The stars covered the black night sky, whose brightness could not reach the surface, as it was obscured by the light from the street lamps.
The cold I felt froze my ears and nose. I don't know if it was because of the temperature that night, or a problem with my body itself.
I was walking back home after that encounter. My uniform was disheveled, stained in places, though only slightly, and I hadn't bothered to keep up appearances in the slightest.
Her hair was also disheveled, but she had no visible wounds, no bruises, nothing.
It wasn't that he hadn't hit me, it's that he'd hidden it. I was carrying a plastic bag with me; it weighed much less than the one I'd had before.
Inside were only two things: makeup and a box of bandages. I'd already used both; I used the makeup to cover a bruise on my cheek, and I put the bandage on my nose, which was bleeding—not from my nostrils, that stopped a while ago—but from the open wound.
Where did I buy both things? With the money left over from buying the flowers. All for these two things, to show off. Of course, showing off was the last thing I wanted to do on the street, but if I came home looking like this, my father would worry. It would be a nuisance.
I doubt he'll be home when I get there, but it's not like there's makeup in there...
Speaking of him, shortly after I left the cemetery, he called me. At first, I thought he'd somehow found out everything that had happened, but that wasn't the case. He just wanted to know what I was doing and why I hadn't come home yet.
I told him a lie that even I wouldn't believe.
"Ah… yes, it's just that… I ran into Suzune."
[Really? Was it in the…?]
"N-no no, when I go to buy the flowers…"
A chance encounter, too strange to be believable, and yet, she believed it. It was shortly after he called me that I bought both things.
It's ironic to dismiss that as 'impossible' when I literally come from something much worse... A chill ran down my spine, but I ignored it.
Luckily, they had both things at a shop that was about to close. The saleswoman gave me a strange look, I don't know if she was worried or annoyed, but I didn't care. It wasn't like she was going to tell anyone.
And that's how I got into this situation, holding a bag I shouldn't be carrying, with things I should never have bought.
For the return trip, I could have easily taken a train back home, and thus saved myself part of the journey, but that idea never crossed my mind, and I simply wandered down the street until I got home.
Everything felt desolate. Every now and then I saw people outside, walking past me, or going in the same direction as me, until we parted ways. I could feel them watching me.
The light from the lamps was blinding, so I didn't take my eyes off the ground. I just focused on walking, walking, and walking.
I had too much on my mind to think about anything else. Not only was it what I still hadn't fixed, but now it was also what had happened.
The moment came when I stopped walking and stood in front of a house. I went through the gate, facing the front door. I stared at it, stared for a while, and then sighed.
" I'm home!"
I opened the door and raised my voice as best I could. I had to sound credible.