[May 23rd 2018 : Yokohama City : Japan]
The rain lets up as the evening comes around. Gradually the storm clouds divide, giving light to a peaceful orange sky. Rays from the setting sun illuminate the river flowing through the city, while turning the skyscrapers into mere silhouettes.
Once again we find ourselves walking home together, just like we had always done. Yokohama National University was only a short distance from our residential area, making it easy to commute by foot and sparing us the fees for public transport. Plus I wasn't really given a choice, Chisaki demanded that I walk to account for my daily exercise. It was only once I began this exercise that I realised how weak I actually was, unlike the girl striding a few feet ahead. The young, healthy...
No. That's a lie.
Without warning she slowed to a stop in the middle of the pavement.
I stutter slightly as I raise my head.
“You forgot to bring your phone huh?”
“...!” I pat my pockets frantically but to no avail. Oops.
With her back still facing me she continued, “I figured as much, else you would've stopped at the convenience store like I asked in the message.”
“Er... Sorry...”
I lower my drooping eyes, seemingly out of shame, but really I was deep in thought. Chisaki must've sensed my peculiar behaviour because the next thing I knew she had turned around to shoot me a prying scowl. Her entire demeanour had changed, there was almost an intimidating aura of formality surrounding her. I try to avert my eyes.
“You okay? I mean, you're always quiet but this is just creepy.”
This is bad. She's much sharper than you'd think, stubborn too. Once she latched onto something she wouldn't let go.
The pattering sound of her shoes approaches, soon followed by the rich scent of her hair conditioner.
“Hey. Look me in the eyes.”
My pupils reluctantly quiver in her direction. Like a puppy being scolded for misbehaving.
“Remember what I said about your experiments?”
Chisaki was never mean, but she wouldn't stand for other people's nonsense. She had a very mature outlook on life, despite her tendency to become easily flustered she was one of the most level-headed people I knew. I have no choice but to grit my teeth and look away. She got me.
“No more Hayden. I won't let you waste any more time on this ridiculous fantasy. Besides, you need to focus on your report for Professor Rutherford.”
But she was right, and that hurt more than anything.
“.....got it.”
“Good!” she straightened her back and loosened her expression, “We can probably still make it to the store before they close, either that or there'll be no sandwiches for lunch tomorro-”
She froze in place.
The next few seconds slowed to what felt like minutes. I knew what was about to happen, and so I lunged forward to steady her falling body. She flopped against me, completely paralysed, her limp frame put a surprising amount of strain on my feeble toothpick-arms. This was her curse. She's out cold. The unpredictability of these attacks only made them harder to deal with. Sometimes she would wake within seconds, sometimes it would take hours, sometimes days. They told us that one day she would drift away and never return, but that was no reason to be afraid, in a moment or two she would come to her senses and swat me away for being too close, just like she always did. Ungrateful as that seems, it's all that I want to hear.
The sun bids farewell from beyond the horizon, casting its final glimmer of life over my pale, cadaverous hands.
“That'll be 480 Yen. Thank you, have a nice night!”
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It takes another 20 minutes to finally arrive at Chisaki's house, including the detour we took to the food store. With her hands fully occupied carrying shopping bags, she hopelessly fumbles around her body for the door key. Her brow furrows between varying levels of frustration in the process. After about a minute of watching Chisaki dance around on the spot while mumbling curse words at nothing, I hear the sound of soft, cushiony footsteps. Then I notice a hunched silhouette approaching the door from within the house. The latches click from the inside.
An elderly man with a courteous wrinkly face opens the door.
He greets us with a chuckle and a warm smile, “Ah, welcome back! I see you managed to buy some bread after all eh?”
The man, apparent from his age, was Chisaki's grandfather.
As we exchange pleasantries we are welcomed into the cosy abode. Chisaki's grandparents were a charitable pair in their late 60s. Loving, tolerant and most of all generous, exactly the kind of people who would always buy you too many presents for Christmas. We first became neighbours when I moved to Japan with my father back in 2003. I was born in England but we migrated on account of my dad's job.
“Sorry paps, no cream bread today...”
“Don't trouble yourself dear, an old hermit like me can hardly taste the difference anyway GHA! HA! HA! ACK-!”
“Haha... right...”
I met Chisaki at a very young age and we quickly became friends, she had been forced to live with her grandparents as a result of a bad divorce between her mother and father.
“Tea Hayden?”
“O-Oh... yeah... thanks.”
Unfortunately, my dad passed away when I was five. I didn't have any relatives in Japan at the time so Chisaki's family decided it best to take me in. Perhaps they understood the pain of a child losing their parents all too well from Chisaki herself? Maybe they didn't want Chisaki to become separated from her only friend? Who knows. All I am certain of is that I can never repay them for their incredible generosity. I try to help out as much as I can to appease the guilt, and shopping for the family is just the tip of the iceberg.
Chisaki stretched her arms and let out a groan, “Ahhh... Well, I'm gonna take a shower.” she shoots me a cold glare as I finish unpacking the groceries.
“Remember what I said.”
“Erk-... of course...”
Her grandfather simply gave a dumb smile. But I knew what she meant. It was a warning. A warning that I would no doubt ignore.
The faint snap of the light switch breathed life into the dead air of the basement. Stony walls were grey and cold, papers and computer components lie strewn about the floor in disarray. Despite the cobwebs and visible dust particles hanging in the air, there was a certain comforting unity to the room. It was unkempt for sure, but one might refer to it as an organised mess.
This was where I lived.
A sofa to sleep on, a desk for my computer, an awkward brown table in the centre of the room littered with dismantled robotics, what more could an engineering student possibly need? Anything I wasn't currently using was forcibly shoved into the storage room, out of sight and out of mind.
“Right.” I rubbed my hands together. Don't ask me why.
Time to get started.
I lift away the sheet, revealing a hideous machine sitting on the table. Seriously this thing looked like a preschooler had assembled it, truly a bastard child of dimwitted student ambition and low budget resources. I guess the correct term would be 'fugly'. But appearance was irrelevant. For in science it was the function that counted, and this metallic tumour of a device would hopefully contain the solution to all of my problems.
This is the basic idea. In collaboration with the biology department I have been searching for a way to cure Chisaki's brain disease. Despite her constant protesting I refuse to give up, so here I am working in secrecy. The trouble is that nobody truly knows what's wrong with her. Some friends and I have come up with a basic theory on how we could stimulate her brain to stay awake by sending electrical pulse signals to the areas responsible for regulating consciousness, namely the Anterior Insula. The details are surreal and complex, but all that mattered right now was proving that this prototype was capable of creating these electrical signals.
So I don my safety goggles and activate the power.
The only real obstacle (aside from my crippled wallet) is Chisaki, but as long as she doesn't hear the commotion I can experiment to my heart's content. Electricity flows from the mains socket and fires up the apparatus. A horrible droning sound plagues the air.
Hmm... That didn't happen last time.
I bury my concerns and narrow my eyes. The more it sparked, the more I began to wonder if this might be just a tiny bit illegal.
As I stand there praying for the machine to hold together, almost by fate's cruel design I hear a troubling pop from the interior. I recognise that sound, but more importantly I know how to fix it. I grab my screwdriver and reach for the rear panel. It's dangerous to operate on an active machine, even more so an untested one, but somehow I feel it would be more risky to leave it be.
I'm too tired for this. My eyes are throbbing and I can feel myself struggling to stay awake. What I should be doing right now is working on my report for the professor, but I have to know if this research has any potential. My hands fumble through the wires in a daze as I search for the problem...
But by the time I realised my mistake, it was already too late.
Blinding light explodes from my hands as I stumble and fall to my rear. With a fantastic crack the lightbulb blew, casting the room into darkness. I shield my head as shards of glass rain down from the ceiling. Yep, just as I suspected, in a short sighted maneuver I managed to short the circuit with my screwdriver. Then I hear a feminine shriek from the room above.
“GYAAAA!”
Game over.