Case 00: The Disturbing Mansion (3)

No, the thing resembling sleep rarely came to me, but that day my consciousness was clear all night long. I continued glaring at the door from inside Mr. Frog as if to protect A and M who were sleeping in their beds in the bedroom.

--Only one day left until July 31st.

No, there were only about eighteen hours left now.

Kii-chan’s last words to M were “Be careful of mother.” And the shadow resembling her mother that appeared in the bathroom a few hours ago.

So… was it her mother? Was ‘Yoishi’ inside the mother right now? If that were the case, then shouldn’t I do something about it right now and relay that information to Sako and the old man?

However – for some reason, I couldn’t make up my mind to act right away.

How should I say…? Right, it was too straightforward.

An easy straight ball. Both Sako and the old man said that ‘Yoishi’ was not an idiot. I didn’t know if the ‘thing’ they were chasing was ‘Malice’, ‘Nine-tails’ or a ‘Monster’, but they all shared the impression of being a ‘lump of malice’. Would something like that really do something like easily reveal itself? But if that were the case, then was ‘Yoishi’ inside the father or the older sister?

--Dammit, I didn’t know anymore.

As my thoughts spun over and over pondering on such things, it ended up becoming bright beyond the window. The chirping of the birds started ringing in the surroundings to the point of annoyance.

Eventually, as if drawn by those bird sounds, M stirred in her bed and sat up. She fixed her slightly disheveled long black hair with her hand, and then looked in my direction before whispering ‘Good morning’.

I replied ‘Good morning’ back to her as cheerfully as I could.

The strong light from the summer sun poured in through the gap in the curtains, but it wasn’t too hot because of the high altitude. It was an ordinary awakening to a beautiful and invigorating world.

But it felt like I, and for some reason, M as well, understood it.

Today, the warm light that wrapped everything would end, and something dark would begin–

M’s eyes seemed to realize that fate had declared that today would be that day.

With five minutes left until 6 AM, M gently got out of bed so as not to wake her sister. She put on her gown and left the room while still wearing her pajamas. I was, of course, tucked into her pocket.

When she descended the stairs to the living room, her father was already awake and smiled when he saw M.

“Good morning, M. You sure are early today.”

Her father too was still only in his pajamas and a cardigan; he was boiling water in the kitchen.

“Would you like to drink some tea?”

“Yes.”

“Wait there.”

M made her way to the sofa, and sat on the sofa with a thump, when her father asked the question.

“Say, M. Have you seen mama?”

M turned back, I too came out of the frog, and stood there.

It was hard to understand the meaning of that question.

“When I got up this morning, mama wasn’t in bed. Did she go out for a walk?”

“Didn’t you sleep together yesterday?”

“Mama and A seemed to be watching television, so I slept ahead of her. At some point late at night, mama entered the room and I think she went to bed, but maybe I was tired from the long drive here. I fell asleep without waking up. …Well, I think she went on a walk. She’s not the type to stay still. Let’s try waiting a little more.”

The father smiled with his sleepy-looking eyes.

M stayed silent, with a slightly anxious look on her face. She didn’t mention what happened last night in the bath. No, if I was M, I couldn’t do it either. Seeing how bright the surroundings had become after the night had passed, yesterday’s events seemed to be nothing more than a dream. I mean in reality, all she was asked was if she could take a bath with her, although her voice was somewhat creepy when she spoke.

“Ahh—It smells so good!”

Thereupon, A came downstairs while stretching, she was also wearing pajamas and a gown. And her hair was beautifully disheveled.

“Honey herb tea for me as well--!”

Hearing that bright voice, the father smiled and offered her his own cup. He then called M over and handed her a teacup, and began brewing his own tea.

“Onee-chan, do you know where mama is?”

M asked with cup in hand, and A cocked her head in confusion.

“Papa says he hasn’t seen her since he woke up.”

“Eeeeh---? …Ah, she must have gone for a walk. I was also woken up by the birds singing. The weather looked so nice from the window and the lake was so pretty! Let’s go after her after we finish our tea.”

A suggested, as she blew on her teacup to cool it down a few degrees.

The father nodded as well, ‘That’s right’.

“Well then, can you two go by yourselves? Meanwhile, I’ll make breakfast. The first thing mama will probably say when she gets back is--”

“Ahh, I'm starving!”

A instantly retorted, and the father laughed, ‘That’s exactly it’.

Next to the mansion’s front gate, there was a path leading to the lake.

A, M, along with me in the stuffed frog that slightly peeked out from M’s pocket, trotted down along the path. The morning mist still hung in the air, and the summer sun, which would get stronger from here on, felt nice in the clear air.

The sisters who had changed into their casual clothes laughed as they descended the gentle slope which was covered with grass; terraced fields must have been there in the past. A was the only one talking, but her successive jokes eventually made M laugh. That may have been in part due to this open space created by nature. The two sisters were hand in hand, descending the slope as if doing dance steps.

After walking through the grove of trees for about thirty minutes, the shore of a vast lake came into view.

The shore of the lake was a public park covered by grass, and people who looked like the town's senior citizens' association could be seen playing gateball early in the morning. The surface of the lake glittered with the reflection of the sunlight, and the mountain ridges were undeniably beautiful.

“We should have brought Leo with us.”

M said that, but A was looking around all over the place, and sighed in reply, “Mama isn’t here--”.

“Oh, look at that, M! I want to take a ride on that later!”

A pointed to a duck-shaped rowboat for two that you would often see at tourist spots on lakes.

“I wonder if it’s possible to go on a trip on that…”

“…Ehh?”

“We could squeeze food and drinks in there, and then we could go on a cruise by rowing with our feet. A grand adventure with as little equipment as possible! Doesn’t that sound fun?”

“…But, but what would we do if there’s a storm?”

“In that case we’ll cover ourselves with a sheet and ride it out. We might see whales or dolphins on the way. Birds might chase after us. Or maybe we’ll see something even more mysterious, something we’ve never seen before, an animal that nobody knows about! Yesss—It will be so much fun!”

M was in a daze, unsure of how to reply to A who had completely gone to a world of her own. As I looked at their exchange– I somehow observed A. A was the same as always. She was the same cheerful, tomboyish high school girl since the first time I saw her. Her eyes sparkled, and she burst with laughter. M too was drawn in by A and smiled. She didn’t seem to hold the same suspicious doubts that she had about Kii-chan before her death.

--So, that meant that it wasn’t the elder sister. If that were the case, then the father….no, we still had to be on guard against the mother who was missing.

As I pondered such things, A drew M close to her hugging her head.

“Ah, you look as if you're saying, “Have a nice trip”. We'll be riding together, you know. You’ll be sitting next to me, so make sure you're in good shape, okay?”

“Eeehhh…I’m coming too?”

“Of course you are! If I recall correctly, if the person on the right rows, then it moves toward the left, and if the person on the left rows, then it moves towards the right. If I row alone, I'll just end up going around in circles in the same place, it’ll be meaningless!”

(…Yes, well, that was true.)

“M, don’t you get excited when you see an earth globe? Isn’t it frustrating to think there are still sooo many places out there you’ve never been to? I do! I think about it every day! If I could, I’d go to the bottom of the sea. I bet there are still dinosaurs surviving somewhere in the world. I mean, there are legends about dragons all over the world, right? They breathe fire, understand human language, and fly. I’m sure they are still alive somewhere. We sisters will discover them and go down in history!”

A’s dreams seemed to have gone past the realm of dreams and plunged into delusion – but for some reason, I felt incredibly nostalgic. It felt as if I too had once thought these things and gotten excited. It felt as if I had devoted myself to wandering around in search of such mysterious stories.

“—Ah.”

A suddenly raised her face.

At some point, dark clouds had filled the sky, and it a raindrop seemed to have fallen on her cheek.

“Oh no, we didn’t even bring an umbrella! Aah, damn it, just how far did mama go? I won’t forgive her if she’s already back in the cottage eating breakfast before us.”

Saying that, A broke off into a run with a smile.

“Ah… wait!”

M chased after her in a panic.

“Hey, it’s a race! Hurry up or you’ll get wet in the rain!”

A teased M with those words and set off in a light jog.