Ride on Time

Chapter 42

Kumiko put on a few layers of clothing and left the house, the nagging feeling pulling her towards the Shirakawa Bridge for some reason she still didn't know. Her winter boots crunched against the snow, leaving behind a trail of deep footprints in their wake.
A crowd loomed in the distance. Kumiko's stomach sank to her shoes as she broke into a run, anxious to find out what it was that gathered the large group of onlookers. Everyone were murmuring, Kumiko didn't know why.
Until she gained the attention of a woman nearby.
"A poor girl fell off the bridge," the woman said. "Someone found her buried under thick snow from last night's blizzard."
"Oh my gosh..." Kumiko mumbled, covering her mouth in shock.
She stepped forward and tried to get a better look at the emergency workers trying to pull what's left of the girl out of the frozen canal. All she saw was a fragment of a familiar red kimono.
Kumiko gasped, craning her eyes to prove whatever her mind was telling her was wrong. She didn't want it to be true, not whatever she was thinking.
The tip of her boot hit something hidden beneath a thick layer of snow. Kumiko bent down to pick up a red tote bag, filled with at least three different traditional Japanese instruments. She gasped and dug further, her gloved fingers clasping around a stiff rectangular object and pulling it out.
Mystical Mist
Shri Mohan
Kumiko elbowed through the crowd, her heart racing. What she didn't wish to be true was happening right in front of her.
"MISAO!" Kumiko screamed, running towards the scene.

Shruti came over to her father's office, deciding to help out during her semester break. Now, she sat with Shri as she helped him with some work.
"Can I know why I'm doing this when you have an assistant?" Shruti frowned, going through his paperwork.
"He puasa," Shri simply stated, pushing his glasses up his nose."
"Yeah, but I don't know squat about what's going on in this paper!" Shruti groaned. "Shri, what's this even mean?"
She handed the paper to him and watched him with a scowl.
"It means... it goes to Pa," Shri shrugged. "Put it in that pile."
Shruti did as he said and continued her work. Shri's phone suddenly buzzed with a call.
"Who lah?" Shruti asked, looking up at her brother as he got up.
"Sufi," Shri said, answering his call. "Hello?"
"Eh, Shri!" Sufyan greeted on the other end.
"Sufi!" Shri grinned
Sufyan said something on the other end, something which he couldn't hear.
"Hold on, the line's bad here," Shri said, exiting his room. "Wait, I'll go out."
He left the building and went to the foyer. "Alright, can you hear me now?"
"Yeah, I can," Sufyan said. "You free now?"
"I have work, Sufi," Shri sighed. "Hey, you can't even go for tea with me, you're fasting!"
"Yeah, but just felt like hanging out with you," Sufyan said. "How about this weekend?"
"Sure, I don't mind," Shri shrugged. "See you then."
He hung up and turned to go back into the office when his phone went off again. Shri looked at the display screen and saw an unknown Japanese number on it. He answered, thinking it might be Misao.
"Hello?" Shri said as soon as he answered. He frowned when there was no reply and spoke again. "Hello?!"
"Shri-san?" A scratchy voice said. "This is Shri Mohan, right?"
"Yes?" Shri said. "This is he."
"Shri-san, this is Kumiko, Misao's roommate."
"Oh." Shri instantly remembered the time he saw her at the cafe with Misao. "Yeah, I know you. How's Misao?"
There was a pause. "Shri, I'm very sorry. Misao... Misao was found dead, buried under deep snow beneath the Shirakawa Bridge." Kumiko sobbed.
Shri felt his chest going tight. "Wha-What do you mean? Misao... Misao is dead?!"
"Yes, Shri-san. She was nearly harassed last night but managed to beat the guy with her flute. But her Okaasan fired her. She must've jumped off the bridge out of shame or fell off because of last night's strong blizzard. I just spoke to her mother and she said she was on the phone with her right before it happened. Mr. Hara is trying to calm her now, they say they'll come to Kyoto immediately to take... her... back to Tokyo."
Shri couldn't say anything. Tears streamed off his eyes as he just stared at the passing cars in disbelief. The main road seemed like nothing out of the ordinary, with the usual amount of traffic passing through, but to Shri it seemed as if it was mocking him. Mocking him that things will never be the same again, no matter how much the rest of the world goes on as if nothing went wrong.
"Shri-san? Are you there?" Kumiko spoke again.
"I'm coming over as soon as I can," Shri said before hanging up.
Shri marched off to the parking lot and got into his black Proton Perdana. He started the car and started making his way to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport even though he didn't know much of the way. Why on earth did the Subang Airport have to stop operation now of all times?
He sped into the main road, exiting Kelana Jaya and entering the Federal Highway. He drove past the Sungei Way sign and put on a burst of speed to go to Kuala Lumpur, ignoring the intersection that led back to Jalan 222.
The Motorola started ringing again, this time with a call from Shruti. Shri immediately answered it, sandwiching the phone between his shoulder and ear.
"Shri, where are you?" Shruti asked. "You out with Sufyan?"
"Shruti, I'm driving to KLIA now," Shri hastily said as he drove, trying to avoid the traffic.
"KLIA ah? Why lah?"
"It's Misao. She... she..." Shri stuttered, tears clouding with vision just at the thought.
"What happened to Misao?" Shruti immediately turned tensed, knowing something was up. "Is something wrong? Did something she send get stuck? Is that why you're going to airport?"
"No!" Shri cried. "Shruti, Misao is dead!"
Shruti gasped in shock. "Dead?! Oh my god! What happened to her? How did she die?"
"She was nearly harassed by a bad customer yesterday and she hit him with her flute. The boss lady fired her. She fell off the bridge last night, don't know whether she jump or fall since heavy blizzard it seems. Oh... Misao..."
There was silence at this, followed by Shruti's quivering voice. "Oh my god... pity her lah... you... you wanna go now?"
"I wanna see her one last time before... before..." Shri quickly swerved to the right when he almost hit a car in front of him. "ARGH!"
"Shri! Shri, are you okay?"
"I'm okay," Shri panted. "Stupid feller sudden brake in the middle of the road, don't know why!"
"Shri, don't go to the airport yet lah, I also want to come," Shruti pleaded. "Please lah, don't go alone."
"There's no time, her parents want to take her back to Tokyo for the funeral. I wanna see her before she leaves. I'm not sure how I'm gonna face her parents now, after everything is over."
"Shri, you wait at the airport, I'll come, okay? I'll tell Pa and come with him and Anneh. Don't go alone, okay? We're coming."
Shri sighed. "Okay... thank you, Shruti. I'll book everything and wait for y'all."
"Okay," Shruti sighed on the other end. "We'll meet there, okay?"
Shri bade goodbye and was about to hang up when a lorry loomed up in the distance, driving straight at him. He had no idea where it even came from, considering how it was a one-way lane. Shri screamed and tried to swerve as quickly as he can but...
It was too late.