Haru

     The next day, just as class was dismissed, Akane came launching herself down the hallway. Crashing into Natsuiro, halfway out of breath. “Gomenne!” she apologized, “We ended up staying longer then we’d expected. Sensei took all of our phones in the morning, so I didn’t see your messages until now.” Akane looked back towards another girl with brown dyed hair, tied into a French braid trailing behind her, equally out of breath. “Why are we running?” the girl complained as she approached the two of them. Ignoring her grumble, Akane turned back towards Natsuiro and asked, “what was it that was so important for me to see?” Natsuiro looked past her and over at the girl with her back against the wall, gasping for air. “Oh, Fuyu?” Akane interjected, “don’t worry about her. She’ll live. Fuyu just transferred here from Korea. Her and my parents are actually pretty close.” Natsuiro gently greeted Fuyu who quietly waved back at her. “Anyways, what did you have to show me?” Pulling Akane to the side, she fished out the photograph once more. “Remember this from yesterday?” she stated while fanning it in front of her face. Akane grabbed it from Natsuiro’s hand and looked at it with a robust expression. “Yeah, I remember it. What’s the matter?” she asked, a bit perplexed. Natsuiro, without saying anything, traded glances between her and the photograph in her hand. Akane then returned an equally disjointed expression. Fed up, Natsuiro grabbed the photo back from her and pointed to the spot at the top of the film. “Look at that,” she balked, “that wasn’t there when I showed it to you yesterday.” Akane then leaned in and took a closer look. “Really?” she replied in a non-assuring tone, “to be honest, I can’t remember if it was or not.” Dissatisfied, Natsuiro looked at her with a smug stare. Sensing her energy, Akane tried to reason with her. “Natsu, I’m not saying that you’re wrong, I’m just saying that I don’t remember. I barely looked at it yesterday.” Stuffing it back into her bag, Natsuiro retorted, “well, maybe I’m going crazy, but I know for sure that it looks different than it did to me yesterday.” Instead of arguing back, Akane stood with her hand outstretched. “What?” Natsuiro inquired. “Pass me the photograph, I’m going to take a picture of it with my phone, that way if it changes again, we’ll know for sure this time.” While handing her the photograph, Natsuiro prodded, “I thought you said it was stupid to take pictures of photographs?” To which Akane jabbed back, “yeah well… left is right, up is down, and I’m walking backwards in time.” She then handed back the photograph to Natsuiro and informed her that she’d be helping Fuyu sign up for the culture club and didn’t know what time she would be leaving school. They then said their goodbyes before Akane and Fuyu made their way off down the hallway.

     Left alone, Natsuiro trotted her way over to the library and grabbed a couple of books on film photography and instant film cameras. She researched how film worked, and the traditional developing process. She flipped through numerous books tirelessly for a remedy for overexposed images. Unfortunately, failing to find anything useful, and eventually collapsing back into her chair as exhaustion took over.

Knock, knock, knock.

     She looked to her side to find Kisetsu Sensei standing beside her, leaning against one of the bookshelves. “It’s late, everyone needs to go home now.” Sitting herself up straight, Natsuiro gave a calm confirmation as she closed the books mounting on top of one another in front of her. “I’m surprised to see that you aren’t just searching that information up on the internet like everyone else your age does.”

     “I tried to, but I was getting bombarded. Most of it unrelated.”

     “Yeah, that seems about true. Researching accurate information on the internet is a skill unto itself.”

     A small waft of silence lodged itself in between the two of them. As Natsuiro grabbed her things the teacher offered, “leave the books, I’ll take care of them. You can just head home.” Natsuiro thanked him as she headed towards the exit. “Natsu,” Kisetsu Sensei called out, “family should look after one another. Don’t be so much of a stranger all of the time.” Natsuiro paused at the doorway, then slowly exited the room in almost a complete repeat fashion of the previous day.

     Scurrying down the thin roads of Kyoto, Japan, Natsuiro gulped in a heap of fresh air. Listening to the sounds of the world surrounding her. Sometimes just the atmosphere alone could drift her away into a trance state. Swaying back down to her senses, she checked her phone aimlessly; stopping as she happened across the anonymous number from the day before. She held her thumb steady over the call icon. For some reason, she felt an urgent need to put the mystery games to rest. Just as she went to make the call, a voice called out to her. She turned to find Akane standing behind her, waving.

     “Natsu, are you just now heading home?”

     “I was checking something at the library. What are you doing out right now? You never take this road home.”

     “I was walking Fuyu to the station. If you have time, you could come to my place. My mother is working overtime so I’m just hanging out tonight.”

     Natsuiro seemed a bit reluctant to accept her offer, but Akane insisted; practically dragging her off back towards her home. If there was one complexity about their friendship that Natsuiro lamented, it was her inability to shake off Akane’s; at times, overbearing personality.

     They arrived at her home with Akane urging Natsuiro to turn down her intensity and “just relax.” Akane trotted off to the kitchen to make two glasses of tea while Natsuiro awkwardly searched for a nonintrusive location to place her belongings down. “Did anything happen with that photograph you’re so obsessed with yet?” Akane asked. Natsuiro reached over for her bag and pulled the polaroid out. Uneventfully she didn’t notice anything significantly different. “No, it looks the same to me.” Natsuiro informed before placing the photo down on the table in front of her. Akane then placed two cups of tea down and made herself comfortable at the table before grabbing the photograph and taking a look. “You know, when I look at it long enough it kind of reminds me of the old Shrine on the way to school.” Intrigued, Natsuiro popped up and asked why so?

     “Well, if you look over here, that red circle kind of reminds me of that lantern they have hanging from the streetlight over the road just below the back of the shrine. I used to hang out back there all the time when I was a 1st year student. That’s the only place that you can see the top of that lantern from.” Natsuiro crept over Akane’s shoulder and took a good look at the image. “I think I have a photograph somewhere in my old computer, maybe. If only I could remember where I left it.” She then handed Natsuiro the polaroid and said, “I’m gonna check see if I can find it, I’ll be right back.” Nodding in silence Natsu stared the photograph down, trying to visualize the scenery in her head. As she imagined standing at the edge of the cliff behind the old shrine, looking down at the road below, images began to flash back and forth through her mind. She could see a mangled body lying on the floor in a pool of blood. It was that of a young child dressed in a yukata. The rain beating down on her cold body. “Haru? Is that you?” she asked in a low voice to herself. She then heard a scream and the sound of someone calling out from below. As she looked towards that direction, she noticed someone darting out from the woods before being held back by what looked to be another person dressed in a police uniform. Nonetheless she couldn’t recognize who the mysterious person from the woods was aside from it being a woman. The lady threw her hand forward as she yearned to be let free. Natsuiro followed her hand back towards the body on the ground, but this time it wasn’t Haru’s body.

It was her own.

Wham!

     Akane slapped the laptop down on the table startling Natsuiro. “I found it,” she claimed as she snuggled back into her seat. She then flung open the laptop and began booting it up. Waiting patiently as the loading symbol circled around and around, she looked towards Natsuiro who seemed a little peculiar. “You look like you just saw a ghost,” she mentioned. Natsuiro peeked over at Akane and shook her head attempting to imply that she was mistaken, but her wordless gestures only made her seem more out of the ordinary. As Akane began navigating through the computer to locate the old photograph, Natsuiro asked, “Has anyone ever died on the road behind the shrine?” Her friend paused just as the computer cursor hovered over a folder titled, ‘Old Shrine’. She sensed Natsuiro’s eyes walking on the surface of her skin. Foreboding. Her heart began to pace faster. Eventually, she lifted her hand off the computer and indulged Natsuiro’s query, “is everything okay? Natsuiro then held her hand up and stopped her from continuing. “It’s fine, it was just a random question.”

     Natsuiro reached over towards the laptop and opened the file. The two of them scrolled through the numerous pictures until they came across one that seemed to be taken at the right angle. A shot from the top of the cliff looking down onto the road. Akane and her friends stood with their hands clasped together in a failed attempt to make a heart shape. She held the polaroid up to the screen and compared the two. The photograph in her hand was too hard to make out, but she noticed a slight resemblance where the lantern was. “You may be right about this photograph. It might have actually been taken at that old shrine.”

     Her phone raged against the table, amplifying its ferocity and freezing Natsuiro in place. “Alarmed as she watched her just stare at the phone, Akane interjected, “should you be checking that?” Natsuiro stood up and stepped over to the side as she viewed the notification; gazing at the mysterious number for a moment before ultimately deciding to open the message. Akane approached her from behind, puzzled by what was going on. The message read, “It’s your turn now. Come find me when the minute hand strikes five.” She immediately looked over towards the clock and watched it carefully. “What’s going on, Natsu?” Akane cried from behind, but Natsuiro only held her hand up slightly, gesturing, yet again, for her to hold off. She watched the clock carefully.

There it was …

     The clock counted one minute backwards. It was now 6:27pm. She looked over towards Akane, who was still left perplexed. “Did you notice that?” she asked, but Akane shrugged her shoulders. “Notice what?” Natsuiro turned back towards the clock and realized that it now read the correct time. 6:29pm. In a haste, she walked past Akane and grabbed her things. “Where are you going?” Akane asked, only to have Natsuiro step around her question. “Thanks for letting me come over, I’ll text you later, but I just remembered that I have something to do before class in the morning.” Natsuiro then waved to her friend as she exited the home, leaving the photograph behind.

     Natsuiro headed over to the old shrine and made her way behind the building. Peering over the ledge, she looked down at the road below. She was haunted by a flashback of her sister on the ground yet again. She then closed her eyes and opened them to an empty road with a lone car passing by. She held her hands up in a square position like a picture frame. Holding it over her view she placed the image inside of the square; positioning the red lantern at the top left corner. As she focused on the space in between her fingers, the scenery began to change in front of her eyes. The road began to glisten as its coarse pavement gradually transformed into a calm soothing river. All the streetlights lining the side of the road turned into repeating red lanterns along the riverside. She panned her hand to the right and followed the stream down towards the horizon where she captured a sunset within her picture frame. She lowered her hands to her sides, now fully immersed within the world. She looked back forward and was met with an old bridge stretching across the river to another half of the shrine resting at the other end. Standing before her was a young girl dressed in a yukata. The girl looked at her and smiled diligently. “Haru?” Natsuiro cried as she slowly began to walk towards her.

One step

     The girl continued to smile back at her then turned to look out at the horizon.

Two steps

     The breeze blew as cherry blossom petals danced in the wind.

Three steps

     The girl stepped towards the edge of the bridge, peering out at the horizon as she leaned against the handrail. “Haru, is that you?” Natsuiro called out yet again. Her voice quivering. The girl’s smile stretched even wider as the breeze blew through her hair. She placed her foot on the bottom rail and attempted to prop herself up even higher.

Four Steps

     A cat darted across the bridge from behind Natsu, looking back at her as it made its way halfway across.

Five steps

     Natsuiro’s heart jumped when she nearly lost her footing at the edge of the cliff. She looked down to find things back how they once were, peering down at the road below. She glanced back ahead and found that the girl was now gone along with the bridge. Natsuiro peered up as the clouds crowded the sky and the smell of rain infiltrated the air around her. In a haste Natsuiro made her way back down the stairs and over towards the road behind the shrine. Standing in the middle of the lanes, she looked out towards the horizon, watching the road disappear in the distance. She reimagined the flower traveling down the river. She could almost feel the water surrounding her feet as though she was standing in the center of its current. She slowly crouched down and laid her ear against the pavement. She could hear the sound of running water faintly passing underneath. She continued to listen carefully when suddenly two soft knocks traveled through the floor and up to the surface of her ear. She was astonished as she called out with apprehension,

“Haru?”

     Back at the house, Akane picked up the two teacups, Natusiro’s still left untouched. She noticed the photograph had been left behind and took a short look at it, realizing that the visible area at the top corner had seemingly grown larger. She was surprised but wasn’t quite sure if what she was seeing was true or if her mind was simply playing tricks on her. She searched for the photo she’d taken earlier on her phone, and when comparing the two, was shocked to see that they were both the same. She couldn’t help but feel that she was somehow getting dragged along with Natsuiro’s odd behavior recently and felt an uneasiness with where Natsuiro was heading towards. Even now staring at the photograph in her hand she could sense a weight yanking her down as if the floor beneath her had melted into quicksand. Why the hell was Natsu obsessed with this old photo? She thought back to herself with frustration teething at her seems. All the while her eyes fixated at the top corner still wondering if she was losing her sanity or not. Eventually she tossed the photo back onto the table and stripped the thought from her mind. She looked towards the window and caught a glimpse of her reflection in the shimmering glass. “Oh, it’s raining…”

     The sound of the alarm rattled Natsuiro’s head as she was yanked into consciousness. She was so close to sanctuary but there was always something willing to hold her back within the pains of reality, time and time again.

It was the early morning. 6a.m.

     The day went as usual, as classes came to a close Natsuiro made about in her usual routine, tossing her red scarf over her shoulders and marching her way to the shoe lockers. It was roughly 4p.m. as she slipped into her sneakers, loosely tying her laces together.

CLAP!

She looked up to find Akane standing in front of her. Her hands held tightly together with her head lowered ever so slightly. As usual, Fuyu stood not too far behind. “Sorry, I couldn’t leave the classroom during lunch today. Me and Fuyu are heading out to the café just up the road if you want to tag along.”

     “That’s fine, maybe some other time. I was hoping that I could show you something instead.”

     “Yea, what is it?”

     “I’m not exactly sure yet, but I came across something that… I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s important. I know it is...”

     Akane looked back towards Fuyu, then concerningly towards Natsuiro.

     “I was over by the old shrine last night, and I noticed something... I think it might have something to do with my sister. If I try to piece it together myself, it’s like everything just gets blurry. Maybe you can tell me what you think.”

     Natsuiro began walking out of the school when Akane called out for her to wait. “I’m confused. What do you mean?”

     “I think It has something to do with Haru. I might even know what happened to her.”

     “Haru?... Natsu, none of this makes sense,” Akane apprehensively appealed. Natsu sighed with frustration and disappointment as she kept walking forward. “Are you coming? It’s not like I’m asking for you to drop off a cliff,” she urged in an irritated tone.

     “Natsu, do you have any idea what you’re saying? You talk about Haru as if she’s some sort of mystery.” Akane’s angst now slowly began to change with her approach.

     “I know… It sounds strange when I say it, but if you just come with me­—”

     Fed up, Akane swiftly cut Natsuiro off and stated, “I don’t know if I should. To be honest you’ve been acting weird all week.”

     A sudden surge of rage poured from Natsuiro’s voice, but somehow felt unrooted in the situation at hand. “You don’t know a damn thing about me so give up the lecture!” she balked. Lightly lowering her demeanor as she continued, “If you come with me, you’ll understand. Things feel out of place around here… just like the photograph and the damn clocks!”

     “The what…? The puzzlement Akane had running through her mind was relentless. “You sound like you’re losing it. I should shred that damn photograph to pieces!”

     “It’s not just about the photograph. Don’t you get it?”

     “No Natsu, I don’t.”

     “Why would you? I shouldn’t have even come to you to begin with.”

     “You came to me because there’s no one else for you to go to!”

     Fuyu called out to Akane, trying to interject in the heated argument as other students began to gather around. “Shut up Fuyu,” Akane barked as she lightly pushed her away. Her attitude defined and callous.

     “Look around you, Natsu,” Akane stated, “I’m the only friend you’ve got.”

     “Then I guess I’ll be better off without any.” Natsuiro retorted

     Akane pulled on Natsu’s arm as she tried to walk away but Natsu ripped herself free and made off.

     “Fuck!” Akane yelled out. Fuyu walked up beside her with a begging look on her face. “What?” Akane yelled at her. “Just follow her and find out what she wants,” Fuyu suggested. Reluctant to dig any deeper, Akane ultimately bit her lip and the two of them took off after Natsuiro.

     Natsuiro approached the old shrine with Akane and Fuyu not too far behind. Natsuiro asked Akane about living in this town her whole life to which Akane replied, “I’ve been here forever.” “So, you remember the festivals that used to be held at this shrine, right? Natuiro asked, “the ones with all of the traditional style kiosks stretching across the walkway.”

     “Yea, but we haven’t had one of those for years now. I think the last one was back when I was about 7.”

     “Do you remember when we first met?”

     Akane looked back at Fuyu who was busy brushing off dirt from her shoe and trailing behind. “Yea, we were in class and being placed in order by birthday.”

     “Yea, and that’s when we realized that our birthdays were on the same day. I mentioned that I would introduce you to Haru as well. Because we were twins that meant all three of us had the exact same birthday.

    “What does this have to do with the old festivals?”

     “The festival that year was held a few days earlier to avoid a rainstorm. Don’t you remember?

     Startled, Akane thought back strongly, “yea I remember now, my mother made me get extra mochi because it was also my birthday that day.”

     “I remember it clearly,” Natsuiro stated firmly. “I’m pretty sure everyone in this town should remember it. She looked back towards Akane standing a few steps below her. Akane looked up towards Natsuiro, her aura grazing her like a coarse sheet of sandpaper. The shrine lurking behind her shoulders. The wind began to blow strongly, and the trees ruffled as if nature was trembling in fear. “Natsu, what are we doing here?” Akane asked. Natsuiro turned around and walked forward towards the shrine. Hesitantly, Akane followed her. “It looks like it’s gonna rain soon,” Fuyu warned as she watched the trees sway their branches back and forth. As she looked forward, she saw Akane some distance away jogging towards Natsu as they headed towards the back of the shrine.

     Natsuiro stood at the back of the shrine in between two old and worn-down posts. She looked down at the road below and then towards Akane as she approached her. “Back then there was a river that passed through here. Me and Haru used to always stand at the edge from the far side and pushed flowers into the river. We would watch it float down along with the stream until we couldn’t see it anymore. When we were finished, we would run back into the forest and make our way up the stairs at the other end of the shrine that sat right across the river over there. Then we would dash across the bridge and our parents would be waiting for us right here where I’m standing.” Akane peeked over the ledge and looked down at the road, shifting her sights towards the riverbank as she imagined the foot of the steps of the old second half of the shrine across the other end. She followed it upwards and across the bridge that once stretched across what is now the road below. Resting her eyes on Natsuiro who was standing right at the mouth of where the bridge once stood. “As we would walk across that bridge, Haru would always love to peer over the ledge and try and point out the flower cruising down stream. I remember it like it was yesterday. Her eyes glistening in the light as the sun set below the horizon.” As tears began to escape her eyes and run silently down her face, she continued, “I can hear my mother calling out to us to hurry up, so we could go home before it got dark. But Haru was always stubborn. She would put her foot up on the bottom banister and yearn herself over the ledge further. Leaning over as she watched the cherry blossom petals stride along with the river just below.” Her voice began to tremble as the tears began to flow stronger. “I was always standing right beside her every time. I could always feel her presence, her joy emanating, right beside me…. But on that day, I felt it disappear like salt dipped in water. I could barely react. Before I realized it was already too late. She slipped right past me. It was as if time had stopped except for me and her. I watched her falling as she looked up towards me. Her arm was reaching for mine, but I couldn’t do anything but watch. And just like that she disappeared into the river. It was only then that I could hear the commotion around me. It was as if everything went silent and only now did my ears let the sound in. My mother was screaming at the top of her lungs. It struck me like a needle. I dropped to my knees and sat there until my father grabbed me and dragged me off the bridge…” She looked towards Akane and Fuyu beside her, “The whole town searched all night long, but Haru’s body was never found.” Her expression imbued with slight anger, she stood face to face with Akane.

     “I… I don’t remember,” Akane softly replied.

     Natsuiro shook her head as she wiped the tears from her eyes. “But now I know the truth, the real truth!” “What are you talking about?” Akane begged. Natsuiro took a deep breath before continuing. “That day when she fell into the river, she went somewhere, and she’s looking for me to come find her.”

     Natsuiro walked past Akane and Fuyu before disappearing down the stairs at the front of the shrine. Akane gave Fuyu a glance who simply lowered her head with a somber look on her face.

     Akane followed behind Natsuiro down the street. It was dark and drizzling. The water reflected the headlights of the passing cars and created a gleam across the road. “Where are you going?” Akane cried out. “That’s the question that you should be asking yourself,” Natsuiro replied; the two of them now standing in the middle of the road. “It’s about time you woke up to reality. Haru could be waiting for someone to help her, and all you can do is tell me that I’m losing my mind.” A car slowly approached them but neither one of them seemed to notice. “I’m trying to help you, Natsu. Am I wrong for that?”

     Natsuiro paused for a moment as she felt an eerie sense of familiarity in the current moment. A feeling like déjà vu. She looked around briefly and noticed the car creeping up towards them. “Maybe the person who needs help is you,” she continued, “look in the mirror for once in your life.” She then walked off leaving Akane behind. The car blared its horn, distracting Akane as Natsuiro disappeared down the road.

     Back home, Natsuiro dragged herself through the door and kicked off her shoes. Immediately she began searching for the photograph, and when she couldn’t find it, began tossing her things around frantically. She proceeded to her bedroom where the mayhem continued. Digging through drawers and tossing up bedsheets. Knocking over her family picture in the process. Unsuccessful, she dropped to the floor with her head covered in her arms and let off an unrestrained cry. As she calmed down, she began to dig back into her thoughts, attempting to find out where everything began to fall apart. Was it that day at the shrine? Or was it when her father had passed, and her mother became a vacant shell that was paper thin. Barely engaging her own child on a daily basis. She dipped her head deeper into her arms as the comfort of the dark assuaged her tension; only to finally remember that she’d left the photograph behind at Akane’s home.

     She reached for her phone and began casually flipping through her messages. She comes across the thread of messages between her and the mysterious number, and just before opening it, the doorbell rang. Assuming that it was Akane, she opened the door only to be met by Kisetsu Sensei. She looked upon him quietly, as he did her. She couldn’t hide the distraught plastered on her face. He could feel her emotions in the atmosphere. He stepped past her and walked inside, noticing the mess throughout her apartment. He walked around before moving into her room where he then observed the worst of the scenery. Stepping towards the picture frame on the floor he maneuvered around the bits of glass that were scattered beneath his feet. He lifted the shattered frame up and gazed at the family photograph. Rubbing his hand against the cracks in the glass. “What happened?” he asked Natsuiro; to which she replied in a feeble voice, “I think Haru is still alive…” Without replying, he peered at her from over his shoulder. He turned around and walked over towards the sofa and quietly took a seat with the photo still in his hand. She watched his every move before asking, “Can’t you say something?”

     He sat silently for a moment. Leaning forward ever so slightly as he contemplated. “This isn’t going to work,” he mentioned before standing up from his seat. “What the hell does that mean?” Natsuiro begged. Eventually he replied, “You need to forget about Haru, Natsu. You have to clear your head.” Frustrated with him, Natsuiro retorted, “You’re not even listening to what I’m saying,” but Kisetsu Sensei fanned her words off while shaking his head. “I told your mother letting you come here; back to this town, would be a bad idea. Now I’m seeing just how right I was all along.” He placed the photograph upright on the side table beside the sofa, then walked his way back over towards the door. “Natsu, let Haru die! Let yourself be you for once.” He took one last look around the apartment before letting himself out. The sound of the rain pouring down outside echoed throughout the small apartment. Natsuiro looked at the photograph on the table, and then knocked it to the ground. Lurking over her like an omniscient being, the clock slowly ticked its hand backwards.

     It was now 5:46pm.

     She spent the rest of the evening staring out the window as the rain trickled down the side of the glass. She looked down at a text she’d sent to Akane telling her that she’d find Haru no matter what. Then, like a glint in the corner of her eye, she noticed a cat sitting across the street under a store awning, attempting to avoid the downpour. She looked closer and somehow came to the conclusion that it was the same cat that she’d come across at the shrine. She peered into its eyes as it peered back. Almost like an inner gut feeling. An intuition of sorts, she felt as though it was trying to tell her something… Something important. She hastily darted towards the exit. Pushing her feet into her sneaker as she dashed out of the apartment. She stood across the street from the cat for a moment before it made off down the road. Without a second thought, Natsuiro chased behind it.

     At home, stepping out of the shower with her towel bundled over her head, Akane noticed the cryptic message from Natsuiro. Fuyu sat in the living room casually watching the television as Akane attempted to phone Natsuiro to no avail. Unsure of how to proceed, considering the way that the two of them had departed one another earlier, Akane made the decision to, at the very least, swing by her apartment. Leaving Fuyu, who refused to tag along, behind.

     Natsuiro followed behind the mysterious cat all the way over to the old shrine where it sat just in front of the shrine doors. Natsuiro was soaked from head to toe. She slowly approached the cat, visibly out of breath. As she moved too closely the cat darted off towards the back of the shrine. Natsuiro watched it as it disappeared, only to then follow after it as if she’d lost the ability to tame her own compulsion. She approached the back of the shrine where she was strangely greeted by a sunny day surrounded by beautiful greenery. Just ahead of her stretched a bridge over the river that passed beneath. Standing in front of her was a young Haru, holding up a cherry blossom petal to the sky. Her back was turned towards Natsuiro. Yet again, a compelling force brought Natsuiro’s feet one in front of the other as she walked towards Haru; tears trickling down her cheeks. Haru released the petal from her hand and chased after it. Natsuiro called out to her and she stopped midway across the bridge. Haru slowly turned around and gave Natsuiro a warm smile. Tears raced down Natsuiro’s face as she continued to walk towards her. Step by step she approached her more closely. Each step more difficult than the other.

One step

     She could feel the breeze ruffle across the surface of her skin. She could no longer sense the rain nor the cold.

Two steps

     Birds dashed across the sky, chirping as they flew into the sunset.

Three steps

     Haru reached out her hand, Natsuiro felt constrained to her as though they were tied together by a string that was growing shorter and shorter.

Four steps

     Haru’s expression slightly began to shift. Becoming more determined as time ticked by. The wind blew a hurdle of cherry blossom petals through the sky, flowing by Haru like an elegant painting.

Five steps

     Natsuiro felt her foot slip at the edge of the cliff. Her heart racing, she immediately attempted to backtrack, fighting against the imbalance in her body.

Six steps

     As she planted her foot backwards her laces got caught underneath her. Her body thrusted forward. Time suddenly began to move slowly... but her body moved even slower. It was too late to react. She could feel the ground vanish from beneath her and her body slipping over the edge.

     Akane arrived at Natsuiro’s home and found the door left ajar. She stepped inside and called out to Natsu but grew concerned when she didn’t receive a reply. The house was still littered with her belongings and the smashed picture frame was planted in the center of the floor. Did someone break into her home? What was all of this? She questioned to herself, letting the worst-case scenarios run amuck in her head. She called Natsuiro’s phone once again, only to find it resting on the table by the window. She picked it up and searched through it, hoping to find something that could give her a hint as to where Natsu may have disappeared to. She then noticed something… strange… She opened a message thread to what seemed to be an unusual conversation;

"come find me, when the minute hand strikes five"

was just one of the oddities of the conversation. What sort of message is this? Akane thought to herself, but that wasn’t the strangest thing evident. What irked her even more so was the person whom Natsu was conversing with.

Natsuiro had been sending the messages to none other than herself.

     Afraid for her wellbeing, Akane quickly phoned Fuyu and told her to meet her at the shrine as soon as possible. Something told her that this wasn’t the scene of a burglary at all. It was the image of person’s mind cracking into pieces, and what she was witnessing in her home was the byproduct of those pieces crashing down into reality.

     As she was on her way out, she brushed her foot against the picture frame on the floor, kicking it ahead of her. She quickly swiped it up off the floor, and before tossing on top of the sofa, took a quick glance at the photograph. A family photo of Natsuiro as a young child. The old shrine could be seen in the background on what looked to be the day of the annual festival. All of her family members were present. Her mother, her father, and lastly, Natsuiro herself dead center. Akane placed the picture on top of the sofa before heading straight out of the apartment.

     Akane dashed through the streets of the small town, raindrops beating against her face as the downpour showed no signs of letting up. She nearly collided into Fuyu along the way as they both meet at a tight corner down a narrow road. “Why are you heading this way?” Fuyu asked. “It’s faster if we go through the forest on the other side of the shrine,” Akane stated. “Yea but we’ll end up across the road,” Fuyu attempted to caution but Akane, convinced that it was still the fastest way, urged Fuyu to follow behind her.

     Trekking through the muddy forest, Fuyu begged for Akane to slow down, but Akane trudged on forward without hesitation.

     They gradually arrived by the roadside opposite of the shrine. Slowly noticing its crumbling architecture peering through the rustling forest trees as the view of the top of the cliff revealed itself bit by bit.

     Flashing red lights reflected off the damp road and as Akane arrived closer, she could see the police car parked along the side of the road. An officer spoke into the radio on his shoulder, but the sound of his voice couldn’t reach her. She was still too far away. Another officer crouched down on the road, but the trees made it hard for Akane to identify what laid in front of him. As she pushed on forward, finally making it to the edge of the forest, she spotted her worst nightmare.

     A body lying across the floor with its face staring directly towards her. Their eyes met with one another, sinking Akane’s heart into a vacant abyss. A forearm clutched around her torso as she unknowingly stepped towards the scene, forcing her back. Her arm was outstretched as though reaching for a string of hope. The sound of the rain walloping down echoed off the pavement below and reverberated through her. She finally collapsed to the ground as though in defeat.

     “What’s your name?” the officer asked her, “Akane,” she replied, “Akane Aki.” The second officer stepped over and kneeled down in front of her. “Do you know who this girl is?” he asked referring to the body on the road. Tepidly she replied, “Yes… she was my friend. Her name is Natsuiro.”

Natsuiro Kisetsu. Time of death. 6:25pm.

     The rain slowly eased for a moment as Fuyu approached them from the side. Her voice sounding unsteady and troubled as she whispered, “Akane… who is that?”

     Akane looked towards Fuyu and followed her line of sight up towards the old shrine. A mysterious lady dressed in a kimono and holding a camera snapped a picture of Natsuiro’s body below. She then briefly, and horrifyingly, looked towards Akane before turning away and disappearing from view. The unassuming cops turned to see what it was that they were both staring at but noticed nothing as the unusual lady had already vanished.

     Hours later, Akane returned home with her parents by her side. As she entered her bedroom and solemnly sat at the side of her bed, she looked over towards the polaroid photograph that Natsu had left at her apartment a few days ago. To her surprise, the photograph was now fully developed, showing off the gruesome scene below the old shrine, with Natsu’s mangled body on the road.