polaris_954242564
Chapter 7
Half a year passed by without Rei and Kumiko talking. Whenever they saw each other in the hallways or in public, they just averted their eyes and continued to walk. With that attitude, they graduated from high school.
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“Here.”
Rei looked up. Kumiko was staring straight at him, her eyes unwavering with complete no emotion. She had thrust her right hand out. In the outstretched palm was a book, a dull one with an ordinary black jacket. What is she up to this time, Rei thought wearily. He stayed still, not bothering to receive the book. “What’s this?” he asked quietly.
Kumiko had asked to talk to him in private after the graduation ceremony of Takegawa High School. As she had promised everyone, she emerged the top scholar of the school, and everyone had accepted her the way she was, even though she was just a replacement of a classmate. She had led him to the school garden, where the cherry trees were in full bloom.
“Yui…Yui’s diary.” Kumiko said in a neutral tone. A storm of cherry blossoms blew up behind her, being played with the wind. It was a hypnotizing scene, where Kumiko was trying to get Rei to receive the book.
“What’s this, all of a sudden. She’s been dead for half a year now and you’re giving me her diary?” Rei asked, a voice tinged with scorn and hatred.
Kumiko lowered her stare into a glare. “The truth behind Yui’s death lies here. Are you afraid of what you’ll find?”
“Wha…?” Rei was taken aback, and he took a step backwards. “Shouldn’t that go with the police? Why do you have it?”
“At the funeral…Yui’s mother threw this at me…I managed to dry it and read through the handwriting.” Kumiko grimaced. She let go of the book and let it fall to the ground. The book landed with an ominous thud. Rei stared blankly at the book.
“It’s up to you whether you want to read this book or not. Take this as my graduation gift to you.” Kumiko turned, her right hand up as she disappeared towards the middle of the cherry blossom storm.
Rei stared at the book. He picked it up and threw it into his bag. He turned towards the way of home.
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Why…why am I so frightened to open the book? Rei sat huddled beneath the window of his room. He had not bother to turn on the lights, and he placed Yui’s diary in front of him.
Am I afraid what’s in the content of the book? But Yui’s death has nothing to do with me…she’s just a classmate of mine. Why am I so shaken up?
Rei reached out for the book, but he hesitated. What? Rei grasped his right hand. It was shaking uncontrollably. He looked down at his hand which was shivering. Why? What am I shaking about? NO! No, I can’t be a coward.
Rei drew in a deep breath. He released his left hand’s grip and using his right hand, he flipped open the book as he read the scrawled text.
“This is…!?”
~********* *****~
He opened the door and entered, the night breeze tousling his hair. His eyes were blank and glassy, as if he were ridden with a sickness that made people lose their souls. He was in a white shirt; part of a school uniform, half of the shirt buttons open. His pants were black, black as midnight; he started walking forward. He was not walking in any particular fashion, a normal walk that had no swagger or stagger. However, it was slow, as if his feet weighed a ton. In the loosely clasped fingers of his right hand, was a book, a normal one with a black cover.
The open space beyond the railings beckoned to him; the gusty wind had turned into a gale, as if trying to convince him to turn back. He paid no heed and continued forward. Once he reached the railings, he hoisted himself onto it and sat, his back facing the lively night city filled with bright neon colours. He opened the black book once more and glanced at the scribbled writing.
He closed his possessed eyes, rivulets of tears flowing out. He let the book clatter onto the tiles of the floor. He said something. He pushed himself off. The clock struck 12 midnight.
~********* *****~
Kumiko had climbed the ladder; she was at the highest point of the building. She overlooked the entire roof. And there she sat, and waited.
Like what she had predicted, he appeared. She sat their quietly, and watched him. He was walking like a zombie, slowly, ever slowly towards the railings. He pulled himself onto the railings and opened the book. All this time, Kumiko never took her eyes off Rei.
His lips moved. Kumiko continuously stared at his lips, reading them. He then pushed himself off the building. The clock tower struck 12 midnight.
“You finally realized what you have caused me…and what I have gone through.” Kumiko whispered to herself, the chimes of the bell drowning her voice. Warm tears started to roll down her face.
“I accept your apology.” Kumiko buried her face into her hands. “You have paid for you sins.” She sobbed for a long time as the bells continued to chime, as if ringing in celebration for this day. When the bell finally stopped its din, Kumiko was allowed a moment of silence.
She looked up into the midnight sky which was illuminated by the neon lights of the city below. She closed her eyes and uttered a single word.
“Aokigahara.”
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aokigahara
...oh, and there's one more chapter where all the stuff is revealed...so, stay tuned!!! (^^)
polaris_954242564
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