Jukai (The Torihada Files Book 2) Page 2

  I hadn’t been in Sayumi’s room since she left. She asked me not to, and I had no plans to disrespect her wishes. I walked past it every night to go to bed, and every night it reminded me that she wasn’t there. That she was gone. That the one person who could help me with this skill I possessed was no longer there to drag me out of the darkness. It would consume me; it was only a matter of time, and she wouldn’t be there to stop it.

  Something crashed and I jumped. The picture frame fell forward, flat on the desk. I stuck my head through the door frame, just enough to get a good look inside, but there was nothing there. The lone window was closed and outside was still. There was, of course, nobody in the room either. The frame fell over by itself. Only it was never by itself. There was always a very good reason why seemingly random events like a TV turning on, a curtain billowing with no wind, or a photo frame falling over with no external help occurred.

  Something was inviting me in. Beckoning me into the forbidden. Sayumi’s room was her sanctuary, her respite from the world. The picture frame stared back at me, silent and lying on its face. Come in. Pick me up. You know you want to. Sayumi wouldn’t be pleased with such disorder. She won’t know that you did it. It’s not like you’re snooping around her stuff without her approval. You’re just fixing a single little photo frame. Come in. Pick it up. Make it right. What’s there to be worried about?

  My mouth grew dry and I licked my lips. I shook my head, over and over, my hair covering my eyes as I did so. “No. I promised,” I said to no-one in particular. Hair hid the room from my vision, and I hurried to my own room with my head down. I feared what I might see out the corner of my eye, watching me as I passed by. I also feared what I might not see. Was it truly the thought of spirits that terrified me, or the thought that there was nothing at all? That I was, after all, truly alone. That the photo frame really did fall over because of a minor tremor, or a fault in the building’s workmanship that caused it to lean, bit by bit, until finally it toppled over on its own.

  I flopped down on the bed and buried my face in my pillow. The room was large and sparse. I had little need for possessions, and aside from the bed and desk that Sayumi supplied me with, the room was empty. Well, not entirely empty. A few books were piled high in the corner, unread and forgotten. Perhaps one day when I had a little less on my mind. I didn’t exactly need help being transported to worlds and stories that weren‘t my own. That I had down pat already.

  I closed my eyes and images of the forest flashed before them once more. I sat up in shock and shook my head, trying to fling them from my mind. Sayumi had trained me only to pick up images from an object upon will. It helped to “keep the darkness from pulling you in again… or finding you out here.” Three solid years I had trained under her tutelage, and never again did I experience something like that day… the day they ruined my life. So why now? Why that girl? Why when Sayumi wasn’t here to help?

  Why?

  I sat down at the desk and pulled out my diary. The initial dates were close together, then slowly began to space out. The date on the last page was from a few weeks earlier. I turned to the next blank page and grabbed a pen.

  Note for Sayumi: It happened again today when I picked up a photo of a young girl. A customer left his wallet behind, and when I picked the picture up, it dragged me in. I saw a forest—I don’t know which—and rope. I also heard chimes, but they sounded distant. It happened unconsciously, the moment I picked the photo up. What could it mean?

  I closed the book and took a deep breath. Sayumi would know what to do when she got back. I just had to hold out a little longer.

  I crawled back into bed and closed my eyes. It was the end of a long day and I was ready to forget about everything. The phone rang and drew me from my happy thoughts. I wanted to laugh at the absurdity, but part of me held out hope that each time it might be her, even if it was just to let me know that she was okay and she’d be back soon. I dragged myself downstairs to the break room and picked the phone up before it stopped ringing.

  “Hello? Matsuda Tea and Sweets.”

  “Hello? Oh, thank goodness. I was worried you wouldn’t be open this late.” It was a man’s voice.

  “We’re not, sir.”

  “Oh. I’m sorry. Uh, my name is Takeshi. I was in the store today picking up some of those sweet bean cakes for my daughter.”

  Ah.

  “I think I left my wallet in the store. I couldn’t find it when I got home, and that was the only place I went other than work today.”

  “Yes, sir. We still have your wallet here.”

  The sigh of relief was audible from the other end.

  “Oh, thank goodness, thank goodness. Um, It’s a little late to be coming around right now, but I’ll be around first thing in the morning to pick it up, if that’s okay?”

  “Of course, sir. The store opens at 8, but if you knock, I’ll be able to bring your wallet out for you.”

  I hated being close to the storefront at night. The entire front wall was glass from the waist up, but there were no curtains to shield from the outside world after work hours. The store sat at the end of an isolated little street, so there were no street lights either. Shadows danced in the moonlight, and at times it was difficult to distinguish them from the real shadows that lurked. Waiting for me to notice them. We weren’t to go into the store after dark. Sayumi never told me why and I never questioned her. If Sayumi said so, that was enough. There was something not right there; that much I could sense myself. I didn’t need to find out what exactly.

  “Excellent, thank you! Oh, you’re a lifesaver. I’ll be there first thing! Wait, no, that’s right, I have that thing to do tomorrow morning. Um, I’ll be there around lunch, so please keep it for me!”

  He hung up and I replaced the receiver. An ancient clock on the other side of the wall ticked… and ticked… I turned and ran back upstairs, my head hidden from Sayumi’s room as I passed. Not tonight. Whoever wanted my attention would have to wait until another time.

  4

  A young man walked around the store, picking up random bags of tea and returning them, then picking up sweets and reading the ingredients before putting them back too. He scratched his neck and looked at the large antique clock above the counter. When he saw me looking at him, he averted his gaze entirely.

  “Do you need some help, sir?”

  Rain drizzled outside, and the radio played some classical music that Sayumi liked. I was never a fan, but it was better than silence.

  “No, no. I’m good.” He picked up a few bags of tea at random, then loaded his arms with sweets and dropped them all on the counter. “Uh, I’ll take these.”

  “Certainly, sir.” I scanned the items, one by one, as he shifted from foot to foot, looking around like the bogeyman was about to jump out and get him. Maybe he was like me. Maybe he knew how much truth lay in those words.

  “Sure has been a lot of rain lately, huh?” The weather was my best and only attempt at making conversation. It was like pulling teeth from a stone, but making the customer feel comfortable was part of the service. I hated making conversation. It was never a skill I developed as a child, but crawling into a hole to die in silence wouldn’t do me any good either. My mother said something like that to me when I was younger. Before…

  “What? Oh, yeah, sure. Rain. Sucks, huh? Haha.”

  I scanned the last item and placed it in a bag. “That’ll be 6,498 yen.”

  His eyes widened like he was only just realising how much he’d put down on the counter, but he pulled his wallet out and pushed the bills across. I gave him his change, and he pushed a photo of a young woman towards me, a necklace sitting on top.

  “I’m sorry, what’s this?”

  Again he scratched his neck and shrugged. The man appeared to be in his mid-20s, but his actions screamed of a teenage boy who wanted something he was unsure of how to ask for.

  “I, uh, I heard this was the place to come to when you want to find something.”

&nb
sp; I tilted my head and bit my lip to stop anything unwanted from getting out. “Where did you hear that from, sir?”

  That shrug again. “Just a friend. Is it true? Do you, uh, find things?” His eyebrows raised in unison with his voice.

  “I’m sorry, but we don’t—”

  “T-This is my girlfriend.” He pushed the photo with the necklace on it closer, desperation in his eyes. He withdrew his hand as though fearful a snake might strike it and ran it through his hair again. “I need you to… She’s been missing. For two weeks now. I just…” The words came out in a jumble, and he clenched his fists so as not to hit himself in the head with them. “I just want to find her. I want to know where she is.”

  A pretty girl stared back at me from the photo. Round eyes and a cheerful smile. She wouldn’t be out of place in a pop group. A tiny silver dolphin hung from the end of the necklace. It was the same one she was wearing in the photo.

  The room seemed to grow dark around me. The walls closed in, the roof pressed down on me, and the floor buckled and swayed. It was pushing me towards the photo, urging me to pick it up. To touch it. To open up to them. To let them in.

  “I-I’m sorry, sir, but you have the wrong place. As you can see, we sell tea and sweets. That’s all.” I forced a smile upon my lips as best I could, unable to drag my eyes away from the photo.

  “N-No, but…” The man pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, dropping it on the floor before hastily picking it back up. “This is Matsuda Tea and Sweets, right?” He turned and looked back at the entrance. “I could have sworn that’s what it said on the sign out front.”

  Desperation poured off him in waves. It pained me to shake my head, but I couldn’t help him. Not alone. Not now.

  “We don’t offer that service anymore,” I said. He looked at me confused, and then the light in his eyes dimmed.

  “Is that so?”

  The look on his face broke my heart, but there was nothing I could do. Without Sayumi, it was impossible. If I tried to help this man, if I used the necklace he pushed in my direction, I would open myself up, and it wasn’t a one-way street. I couldn’t do it without Sayumi. It would swallow me whole.

  “I’m sorry.”

  He nodded his head, like he knew it was hopeless all along. I pushed the photo and necklace back with a gloved hand. He stared at them for a moment, then the glove, then at me.

  “Keep them. Just in case you change your mind, or restart that service again, or, whatever.”

  I opened my mouth to respond but there were no words that would console him, and I didn’t want to reject him a second time. Instead, I smiled and bowed my head slightly.

  “S-She’s… she’s my fiancee,” he said. “I just want her back. My name’s Yasu, by the way.”

  His shoulders drooped as he exited the store, and another man entered at the same time. It was the man from the day before. The man who forgot his wallet.

  “Welcome.” I bowed my head and took the photo and necklace, putting them under the counter and bringing out the man’s wallet. His face lit up when he saw it.

  “Oh, thank goodness. I was looking everywhere for it, and then my wife went into a panic and, let me tell you, it’s never a good time when that happens.”

  I handed it to him and smiled. “Of course, sir. I’m glad we were able to return it safely to you.”

  He held it up and smiled and made his way towards the door.

  “Um, sir.” I didn’t want to get involved, but the words came out before I could stop them. “The little girl. The picture in your wallet. Is that your daughter?”

  His entire demeanour changed and he stopped. His shoulders fell, and the energy drained from his face. He nodded and opened his wallet to look at the picture in question.

  “Her name’s Akiko. She’s only ten-years-old. She, uh, she went missing a few weeks ago.” He blinked back tears. Another missing girl? This man’s daughter, the man who called himself Yasu’s fiancee, and Sayumi. Three women gone from the same town. That was no coincidence.

  “Where did she go missing, if you don’t mind my asking?”

  The man shrugged, his eyes focused on the photo. “She was on her way home from school, I guess. She left as normal that day, but she never made it back. None of her friends saw her. No-one saw her. She was just… gone.”

  I didn’t know what to say. “I’m sorry to hear that.” An awkward silence filled the air. The clock ticked loudly above me. “The police don’t know what happened?”

  He shook his head. “They’re searching for her, but they haven’t found anything.” He looked up at the roof and blinked a few times, then turned to me and forced a smile. “Anyway, thank you for this.” He held the wallet up. “And thank you for the help yesterday. I hope…” He took a deep breath. “I hope that when Akiko gets back that we can enjoy them all together again.”

  The doorbell tinkled behind him and the store fell silent. Three girls missing without a trace. I rubbed my arms, the store colder than usual. What was going on?

  As the day came to a close, I finished making notes of the day’s sales in the store ledger and sighed. Sayumi’s handwriting ended several pages earlier. After that, it was all me. Maths was never my strong point. The numbers all started to swirl together before long. I hated accounting and hoped Sayumi wouldn’t find too many mistakes when she returned.

  A storm raged outside. Wind picked up wet leaves and sent them tumbling through the air, punctuated by short bursts of light and the distant rumble of thunder. As a child I enjoyed storms. As an adult, they made me uneasy. Water conducted spirits and made it easier for them to come into our world.

  A mother pulled her daughter close under their shared umbrella and I felt a twinge of jealousy. A young couple huddled under the man’s jacket, giggling as they ran against the wind and water. It was dark outside, and soon the storefront would come to life; not with customers, but with something else. Something I didn’t want to be around to see.

  The young woman’s photo stared back at me from the corner of the desk, a happy face that knew little struggle. I could see her past unravelling before me. She had a happy family and devoted partner. She probably played volleyball at school—captain of the team, no doubt—and aced all her tests. She went to a good university, met her now-fiance, and was living a happy life surrounded by happy people. The look on her face didn’t know hardship or pain.

  So, where was she now?

  I reached out for the necklace, my fingers extending slowly as it came within reach. They hovered over it while my brain debated what would happen. Would it be like the little girl’s photo? Or would it be like normal? Would I have to focus and let everything in while I looked for what I was after?

  I withdrew my hand and closed my eyes. The antique clock above the register ticked. Tick tock. Tick tock. A rumble of thunder from far away filled the store, and it wouldn’t be long before that wasn’t the only thing.

  “This sucks,” I said to no-one in particular. How long did she expect me to carry on like this? Night after night of silence, of ignorance, of not knowing where she was, what she was doing, if she was hurt and when (or if) she might be back.

  The street grew dark and empty. Most people would be in the comfort of their homes by now, eating a hot dinner in a warm room, watching TV with their family and relaxing after a hard day’s work. I closed the ledger and my eyes flickered back to the photo. Her family were missing her just as much as I was missing Sayumi, but worse. Sayumi told me she was leaving; a work trip, no less. But this girl, she disappeared without a word. Her family had no idea. I could help them. Whatever the risks, I could help them.

  I picked up the piece of paper with the man’s number and dialled. It rang a few times before a gruff “hello?” answered.

  “Hello. This is Mako. From the Matsuda Tea and Sweets store.”

  Silence.

  “…Hi.”

  “I’d like you to come back to the store again tomorrow. I’ll take on your case. I�
�ll help you find your fiancee.”

  5

  “What can you tell me about… what did you say her name was again?”

  “Keiko,” Yasu said. He shifted awkwardly from foot to foot. I put a tray of green tea down on the front counter and offered him some. “Thank you.”

  “Keiko,” I repeated the word like it gave me power. Now I knew her. Her photo lay between us on the desk, happy face smiling up. “What does Keiko do?”

  He warmed his hands around the cup and stilled his feet the best he could. “She works at a fashion boutique in the city. A sales clerk. Sells fancy, expensive clothes.”

  Yeah. Judging by the photo alone that fit her perfectly. I could hear her booming voice in my head every time a customer entered the store. “Welcome!” Her friendly manner. Laughing and slapping the customers on the shoulder at a poor joke, making them feel comfortable enough to shell out copious amounts of money for clothes she suggested to them. That seemed to suit her just fine.

  “Okay. How long has she been working there?”

  “She started part-time in university, and then when she graduated they took her on full-time. She works Monday to Friday, 8 to 4. Normal hours. She takes the train in, it’s only three stops from our house so it’s not too far, and leaves the house at 7:15 each morning. The train leaves at 7:23 exactly. She arrives at the station at 7:34 and from there it’s a 10-minute walk to work.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “Well, that’s… certainly very detailed. Thank you.”

  He nodded and took a sip of the tea. “This is good. Thank you.”