It didn't take Kaede long for her to get the car. In just a few minutes, Tsubaki had safely gotten inside the black car. She didn't forget to contact her husband but her calls went unanswered. He might be in a meeting. She opted for sending a message instead.
Camellia of the Spring: Director Ayanokouji called. I'm heading there. I will call you later!
Tsubaki held her phone in a tight grip. Her fingers slightly trembled.
As the car moved swiftly on the road, Tsubaki's heartbeat quickened. She clenched and unclenched her hands into fists in an attempt to calm herself. She threw her gaze outside the windows. Most of the passers-by were wearing their colorful and light summer outfits. Some of them seeking shelter under the umbrellas as the sunlight got hotter.
Even when the air was hot and humid, she felt cold. And it wasn't due to the air conditioning inside the car.
It was only seeing a book. But, it felt something heavy to her.
The journey took almost 30 minutes from the city center. Once Tsubaki alighted the car, she scanned the new surroundings. The orphanage building was located at the center of a vast field. Even though it appeared old but Tsubaki could tell all the people here took extra care of it. There was the sound of laughter coming from her left. She turned her head and found a group of children was playing ball inside a court.
All of them looked happy while playing and sweating under the sun.
"Please wait here," Tsubaki smiled at Kaede albeit it wasn't radiant as usual. "I'm going to step inside for a while."
"Alright, Madam." Kaede knew it wasn't her place to ask. She just watched her Madam's petite figure disappearing inside the building.
Tsubaki entered the wooden door and saw a woman who was engrossed in her works behind the reception desk. The woman raised her head when she heard the sound of footsteps approaching her.
"Welcome to House of Himawari," said the woman with a smile. She looked around her age. "May I help you?"
"I'm looking for Director Ayanokouji," said Tsubaki as she returned the smile. "She called me earlier."
"The director is in her room. Please wait for a moment, I'm going to call her." The woman swiftly picked up the landline and pressed a number.
Tsubaki took a moment to look around the entrance. Children's' drawings were taped on the walls. Most of them looked funny but they carried the essence of freedom within the children. Tsubaki didn't know why did her eyes suddenly teared up seeing them.
This was the place where her sister was living since childhood. A sister whom she would never meet. She ate and slept and played in this building. She wondered if the traces of her sister were still here.
"Mrs. Fuse."
Tsubaki snapped out of her senses. She turned around and met Director Ayanokouji's eyes. The woman's face looked sullen as she came to welcome her.
"Director Ayanokouji." Tsubaki bowed her head in respect.
"Come," the older woman gestured for Tsubaki to follow her. "Let's go to my office."
Tsubaki nodded silently. Both of them walked alongside the hallways. There were pictures of the children growing up here framed on the walls. Most of them looked a few years older than some of them. Occasionally, they would encounter the children. It was obvious that they were trained to have good manners as they respectfully greeted her and Director Ayanokouji whom they called Mom.
"Please come inside," said Director Ayanokouji once they stopped in front of a room. She turned the doorknob, pushing the door inside.
Tsubaki made way into the office. The office was quite big. The cabinets and other furniture were arranged to make the room appeared spacious. Director Ayanokouji invited Tsubaki for a seat. Both of them sat opposite each other.
"Do you want coffee or tea?" The director appeared hesitant to immediately go for business. "I could ask my assistant to prepare drinks for us."
"It's okay, Director," Tsubaki politely declined the offer. She wasn't in the mood to have tea. "Could you please show me the log?"
Director Ayanokouji knew Tsubaki was being nervous so she didn't press her. She accepted her decision with a nod. Her head turned to a side as her hand reached for something.
"I found this log yesterday, as it's already midnight I didn't dare to call you. I already marked the days the two women visited," the older woman said apologetically to Tsubaki. She took a logbook from her side and handed them to the young lady in front of her.
"So... these are..."
Tsubaki looked down at the hardbound book in her hands. The tips of her fingers turned cold. Tsubaki took a deep breath. She slowly flipped open the book which dated more than one decade ago.
There were countless writings and signatures inside the book. The original white color of each page appeared yellowish after being stored inside a damp store for a long time. Director Ayanokouji helped her by turning to the page where the first woman's signature was.
"This is it," said the woman softly. "The name and signature of the first woman who came for Hinata."
Tsubaki stared at the name and signature.
Nakamura Sumire.
"I doubt this was her real name," said Tsubaki as a sigh escaped her lips. "But, at least I could see her handwriting."
Director Ayanokouji silently agreed with Tsubaki. She leaned forward and reached out for the log. After flipping for almost 10 pages, she finally stopped. Her index finger pointed to a name. Tsubaki quickly read it.
Fujioka Masami.
It was a different name and different handwriting. Apparently, Ms. Nakamura came in the middle of January while Ms. Fujioka appeared in June. The kidnapping attempt happened somewhere in May. And Ms. Nakamura might come back during Hinata's first week of high school.
Tsubaki pursed her lips. There were so many possibilities popped inside her head but, she couldn't connect the dots.
Who were these two women? Did they have any relationship to each other? Why did they come to ask about Hinata?
"...!"
The nightmare suddenly came to her. The dreadful images flashed past her mind like broken clips of a movie. She felt suffocated as fear started to sharpen its claws on her heart. Her grip on the book loosened as her breath became shorter and shorter.
Thud!
"Mrs. Fuse! Mrs. Fuse!"
Director Ayanokouji's frantic voice echoed in the room. It was different than her usual gentle tone. Tsubaki slowly raised her head, her eyes were blank as she stared at the woman.
Why did she look so in panic?
In her daze, Tsubaki glanced around her. She didn't even realize she had almost fallen from the couch. The older woman was supporting her petite frame, the worry on her face was yet to cease.
"Sorry... I'm sorry..."
Tsubaki weakly depended on Director Ayanokouji as the latter helped her to lean her back against the couch. Her face was pale as cold sweats broke on top of her forehead. Director Ayanokouji quickly lowered down the air conditioning inside the office.
"I'll get you a drink, please wait here," the woman said before she quickly left the room. Tsubaki could faintly hear she gave some instruction to the person she found outside the room.
Tsubaki stared at the ceiling. She felt so weak and helpless. Just by looking at those unfamiliar names, her composure crumbled easily.
Hadn't she been strong enough lately?
She pushed back her thoughts about her mother in order to not overwhelm herself. She had even forced herself to appear all cheery and happy in front of other people when at night she would once again be consumed with the nasty thoughts.
Hadn't it been enough?
Tsubaki closed her eyes. For once, she didn't want to face the world.