The Lying Counselor’s Eloquent Reasoning - Chapter 2

The dubious man’s room was on the third floor of an old building in the downtown area near the high school that Tomomi attended. After leaving the building, Tomomi walked straight to the nearest station and boarded the train back to her house. About fifteen minutes walk from the station, she found herself in a two-story house in a quiet residential area. By the time she opened the front door of the house, it was already past eleven in the afternoon.

Yet, despite such lateness, her mother seemed to be sitting at the dining table before the kitchen, awaiting her return. On the table were the dishes for supper. Each plate was untouched, serving both of them. Yes, evidently her mother had been waiting for Tomomi’s return without taking her own supper. All the way. Until this hour.

“Tomomi, you’re late. Did you stop by somewhere? If you were running late, you should have called me in advance. I’m getting more and more worried that something might have happened to you.”

Her mother was not upset that she returned home this late, at 11:30 p.m.; she simply gave a relieved smile to Tomomi. She was thirty-six years old. She was a petite, plump woman with short hair dyed in light chestnut brown and a personable face. However, her eyes, nose, and height did not resemble those of Tomomi.

“What? Don’t tell me you’ve been sitting there waiting for me to come home, not even bothering with your own meal? Until this late? What nonsense.”

When Tomomi saw such a face of her mother, she was unable to suppress her irritation. She wondered why she was always like this. Heading towards her in such a deliberate way. Even accompanied by a fake smile. Don’t tell me this is the part where you feel like you’re my mother?

“I don’t care about dinner. I’m not even starving.”

After uttering this to her mother in a spiteful tone, Tomomi promptly moved upstairs to her room. In reality, she had eaten some sweets on the train ride home, thus she wasn’t feeling any hunger.

After removing her uniform in her room, she went back downstairs and took a bath. As she sank into the tub and soaked her shoulders in the hot water, her irritation gradually seemed to fade away.

But instead, a feeling of melancholy swept over her. She was now bare naked. Naturally, her skin was on full display. Yes, from the neck down, her body, which has developed a heavy gray discoloration…

How did I end up with a body like this?

As she soaked her face up to her nose in the hot water, foaming at the mouth, Tomomi wondered absentmindedly. So far, no matter which hospital she went to, nor what kind of tests they conducted, she was constantly informed that the cause of her condition was unknown and that no cure was possible. Therefore, it would surely last like this throughout her life.

Perhaps I shouldn’t have done that after all…

Leaning back against the edge of the tub, she now touched her neck. There was a boundary between the gray and non-gray parts of her skin, almost as if a horizontal line had been drawn halfway down her neck. And it was slightly raised and could be located by touching it with a finger.

But I didn’t really mean it. I was only trying to surprise that woman a little… So I purposely made a slit in the string to make it fail, but why…?

As if to drown out her feelings of regret, a succession of excuses overflowed into her chest. However, it did not lift her depressive emotions.

Then, right outside the bathroom, a voice called out from the changing room.

“Tomomi, you should finish school early in the morning tomorrow. I’ll go to the hospital with you.”

That was her mother’s voice.

“Hospital? Again?”

Although she was annoyed by her mother’s voice yet again, Tomomi answered at least.

“Yes. A friend of mine told me of a reputable doctor. He’s a little far away, but he’s a skilled doctor at a major university hospital. I’m positive he’ll be able to cure your body.”

“Hmm…”

Even if the new doctor saw it, he would probably just say that he couldn’t find the cause and that it could not be cured. Even though she thought so, there was still a part of her that couldn’t give up. Right now, she had no choice but to hang on, even if it was only a sliver of hope.

“Alright. So tomorrow, you’ll be home right after lunch?”

“Yeah. I’ll call the school.”