Chapter 15 – Blazing ring

Tachibana Akane stared at the kitchen, enveloped in a blaze of flame. Tossing the empty plastic bottle she was holding in her hand in there, instantly it deformed and melted into a squishy mess.

The blaze spread through the walls and quickly caught up to the ceiling. Directly above the kitchen was the bedroom. Akane grew frustrated.

The fire alarm in the kitchen went off with a piercing ring, followed by a scream from upstairs. Akane sneaked out of the living room window, walked out to the street, and searched for a place to be hidden, concealing herself behind a utility pole across the street. Eventually, the neighbors evacuated and appeared outside, and as the sirens began to be heard, the neighbors gathered around.

Akane mingled with the people in the neighborhood and watched the burning house as she stepped out onto the street. From time to time, what sounded like an explosion could be heard inside the house, and in no time at all, flames were bursting out of the house, shattering the windows.

In front of the house, a married couple with a young child was standing there in their pajamas. Seeing this, Akane was relieved to find that the family was still alive, but then the owner of the house looked back at her in a raging manner and pointed his finger at Akane, yelling at her in a prajna-like manner.

“You’re the one who’s going to be burned!”

Akane jumped to her feet. Her heart was pounding, and she clamped down on it with both hands. Next to her, her two-year-old son Hayato was sleeping peacefully.

“So it is a dream…”

It was an unpleasant dream in which she was responsible for setting a blaze. It was only three o’clock. Akane sighed, lay down again, and closed her eyes, but the blaze in her dream was awfully realistic and made her feel unsettled, so she spent the rest of the morning unable to sleep, getting up at seven o’clock and descending into the living room.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning, Akane.”

Akane was a single mother, now residing with her parents at home. After preparing breakfast for herself and Hayato, she went upstairs to call Hayato.

“Good morning, Hayato. Rise and shine〜”

“I’m still sleepy.”

Akane embraced Hayato and rubbed her cheek against his soft one. “It’s time to get up for nursery school.”

Her parents were doing their best to watch over their grandchildren, so Akane managed to secure a full-time job at Books Honpo, but due to its location within a train station, the early and late shifts were not ideal for raising children, so she applied to be transferred to an independent store.

“I am on the late shift today, so can you pick him up from nursery school?”

“Alright. Pick-up is at 4:30, right?”

“Right.”

After graduation from high school, Akane worked as a clerk at an apparel store for a while but resigned after getting married to her then-boyfriend. After that, because of her husband’s infidelity, they divorced within a year afterward. When she was seeking a job after the divorce, miraculously a job at Books Honpo was offered to her.

Once prepared, she pedaled her bicycle to drop Hayato off at the nursery school.

“Mom, I’m off.”

“Have a good day!”

Having dropped him off at nursery school, she headed off to work in the afternoon after running some errands at home. At the store, the manager, Sakura, was dealing with the cash register and the place was packed.

“Good afternoon.”

“Good afternoon. Can you put the covers on?”

Akane put the covers on the books and handed them to the customers after the payment was made.

Once the counter had been cleared of customers, Sakura closed the register and passed the responsibility and work over to Akane.

“Okay, I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Please do.”

Afterward, working with a part-time employee and running the store, the business hours were over in a flash. As the time for closing the store drew near, she lowered the shutters, closed the cash register, and boarded the train to the next station. The next station had a number of bars, and if you entered a narrow alley, there was a love hotel area. Akane waved to her boyfriend, Gaku, who was waiting for her as she exited the station. He was a salesman for a client of Books Honpo, and each time they met, the distance between them grew closer.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“Good work.”

“Should we grab dinner?”

“Sorry… it’s a little late for that…”

“… No problem! No worries.”

Akane and Gaku went straight to the hotel area and entered the hotel for a rest.

“Gaku… I missed you…”

“Me too…”

“I love you…”

“Me too…”

“…”

Although she had realized that he was showing a cold shoulder lately, Akane could not easily part from him as he was her heart and reliance. After the act was over, he went to the bathroom to take a shower first. While waiting for him, Akane secretly pressed the power button on his phone. Then the standby screen of Gaku’s child was displayed. It was locked, and in the middle of it was a screen that required her to punch in a password.

Akane was familiar with the face of Gaku’s wife and child. She was a stunning woman, albeit she had only seen her in photographs, and her child was a four-year-old girl, two years older than Akane’s son. When she heard the shower stop, Akane hurriedly pressed the power button to turn the screen dark.

Before leaving the room, Akane asked Gaku. “I have the late shift tomorrow, any chance we could meet?”

“Sorry. I can’t do it all day.”

“Well, when shall we meet again?”

“I am not sure.”

Akane turned to face the front, hoping not to show her disappointment on the surface. She could already foresee the end of the affair.

“Huh? A ring…?” Gaku noted the ring Akane wore on the ring finger of her right hand and took her hand to stare at the ring. “Did you buy it?”

“It’s time for us to leave.”

Akane swept her hand away and unintentionally treated Gaku in a chilly manner. Gaku looked uncomfortable, but Akane left the hotel in a sulk.