That bird first appeared two nights ago.
On my way home, I stopped by the usual convenience store near my apartment and waited at the light, staring up at the unusually bright moon hanging in the cold sky.
Something frustrating had happened earlier that day, and my heart felt like it was being swallowed by darkness. The city lights along the main street were useless at times like this. It was the moonlight alone that barely held that darkness back.
And then, in that sky, I noticed a bird circling—strangely active for that hour.
Sure, there are birds that fly at night. I just wasn’t used to seeing them around here.
What made me miss the light and keep standing there was something about the way it flew. It wasn’t like it was hunting.It wasn’t watching, either.It felt like it was… searching.
And then, it made eye contact with me.
♢♢♢
“That couldn’t have been...”
I muttered aloud before I realized it.
“What’s wrong?”
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Aochi-san turned to glance back at me, concerned.
“Um… have you ever made eye contact with a bird flying in the sky?”
“...No?”
He answered with a confused look. I always end up like this around him, which is probably why I’m not good with him.Well, I’m not good with anyone, really.
The elevator came to a smooth stop.
Even in that short pause before the doors opened, Aochi-san was tapping his foot impatiently.
The doors opened slowly—almost like they were doing it just to annoy us—and I followed Aochi-san out as he slipped through.
Standing in the center of the wide-open lobby, backed by a pale stone sculpture so lifeless it looked eerie, was Oze-san.
He turned his head toward us and gave a cool, effortless smile.The first thing I did was check—he had both eyes.Thank god.
“I’m glad you’re safe. Just now, I saw a bird carrying something terrifying in its beak—”
Aochi-san, a few steps ahead of me, had already rushed up to Oze-san and was describing the scene he’d seen from the office window.
“The number of birds is rising fast. But they’ve never attacked people before. What the hell’s going on?”
What surprised me more than the story itself was how unfazed Oze-san was, even after hearing about the eyeball.
Even as he talked, I noticed him glancing at my face from time to time.He was worried—probably because I looked so pale.
I still didn’t know what he was really thinking, but for the first time, I felt a bit of comfort around him.I’d always found him unsettling, but his unwillingness to speak his mind so easily was... oddly reassuring.Aochi-san, on the other hand, is straightforward about everything. That’s why people like him.But me? I can never be that honest with how I feel.
“Let’s get back to the office. Then let’s get the hell out of here as soon as we can.”
Aochi-san took the lead, heading back toward the elevator we’d just stepped out of.