” Mei’s expression looked somewhat relieved as she told me this— “Sakakibara was very worried about how this year’s ‘calamity’ turned out, so I explained everything to him.” “Oh, okay.” “He said he would try to give you a call soon.” Koichi Sakakibara. Hmm. Reminding myself how much I owed him, I gave a small nod. 6 I spent my 2001 summer vacation mostly peacefully. After Obon, a big typhoon made landfall on Japan for the first time in a long while, but our region didn’t suffer any real damage. For several days, the news made a big deal about a record heat wave, and thanks to the forewarning, nobody got hurt… From April until “Izumi Akazawa” disappeared at the start of July, it had felt like there was a threatening black cloud hanging overhead, and now it was like it had blown off somewhere. The town of Yomiyama in midsummer was quiet and peaceful. At least, that’s how it seemed to me. After the incident at the municipal hospital, I never saw Izumi’s phantom again. And I didn’t think I would see it anymore in the future, either. 7 When there were only a few days of vacation remaining in August, the biology club held a meeting at school. All the members were convened after a call from our adviser, Mr. Kuramochi. The meeting was not held in the science room in Building T but in that clubroom in Building Zero. The inside of the room had been thoroughly cleaned, and there wasn’t a single visible trace of the tragedy that had taken place there two months earlier. Even so, it took all my effort to shake off visions of the scene from that day, which my mind threatened to replay again and again. “Well then, everyone, let me start with an announcement. Mr. Morishita will be assuming the role of the new head of the biology club.” I was a little surprised to hear the first thing that Mr. Kuramochi said. The guy who could hardly ever come to club meetings because of some situation at home? I think I’m remembering that correctly. That Morishita will be the club head? “Um, the thing is, I’ve had a bit of a change of heart recently.” As if he had anticipated it, Morishita answered my unspoken question. “Since this is the biology club that Kouda worked so hard for and all, I’d like to try and do everything I can to keep it going.” Morishita was tall and lanky but obviously had sluggish reflexes, and he was smart but not eloquent. He was the kind of guy whose existence you would be liable to forget in a class. But apparently, he and Shunsuke had been close, though their relationship was different than ours had been. There weren’t any particular voices of opposition from the assembled first- and second-years. “Are you sure about this?” I asked Morishita. “Yes,” he answered. “But I’m anxious about doing it alone, so help me out, okay, Hiratsuka?” He seemed to be trying to convince himself. “Okay, okay.” He turned to the rest of the club. “So then today, I want to ask everyone for their thoughts. I was thinking that as the biology club, surely we need to start by putting the creatures we’ve been raising back into this room, but…” Later, I learned that the “situation at home” that had been bothering Morishita involved the breakup of his parents’ marriage due to his father’s abuse. The divorce had finally been finalized that summer, and Morishita, who despised his father, had gone to live with his mother. He was finally able to put a lot of bad things behind him and had even made plans to change his surname to his mother’s maiden name. Then, when the meeting of the biology club came to a close, I headed for the secondary library alone. Before the meeting, I’d happened to catch sight of Mr. Chibiki going into Building Zero, so I figured he was still there. There was a CLOSED sign out on the library door, but when I knocked, I got an immediate answer: “Come in.” Then, before I could even open the door, there came a question. “Is that Hiratsuka?” Apparently, Mr. Chibiki had also noticed me coming to the school. “Up to something with the biology club?” Even in this season, Mr. Chibiki wore a black shirt and black trousers. I nodded in response to his question. “Yes. Kind of a kickoff meeting to keep the club going.” “Ah. That’s very courageous of you all.” “No, it didn’t really feel that way.” “Hmm. Well, you did have an awful time of it back in June. Are you doing all right now? Did you feel unwell or anything when you went into that room?” “I was fine.” “I see. Very good.” Mr. Chibiki pulled a bottle of mineral water out of the refrigerator behind the counter and handed it to me. “Stay hydrated. There’s only a little bit of August left, and thankfully, no ‘related individuals’ have died. Looks like your theory that the ‘calamity’ ended in July was correct.” As he spoke, several vertical wrinkles etched across Mr. Chibiki’s forehead. He placed one hand on the large reading table and continued. “As a matter of fact, I never doubted your story back in July, but I was also a little hesitant to believe it one hundred percent. This ‘phenomenon’ has caused me terrible hardship for many years, you know. So I couldn’t really allow myself to relax. That was my thinking as I cautiously waited to see, but—” Mr. Chibiki cut himself off, quietly cleared his throat, then told me, “Now I’m thinking we probably don’t need to worry anymore. I’m sure of it.” “Right. I’m sure that’s the case.” “If we make it into September like this, it will be proof that the claim you made in July was the truth. Then it will truly be over for this year.” 8 After I left the secondary library and exited Building Zero, I walked alone down the path through the courtyard and before long came to a stop in a certain spot. The humble grave markers, made by tying scraps of wood into cross shapes, stood in little rows in the weed-choked ground. I paused in front of them. Time had passed more quickly than I thought, and it was already nearing dusk. The wind was blowing vigorously, keeping things somewhat cooler than in the middle of the day. The evening cicadas were starting to make their shrill cries. Not to be outdone, the summer cicadas were calling, too. I could hear students’ voices from the sports grounds. The sports club members were going about their normal practices, but for some reason, they seemed to belong to a far-off world or some tenuous alternate reality. Their voices overlapped with the cicadas’ calls, and suddenly I heard the cries of several crows high up in the sky. These, too, seemed somehow distant and diluted… …I wonder when was the last time I put up a grave marker in this plot? Was it when the first-generation Woo passed away in April? Shunsuke immediately diaphanized the striped loach and the Amano shrimp that died during Golden Week. As for the animals that died in the incident in June, I hadn’t had the time or the presence of mind to count them, much less collect and bury their bodies. I decided I would make new crosses for them once the second semester began. Even if we didn’t have their remains, at least I could mark their graves here. And next to their grave markers, I could secretly erect one more cross, much larger than the others. For Shunsuke. And for his twin brother, Keisuke. As I was turning these ideas over in my head, even more time passed, and the evening glow began to spread across the western sky. It wasn’t quite red, more of a vivid scarlet. No sooner had I decided it was scarlet than it morphed into a more concentrated, deeper hue, like dark-red clay… As the shade of the sky changed moment by moment, the sunset was breathtaking. Strangely, not one of the many shades of red reminded me of blood. Somehow, I felt oddly at ease, and for a short while, I stood there looking up at the illuminated horizon. Thinking back on it, these past few months have seen a lot of sad events. And lots of frightening events. And also plenty of events that have made me painfully aware, over and over again, of my own powerlessness in the face of the absurdities and unknowable evil of this world. But now it’s as if all of that has been swallowed up by the beauty of the sunset coloring the sky… I stared up at the glowing sky for a little while longer. I felt somewhat at ease. But lurking deep in the far reaches of my mind was something like a sense of overwhelming dread. Summer vacation would be over soon.