I heard it again. The knocking sound. This time, I wasn't dreaming. My hand quickly reached for my alarm clock, trying to see what time it was.
It's 3:47 in the morning.
I closed my eyes again and tried to go back to sleep. The knocking sound was still there. A few minutes later, I decided that it was too disturbing for my ears and sleep. I sat up in bed, trying not to furrow my brow too much and listened. The sound wasn't too loud; it was similar to the ticking of a clock but softer and more distant, like someone knocking on a door from afar. However, it followed a pattern; one, two, three, and then silence. If my mind wasn't hallucinating, the sound was coming from my glass door. Perhaps the wind had brought some branches from the nearby tree and knocked them against the glass.
My eyes, still adjusting to the darkness, glanced at the curtains for a few seconds. The idea of checking the sound without lights was immediately rejected by my common sense, and I headed for the light switch. I turned it on. It took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the LED light. It took even less time to realize that the only sound filling my room was the hum of the light.
My mind only thought of going back to sleep, so if the sound issue was resolved, I wouldn't question it again. Don't judge a gift by its contents, that's what they used to say. I turned off the switch and stopped; the sound didn't return. I didn't need any other reason to go back to sleep.
The day passed without any noteworthy events. My mind didn't even think about it until the final bell rang. The girl behind me didn't talk much either, but she had to go to the front of the class to finish the entropy exercises. Fortunately for me, high school physics wasn't as futile as math.
Some light conversation happened as we rode our bikes, the only ones left. Sasaki's bike turned out to be broken, its tires punctured, not long before she reached her home. She blamed irony. I blamed bad timing.
"A gift for your sister?" Sasaki whispered as I got on my bike. "You're her brother, you should know better than me."
"Well, I hope I can get some advice. She's reached the age where a cat doll isn't enough for her." I tried to turn my head to see if she was ready to go, but her arm wrapped around my waist confirmed it for me. "Ready?"
"Yep!" Sasaki seemed to enjoy this much more than I did, with a happy chirp that I could barely hear. After all, she didn't have to pedal. "I can already feel the memories flooding back."
"This is the price I pay for math class." When we went to the tutoring school, we didn't have to navigate busy streets filled with students. And I was in better shape.
I rode fast but steady, too worried not to fly off due to the new balance center we had. If anyone could see my face at that moment, my furrowed brow would enter the Guinness World Records for the wrong reasons.
"Anyway, some advice for the gift... What does she like? Last time we were together, she really liked that handmade bracelet. Although I guess that trend has passed."
"Yeah, that's the problem. Currently, nothing's trending because classes just started. I'm not desperate yet, but I don't want to procrastinate until the last minute." I gently pressed the brake as we descended, but that didn't stop Sasaki from hugging me tighter for support. "And about what she likes... Animals, annoying me, weird bands I've never heard of..."
"You sound like a parent." She laughed behind me. "Buy her an animal encyclopedia, 600 pages of complex material she can hardly read but will definitely never forget." I wasn't sure if she was serious or just teasing me.
"You're even worse than me! She likes animals soft, cute. She doesn't care about the behavioral habits of Indian monkeys." At least that's what I think.
"I'm just trying to lighten the mood. You're not the type to get nervous." Her tone shifted to a more serious one. "You've always been able to listen, you know. I'm not sure if anyone's told you this, but listening isn't an easy thing to do. And you're really good at it."
I tensed as my brain tried to process the change in tone and Sasaki's words simultaneously. I couldn't ignore that she was praising me, and while I appreciated it, her motives were no more than friendship. In fact, it was as strange as Sasaki being angry.
"Kyon?"
She tapped my back when I didn't respond quickly.
"Yeah?"
"You still don't like your nickname, huh?" With that, Sasaki herself changed the subject of conversation. "Anyway, the gift, the gift, the gift..."
After a few minutes of debate, we still hadn't agreed on a gift for my little sister, but I had narrowed down the options.
It took a few more minutes to reach my house, still known to Sasaki. Fortunately for me, no cats appeared in my path today. And I hope it didn't stalk me either.
I heard my sister running towards the entrance as soon as I opened it.
"Welcome ho-" My sister's usual greeting was cut off when she saw Sasaki. "Bro! It's been so long since the last time!"
"You've grown so much since the last time! You didn't reach my shoulder like now." Sasaki, who is usually quiet, also seemed more excited to be with my sister than with me.
I quickly took off my shoes as the two girls started whispering to each other, too much laughter for my taste. Is this what they call a devil's alliance? Am I doing the equivalent of pouring cholera into the water supply?
"Listen, we're going to study, okay? So don't bother your brother too much." Sasaki glanced at me briefly as she said those words.
"I never do that! Can we play after you're done? Are you staying for dinner?" My sister asked, knowing full well that she was lying with her first words.
"I don't want to bother like this. We'll have dinner together another time." Sasaki said as she neatly arranged her shoes next to mine. "We can play after that! But for that, Kyon has to finish studying."
My sister, who had been grumbling throughout her explanation, suddenly smiled and nodded happily.
"Yeah, I understand. No bother from me!" She laughed as she climbed the stairs and ran to her room.
"She didn't even tell me a word." I said after the door to her room suddenly closed.
"Well, she sees you every day." Sasaki smiled, pointing to the stairs. "On the second floor to the right." She explained like a flight attendant.
"Lead the way, you already know." I gestured for her to continue by raising my hand.
"Usually, it's the host who shows the way, not the guest." She climbed the stairs, throwing me a mischievous smile.
"Okay, my sister ran to her room, so she can't show you her hospitality now."
As soon as we entered my room, I closed the door tightly. Anti-s