Yuu-1

The girls’ changing room after gym came to life like a paddy field after a shower of rain. There was hardly any room to breathe, not only because of the scent of perfume and powder that pervaded the room, but because of all the soft drink bottles and sweat towels being thrown around. Meanwhile, the chatter simply refused to die down—a croak here, a croak there, almost like a chorus of frogs.

Not that we had any real inkling of what frogs sounded like. In this day and age, a good deal of high school students living in the city have probably never seen a frog in the flesh.

As such, I took the liberty of using my imagination. Concealing my body behind an open locker door, I basked in this silent entertainment exercise.

Frogs peeling off layers one at a time.

Frogs spraying deodorant on themselves.

Frogs discussing love with their friends.

Whenever I mentally exchange my cla.s.smates for frogs, the changing room becomes quite a humorous scene. Ribbit ribbit ribbit. It always makes me smile to myself.

I am quite certain that in the world of the paddy field, a frog going out of its way to avoid you would be no cause for concern. Frogs are blunt. Frogs are strong. Frogs are free. All humans ought to become frogs.

If the Earth was a village of a hundred frogs, there would be no frogs with an unhealthy admiration towards swans. Undoubtedly, they would never notice their own blemishes and thus live forever in peace.

In my palm, I gripped a small white flower, the name of which I did not know. I don’t believe this flower has ever considered that it might become anything other than a flower until the day I plucked it. That must certainly be the definition of happiness.

A sigh slipped out my mouth, unbidden.

Spiral-shaped clouds coiled in the sky through the window I was gazing at, like an omen warning of an earthquake. Startled, I swallowed the sigh that had just escaped my throat.

There are people out there who would qualify as the fruits of that sort of twisted logic. When they see everything as an omen, nothing has meaning. People who believe that rubbish are pumpkin heads or identical to vegetables, just to give an example.

Yes, that is how they are.

But that is the logic of a strong-willed person. There is no sin in a delicious pumpkin.

In this world, people are somewhat more cowardly. Unless someone pushes them, they will not budge an inch.

Like me, for instance.

Omens and fortune telling might just be a catalyst for people without courage. Written prophecies and revelations are pa.s.sed down through generations precisely because they offer guidance to people in doubt. I wonder if it really is such a bad thing to cling to some kind of invisible fate.

“Yes, no, yes, no, yes, no, yes…” I murmured as I plucked the petals from my flower.

Of course, I was hiding in the locker’s shadow as I did it. I am quite aware that flower fortune telling is old school to people of my age. I could easily imagine how I would be treated if my cla.s.smates spotted me in such a precarious position.

“Yes…”

The last remaining petal formed a wrinkle in my palm. Somehow, it felt like Misa’s smiling face to me. My angelic little sister. Whenever I think of her, I feel like doing everything in my power for her.

Encouraged by that petal, I touched my smartphone and opened the messaging app.

Maria-san, I have a favour to ask of you…

From now on, I would have to interact with a very frightening individual.

For the sake of regaining something that had been stolen so unfairly from me—something dearly precious.