Its Been Ten Years

It’s been a long time since I’ve come back here. Some things look a bit different now. I wonder how everyone’s doing...

Suddenly, someone stops in front of me.

“Are you Keisuke-kun?”

“Yes… and who might you be?”

“You’re so mean! Don’t you remember me? We used to play by the river when we were kids. Ma-yu-mi!”

Mayumi?

Of course—I remember now. She always played with me when we were little. If I’m not mistaken, there was someone else who always joined us too…

“Where’s Genta?”

“We’ll talk about that later. For now, let’s go see your grandparents. They’ll be so excited to see you again!”

“Is that my grandchild? Kei-chan?”

Grandma looks shocked as she steps out of the house.

“Yes! It’s me, Grandma!”

She pulls me into a tight hug. Grandpa, who just comes out from the back, also looks surprised.

“How’s your family doing? I heard your parents went on a business trip last week,” Grandma says as she pours me a cup of tea.

“Yes, they’re in Australia for a month. My sister’s a first-year university student, and she said she’ll be coming here tomorrow too.”

“Kaori-chan is coming as well?! I’m so lucky to witness this while I’m still alive. I’m so happy I haven’t died yet!” Grandpa says excitedly.

“Idiot! Don’t say things like that in front of your grandson!” Grandma snaps as she smacks the back of his head.

As usual, they’re still lively.

“Keisuke-kun, are you still studying?” Mayumi asks quietly.

“Yes. This is my final year.”

“You’re amazing!” she says, eyes wide with admiration.

“It’s nothing, really. After this, I’ll be taking the National Medical License Exam to qualify for residency.”

“My grandson, a doctor! And Kaori-chan’s studying fashion design, right?” Grandma asks.

“Yes. By the way, how about you, Mayumi? How have you been?”

“Don’t you know? She’s getting ready to open her own restaurant. She studied at a culinary institute for the past two years,” Grandma jumps in.

“You’re the amazing one! So when are you opening it?”

“I’m still saving up. Right now, I’m working part-time at a restaurant in the next town,” Mayumi explains.

“Let me and Genta be your first customers,” I say with a smile. But as soon as the words leave my mouth, the mood shifts. What happened to Genta?

“Anyway, Keisuke-kun, let me show you around the village. You haven’t been here in ten years. You’ll be surprised how much it’s changed,” Mayumi offers.

“Thank you. I’ll take you up on that. Grandpa, Grandma, I’m heading out for a bit.”

“Please take care,” Grandma says warmly.

“Enjoy your date, young people,” Grandpa adds with a grin.

Smack!

“Ow! You’ll kill me one of these days!”

“You’re the one saying dumb things all the time, idiot.”

As we walk around the village, I notice many houses look more modern now. The elementary school is bigger too. It must have more students than before. But strangely, I don’t see many kids playing outside. Maybe they’re off enjoying summer vacation elsewhere with their families.

“Where do you want to go next, Keisuke-kun?” Mayumi asks.

“Can we go to the river? The place we used to go as kids?”

“No!”

Her sharp reply catches me off guard. What happened to this village?

“At least tell me why. And… what really happened to Genta?”

“You must be curious after our reactions earlier… I’ll tell you. But let’s go somewhere else first.”

We walk to a small restaurant a little ways from the school.

“Mayumi-chan, who’s this guy? Your boyfriend?” the owner asks.

“Don’t you remember him, Sakamoto-san? This is Keisuke-kun,” Mayumi replies.

“Really? I can’t believe that little crybaby grew up!”

I laugh, remembering how I used to cry all the time when we lost games. Sakamoto-san would always give us shaved ice afterward to cheer us up.

“Here, a special shaved ice for both of you! Enjoy!” Sakamoto-san says cheerfully.

“The flavor’s still the same! I love this so much.”

“I’m glad to hear that. So, what brings you two here? A date? If so, I’ll give you some space,” he jokes.

“N-no! We’re here because Keisuke-kun wants to know about that incident,” Mayumi says quietly.

“…Are you sure, Keisuke? Do you really want to know what happened in this village?” Sakamoto-san’s expression suddenly turns serious.

Did I just open Pandora’s box?

“Just remember—not a word of this to anyone in the village. Because of what happened, many people left last year.”

That explains why the streets were so quiet earlier.

“What happened here?” I ask.

“Brace yourself. In this village… there’s a Chupacabra!” Sakamoto-san shouts.

I flinch. Wait—what?

“That monster… it’s the one that killed Genta,” Mayumi says, her voice trembling.