Recitative

Chapter 3 - Recitative

Everyone observantly stepped out of the door, carefully looking to avoid any light.

“Let’s go, Michi…”

“Yeah, yeah! Don’t boss me around, Haruto!”

“Geez…”

Hearing Michi and Haruto behind her, Akiko and Amaya stepped out hand-in-hand to follow the others. As the sun was still on the other side of the building, the hallway wasn’t bright, making it safe to roam for the time being.

Everyone made their way safely to the stairs, where they were met with the first obstacle: an open window.

“We’re gonna have to sidestep, press up against the wall, then crouch under the window and do the same on the other side,” said Yuji-sensei.

“Slowly and calmly, everyone,” Chang-min tried solidifying the way everyone should move.

Yuji-sensei continued to lead the charge, followed by Chang-min, Emiko, Ayumu, Ren, Shizu, Amaya, Akiko, Haruto and Michi, in that order.

Akiko could hear the loud thumping of her own heartbeat as they made their way downstairs. The first floor was similarly in shade, so they were able to walk to the storage room without much stress.

Why is everything so oddly quiet? Not just in the school, but outside as well…

Akiko was pondering when they finally reached and entered the storage room.

It wasn’t the most spacious of spaces, but it was enough for ten people, and most importantly, it only had a tiny window that they could easily cover with a locker that was in there already. After they were done with that, everyone sat down around the room, grouping with their acquaintances, meaning Akiko sat closely with Amaya. 

Next up in the group’s plan was to check their phones for any information. Akiko opened YouTube to check how her video was doing, and the views made her leave her mouth agape.

“Amaya-chan, look!”

“What is it?” She looked at the screen in shock. “You got a million views!?” Amaya tried very hard to not yell, but she was just as excited as Akiko, if not more.

“I can’t believe it!”

“Congrats!”

“Do you think people listened because of the current situation?”

“That could be a factor, but that just means that they were able to find solace in your playing, which is amazing in my opinion. I knew your skills were top-notch!”

“Stop… I’m gonna melt.”

“It’s true, and I’m not the only one that thinks that it seems.”

Akiko was burying her face in her thighs when Chang-min stood and spoke up.

“The government put out a notice that they will do a live stream announcement in an hour. It should appear soon on all phones, but until then we’ll just have to endure and hope for the best.”

The mood of the group started to get better with something that may bring solace to look forward to.

“Well, this is gonna be a long hour,” whispered Amaya to Akiko.

“Wanna watch something together? I have earbuds.”

“Sure! What would you like to watch?”

“How about some sci-fi?”

“Yeah, I’m down.”

The hour surprisingly went by fast, as everyone was either on their phone, in a conversation or both. Akiko anxiously awaited the countdown on her phone. 

At the start of the live stream, Shigeru Ishiba, Japan’s current prime minister, requested the people not to panic. After that, he explained that an astrophysicist from the ESRL's Global Monitoring Division will explain further. The live cut to a different environment, and the language changed to English, accompanied by Japanese subtitles. The astrophysicist cut to the chase without introduction.

“Due to unknown reasons, the Earth’s ozone layer has cracked. We’re trying to find solutions as we speak, but in the current state of our planet, we have a maximum of a year to solve this issue. If we cannot, we will all perish. To anyone who might have experience in the field: please apply to help through the link on screen! To everyone else: refrain from going outside, avoid the light and live until we find a way for humanity to survive. Stay safe out there and believe!”

Even though the temperature was high outside, the room was frozen after that speech. The prime minister came back on and tried to assure the people that the one year was a miscalculation, but since he wasn’t the expert in the field, his attempts were mostly futile. He then repeated the last sentence the astrophysicist said, and with that the live stream ended.

Akiko’s brain couldn’t comprehend immediately what they had just said. Her brain completely shut down, trying to process the words, the situation, and their one-year so-called ‘future’.

They said they were looking for a solution, but if they don’t find one, we’ll just all die?

Fear, anxiety, uncertainty and panic crept up in the minds of Akiko and likely many others. The stress levels in the room rose up. No one knew what to say or think. The news they had gotten was heavy, heavier than anything anyone could have ever experienced or imagined.

The world is coming to an end? What should we do then…? What is the right choice? And for what reason? What kind of meaning?

Questions after questions popped up in Akiko’s head when suddenly someone stood up.

Everyone looked up to see Ayumu walking to the door.

“Where are you going?” Yuji-sensei asked.

“There’s no reason to wait for my death here. I might as well get over it now.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“You’re right. I’ll come too,” Ren joined him.

“Wait! I can’t live without you, Ren!” Shizu screamed.

“Then come with me. We can be together in the afterlife.”

“You want to just give up?” Chang-min interfered. “There’s still hope. Suicide is not the answer!”

“I don’t care. Let’s go, Shizu!” Ren said as Ayumu opened the door.

Shizu seemed conflicted at first, but she ended up deciding to go with her love.

“As your teacher, I can’t let you do that,” Yuji-sensei tried stopping them as they stepped out into the hallway.

Chang-min, Amaya and Akiko followed them until the doorframe.

“Come back, guys; we can talk about it!” Akiko tried persuading.

“We can survive together!” Amaya also gave it a shot.

“I promise I’ll protect you guys. It’s my responsibility after all,” Yuji-sensei declared firmly as he stood in front of the window, blocking them from pushing the curtains to the side.

“Respectfully, it is our choice what we want to do, so please let us do as we please. You don’t have to do anything,” Amuyu made up his mind.

“I can’t…”

“Stand aside,” Ren said.

Yuji-sensei didn’t move.

Then suddenly, Ren jumped past Yuji-sensei as Amuyu held him down, and he yanked the curtains off of their holds.

“Wait, don’t…!” Chang-min reflexively closed the door to use it as a shield against the sunlight, but for the four people in the hallway, it was too late. Their screams were painfully loud to everyone in the storage room.

Emiko and Michi started crying profusely, Akiko and Haruto shed a few tears, while Chang-min and Amaya just collapsed on their knees, baffled.

An hour that felt like days had passed as the remaining six in the group somewhat calmed down. No one said a word. They just sat there silently, looking at the ground or the ceiling.

 Akiko was the first to move, unpacking her guitar. Chang-min looked her way, but no one opened their mouths. As Akiko positioned the guitar in her lap, Amaya leaned against her shoulder. Akiko looked around the room, but there were no objections to her picking up the acoustic instrument. 

She started strumming a melancholic melody, magically flowing out of her guitar’s strings. What surprised her, though, is that Amaya started singing a ballad-like song along with Akiko’s playing.

I would like to say

"Don’t give up! Hey!”

But it’s really hard to do so right now

Because recently everything seems to drown

At moments like these

I would like to think

We have hope still

Yet “Is this for real?”

“Am I dreaming?” I ask

In truth, I already know

I suppose that I shall

Keep pushing on

It will end sooner or later

What matters is the journey

That we give it our all for something greater

Even when everything in the world is burning

Always remember

“Never give up!”