Mugi

III. The Starry Night

Mugi
The Starry Night

"I might stain your car's seat."

The blood was still oozing from the cut, and the sweater she dressed my wound was already wet. I'm also feeling a little bit dizzy. I might run out of blood soon.

"Ah, don't mind about it. It's leather, so you don't have to worry. I'll wipe it clean later."

Yurima is driving her yellow jeep at a hasty speed. I don't know where we're heading, but I felt like I could trust her.

"Are you sending me to the hospital?" I asked without looking.

"No. I'll bring you home." Her reply made me whip my head at her. It's not usual.

"H-Huh?!"

I don't have anywhere else to go, honestly. I knew that I might end up in the hospital. And probably, she would leave me there. But, it went differently.

"Ah, don't worry," she gave me a comforting smile, but it looked more jittery, "I'm actually a licensed nurse... a former licensed nurse."

"Former? How about now?"

"I'm..." she blushed a little and suddenly became shy, "...I'm a vocalist now."

"H-huh?!"

I became excited and wanted to know more about her. I asked her a lot of questions--if she has a band, if they had a music tour, if they collaborated with other artists, and so on and so forth.

"Calm down or else, you'll be losing all your blood," she said after I overexcite myself. I leaned back in the seat and looked in front.

"I'm interested," with a calm voice, I said. Then, I felt her eyes on me, staring deeply. "Music?" she asked.

"Yes..." I responded quickly. She looked back at the road and drew a little smile on her lips, but she didn't reply.

Her silence made me anxious. I perceived a negative thought. Silence is good to escape nonsense discussions, but not in this situation where I want to discuss serious things with her. This unfavorable condition made me reminisce about Yuru again. And I'm hating it.

"What do you think?" I asked her to break the silence. She smiled at me again, but not that genuine this time.

"I'm glad you're interested." Liar. Seeing that bitter smile doesn't show glee after all. "Did you like it since then?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Because I want to know how interested you are. Perhaps, you have a reason?"

"What reason?"

"To communicate, for example. To whom would you like to dedicate your music?"

"Nothing. I just want it. I think it's fun."

"Isn't it?"

Then after that, silence followed. I got the idea that I'm the only one who's interested in music, not her--even though she's a musician. Why is that? I wonder.

"Still alive?" she asked. Her jeep made its stop in a parking area for only a few vehicles. It's along the road and in front was an apartment painted with a medium tone of gray.

I nodded. "Hardly breathing."

She helped me got off the vehicle and supported me at my every step. Limping because of my aching gut, we made it almost five minutes to enter the building. It's already dusk.

"Sorry, we only have stairs here. Can you manage?"

Again, I nodded. "I'm used to any kind of pain."

I would like to cackle to clear that statement as a joke, but my stomach told me not to.

"Really?" Yurima did the cackle for me. I smiled.

"That's a joke... really. But, I would like to be that kind of person."

"Everyone is. It's not impossible."

"Do you think I can be like that?"

"If you can make it to the top of this staircase, then, you will."

"Silly." I lifted my foot up on the next tread but when I brought my weight up, I grunted in ache--seemed like I'd been stabbed over and over.

"Oh, hey, I think I need to carry you."

"No, no... I'm f-fine--"

It was then that I felt a gentle rocking motion. She carried me like a bride!

"Bet you can't be that person alone," she giggled. Being strong is not apparent in her physical appearance. She's slender and has an average height. She's a nurse. I agree--she looks more like it.

I hooked my arms around her neck to not to fall. It's weird since it's a new event for me. While I was up in her arms, I took the chance to observe. The stairs, the walls, her face--they look normal.

"It's my first," I said, breaking through her huffs and puffs. She's tired, yet she's still doing her best.

"Being carried like this?" she asked. She's like eating gas while she speaks.

"Yes."

"Are you enjoying this?"

"Somehow."

"You like to watch people suffer, huh?"

That was a joke. I'm sure. She can't just chuckle 'cause she's tired.

At last, she put me down when we made it in front of a room apartment. KUMORI was encrypted on the steel plate screwed on that blue-painted door.

"Open up! It's Yurima!"

There's no doorbell, so shouting is a must. Well, she could just knock.

The wooden door creaked open, revealing a man with undercut hair. Based on his expression, he was surprised to see me.

"A patient?" he wondered. He widened the door opening, letting the two of us in. When we made it inside, Yurima laid me on a bed. It was a double-deck bed made of steel, and of course, she put me in the lower.

"Kumo, get me my things," Yurima ordered the undercut guy. He followed.

I started to feel drowsy. Yurima's face became blurry. It was like I'm seeing van Gogh's piece of art-- "The Starry Night."

"Hey, stay awake, Mugi, okay?" A sound I hear as if I'm under the water. Obscure but still, I can understand. "I'll just clean your wound and treat the cuts."

"Ahhh! Fuuuuuccckkk!" I gritted my teeth as I felt the stinging pain in my stomach. I became totally awake and aware of what was happening at the moment. She was applying something in the wound.

"Broken bottle..." she said while she look at my face. If I'll be seeing it on my own, I'm sure I'm having a sour one. "Good thing it's not that long to impale you like a knife."

"Shut up. It still hurts like hell."

"Hell, you say," she snickered.

Cleaning and treating didn't last that long. But the pain I feel would be a month or more to endure.

"You'll get used to it, right?" She mischievously gave me a grin. It was the same thing I said when we were going upstairs.

"Yeah. It's not that forever though."

"Even life isn't forever... to speak, generally."

I looked at her seriously, trying to intimidate her, and it ended up in a staring competition.

"After this, what's next?" I asked. I'm helpless and I have no plans. I expected to die, but there I am, adopted by a former nurse who's a vocalist now.

She smiled and moved her brows up and down. "Let's do music."

●○ムギ○●