The Gate of Sorrows (68 page)

“So you became mail buddies.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“And you haven’t gotten together?”

Mike shrank into her chair. “We … did. I think that’s why I fell down the stairs.”

“You’re kidding.”

“I got a mail from him the day before. He said he was coming back from the library and he was, you know, in the neighborhood. So … I …”

“Went and met him.”

“You know that little park on the corner, a couple of streets over? It takes about five minutes to walk there. I met him there. He lent me a book. It was a book he’d been telling me about. He was sure I’d like it a lot.”

It had been a year since she’d seen him, and because she’d started to see him in a new light, he seemed much more attractive than before. Heart pounding, she’d felt as though her future were suddenly much brighter. Even after he was gone, the bells kept ringing inside her.

“I think I was kind of in a daze the next day.”

“So when you slipped on the stairs, your head was in the clouds. Okay.” Kotaro sighed. “Mika, you know what that’s called, don’t you? A fixation. You’re in love.”

Kotaro listened as she told him her second-year middle school girl’s story from start to finish—a love story, though she and Gaku had never been on a proper date. All they’d done so far was send mails back and forth and meet about once a week in the park, mostly to exchange books and talk about their favorite music, and movies they’d seen recently. That was the whole relationship, at least for now. Of course it would progress, but probably at a super-slow pace.

The more he heard about Gaku, the more Kotaro began to think he wasn’t such a bad guy after all. Maybe blowing his chance to get into that school he’d been gunning for, and the disappearance of his fans and the collapse of his dream of popularity, had made him a better person.

His and Mika’s long-distance relationship seemed like an anachronism. Gaku was proceeding with restraint in consideration of his girlfriend’s age and tender feelings. When Kotaro first heard the story of his public love confession, he’d pictured a narcissist starring in his own romantic movie. But now it seemed likely that he’d been so naïve, he simply miscalculated.

If that was where things stood, it was no surprise that Mika would hesitate to tell her mother and Kazumi. Instead of disapproving of the relationship, they might accuse her of acting like a child.

Kotaro frowned for effect. “It seems weird that he has all those books. Are you sure he didn’t steal them from some bookstore?”

Mika shook her head earnestly. “Of course not! He buys them with money from his part-time job. But I heard …” She lowered her voice. “I heard his family is really rich.”

Gaku’s father was a senior executive in a giant food company. Kotaro was impressed when Mika told him the name; you couldn’t get away from their commercials on TV.

“So if his dad’s such a big shot, how come he’s not at a private high school?”

“He said it’s his father’s policy. He doesn’t want Gaku to have special advantages, at least until he graduates from high school. His two older brothers were raised the same way. The oldest one is still looking for a job. His father won’t help him. He says he had to climb the ladder without any help, and he wants his sons to do it too.”

“Wow. Sounds like a pretty cool dad.”

“But I can tell from the things Gaku says that his family has money. He’s been on lots of trips abroad, from the time when he was little.”

So that would make Gaku’s family rich people from outside—not “aborigines.”

“He can spend all his pocket money on books and CDs,” Mika added. “He doesn’t have to save money. I’m not like that.”

“Do kids even buy CDs anymore?”

“Don’t you know? People who love classical music collect them. Sometimes they have to have LPs, even.”

“Classical. Okay. Sorry, I’m not that sophisticated.”

They both laughed. But it was time for Kotaro to ask the question he’d been waiting to ask—about the spider.

“Listen, Mika. What’s going on these days with Glitter Kitty? She was the ringleader, wasn’t she?”

“Oh, her.” Mika’s smile disappeared. “She’s a freshman at Gaku’s high.”

Kotaro’s eyes widened. “Are you sure?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“So you know who she is and where she lives—”

“Everybody’s known since last year, at least on the tennis team.”

Judging from the posts he’d seen, Kotaro had assumed that Glitter Kitty was a first-year student at the time, like Mika. Maybe she’d been trying to disguise her age. The web was tricky.

“She’s a Gaku fan, right?”

“Mm-hmm. But it was like she thought he was her boyfriend.” Unusually for Mika, she sounded suddenly scornful.

“So that’s why she was bullying you. She was jealous.”

“That’s how she is, not just with Gaku. She’s jealous of everybody and everything. She has to be first and best all the time.”

Not a pretty picture. But Glitter Kitty had had a lot of followers who were up for tearing into Mika too. Maybe they were in first or second year and afraid to be seen anywhere other than on Kitty’s side. That was the problem with girls—the clique thing. It was a real pain when it wasn’t truly scary.

“If she’s in the same school, do you think she knows about you and Gaku?”

“Of course she knows.” Mika spat out the words. “She came to the tennis camp as an advisor. She told me to stay away from him.”

Kotaro suddenly remembered the note he’d found in Mika’s book.

If you touch Gaku, I’m going to kill you.

“What did you say?”

“I told her I didn’t think it was any of her business,” she said calmly.

She’s got more guts than she lets on.

“What happened?”

“You mean since then? Nothing.”

Kotaro furrowed his brow. “Are you sure you’re not going to have any more trouble?”

“As soon as school started, Kiba-san asked him to be his boyfriend. He blew her off completely.”

“Her last name is Kiba?”

Mika traced the two characters on the tabletop with a fingertip: “tree” and “garden.” “Kiba” was one way to read them.

“But you can pronounce them ‘ki-tei’ too, right? She said that’s been her nickname since kindergarten. It’s what everyone calls her.”

Her nickname was a personal brand. Kotaro slapped a hand over his eyes. “Say no more. I know exactly what she’s like.”

The spider dogging Mika would be the residue of Glitter Kitty’s jealousy. It must have somehow split off from her word body. Maybe it didn’t have the power to do much harm. Mika seemed healthy and happy.

“What I want to know is, why are they going to the same high school?”

“It’s not his fault. She took the same set of entrance exams.”

Kotaro found it hard to believe that a girl in her mid-teens would be so intent on capturing one particular guy.

“So, as far as Gaku goes—”

“He never liked her,” Mika said. “He couldn’t stand her. She was having this fantasy that she was his girlfriend and telling everyone and making trouble for him.”

Kotaro felt both regret and relief. If he still had Galla’s Eye, he would’ve used it on Glitter Kitty. At the same time, he was glad he couldn’t do that anymore.

“Kitty’s from around here, then?”

“Yeah. For a while she was waiting for Gaku to show up at the station every morning, so he started using the next one down the line.”

A self-centered, insanely jealous type might respond to being cut dead by becoming even more attached to the object of her fantasy.

“And everything’s cooled down now?”

“I haven’t heard anything. Gaku hasn’t said anything either.”

“Be careful anyway,” Kotaro was about to say, but thought better of it. Glitter Kitty was sixteen. If she were a guy, she’d be capable of violence, but there was a limit to how far girls would go. If Mika stayed away from her, Kitty would probably give up after a while and drift away.

Then there was Keiko Tashiro.

Cut it out, Kotaro. Stop picturing the worst case. It’s like Shigenori says. I can’t fix everything.

“Want another burger, Ko-chan?” Mika smiled.

Everything seems okay
, he told himself.

It was August 31, the last day of summer break.

Despite her high school entrance exams, Kazumi had taken part in the five-day tennis camp. Now she was nervous about her readiness, but she’d still spent the day at the living room PC, sorting through the photos she’d taken at camp. She became so absorbed that she missed another day of study. Asako was not pleased and made sure Kazumi knew it.

Kotaro was home all day too. He’d pulled a night shift at Kumar, and between that and the fatigue that had been building up since last year, he slept till early afternoon. He still felt sleepy when he woke up, so he went back to bed. His mother and sister couldn’t believe it.

Kotaro’s sleep was dreamless. That was a blessing.

By evening he was up and helping prepare the fixings for grilled meat. By seven thirty the three of them had gathered around the tabletop grill pan. They’d eaten their fill, and Kotaro was just opening the window to air out the kitchen, when the telephone rang. Asako took the call.

“Oh, hello.” Her friendly tone changed quickly. “Mika? No, she’s not visiting.” She put a hand over the receiver. “Kazumi, have you seen Mika today?”

“No.”

“What about email?”

“We haven’t been in touch. What’s wrong?”

“She’s not home.”

Kotaro glanced at the clock on the wall. It was five past eight.

Kazumi stood up. “She told me she had to spend yesterday and today working on a paper for lit class. She was worried she wouldn’t finish it.”

“What about the library?”

“No way. Not this late.”

She took the phone. “Aunt Takako? It’s Kazumi. Did Mika go out without telling you where she was going?”

“What about Aunt Hanako?” Kotaro said quietly to his mother. “She must be home.”

“Takako says she’s been in bed with a bit of a fever since last night. It’s just a cold.”

Kotaro studied his sister’s profile as she nodded and said “Um-hmm, um-hmm,” into the phone.

“She probably just went to the store,” Asako said soothingly.

Kazumi had interrupted her photo project to have dinner. The PC was in sleep mode. Kotaro touched the mouse and the monitor lit up. Mika and Kazumi smiled back at him from the monitor, tennis rackets at the ready.

Kazumi slammed the receiver down. “Mom, what should we do?”

“I don’t think you need to get so excited.”

“No, I’m sure something’s wrong!” She shook her head stubbornly. “First of all, she wouldn’t have gone out and left Auntie Hanako in bed without telling her when she’d be back. When Takako got back, the porch light was out and the living room was dark. She didn’t just go out for a minute. She’s probably been gone for hours.”

Kotaro stood up. “Come on, don’t freak out. I’ll go take a look.”

“Thank you, Kotaro.” Asako put a protective arm around Kazumi’s shoulder.

He slipped his sneakers on and crossed the street to the Sonois’. Takako was on her smartphone as she opened the door. She hadn’t even taken off her summer suit coat. Aunt Hanako was in the kitchen, slumped in a chair. She looked wiped out and suddenly very old.

“Oh, it’s Kotaro,” she said weakly. “I’m sorry, I’ve been in bed all day.”

“If you have a fever, bed rest is the best thing. Auntie, when was the last time you talked to Mika?”

“Maybe ten this morning. She made me porridge. She seemed fine.”

Takako ended her call. She had the same worried look as Kazumi. “She’s not at her father’s. I didn’t think she would be, but I had to check. He hasn’t seen her.”

“I wouldn’t worry, Aunt Takako. She probably went out to get something and ran into a friend and they got to talking.”

Having said that much, Kotaro couldn’t resist the pressure he felt. If he didn’t say what he knew, things could end up a lot worse for Mika.

Mika, forgive me. I’ll apologize once you’re safe and sound.

“Look, I better tell you. Mika has a boyfriend. She’s probably with him right now. They must be having fun and just forgot the time.”

Takako didn’t seem very surprised. “So that’s it,” she said and nodded. A mother’s intuition.

“He was on the tennis team with Mika. His name is Gaku something, let’s see …” Kotaro was so nervous, he couldn’t remember the boy’s full name at first. “Gaku Shimakawa. His family’s pretty prosperous. He’s a high school freshman.”

Takako sat down heavily at the kitchen table, still holding her smartphone.

“They meet sometimes in the park near here,” Kotaro added. “That’s all, so far. They’re being so old-fashioned, it’s kind of adorable.”

Mika’s mother sighed. Hanako looked from one to the other, not quite grasping what was going on.

“We’ve never had a set curfew,” Takako said.

“She still shouldn’t be out late without telling anyone. It’s not like her. But they’ve got to be close by. I’ll swing around the neighborhood and see if I can find them.”

He rushed back to the house, leaped onto his bicycle and dashed at full speed toward the park.

Mika, where are you? You’d never worry your mother or Hanako. You must really be in love to do something stupid like this.