---
-Whaaaaaaaaaat!? I cannot believe it, Miyuki-chan!
-Yeah…. It was pretty serious.
-If something happened to you, I would personally revive you just to scold you!
-Ha-ha, I know I can always trust you, Sayuri-chan… But thankfully nothing happened. The doctors just did a regular check-up, and I didn't swallow much water.
-You must thank this boy. He must be a really nice person.
-Well…. I'm not so sure about that, but you are right, indeed I must at least thank him.
-I bet he must really like you, huh? ಠ.ಠ
-Oh, it's not like that, Sayuri-chan! You always need to bring up this kind of stuff. ◔_◔
-Ha-ha-ha, yeah right! You better hurry up to catch me. I may not be single for that long…
-Wait, what!? What do you mean by that??
-Ha-ha! I must go now. Talk to you later, Miyuki-chan!
-Wait, Sayuri! Sayuri!
---
It has been more than a week since the incident, and it took some time until we came back to our energetic and lively mood.
Even though she trying to be herself, it was obvious that Maria didn't feel exactly happy; especially with Oliver constantly blaming himself for what happened, even after I said several times that it wasn't his fault. Even prof. Fukuda came to me to apologize for the incident, even though he also had no blame for it.
That said, despite my near death, all the sensors got to be well placed. The transceiver was getting some good readings from the marine life present. It was getting reads from volume, mass, and speed patterns from several different species of fish, so my work was starting to pile up quickly. Integrated with the sensor, the boys also installed a 360° camera, so I could check visually what was happening at the sea, together with the log data. All of this data was to be used to classify wildlife behavior patterns. So yeah….. There was a lot of work to do, and no time to think or feel bad about past events.
"Miyuki! Wanna have lunch together? "
"Oh, yes, Maria. I'm just finishing this lab report, but I'll join you soon at the cafeteria, okay?"
"Sure, I'll get a table for us. See ya!"
"See ya!"
"Huh…." - I sighed - "I better wrap this up quickly. I've been here for hours! There's so much to do that I didn't even have time to think about what happened last week….. I didn't have time to talk properly with Maria about it, even less with Carlos. Actually, I haven't seen him since the day of the accident. Well, it's not like I've searched for him or we see each other regularly. But Sayuri is right, I must thank him for saving me. Maybe a present would be a good way for it? But what would he like? He is so mysterious that I fear that he wouldn't even care for it. But I guess what matters is trying to transmit the feelings, right?"
"Ah! I must go, or Maria will get mad at me for waiting too long"
Finishing the report, I gathered my stuff and at a hasty pace, and proceeded towards the cafeteria to meet Maria.
However, before I could reach the cafeteria, I found myself blocked by a group of students in the middle of the hallway who were moving some chairs around to be able to raise up some decorations in the ceiling that were being made probably for an upcoming university festival that was to take place next week.
They were also hanging up at the wall numerous posters and flyers from various clubs, groups and other advertising papers that were common inside the university. As I waited for the boys to remove one of the chairs that were on my way, I got to pass my eyes over these numerous flyers and posters, and in the midst of it all, something grabbed my attention. It was the university newspaper, and it was highlighted on the wall. With the blue sea as a background, on the first page there was a photo showing all our lab members and me in the military vessel preparing ourselves for the scuba dive. You could clearly see all the happy smiles on our faces, and how amazing and cool it was that we were being sponsored by the military. The article highlighted the university biology lab opportunity together with the navy to install some in-made sensor for a big project, and the incredible photo was clearly taken by Carlos, however, from how it was written, the article probably wasn't made by him; it was just too enthusiastic for someone as introverted and cold as Carlos to have been written by him. It also didn't mention anything related to the almost tragic incident…. Well, I guess it is not something you'd want to advertise for, right?
Just as I was surprised by our presence on the first page of the journal, I heard a soft voice right next to my ears.
"This really is a nice photo, isn't it?" - A strange male voice roared in my ear.
"Waah" - The sudden voice scared me, making me jump to the side.
"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you." - He responded.
To my surprise, as I turned my head, it was Alberto, Maria's ex, who was standing right next to me. Pulling myself together, I answered.
"Oh no, don't worry about that. I was just lost in thought. You are… Alberto, right?"
"Yes, I am. Maria must have spoken to you about me, am I right?"
"Uh… Just a bit, you know. She mentioned you, yes."
Actually, a bit more than just mentioning….
"Ha-ha, I bet she probably only talked bad about me, right?"
"O-oh, n-no! Actually, she didn't talk that much about you."
She did talk a lot about you.
"Well, if you say so…. By the way, I'm sorry! I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable with that kind of question. I was just helping with the decoration here and saw you looking at the journal. I just wanted to compliment you guys for what you have done. Pretty impressive getting a deal with the navy!"
"Well….. I guess it is. Thank you" - I responded in an unenthusiastic tone.
Well, he does not know about the incident
"You don't think so?"
"No, I do. It's just that there is just so much work to do from that trip that I'm a bit tired lately."
"Yeah, I can imagine. Anyway, you're new here, right? My guys said you are an exchange student from Japan, is that right?
"Yes, it is. This is only my second month here at Rio"
"That's awesome! We rarely see foreign exchange students here."
"Is that right?"
"It is! So, it is always exciting to see different faces here. Hey, by the way, since we are here, I know it's a bit sudden, but, I mean, you know, would you like to-"
"Maria!!!"
As Alberto was still speaking, I noticed that Maria was on the other end of the hallway, with a frightened look on her face, looking at us.
Immediately after I shouted her name, she turned back and ran away.
"Wait, Maria!" - I shouted again, but now, chasing her. Alberto did not follow us or said anything. He just stood there, looking at Maria running away from the distance.
She was a fast runner, and I eventually lost her. The campus was too big, so you could really hide or run if you wanted, and Maria might have already left the campus. So after half an hour with no success in finding her, and no message or phone call answered, I decided to lunch by myself.
Maria also didn't return to the lab in the afternoon.
Although she explained to me with words, I still couldn't fully comprehend the cause for such trauma, to the extent that she must run away from Alberto after just seeing him. Maybe the most suitable word is not "comprehend", but "empathize." To experience an event as serious as she has could only be fully understood by someone who has passed by something similar. Or maybe…. There was something more to it that she did not tell me...
These kinds of situations make me feel very uncomfortable. I couldn't feel anything but hopeless for her as I didn't know how to help or how to act in such situations. Afterall…. Despite Maria being so friendly and approachable, I've only known her for less than two months. I still didn't know her that well.
I hope things turn for the better and I can fully understand her feelings. It was clear the suffering in her eyes when she looked at Alberto and remembered all she had passed through. Behind that mask of euphoria and happiness, lied a very troubled person…
…. But then again, who isn't a bit?