The Leading of Paper Cranes

Chapter 5: Flying Blind

I wake up in a horrendous way. Waking up and falling down the bleachers and onto the gym floor. The gym looks empty like a barren desert. I stand up feeling groggy and disoriented. I see no aid or people, just an empty gymnasium. I wander around with a dizzy mindset, walking all topsy-turvy in circles. I take a gander into the gym office, Mr. Ghoar seems to be working on something. I knock in hopes he can helps me. He notices and immediately rushes for the door. I collapse as if the door was a hypnotic command. He catches my fall and lays me on the floor.

"You've been out for awhile," He seems as if he is trying to calm me down. "Rest up, you can talk to me if you need.".

I take the advice. "Well," I pause as I feel out of it. "What.. happened to... her?"

"You're hungover on anger and of course this is what you ask." He gives up on trying to make me calm. "I knew you were a good student." He looks back at his work. "Well the girl's name was Shai and.."

I receive a sudden realization. "Wait.. was it really?" At least it rules a person off the table.

"Yeah, she finished art class and went down to see you to show you her paper crane. But was killed in the hallway when no one was looking." He continues working. "Did she look at you or your sister as an idol?" He waits for my response.

I lay there in silence for a moment. "Simply a friend, more competently a little sister.".

"Well," It's as if he's charging up a bow for a shot I am not expecting. "The autopsy came in, she died the same way as your sister."

The bow must've fired a many of different shots, it shot through my heart and pierced back through like a spear. "So.." I become teary eyed but don't cry, "I killed her. It really is my fault.". One last sucker punch hits my face as if me being knocked down wasn't enough. I slam the floor of Mr. Ghoar's under a rage spell.

He sighs and crouches next to me. "Trust me it's not your fault."

I space out, my view and headspace become significantly larger. I tilt my head left, then right, slowly as if I was on my last dying breath. I speak words, but the space is as big as a galaxy, as empty as a galaxy, as vacuumed as a galaxy. It's freezing, shivers run down my spine and for miles on end I can only see shades of black. It's as if I am the only light source, but it is slowly flickering away. The room becomes small enough where there is an echo. Regrettably it says "it's your fault, guilt is the only thing you should feel.". It slowly shrinks by the second. Until the words echo in my ear like the Sunday church bells in the morning, like an alarm clock on a Monday morning, like I feel swallowed up by a dark venom that drains and ravages away any speckle of life. I look up as my head droops down like a plant heavily smothered with rainfall and see the blurry image of the most realistic hologram of Maveah I have ever seen. I couldn't believe it. My vitality spirals back and the room begins to open up again... and she is gone again.. the sad reality of it all. I'm being pulled up to the heavens, like some magical elevator or insecure pulley system is pulling me up with my waist all tied up and knotted. I reach out my hand for Maveah in hopes of saving her. She waves at me. A solemn wave to goodbye one last time. The power goes out, she disappears, my supposed light blacks out, and I am left in complete darkness.

Mr. Ghoar is there looking at my head and aiming at it with a bucket of water in the school gym. He pours it in hopes of getting me awake. "Oh thank god, you were out for 5 minutes.", He wipes some sweat off his head. "You better be okay."

"I think I am.." I can finally speak fluent English. "I still feel unwell."

"Well I better not keep you here at school any longer," he looks at the gym clock, "It's 6:23, you should probably get home, I stayed with you after school so you can feel better.". He smiles at me with "open arms", "Let me call your parents to pick you up, you can't bike home in your condition."

I thank him and I watch as he phones them. I eavesdrop on his conversation but it doesn't seem worth my time. On the phone he hands me my stuff, and I proceed to head out. I noticed a paper crane on his shelf while I was almost knocked out. I head towards the second entrance, the furthest away from the gym. I was told to meet here with Shai, right? I may as well honour her wishes. I pray as I lean against the wall. I notice Mrs. Kabuki as she enters her car to go home, Mrs. Prone in the foyer pinning announcements for the bulletin. She waves to me and I wave back. I also notice Mr. Ghoar walk by the foyer in a slow pace looking at me and smiling with intention, I smile back. He hurries along as if he needs to get to the community centre quickly. My ride comes and my dad picks me up.

"Hey buddy, so how was school?", he questions me as if he is oblivious to what happened.

"I'm feeling sick."

"Oh, well that's too bad." He pauses his thought as he turns left on Harold Jr Street. "Why'd you kill her?" My fathers tone is angry as if I failed an entrance exam to one of my top universities.

"I didn't kill her." I blankly stare into the rear view mirror, annoyed and jumpy from his proposition.

"Your teacher said you were affiliated with her, so why'd you kill her?" He makes it out to be something bad, but less bad than if murder was a significant charge.

I sat there in thought ignoring my dad's question. I see him get angry and get mad at me for unreasonable reasons. I stare off into space as I wish for all of this to be a dream.

I can only think of video games at the moment. A story game in particular that I have been dying to play. I watched some gameplay on it a week ago. I also heard this line from the game said by Makuhiro Jinja, a side character— best friend of the main character. He said...

    Sometimes ignorance is bliss.
    However Flynn, sometimes knowledge is power.

He said it in regards to a murder case. Flynn was a friend of the victim and he always wanted to miss out on any opportunities to go out, in case the same happened to him. However, Makuhiro suggested just to hang out with them while trying to sound all philosophical.