2

There was a hill with a great view in the park by the dorm. By the time we arrived, the locals had already gathered there, faces shining with anticipation. We also spotted some other dorm residents.

On TV that morning, a newscaster had been hyping the event up, saying “This is a once in a decade opportunity to observe a solar eclipse under perfect viewing conditions,” and just as he'd said, the weather was perfectly clear, not a cloud to be seen. Yuto, holding up a sunshade, cheered “It's already starting!”, while Nozomu, next to him, munched on snacks.

“It's about 30 minutes until the eclipse reaches its peak.”

“That's right,” I nodded. “Oh, that's right, Yuto. Do you want to finish that story? The one about how your brother got dumped by Yoshida. Actually, we just saw Yoshida back at the cafeteria.” 

“There's nothing else to tell. He still seems pretty depressed.” 

Yuto removed his sunshade and gave us a bitter smile. The romance between Yuto's younger brother and Yoshida had taken up most of our conversations lately. The two had met through Yuto and become close, but after only a few days of dating, Yoshida had coldly broken up with him. Yuto's younger brother had been deeply hurt by Yoshida's callousness, and that made Yuto seriously mad.

“She's a sociopath, pure and simple,” Yuto spat. “I don't care how famous she is, she's too cocky. I never should have introduced them.” 

“Why did you introduce those two to begin with?” 

“We were just talking in a restaurant – or rather, I was talking at her – and we got on the topic of soccer, where I told her that my brother had been good enough to be a professional since high school, but he had to give up the game after a serious thigh injury. Then Yoshida said she was interested in him.” 

“She probably just wanted him as inspiration for a novel,” Nozomu calmly pointed out. 

“Seems that way. Just how does she view people? I haven't seen my brother this depressed since he first got the injury. I'll seriously never forgive her.”

As we chatted away like that, the time for the eclipse to reach its peak approached. Everyone on the street stopped walking, covering their eyes with their hands as they looked at the southwestern sky. The brightness around us remained almost unchanged, but the sun we saw through the shade was missing most of itself, like a crescent moon from a manga panel.

“It's amazing how we can know when the sun and moon will overlap down to the minute, even years in advance.”

I muttered that to myself, and Nozomu nodded solemnly. 

“I suppose heavenly bodies are the only things that move so precisely according to calculations.” 

The shape of the sun changed from moment to moment. I was moved by a mysterious sensation, perhaps because of the almost mystical performance of the celestial bodies, or perhaps because I was witnessing a natural phenomenon that only occurred once every few decades.

What would I be doing the next time I was able to observe a solar eclipse? I wondered if I could live a satisfying life with no regrets.

We returned to the dorms after 3:00, and as I was standing in front of my room, I heard Yuto say something.

“In the end, we never did find out why the storeroom wouldn't open. I get that the inward opening door wouldn't open if it was blocked by something, but isn't it strange that the outward opening door wouldn't open either?”

“You're right...”

I hadn't thought too much about it, but Yuto was right. It seemed extremely unlikely that an unlocked, outward opening door would get stuck unless there was some sort of deliberate trickery going on. 

“Let's go take another look.” 

Since Nozomu and I had already parted ways, Yuto and I headed back to the storeroom. First, Yuto grabbed the handle of the inward opening door closer to the meeting room's entrance, and as expected, he shook his head.

“Like I thought. It won't open.” 

I tried it too, but the situation was just like it had been before we left. Next, we went back and tried to open the outward opening door, but the same thing happened. I could push down the lever, but no matter how hard I pulled, the door was fixed in place and didn't move.

“Maybe it's a prank?” 

“Alright then, time for the American football team to show what it can do!” 

With a confrontational grin, Yuto rolled up his sleeves and gripped the lever with his rough right hand as though accepting a challenge. With a low growl, he pulled the lever until we heard a tearing sound, and the door moved slightly.

“Is it taped in place?” 

Yuto muttered to himself, the veins in his arms becoming even more prominent, and from within the door there came a thunderous sound of a massive amount of tape being torn off.

“OorAAH!” 

I was worried he'd yank the lever clean off, but Yuto used all his strength, and finally, the seal on the door was torn loose, revealing the inside of the storeroom. All four sides of the door frame had been taped from the inside. I was pretty sure the duct tape used was from the storeroom itself.

“Hey, what's in there?” 

Supporting Yuto, who had stumbled from the recoil of his actions, I stepped inside. The first thing I noticed was that other door was also sealed from the inside with duct tape, not leaving a single gap. Then my gaze shifted downwards.

A person had collapsed.

Right next to a tent bag placed against the wall, lying on a soft carpet. The person lying on her back, eyes wide open, was none other than her.

“Y-Yoshida...” 

Perhaps the reason I didn't say anything more than that was because I was captivated by her appearance. My immediate, reflexive thought was that she was beautiful. The sunlight streaming in through the skylight illuminated her pure white one piece dress, her long, disheveled black hair, and her well-sculpted face, completely motionless. The awful scene, as still as a work of art, had a diabolical allure. 

“Are you kidding me...? Is she dead?”

Yuto's trembling voice overcame me with a strange shock, but I managed to find my senses. 

Yes. It was obvious at a glance that she wasn't breathing.

I bent down and took her pulse, faintly hoping for some miracle, but only managed to confirm that she was dead.

I continued observing my surroundings. There were two metal pipes jutting from the opening of the bag for a collapsible tent nearby, facing her. They were the types with connecting ropes protruding from each end, and they were touching the body, one pinned beneath her torso and the other lying across her abdomen. Perhaps she'd gotten tangled in them when she fell.

Further to the right, I saw a portable charcoal grill sitting alone in the corner of the storeroom, directly beneath a chair. Grey charcoal embers could be seen in the grill. I wondered if someone had used it recently – and just then, a certain seven letter word flashed through my brain like an electric shock, and I quickly bolted upright.

“Hey, this is bad! We need to get out of here, quick!” 

Before I could think anything else, I yelled at Yuto and hurried for the exit.

“What do you mean?”

As we reached the hallway, Yuto, who had followed me with a confused look on his face, asked me that. I steadied my breathing and took a deep breath, savoring the air in the hall. 

“The two doors were sealed, Yoshida was lying on the ground with no visible injuries, and that recently used charcoal grill – it all points to only one explanation. Yoshida probably committed suicide by charcoal burning.”

 

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