APRIL 6 - SATURDAY - EVENING
Juniper jerked awake, jolting forwards in her chair as she was ripped from her sleep. She groggily rubbed her eyes, allowing them to adjust to the soft light of evening dusk filtering in through the filthy train window, and after a few moments slowly sunk back into the rough wool chair behind her. Only once she had calmed down from her sudden awakening did she turn to investigate the noise that had awoken her: lying on the floor was her smartphone, the screen cracked down the centre from the half a metre drop from her hand to the floor. “...Fuck…”
She leant over to pick it up and removed the one headphone that had managed to stay in her ear, taking a moment to check her surroundings as she did. Her compartment had contained a few passengers earlier, but they must’ve all filtered off while she slept, leaving only the soft chugging of the train for company. She was travelling further than any sane human ever would, she reasoned.
“The next stop is Yasoinaba, followed by…”
She tuned out the train announcer’s voice reading out the remaining stops, only counting how many had been listed until…
“... and our last stop, Aihaba.”
Six stops wasn’t so bad, considering the seemingly eternal length of this journey so far.
As she allowed her body once again to compress into the chair she raised two fingers to her forehead, softly massaging her temples.
“Now arriving at… Yasoinaba.”
She allowed her eyes to wander to the seat next to her, where her suitcase and bag lay, before groaning and rubbing her eyes. Looking out of the window to the now dark blue country lanes and fields, framed by a waning orange sky, was making her miss city life already, craving the sound of cars and busy streets and…
Maybe she should go back. She could find a place by herself, and…
“Yeah, right.” She murmured to nobody, curling herself up into a ball on her seat. She slid her phone onto the table and softly turned it to inspect the cracks. Back in the city, it was probably a three minute walk at any given time to get this fixed, maybe five at a stretch. She was certain that there was nobody in Aihaba who repaired phone screens, however, and with a frustrated sigh slipped it into her pocket, closing her eyes to try and get a little more sleep before the train reached its final stop.
APRIL 6 - SATURDAY - LATE NIGHT
By the time the train reached its final stop and Juniper got off, the sun was long gone below the horizon. She looked up and down the train’s length- and sure enough was the only person getting off at the last station. She wrestled her second suitcase past the gap and onto the platform, taking a few moments after to watch the train doors close… and her only way back to civilization reversed out of the station, leaving complete and utter silence in its wake. No people, no cars, not even its calming chugging- nothing. She scanned the sign, fading white font painted on a rusted blue sign- Aihaba Station. Slinging her backpack over her back and taking one suitcase handle in each hand, she started to the station’s exit.
Her eyes quickly adjusted to the lack of light, the dingy street lamps not quite illuminating enough on the warm spring night. She checked her phone for the address she had been given before taking in the sight in front of her. The quiet pang in her chest she had been feeling for several hours accelerated to somewhat of a thumping as she looked over the silent, empty town centre in front of her. She allowed her mind to wander as she began to walk.
Aihaba was a moderately small seaside town situated in central Japan. With a population likely around a few thousand, there was only one school, Shizuka Academy, that teenagers living here could attend. It wasn’t June’s first time here- she had lived in Aihaba the first seven years of her life, before moving out to live with her extended family in Tokyo. Of course, once family relations got… difficult, it was decided for her it would be much safer to live out her final year of high school back where she wouldn’t be able to cause any trouble- here. She spat the bad taste forming in her mouth out to the pavement.
She struggled to summon up any memories of her previous years in Aihaba. She certainly recalled the general atmosphere: small townhouses pushed up against each other lined either side of the dead quiet road she walked down, all windows veiled with curtains pulled shut, the soft calling of birds… but she couldn’t actually remember anything. No people, no roads, no houses- she had no image of where she had lived, who her friends had been, where she had played… and nobody who could remind her, either.
After the lazy twenty-minute walk to the other side of town, she placed her two suitcases down, double checked the door number of the house she had arrived in front of and rapped her knuckles against the wooden surface three times. She heard slow stirring from the top floor through the building’s paper-thin walls, and quickly checked her phone for the time. Ah. 23:35, she was probably-
“You’re late.” Standing at the door, almost leaning against its frame, was Mariko Ariyoshi. At least that’s what the note had said. She was taller than June by a couple of inches, her silverish hair tied back in a lazy ponytail, and her body wrapped in a black, fluffy dressing gown. June would maybe place her in her late forties. She had bags under her eyes and was scanning June’s face with disdain, clearly to observe what kind of delinquent had shown up at her door at such a time. All June knew was that she had offered to be the girl’s guardian- in exchange for a sum of money.
“I’m sorry, miss. Earthquake delays. There was a pretty large one some hours ago and we had to transfer trains.” It wasn’t a lie - this region was known for its frequent earthquakes - but the older woman was clearly having some trouble believing it. Eventually deciding she was too tired to push it, Mariko opened the door, leaning back and allowing June inside.
The house was small, was June’s first observation. Wow, it was tiny. The downstairs was one room- a kitchen in one corner, a couch in the other, and a table taking up the rest of the space. She peered to the stairs and found it hard to imagine more than a single room fitting in on the top floor either. She opened her mouth to comment but Mariko, already in the kitchen and cradling a mug of some hot drink, cut her off.
“This is my home. No, you aren’t staying here. I have a friend’s old place, a…” She paused. “...nicer place to stay in. It used to be a bar. I was going to get you set up there today, but… I honestly thought you wouldn’t be arriving after a few hours passed. But you’re here. Lucky me, I suppose.“ Mariko trailed off, quietly observing June. “You’ll have to sleep on my couch tonight. Leave your bags in the kitchen.”
A bar, huh? She supposed that didn’t sound so bad. She’d probably have more space there than she ever could in here, and a whole building to herself… And the woman offering it to her didn’t seem cold. More so, just... Distracted? Not bothered? She couldn’t read the lady at all, her gaze from the kitchen dodging June’s. Maybe she was just exhausted.
“We’ll head over tomorrow morning, first thing. Try and get some rest now.” Mariko sipped on her drink once more, and once June nodded in response, she moved out the kitchen and back up the stairs, taking her mug with her.
June sighed, releasing her tight grip on her bag as she was left alone downstairs. Not exactly a warm welcome. She waited until she heard Mariko close her door, before groaning and leaning back onto the couch.
A whole year in Aihaba.
She half considered changing out of her travelling clothes, but after some deliberation and deciding she was still pretty tired despite sleeping on the train, just slid her suitcases over to the kitchen, pulled a blanket from the couch over herself, and laid her head down on a couple of cushions she had stacked.
She listened to Mariko get into bed above her, realising she didn’t know the first thing about this woman. Glancing at the kitchen counter and the table gave no help- no pictures, no books, just two mugs and some cutlery littering the side.
She thought back to Tokyo- and her friends from back home. She was almost certain none of them were home at this time- lots probably out in the city still, enjoying the Saturday nightlife, wasting money in shitty souvenir shops and on overpriced food… meanwhile she lay in the smallest room, in the smallest town the furthest possible distance away from Tokyo she could imagine. She curled herself up a little tighter.
She reached over and flicked the light switch, plunging herself into darkness.
APRIL 7 - SUNDAY - EARLY MORNING
A dreamless night came and went, and before long, June was awake.
She softly pushed herself back and sat up, leaning sideways against the back of the couch as she rubbed her eyes. Mariko was in the kitchen, making another mug of what June could only assume was coffee. Sunlight streamed in through a window she hadn’t even noticed was there last night, causing her to shut her eyes, flopping her head back down onto the couch cushions.
“Nuh-uh.” Mariko’s voice rang from the kitchen, a more stern edge audible in the older woman now she was properly rested. “Come on, get up and get changed- oh, and bring your bags. We’re going. You were late when I made time for you; so now we’re going when it’s convenient for me. I’ll wait outside.”
June groaned and kicked herself up off the couch.
Five minutes later, she stepped outside and pulled Mariko’s door shut behind her, immediately being hit by the taste of chilly morning country air. She pulled her jacket around herself and zipped up the front, a grey hoodie to complement simple blue jeans. Mariko, wearing a long grey coat, her hair tied back in a professional bun, pointed forwards. “Let’s go- your place is about a ten minute walk from here.”
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Mariko’s quick trial through Aihaba was relatively uneventful. June had a loose memory of a lot of the town’s general geography, but found other things wildly different- for example, the town now sported a large commercial high street, topped off with a huge chain department store. They had walked through it on their journey, Mariko informing her it was called Central street- and warning her not to shop anywhere else, it would be a waste of time.
They had also come across a large intersection with three paths, from which June could spot Shizuka Academy in the distance- the school she’d be attending. Mariko had explained that the intersection separated the more residential and commercial areas of the town- she herself lived in the commercial side, but June’s bar was in a big cluster of residential blocks on the other side.
Shizuka Academy seemed to be about a five minute walk from this point- she had traced a winding hillside path up to the school’s front steps with her eyes, through a set of empty fields that were still slightly frosted with the morning dew, the school almost sitting by itself, separated from any other town buildings.
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As the sun rose higher in the sky and some of the morning chilliness dissipated, Mariko stopped, turned and lobbed a set of keys to her, which she caught and stared at. Two keys, both silver, stared back at her. “One for the door and one for the windows.” She tapped her foot impatiently and pointed behind her, and June moved past her to inspect the building.
She could only describe it as… dilapidated. The building was constructed from wood- rotting on the outside, though seemingly still structurally intact… it had clearly seen better days. Probably tens of thousand of them, if she had to guess. It was larger than Mariko's house, but one storey tall. Through the glass on the door she could see a few booths, a small bar, and some empty shelves, each covered in a thick layer of dust.
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After peering through the window she stepped back, reexamining the shopfront once more. A rusted sign she hadn’t noticed the first time- the bar had been called “Valjean”. She turned and looked at Mariko, struggling to find the words to describe what she felt. Mariko simply returned an amused smirk.
“You look like you want to say something.”
Yes, she thought. How come you’re making me live inside of an oversized broken shed?
How long has this place been closed down?
Shouldn’t this place be condemned?
You’re making me live HERE?
She decided on the line of questioning that would least offend her new caretaker, choking down the other, much more prominent questions as she did.
“S-So… how long has this place been closed down..?”
Mariko thought quietly for a few moments, bringing her gloved hand up to her chin, before responding. Her eyes glassed over, like she was reminiscing. “Valjean probably closed seven, maybe eight years ago… the owner was a good friend of mine, and left me the keys to the place when he left town. But, I’ve been so busy with work I never found a good use for the place. Until now.”
That reminded June- she still needed to ask Mariko what her job actually was. But she quenched her curiosity, instead much more interested in where she would apparently be staying the next year. She slid the key into the door, turning it and pushing.
Ding ding!
A bell clattered as she pushed the door open, first taking some time for her eyes to adjust to the dingy interior, the faint smell of alcohol and dust causing her to falter before fully stepping inside.
Wow.
It was like stepping into somewhere that had been frozen in time. Empty glasses lined the counter, all absolutely caked in dust. Two booths sat against the wall, each seating six, a faded food and drinks menu left on each. Dust bunnies danced through the air, soft rays of morning sunlight filtering through them- she looked up to see the bar had high windows, each sealed tightly shut.
She peered around the back of the counter- lots more glasses were stacked in shelves beneath it. She got down on her knees to inspect the bottom shelf, where she knew the alcohol was stored- damn, nothing. It was fully empty, and noticeably not a speck of dust sat in the vacancy. She grinned, standing back up and resting her elbows on the counter, watching Mariko as she walked in. “You visit yesterday?”
She raised an eyebrow. “Uh, yeah, I did. How’d you know?”
June simply shrugged and turned to continue exploring. Behind the bar and around the corner, where customers would not be able to see, was a very rudimentary kitchen, consisting of an ancient microwave, sink, stove, and fridge- which upon inspection was once again empty. Finally, she spotted a smallish door nestled next to the sink, almost blending into the dark brown wooden walls and made of the same material. She softly opened it, and-
Wow. A small room, with just one small window at the top leading to the backstreet outside. It had clearly recently been dusted, with a small bed in the corner with newly-laid clean sheets, a few shelves to put her things on, a large empty wardrobe, and a mirror. It… actually looked really cozy.
She turned and spoke loud enough for Mariko to hear her from the bar area. “You do this?”
“Mhm.”
“...Thanks. It’s nice.”
“It’s the bar’s old storage room- I moved all the stuff out and cleaned it. You can sort the rest out yourself.” She spoke as June moved back through the kitchen to stand behind the bar- Mariko had sat on a booth seat, although noticeably right on the edge to avoid a dusty coat. “I left spare sheets in your room. It’s up to you to take care of yourself past that. You can clean this place if you want, decorate it- I don’t care. It’s yours. Oh, and there’s cleaning supplies under the sink. I imagine you’ll need them.”
June stayed silent, unsure how she felt about the gargantuan task cleaning this place up would surely be.
“If I get off of work in time, I’ll feed you in the evenings at my house… but other than that, it’s on you. You know where the grocery store is... oh, and if you’re not going to come on an evening, send me a text. You have my number.”
June gave a simple nod in response.
“Now, come on, I’ll show you around-”
Pipipipipipi!
Mariko’s phone pinged with a text message; she hastily pulled it from her pocket, her eyes scanning the smartphone screen before gasping, shooting up and grabbing her bag from the booth table.
“I’ve gotta go. You’ll have to explore yourself. Emergency at work.” She hastily blurted out as she checked through her bag. “Fuck, where are my keys…”
June frowned, watching her caretaker dash off after only about an hour of their supposed tour, but was prompted to ask what she had wanted to ask earlier. “That reminds me: what actually is your job?”
Mariko stopped at the door, keys in hand, turning impatiently to face her- but an incredulous, almost amused face at the question June asked.
“You don’t know? I’m the chief of Aihaba police.”
APRIL 7 - SUNDAY - MORNING
June watched Mariko leave, her eyes wide in shock, searching for some sign on the woman’s face she was joking. None. As the door closed itself and the bells jingled, her elbows slid forwards and she let her face rest on the wooden counter, a long sigh escaping her like a deflating balloon.
She had managed to get herself living under a police officer. No- the chief of police in Aihaba. Hadn’t she been through enough already? Wouldn’t somebody like her be too busy to take in a child? Why had she volunteered, of all people?? It’s not like she needed the money- maybe the police chief doesn’t pay well in a small town like this? She certainly didn’t seem interested in the job, that was for sure… Maybe something had changed in the few months since accepting the offer and her arriving?
June eventually decided she’d have to ask her later tonight, when they ate together. But for now…
She peered to the kitchen around the corner- to the feather duster under the sink, then the ancient, dust encrusted room she now called home. Then the door.
“I’ll do it later.”
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Ding ding!
The door gently closed behind her as June stepped out into the sunlight, shielding her eyes from the now fully visible sun. She was going to explore by herself- starting with Central street.
After a quick stroll around her block to see if she lived by anything interesting, she discovered an antique shop and medical practise, both closed for the Sunday, were close by. Upon further exploration yielding nothing, she started her walk back to the commercial area, intent on seeing what Central street had to offer.
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Central street, June was discovering, was actually pretty large, for a town as small as this. The grocery store had more than enough to eat healthily for a good price, there were lots of small hobby stores for things such as music, board games, dance, multiple supermarkets, cafes… The list went on. The huge chain department store, which she recognised as Mercury, also contained everything she could possibly think of needing to buy.
Her curiosity about back alley shops given to her by Mariko had turned out to be poorly spent- the older woman had been right about the backstreet stores, for the most part. She had ventured down a few paths and found a bookstore run by a man who could’ve passed for a corpse, a hidden floristry in which she would’ve sworn all the flowers were dead, and a shop she had been almost certain was a adult store, but had been shooed away from it by the owner the second she stepped near.
The only issue, she found, were the people.
In every shop she visited, every person she passed, she was met with the same sort of disdain she sensed from Mariko- upon noticing she was an unfamiliar face, cashiers gave her rude looks, passerbys brushed off her requests for directions, parents on shopping trips whispered behind her back… she frowned, feeling somewhat alienated, and after a final trip to a supermarket she decided to head home and spend the rest of the afternoon unpacking.
APRIL 7 - SUNDAY - EVENING
Okay, so it turned out dusting wasn’t so bad.
Actually, it was brilliant.
She grinned in satisfaction, clapping her hands together as she looked at her spotless kitchen- sink clean, fridge wiped down, stove washed. She stored the extra cleaning supplies she had gotten from Central street into one of the bar cupboards, facing the booths victoriously.
“And you’re next, bar.” She muttered under her voice.
Pipipipipi!
Placing her duster down on one of the booth tabletops, she hurried to her bedroom to check her phone- it was a text, from Mariko.
Mariko: I’m coming over with food.
Mariko: I’m in the area anyway- saves us both time this way.
Mariko: Are you at home?
June looked around. It felt weird, this being “home”, but she had to admit that in only a day’s time, she was already becoming acclimated to the building. Her room, now adorned with two empty suitcases, a lot of clothes in her wardrobe, and her shelf filled with little pieces of Tokyo memorabilia, was beginning to feel a little less cold. She reached over to flick on her lightswitch, admiring her new little living space.
Ding ding! The bell on the bar’s door rang from outside.
“Would be nice if you actually responded to my text, you know?” Mariko’s voice came from the bar.
June cringed and looked down at her still-open phone screen, the first three letters of ‘sure’ typed in the message box before she had gotten distracted. Her phone suggested ‘surly’ to her. She snorted, and slipped it into her pocket before turning the corner, swinging on a support pole to greet Mariko. “Sorry, slipped my mind.”
“Well, don’t let it happen again. My time is- oh, huh.” The woman had walked far enough in now to see the kitchen space at the back of the bar- it was night and day between where she and June each stood. “Cleaning was about the last thing I expected out of you.” June thought she heard a little tinge of ‘impressed’ from the older woman. Maybe she had been imagining it.
Mariko slid two bowls onto the counter- June could immediately smell it. Beef bowl. The older woman’s face softened a little as she opened hers and the smell filled the room- fighting the bitter taste of alcohol that still somewhat persisted from before. She took a mouthful, taking a moment to chew as June went to the kitchen to pour herself some water.
A more soft Mariko started to talk. “Two blocks away from here, right off of your road and then left; best beef bowl in town.”
“I thought you said nothing off of Central street was worth visiting?” June questioned.
Mariko swallowed another bite before she spoke. “Maybe I just don’t want people finding my favourite spots.” June could’ve sworn she spotted a small smile before Mariko’s face disappeared behind her bowl, but after she lowered it back to the table the usual stony face was back.
“Come on, hurry up, I want to get home before it gets too dark.”
June decided not to snap back upon tasting her first bite- it was impossible to hide her visible look of awe as she immediately went for two, then three more mouthfuls as soon as she could. “Left, then right, was it?” She said excitedly, between two bites, to which she received a nod in response.
After reassuring herself that her food wouldn’t disappear the moment she stopped eating it, she finally took a little break to prod Mariko on some things she had been dying to ask. “So, chief of police? Why’d somebody like you agree to take somebody like me in?”
Mariko took another few moments to consider, carefully responding to June. “...The money was nice, and it’s not too much work to look after a seventeen year old. I just needed some extra cash on the side.”
Okay. Cold, but she supposed it made sense. “Okay.. what about earlier today? Why did you have to run off?”
This got an eyebrow raise in response. She placed her bowl down on the counter. “You don’t know? Weren’t you in town this afternoon?”
“Uhh, yeah, I was, but… nobody really gave me the time of day, to be honest. They were kinda all being assholes. Gave me what I bought, told me to hurry up, gave me scowls- kinda like you.”
Mariko shook her head, eyes focused down on her food. “There was another body found this morning. It’s the third of its kind, a delivery woman popular amongst the locals, killed in the same way as the others. She- well, I’ll spare you the details. It’s tearing the town apart, but there’s not a single lead on the killer. You- You seriously didn’t know any of this?”
June, eyes wide, shook her head in disbelief. “Serial… killings? Here?” Suddenly, the way she had been treated in town that day made a lot more sense. She wouldn’t expect people would be happy to see anybody, especially an outsider, on the day of an apparent third death.
“Three, in two months. My department is working themselves to the bone- well, some are- and not a single piece of information has come up. Be careful on your way to Shizuka Academy, okay?”
June, stunned into silence, simply continued to eat, while Mariko shook her head with an exhausted sigh. “Not only that- recently, these anomalous hypothermia cases are now popping up… just two days ago, a whole block of houses come down with cases of hypothermia overnight. In the middle of Spring…”
Mariko, finishing up her bowl, stared at June. “Look, I’ll be honest. It’s not a great time to move to Aihaba right now. Just keep your head down, and focus on school, okay?”
June nodded, prompting Mariko to check her watch and let out a sigh. “Ugh, I knew this would happen- don’t ask so many questions next time. Now I have to walk home in the dark...” She got up from her stool, placed her bowl in her bag and hurried to the door. “Make sure you sleep early- I’m not going to be there to wake you up. It’s up to you to get yourself to school on time.”
June simply nodded in response, turning back to her food and finishing off the decidedly less tasty beef bowl as the door let out its signature ring ring.
She washed her bowl up in her sink, slipping from her kitchen to her room and quietly shutting the door behind her. She changed into her night clothes- a massive t-shirt and shorts, before curling up on the bed, against the wall.
For the first time since arriving, in the silence, she noticed the soft sound of the sea lapping against the cliffside and rocks, reminding her she hadn’t gone to visit the sea yet.
After a few more moments of quiet, June pulled out her phone, and simply typed “Aihaba” into the search bar- and sure enough, the news stories popped up.
Coastal Town Aihaba Plagued by Third Murder of the Year
Aihaba Police Fumble as Murder Suspect Still Unidentified
Inside the Aihaba Hypothermia Cases
She frowned, bookmarking them and deciding to read more into them tomorrow, but for now...
June slipped her phone back upon her bedside table, and shut her eyes for the second time since arriving in Aihaba. Before she could even contemplate her situation, the day at school she had ahead of her, or the soft anxiety welling up in her body...
Her head fell against the pillow.