"She's a kind older woman who loves books and has a nice figure, right?"
"Yeah, so?"
"I think you guys would make a cute couple."
"What?"
She smiled teasingly, and I frowned. It was true that Yomiuri was older
than me, good-looking, and had big boobs, but she was also hard to read,
and you had to stay on guard around her. She liked to establish dominance
through teasing, which was okay when you had the room to deal with it
but a little taxing when you were tired.
"Why do you look so unhappy?" Ayase asked. "I thought she gave
good advice. And she seems like a nice, smart person."
"Well, I won't disagree with that," I said vaguely before clamming up.
I felt it would be really rude to tell another girl my honest opinion
about Yomiuri, which was that she was too exhausting to date.
"But how disappointing," Ayase muttered, setting down her spoon.
"What your coworker said is right, but I still want to be independent."
"You seem to be in an awful rush. Do you think Dad and I aren't
reliable?"
"It's not that. You and your dad are nice, and you seem like people I
can count on," she said. "It's just… I think it would have been a little
easier if the two of you weren't such good people."
"What's that supposed to mean…?"
"Sorry. I know there's nothing you can say to that… I think I've had
enough curry."
She looked surprised at her own words, as if she hadn't meant to say
them. She quickly began clearing her dishes, though a little curry remained
in her bowl.
I almost called out to her as she rushed into the kitchen, but I changed
my mind. It had only been a few days since we became stepsiblings, but
despite my limited experience with girls, even I could tell she didn't want
to talk anymore.
I would probably go to bed with this awkward feeling still plaguing
me. Bracing myself, I swallowed down the rest of the curry in my bowl.
It was very good, but the spice wasn't enough to cleanse the murkiness
from my mind.
"I wonder if I'll be able to sleep okay…"
…In the end, I had no problem falling asleep that night.
That was because Ayase made a rare visit to my room to bring me
something.
"What's this?" I asked.
"It's an aroma candle and a sleep mask. I'd feel bad if you couldn't
sleep because I said something weird."
I couldn't believe how thoughtful she was.
She might be clumsy and a little cold, but she was obviously a very
considerate person. This gesture added yet another layer of humanity to
her in my mind.
When you think back on the day's happenings, like when writing a diary,
you seldom recall the scenes on your way to school in the morning. That's
because memories of boring, routine activities are automatically deleted
from your mind.
On the other hand, when something happens that makes a powerful
impact or is simply worth mentioning, you will often start your description
like this:
It happened on my way to school…
Well, today was just such a day.
I had two methods of getting to Suisei High. I either walked or rode my
bicycle. It wasn't so far as to make walking impossible, but going on my
bike was faster and easier.
That wasn't always the case, however. If the weather was bad, I
walked. If there was a typhoon or snow, I was forced to. But I also went on
foot when it rained, or even if the forecast simply predicted rain.
Once, I ignored the rain, took my bike, and caught a bad cold. I
wouldn't ever make the same mistake again. With that determination, I
walked to school whenever rain seemed likely, tucking away my folding
umbrella in my school bag.
There was a 60 percent chance of rain that morning, and the sky was
heavy with gray clouds. I was walking briskly down a path I usually
breezed through on my bike when something caught my eye.
Someone with bright blond hair was standing in a crowd waiting for
the light to turn green.
It was Ayase. I could now recognize her, even from behind. She had
earphones in, the cables running out from inside her school uniform. She
was probably listening to music on the smartphone in her pocket.
She'd done the same thing in PE, and I began to wonder if she had a
special interest in it. What did people like her listen to? I was a completely different breed of human, so I couldn't even guess. I didn't imagine we'd
have similar tastes, since all I listened to were anime theme songs and
Western music.
I briefly considered calling out to her but quickly stopped myself.
We'd gone to the trouble of leaving home at different times so we could
hide our sibling relationship and keep our lives as they were before our
parents married. Talking to each other on the way to or from school, where
another student might see us, would run counter to that decision.
The light turned green. No one moved. I didn't, either.
Ayase was the only one who stepped forward.
That was what did it.
"Ayase!"
"Huh?"
The sound of car engines and honking grew louder and louder as if
climbing a musical scale, erasing whatever resolve I had to act like a
stranger.
There was no time to lose. I couldn't wait a split second. Even that
thought occurred after I'd already moved.
"…!"
I pulled her arm with all my strength. She staggered backward, unable
to maintain her balance. With only average muscle and coordination, I
could never support her weight in such an unsteady position.
Ayase and I fell butt-first onto the road in front of the pedestrian
crossing.
A large car ran a red light in front of our eyes.
She'd almost died. She'd been seconds away from oblivion, and that
was no exaggeration.
"..."
"..."
We stared at each other without a word.
As the moments passed, I began to perspire, and my breath grew
ragged.
The people around us watched with concern in their eyes as I got to my
feet, took Ayase's hand, and pulled her up.
"Over here," I said. "Come with me for a sec, will you?"
"Huh…? Oh…okay."
Weaving through the crowd and avoiding attention as much as
possible, I led her to a back alley where no one would see us.