Part Five (end)

My brain was clouded with the usual fog one has when they pull an all-nighter as I made my way to school.

I had stayed up after calling Hikaru, turned the page, and began recording everything I knew about the sacrifices: the date I believed they had been captured, the month and night they had been ‘sacrificed’— I tried not to think about that part for too long. My family’s tradition, which Kairi, Malcolm, and I had been participating in since we were born, had once seemed so horrifyingly normal to me.

The flesh brings us good health, Mother used to remind me when we refused to eat as children. It’s very tasty once you get used to it!

I shuddered. How true had that ever been? It was true that I could never recall Kairi, Malcolm, or myself ever getting ill. The adults always had a youthful look about them, too; Father was nearing fifty, but he could have passed for a thirty-year-old. Wasn’t that normal, though?

The leatherbound notebook weighed heavy in my shoulder bag. It felt like I was hiding a lethal weapon among my textbooks and school assignments.

Malcolm and I had met up earlier this morning. I had shown him my list, and he had confirmed or adapted the dates and details. The remains had always been burned in the furnace beneath the house. Perhaps if an investigation was done quickly, some of it could be recovered.

This was possible. My hope wasn’t false.

I marched to my classroom with the will of a soldier on a mission. I slid open the door and called out, “Hikaru!”

Heads turned towards me. I could feel myself freezing up again, but I looked around and saw him sitting at his desk. He had been chatting with a couple of classmates when he heard me. He looked a little shocked. “Uh, good morning,” I squeaked.

He grinned and stood up, walking towards me. “Good morning, Yadome!” He sent me a little wave, and I smiled.

“I have a favor to ask of you.”

“Sure! What’s up?”

He followed me as I gestured towards my desk, placing my shoulder bag on it. My heart thudded violently in my chest as I brought out the notebook, opened it to the center, and pulled out a white envelope.

“This is very, very important,” I began, looking him in the eyes.

Hikaru’s smile faded. “Okay.”

“I need you to deliver this envelope to the police station a couple of towns over.”

“…The police station?” he asked, perplexed.

“And you can’t look inside it,” I added. “Please do this for me. I know it’s strange, and I don’t know what I can do for you in return—”

He took the envelope from me, his expression grim. “I’ll do it.”

I let out a breath that I hadn’t known I had been holding. “Thank you, Hikaru. I’ll explain everything later, I promise.”

“I’ll do it, on one condition.”

“What is it?” I asked in panic.

“You have to give me one more art lesson,” he smiled gently.

I looked at him, relieved more than he could know. “I will.”