As Kimiko opened her mouth to speak, the waitress came to our table with some cake and placed it down in front of us. Kimiko picked up her fork and tried a bit of the cake. Her tongue ran slowly over the cold metal.
"It tastes really good, Mimi! Here, you try some too."
She picked up some for cake and held the fork up to my mouth. Normally, I would have ate without hesitating, but as I leaned forward, the image of Kimiko stabbing the fork into my throat flashed in my mind. It made my stomach tighten.
"What's wrong?"
"I… Need to use the toilet."
"Should I come with you?"
"No, I'm alright!"
My hands shook even as I closed the door. The pits of my shirt are greyed with sweat. In all the time that I had known her, Kimiko had never frightened me. I had a lot of respect for her and often listened to her advice. She was always so cool headed and logical, that it always seemed obvious to me that what she said and did would be the correct. But now, I am not sure…
Maybe, I should just go home. I will message Kimiko later telling her that I had to go because I am sick. Yeah! And hopefully after the weekend, maybe Kimiko will go back to normal.
No… What am I saying? Didn't I say I would listen to her? And it not like she's going to hurt me! I just imagined that. It's probably because I didn't get enough sleep yesterday.
Right! I'll go back to Kimiko and apologise.
And with that, I opened the toilet door.
"Kya!"
Kimiko had been standing just outside and, when I opened the door, she is there looking down at me.
"What wrong? I came to check on you because I was worried."
"N-nothing, sorry."
I thought I had calmed down, but when I saw her, my body started to tremble again.
"I'm really sorry, Ki-chan. I'm not feeling well."
"…That's fine. I'll take you home."
I nodded. Kimiko took control of my wheelchair and after paying, we headed to my house.
When we came to a bridge halfway some way there, Kimiko stopped and let go of the wheelchair. She walked up to the rails.
"Ki-chan?"
I rolled the wheelchair beside her. As Kimiko looked down at the water flowing beneath us, her eyes filled with tears.
"I'm sorry."
As the tears streamed down Kimiko's face, her legs went weak and she collapsed by rail.
"Ki-chan!"
I reached over and pulled her over to me. This is the first time Kimiko had cried in front of me.
"I'm sorry."
Kimiko sobbed in to my lap.
"It's okay."
"I don't want you to hate me."
"Ki-chan, I told you didn't I? There's no way I could hate you for something like this."
Kimiko sobbed harder.
"Please, help me."
"Whatever it is, let's work it out together."
"Mimi… I killed someone."
After all that had happened with Kimiko up until now, I found it difficult not to believe that. In fact, rather than feeling surprised, I found myself relieved.
"It's alright."
"Did you hear what I said?! You don't believe me?"
"I believe you."
"Then why didn't you call the police? Are you're afraid of me aren't you?"
"Ki-chan…"
She suddenly stood up and took a knife out of her pocket, but I didn't back away. For some reason, all the fear I had in the café is gone. I am glad that she told me. Now, we have a chance to understand each other again.
But Kimiko turned the knife on herself and moved it to her throat, while backing away toward the railing. Tears streaming out of her eyes.
"Ki-chan, wait! Let's talk about this more. I told you I would help you didn't?"
"There's nothing I can do, my life is already over."
As she moved to cut herself, I pulled her hand away and grabbed the knife. The metal slid into my hand and blood gushed out.
Kimiko let go of the knife in surprise and I threw it into the river.
"Why did you stop me?!"
With my clean hand, I slapped Kimiko in the face. She wobbled back a little and then collapsed onto the floor.
"Because I love you, you idiot!"