Sayu reached for a door at the back of the school and turned the knob. It was obvious this entrance wasn’t for students.
With a shrill metallic creak, the door swung open.
Sayu smiled again. She seemed pleased.
“The lock on this door is busted. It’s another go-to spot for students playing hooky.”
“Huh…? Wouldn’t most schools fix something like that?”
“People use it to leave during the day, but no one uses it to sneak in at night, so they don’t bother,” Sayu said matter-of-factly, but the school’s sheer carelessness astonished me.
That said, it was lucky for Sayu that the school’s lax security had allowed her to get in so late at night.
I followed her into the school.
Aside from the emergency exit signs, there wasn’t a single light on, and the building was very dark.
“I’ve never been in here at night before. It’s a little scary,” said Sayu.
“…Yeah, this is a first for me, too,” I said, echoing her sentiments.
Although we had each other for company, the dark school building was quite eerie. I could understand why so many ghost stories and urban legends were set in schools.
My right arm suddenly felt warm, so I looked down.
Sayu had linked arms with me.
“……”
For a moment, I wondered what had come over her. Maybe she didn’t want to lose me in the dark. Either way, it didn’t bother me, so I silently accepted it.
Without a word, she began walking again.
Slowly, she made her way to a far corner of the school.
I walked alongside her, matching her pace. From time to time, I felt her grip tighten around my arm.
She must be nervous after all, I thought.
When she told me she was scared to go alone, I’d taken it to mean that she was scared of the dark, but perhaps I’d been mistaken.
Just as she’d needed to build up the courage to go home while living with me, Sayu wasn’t brave enough to come here on her own.
As I thought this, we arrived at a staircase on the far side of the school building.
The steps were just as dimly lit as the rest of the place, the only illumination the moonlight shining through a window at the landing.
“Are we going up there?” I asked.
“Yeah…,” Sayu replied, her voice soft.
“…Where are we heading?”
Now that we’d reached a flight of stairs, I had a pretty good idea of our destination, but I decided to ask anyway.
Sayu was silent for a few seconds before she responded.
“The roof.”
It was so dark inside the school that I couldn’t make out her expression, but the tremble in her voice made it easy to tell she was nervous.
“…Right,” I replied simply.
I waited for Sayu to start walking. I felt that if I took the lead now, it would defeat the purpose of being here.
Sayu’s grip on my arm tightened.
Then, a few seconds later, she started to move.
She climbed the stairs step by step. I kept pace with her and slowly ascended the staircase. Not a word was shared between us as we made our way up.
In the tranquil night, the sound of our footsteps echoed through the school. Tip-tap, tip-tap.
Each step brought us closer to Sayu’s past.
I’d only intended to keep her company, but I felt myself steadily becoming just as nervous as she was.
Around the time I came to that realization, Sayu announced, “…We’re here.”
We’d finally reached the door to the rooftop. Standing in front of it, Sayu took a deep breath, then exhaled.
“Okay…,” she muttered, letting go of my arm and moving toward the rooftop door…
But instead of stopping at the door, she went past it and headed to one side of the landing area.
There was a window there. It wasn’t as large as a classroom window, but it was still big enough for a person to squeeze through if they folded in their legs.
Sayu placed a hand on the square window and opened it with a clatter.
“The door to the rooftop…has been locked ever since ‘the incident,’ but this window’s lock is broken,” she murmured.
Her words had lost the mischievous air they had when we were first sneaking into the school grounds.
“The incident” she was referring to must have been the death of her best friend.
I remembered how Sayu had been unable to keep from vomiting when she’d told Asami and me about it, and my heart ached for her.
She took another deep breath.
Then she placed her hands on the windowsill and lifted a foot. To do this, she raised her leg so high, it caused her skirt to ride up. I reflexively averted my gaze.
While I was still looking away, Sayu hopped through the window and out onto the rooftop.
I moved in front of the window and found myself face-to-face with Sayu, who was standing on the other side.
Green light from the emergency exit sign above the door shone down on her.
She was staring at me. I could tell by the look in her eyes that she wanted me to hurry and join her.
And yet…despite having come this far, I was frozen.
This was the place that had changed Sayu’s life—it was right in front of me. That knowledge stopped me in my tracks. It didn’t feel like I should intrude.
“I…”
As I hesitated to reach for the window, Sayu spoke. Bathed in light, she locked eyes with me.
“Please, Mr. Yoshida.”
It was a sincere, direct request.
Her gaze, full of resolve, finally made me realize what both of us were here for.
Sayu was the one most afraid of facing her past—not me or anyone else. And yet, she’d taken the lead and was now standing on the roof, facing me.
As I trained my eyes on her, I saw that, sure enough…she was trembling. She must have been incapable of turning around and facing the rooftop. She’d made that first step, but she needed a little more courage to finish what she’d set out to do.
…I couldn’t believe it. Had I already forgotten why I’d come along?
I mentally scolded myself, moving my feet at last.
“I’m coming,” I said quietly. Then I climbed through the window.
There was no need to dwell on whether I was meant to be there.
I went because Sayu needed me.