Requiem

Suicide Note

There were no lights at all on the bridge.

Of course, nobody was meant to be there in the first place, so planting an extra lamp post or two would be wasted effort. Armed with torches and headlights, Mika, Akito and I left the car to journey towards the trash dump. The waves roared more violently in the night, carried by the gentle breeze across the darkness. Akito took my hand and followed Mika around the danger tape, the triangle of light exposing only a small area of the ground whilst the everything remained as shadowy figures. Someone could be hiding, waiting to strike and we wouldn't know it at all.

To be completely honest, I was terrified. I reasoned with myself that the 'worst' thing that could happen wasn't actually that bad, but even the pessimism failed to soothe my raging thoughts. There was so much that I didn't know, and the undying lust for knowledge felt like craters in my chest. According to Akito, I was the epicenter of a curse I didn't understand. The story itself was based on groundless theories, but it seemed perfectly possible. 

Anything was possible in Rimona, and that made me nauseous.

“Maybe we should let him see the note first, Aki. He's trembling like a chicken that fell into a frozen stream, so a bit of understanding towards the situation might do good.”

“...” I knew that Mika was teasing, but the validity of her words didn't help my dignity.

“Alright,” Akito stuck the pen torch in his mouth and rummaged through the pocket of his black coat, pulling out an envelope that bore an uncanny resemblance to the one in the pizza box. Craftily, he flipped open the tab and pulled out the piece of paper, holding it out for me.

The words were digitally printed, each line widely spaced. My headlight was angled towards the page, and nothing else could be seen. I urged myself to read faster, realizing that the car would have been a more appropriate place to do so.

I kept asking myself, what happened along the line?

You taunted me with your silence

You blinded me with your lies.

You took my hand, then let me fall.

… For countless nights, I suffered.

On the last days of the month, walk across the bridge beside the cherry blossoms

And you'll find someone dead.

The curse of the unnamed

Has already begun.

The cold words struck me in the heart, though I didn't show it on my face. The letter was so vague, opening so many possibilities. I won't let you get killed by psychotic murderers. Hizumi's lighthearted words began to make sense when I realized I could be part of the cursed unnamed. No, Sage. Arriving at Rimona on the day the first letter was delivered doesn't automatically make you the kill target. Nobody even knew that you'd come. Nobody....

I had to verify that sometime. Folding up the note after staring at it blankly and lost in thought, I handed it back to Akito. Then, I searched for the cherry blossoms.

“You won't find any,” Akito said, as if to read my thoughts. “They got cleared away when the place became abandoned, but it would have been here otherwise.” He turned and led us further down the bridge. Again I found myself wondering, what were we doing here?

“I figured I'd have a look at the glove-hand that you came across, Sage.”

Oh...

Mika gave a small chuckle in response to the idea, for she hadn't been there during the conversation back at the gallery. The idea of me being spooked by a glove is beyond laughable, it's humiliating. I wished we didn't come here at all.