Oze
“You locked eyes with the bird too? That makes us the same,” Oomi said.
Aochi looked uneasy.
“In my case, the thing flew right past my face.”
What the hell was with these two? So Oomi had locked eyes with a bird too?But more than that, there was something else bugging me—
“Was that woman... a cool-type beauty?”
They both turned to look at me with unreadable expressions.
“Oze-san… have you eaten so many sweets your brain’s full of sugar?”
This guy had such a calm face, but he said things like that sometimes.
“It’s not full of sugar, damn it. I just thought—maybe she was the dead woman I saw earlier. She was wearing a red dress in the middle of winter, and her long hair was tied back. But if she’s the same person as the one you were talking about…”
“Then maybe… she’s the bird,” Aochi said seriously, picking up the thought.
“Yeah, seems like it. And… I wasn’t sure whether to bring this up, but I think I might know something about that woman with the child Oomi saw.”
Fear instantly flickered in Oomi’s eyes. Aochi gave me a sharp look, like he’d suddenly become the kid’s guardian or something.Hey—what the hell? I haven’t said anything wrong.
“My bad. Maybe I was mistaken. Forget I said anything.”
“No. I can’t forget it. What do you mean you might know something?”
Tch… what a pain.
“Fine, I’ll tell you. It’s not that big a deal anyway. Just wipe that about-to-cry face off, will ya?”
“Okay. Sorry.”
Oomi pulled at his cheeks with both hands like he was psyching himself up.Next to him, Aochi scowled.
“Just hurry up and talk already.”
“All right, all right. This was back when I was still in middle school—”
♢♢♢
I think it was early May.Maybe even late April. There was a single cherry blossom tree visible from the second floor window of our house, and it was in bloom.
That was about the peak season for our town.
Anyway, it was the middle of Golden Week, a lazy afternoon with nothing to do.Sunlight poured into my room, just warm enough to lull you to sleep.
I wasn’t some sad kid with no plans for the holidays—Well… actually, I’d caught a cold a few days earlier and was still recovering, so I was lying down in a daze.
No, maybe I really was a sad kid.Maybe I’m just trying to forget that.Even if I’d been perfectly healthy, I had no big plans. No close friends, either.
Sure, there were classmates I talked to, but they already had their own best friends and tight-knit groups.
That hasn’t changed, even now that I’m grown.I could go on and on about my life as a loner, but let’s skip it for now.
Anyway, I was lying on my back, eyes fixed on the cherry blossoms outside the window.After a while, it felt like I was drifting along with the petals, weightless.My eyelids grew heavy… and eventually, I became one with the petals.
Ah—I’m going to fall.
The thought struck me with startling realism.But that made no sense. I was lying flat on the floor. Where was I supposed to fall to?
Instinctively, I planted my feet.
—Huh?What the hell?
I pried open my heavy eyelids. My vision was clouded, everything tinged white like a hazy filter.I blinked several times, and finally the scenery came into focus—and I recognized it.
A supermarket.
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The one near my childhood home.I used to come here all the time with my mom.No mistake about it—the layout of the produce section gave it away.
But… why was I here?
Did I suddenly unlock teleportation powers or something?I’d dreamed about that plenty of times, imagining myself as a character from a manga or movie with those kinds of abilities.
But now that it felt real, it wasn’t cool at all.It was… gross.
It felt like there was something foreign inside me.I wanted to dig in and rip it out.
I stood there for a while, hand over my chest, until the nausea settled a bit.Then I looked around.
There were a few familiar faces. Not surprising—it was a small town.One woman, holding some kind of citrus fruit, looked straight at me.
She lived in the apartment across from mine.
I always liked her—not in a romantic way, but more like…I wished she were my mom instead.
My real mom didn’t seem to like her much.
She worked for a company in the city and had been sent to our town’s newly opened branch.I’d heard she was married but had no kids, and only saw her husband back in the city during long holidays.
“I can’t believe she’d rather work than be with her husband…”
I’d overheard that kind of gossip from the neighborhood moms more than once.But every time, I thought she looked better—more vibrant—than any of the women in that circle.
Now that I’m older, I kinda get how my mom must’ve felt.That woman had a place in society.She was needed by people outside her family, and you could see that confidence in how she carried herself.Her clothes, her hair, her expression—it all had the polish of someone from the city.
Sure, there were other pretty women in town.But she had something more. She was refined.
Back then, I thought the local women were just jealous.
Seeing her now, I couldn’t help but smile like an idiot.Usually, whenever we made eye contact, she’d be the first to say hi.
But this time, she just looked at me with sad eyes—eyes I’d never seen from her before.
Did something happen?
I took a step toward her—
And felt a tiny hand tug on the hem of my shirt.
A small hand gripped the hem of my shirt.
“…Mamoru?”
It was the little kindergartener who’d taken a liking to me back then.Had he gotten lost?This store wasn’t that big—I could help him find his parents.
But his eyes were brimming with tears.
“Who’d you come with?It’s okay, I’ll help you find them.”
Our parents were friends, so I’d known Mamoru since he was a baby.To be honest, when I first saw him, I didn’t think he was cute at all—he looked like an alien.
But things changed as he grew. Especially once he started understanding words.
He had some kind of heart condition and was often absent from kindergarten, so he spent a lot of time at my place.Sometimes it got annoying to babysit him, but I couldn’t tell him to go home—not when I pictured those tiny shoes of his walking all the way to see me.
I read a lot of books back then, since I didn’t have friends.And I’d always tell Mamoru the stories I’d just learned.
He couldn’t play outside much, but he’d light up at every story I told.It was something I never experienced with my classmates.
Guys with younger siblings probably felt this kind of thing all the time.I was seriously jealous.
I started reading even more, maybe even just to find stories to tell Mamoru.
He was an only child, and he called me “Big Brother.”That tugged at my heart every time.
Now, he was standing there, silently clinging to my shirt.
“Hey, say something.”
I crouched down and gently took his small hand.That’s when my heart thudded.
—What the hell…?Why’s he so cold?
“…Big Brother,” Mamoru finally spoke.
“What is it? Are you feeling sick?”
I was worried sick.
“Big Brother, catch the bird.”
“…Huh? You mean Nonno? Did it get away?Okay, I’ll help you find it.”
I figured he was talking about his pet budgie—bright yellow feathers, really pretty.He used to let it out of the cage all the time. Maybe it flew off.
“Nonno’s with me. He’s fine.”
“…Then what bird are you talking about?”
Come on, even if he’s just a kid, he could be a little clearer—I was about to ask again when—
A hand touched my shoulder.
It was so cold I didn’t realize it was a hand at first.Before I could say anything, the person behind me spoke.
“Catch the bird.”
“You… What are you talking about?”
She was looking at me with the same sad eyes as before.
She didn’t answer.
Instead, she took Mamoru’s hand.Then, without another word, turned her back to me and walked silently toward the fruit display.
“Wait—Mamoru! Hey, where are you going?”
I took off after them—
But tripped on a half-full shopping basket someone had left on the floor.
Damn it—!
Next thing I knew, I was back in my living room.
♢♢♢
Aochi and Oomi were staring at me, both looking like they had a hundred questions.
“See? Not that big a story after all.”
“…So those two were dead?”Oomi’s voice was dry and hollow.
“I was just getting to that.Remember how I said I had a cold back then?Well, I later found out that the woman died the day I got sick…And Mamoru died the same day I saw him at the supermarket.”
Oomi’s lips had gone pale.Aochi shot me a glare like I’d said something cruel.Hey—what the hell? You guys asked me to tell the story.How’d I end up being the bad guy?
“The weird part was, the woman—who looked so full of life—died of illness, and Mamoru died in an accident.You really never know.After that, my family suspected I was sleepwalking for a while.”
Aochi finally opened his mouth, his voice just as dry from staying quiet too long.
“Did you ever figure out what they meant by ‘Catch the bird’?”
“Not back then. I pretty much forgot about it.But two days ago… when I saw that flock of black birds, it all came back.That was it.That’s the bird they wanted me to catch.”
Aochi’s expression softened a little.
“If you’re going to catch that bird… don’t hurt it, okay?It might be the one that saved me.Let it go right after.Especially if it’s flocking—it’d be cruel to leave it behind.Oomi, you don’t have to worry about anything, okay?Just don’t go near the birds.”
Oomi nodded, still uneasy, and Aochi patted his hand and smiled gently.They really did look like brothers.I felt a little jealous.
Thinking about Mamoru made me want to cry.I tried to wash it down with a sip of sweet coffee milk.
…Didn’t work.
All it did was remind me—That was what I used to give him every time he came over.
He’d drink it with these adorable little gulps.
“…Why did you think that woman and Mamoru were the same dead people I saw?”
“That’s what I’ve been wondering, actually.Don’t you think… there’s some kind of connection between us?”