BROKEN BUTTERFLY; Beyond The Night That Differs Love And Lust
CHAPTER 02. TERU TERU BOZU
It was late when I left the gym, it was raining pretty hard. For a moment I thought about being stuck here until the rain subsided, the jacket I used this morning was not able to dispel the cold night air. But again Weena saved me. No, he's not here, he's been home since this afternoon when the weather was still clear. He tipped his umbrella in case the weather returned unfriendly. And yes, he's right. It's raining again tonight.
Right at the main door of the school building I found out that I wasn't the only one who had a problem with the rain that night. A girl was waiting for the rain to subside, standing facing the door as if watching every drop of water that fell that night. Obviously she's the girl I knew when I stood next to her, she's the girl I met in the UKS room this afternoon. I'm afraid she's not busy with social media on her phone, just a doll.. Teru teru bozu's?
“Finally! Let's go home!!”
Lightly and cheerfully he said it as if it was a reasonable sentence he said. On the other hand, I don't understand the meaning of his words.
“Alice Eris.. Are you waiting for rain to subside too?” tanyaku reasonable maybe.
From the look on his face I felt that was not the reason for staying in school until this late, he instead pulled my hand, laughing, he took me wet in the shade of rain. Ignoring the umbrella that I obviously carried in my right hand.
“Rain? Why is it raining? We can rain together!”
I wanted to object to his argument, but it felt free. I have a bad feeling about what he's going to say next.
“I have been waiting for you to come home so that it can rain-hujannan same you.”
All right, case closed. This girl obviously has a problem in her brain.
I pulled back my hand to open Weena's umbrella, not wanting to be re-embarked about not being able to take care of her health.
“Ih! Ga exciting!” hardiknya with pouting lips.
…
The puppet swung from right to left, as if it was dancing following the steps of the girl carrying it. His lentic finger holds a rope bond that allows him to swing freely, a pliable finger that if I look very suitable to do work such as sewing or similar work. Well, we can know a lot about a person's work from how his fingers form and formation, he said, in this case I believe this girl quite often uses yarn because the joints of both index fingers are somewhat hardened and blisters here and there.
And yes, from the last joint of his middle finger as well I could find similar abrasions. I can guess she's pretty good at sewing or maybe embroidery or well that kind of activity. And I think that explains teru teru bozu that he's been playing.
Her wrists were also filled with woven bracelets, and from the model I knew it was not the usual model sold in the accessories store. Did he make it himself? Could be.
“What's up?”
I completely ignored her question and instead focused on her hand.
“You want?” tanyanya pointed at one of her bracelets.
“Eh, yes?”
“The bracelet. If you like I can give you one.”
“Bracelet?”
“Ya out, from earlier really seriously see this!”
“Oh.. the!”
The expression of his face that is looking at me at this time is really kumaklumi, this face is also often given my friends in class.
“Teru teru bozu it. means the antidote to rain ‘kan? I don't think he's working as he should.”
It took him a while to digest my question, but it didn't matter to me either. The question was only intended as a distraction from awkwardness. Because it's weird that two people who know each other don't talk to each other under these circumstances.
“Hmm.. Yes? But this is ‘kan cute..” he answered lightly while twirling the doll.
He just smiled in response. I must admit her smile was very sweet, matching her cheerful personality.
There were not many people at the bus stop, just us and a few other students waiting for the next bus. We were lucky because before long we waited, the bus came with blinding headlights. He jumped towards the door that opened automatically, there was a splash of water from his soaked clothes.
Bus passengers are rare, so empty seats can be easily found. Alice casually took a seat for him, and secured another spot beside him for me. No, I didn't take it. I stood next to his seat, facing the window that featured a night view of the city of Vandour. For me, another exhausting day is over.
But not for Alice. She still sang a song I didn't recognize with her senand, ignoring her soaking wet clothes, she didn't even bother tidying up her hair that was limp from the rain. I don't know why the day is cloudy and all the problems out there have no effect on him. He caught both of my eyes watching him, only to show that smile again.
The bus stopped at the next stop. My body swayed sideways and almost lost its balance, not expecting anyone to board a bus that was empty of passengers. The figure of a woman I can recognize from the corner of my eyes, her hair black straight on her back. A woman in a suit and trousers, a fashion choice that makes her look masculine and professional? His sling bag is made of leather and hangs on his right shoulder, a bag that is usually carried by women in general and despite its small size I am sure the price is not cheap considering the brand that is attached there.
To be honest, I am very tired and do not want to deal with anything like the office lady who seems to have just returned from work. I really don't want to care anymore. Until the woman walked closer to me. All my senses were alert.
She's the woman I saw yesterday in front of my house. Not wrong anymore. I'm pretty sure she's the woman who's been following me the last week. From the reflection of the window I looked carefully at that face as she passed behind me, only to become increasingly convinced that she was the one.
“HATCCHIII!!”
The sound brought my attention back. Alice laughed as she rubbed her snot, not at all ashamed of such a state.
…
AC in the bus, static roar and raindrops hitting the windows out there. Moist felt in my body, a cold that almost made me shiver. From the door that opened at one of the stops, a woman got into the bus. I watched him wear black heels, his confident manner of walking left an intimidating impression of elegance. The woman passed behind me.
His figure emerged from the reflection of the window glass, the bright lights of the bus interior and the dark outside made me able to see his face quite clearly . The face was seen in contrast to Alice's warm face which was slightly flushed with a smile on her lips, the face was very cold and pale. At that instant my whole body was alert, I did whatever I could to keep those two eyes from meeting my two eyes.
Alice, who had been enjoying the rain with her song, might not have noticed the change in my attitude since the woman passed me. But ever since then, ever since I recognized that pale face, my survival instinct was fueled by the horror that that face had given me. The same face I saw yesterday under the rain, smiling at me as if it could pounce on me whenever it wanted, but letting go of me just like it was to be enjoyed slowly like a wild beast enjoying the hunt of its prey.
Yes, this woman! He must have had something to do with the murder that day. I knew it instinctively ruled out the fact of having seen her on the scene and my paranoid feelings afterwards. But is he the killer? The adrenaline that had been flowing rapidly flooded my brain to reach that conclusion as fast as lightning. Doesn't let me look for data and analyze other possibilities. I clenched my hands tightly in my jacket pocket, desperately trying to calm the adrenaline rush that kept flooding my brain.
Standing up makes it harder to calm down. I sat down beside Alice who greeted me excitedly as if she had won something. Next to my hand I was still clenched in my jacket pocket while the other hand was welcomed to be held tightly. For a moment what he did distracted me. And the smile on her face that was slightly reddened as she casually echoed my hand.
This girl I just met today. But it's his treatment of me that he's known me for a long time. I mean, the way he treats me like it's not the way someone treats someone he just met. Maybe he is indeed that type, the type that is easy to get along with and quickly gets along with anyone. Yeah, it could be like that.
Next I couldn't help myself from opening a conversation with Alice. I did it because his presence made me feel calmer and so I could stop thinking about the murder and the mysterious woman. I don't want to live in that constant terror of paranoia. And again, I don't think it has anything to do with me. Yeah, a high school student like me shouldn't be in touch with that kind of “dark” thing.
The bus finally arrived at my stop. Alice stood up as I began to move from my place, I was silent for a moment to catch the message, it turned out that she was down at the same stop as me. Before I went through the door I took the time to look back at the woman, the woman with the pale face and cold gaze. Also those two eyes, those two sad looking eyes.
The rain that had been pouring down had left behind a cold and windy night. I started to get anxious with my uniform-clad body without a jacket next to me. But his hands were still warm, clasping my hands until we parted in the garden near my house. The park I was trying to avoid because of the incident back then. He cheerfully and warmly said his house was in a different direction to my house but still in the same housing sphere. And the figure left me with a warm feeling that made me enjoy the rest of my journey with a small smile on the tip of my lips.
I easily unlocked the keys to my house that night, turned on the lights immediately and prepared dinner. The television in the living room I deliberately lit without watching, just to give the atmosphere to the house that I lived alone. After I finished dinner, I immediately went to the study table in my room on the second floor. In the silence of the television broadcasts I turned off I gathered all the pieces of the puzzle one by one, everything I know so far I have become the big picture without losing a single bit of detail.
My judgment has been refracted by my fear of the incomprehensible, of the murder, of the identity of the mysterious woman. If I assembled everything without fear the possibility of the story like this: the possibility of the mysterious woman was a traveling salesman, so she was seen wandering around here, it's also possible that the time it happened to be on the scene had nothing to do with the murder. Not everything that happens has to be interconnected, right? Maybe that time he was just at the wrong time to just rest in the park. And his appearance yesterday in front of my house was also that smile, maybe he didn't mean any harm to me at all. Maybe he was just a traveling salesman looking for shelter from the rain, while trying to keep looking friendly.
Maybe he's a good person, a good person who shows up at the wrong time and place.
I don't know, I'm starting to think that woman is a good person and all this time my judgment has been clouded by my own fears. And again that gaze, those sad-looking eyes, it felt impossible to be possessed by someone with evil intentions.
I was silent for a long time considering her blank stare out the window on the bus, a gaze that seemed to hint at the solitude and alienation of this world. Until finally drowsiness came to pick me up to dreamland. There I met the woman again, with her blank gaze staring into the void behind the window of the oncoming bus. This time without the slightest fear I approached him, and asked, “what do you see out there?”
…