The legacy of the boy who used to trip and spill drinks in the school cafeteria started to dwindle in the minds of everyone after two weeks or so. The school didn't hold a eulogy for him, or perhaps they just couldn't. After all, nobody really knew Isamu. At most, he only proved two things to me: that no one would actually care, and that the floor was indeed slippery.
I hadn't seen my dad in a while. It's been a couple of weeks since he suddenly disappeared. My mom didn't know where to either, and I couldn't tell if she was upset or relieved about it at least. But recently she got a new job in business after years of unemployment. I could tell she was happy about it.
"I wonder where Minako is," Amaya said, grimacing. The dread in her tone pierced through the cafeteria buzz. "Shall we go visit her once and for all?"
"But she doesn't want us to, right?" said Naomi, sipping onto her juice box, exchanging glances between me and Amaya. "You know her dad's passing took a heavy toll on her. She just wants to be alone for a while."
"But it's been weeks, Naomi! Plus, she's our friend. She can't go all through that alone!" Feeling defeated, Amaya buried her face in her palms.
Perhaps Mina just didn't want to be talked about like Isamu. The last time we heard from her was when she explained the local news to us online, about the 41-year-old man who was found dead in the riverbanks. Police reported that it was suicide.
After another long day at school, I found myself standing in the middle of the Ligaya Bridge, a hundred-meter bridge on the southern region of the metropolis, right above the Uno River. According the online sources, this bridge was more than a century old, and only little to no maintenance on it had been done other than a bit of repainting once every a couple of years.
I gazed at the tall condensed clusters of buildings and skyscrapers on the horizon, separating the cloudless expanse above and the murky waters below. Some part of me was telling me that the city was overrated. City folks were overrated. Even the government here was overrated. They said eleven people in average would jump off this bridge every year, and all they had to keep that from happening was this breast-high railing. Those eleven people would be so helpless that they wouldn't mind drowning themselves in pollution anymore.
Did he jump off this bridge, too? I didn't have a clue. Mom didn't talk about him anymore when he left.
On my way home, I decided to stop by at a 7-11 store. I could use a Slurpee to kill my overthinking for a moment. I fell in line to the counter with a medium cup on hand, waiting for my turn.
"Excuse me. Do you have any change for this?"
I turned around to see this guy behind me holding out a hundred peso bill. He had small monolid eyes and a bowl cut that reached to his brows. As for his height, he was only a couple of inches taller than me.
"Hey," I greeted with a smile. "Weird seeing you here?" Of course, it was. Or maybe not so much. Izagani here would ride the school bus home if he wouldn't be on a date with Amaya. Obviously, because he's her boyfriend.
He chuckled. "I just paid my mom a visit at the hospital. She's sick today."
I frowned. "Aw. Well, tell her to get well soon for me, all right?"
"I will. Well... maybe tomorrow. I'm going home now, so..." Slowly, his eyes gestured the bill he was holding.
"Oh, right! Sorry." I immediately took out my purse and lent him some change for the bill. "You okay with coins?"
"Yes. Thank you."
I waited for Izagani outside upon paying for my drink. After a while, he came out of the store with a small paper bag. He was a friend to me, too, so I didn't mind taking a stroll with him for a while. Eventually, we made it to the public playground. It was still far from dusk, so we sat on the swings where no one was around. I let him break the ice for the both of us.
"Wait. So you guys have already broken up?" I couldn't believe what I heard.
He shrugged with a little side smile. "Hasn't she told you anything yet?"
I shook my head, taking a sip of the Slurpee. "No."
He sighed, looking away. "Well, that's the least of my worries. It's all my fault anyway. I shouldn't have made her angry that day."
"Why? What did you do?" I was curious. Amaya did seem a bit upset these days. Perhaps she was thinking of things other than Mina's condition, too.
Izagani gave me a sulky glance. He couldn't look at me in the eye for too long. "I just told her that... maybe she's hanging out too much with me."
"Huh?"
He sighed. "Look. I know what's going on with Minako. I just told Amaya that... maybe... she should be a better friend for her. Y'know? Minako needs her more right now. I mean... she rarely even sticks around with you guys."
"That's not true." I gave him a straight look. "Amaya's spending time with us as much as he does with you. Mina's just unreachable these days. But Amaya? She's always with us at school."
"Is that so?" Izagani, looking defeated, smiled to himself and took a deep breath. "I guess I really did blow everything up."
"Hey. It's gonna be all right. Okay?" I smiled. "I know Amaya. You guys will get it back together after some time. Just give her a minute to think."
He nodded. "Yeah. I guess I need some time to think, too." Upon agreeing, Izagani got up with a groan. "I think we should head home already, Chiyo. Thanks for listening."
"Sure thing."
We got out of the playground and stopped in front of a pedestrian crossing. We waited for the traffic lights to turn green.
"Hey, Chiyo. Mind if I message you sometimes to ask if Amaya's doing okay?"
I thought about it.
Seven seconds left before the next red light.
Four seconds.
Three seconds.
"Chiyo?"
I blinked. My mind must have wandered off for a second there.
"Sure thing, Izagani."
"Thanks."
Before he crossed the road, he gave me one final smile and disappeared into the streets. The image of his curved lips lingered in my mind, as if somebody not long ago gave me that very same smile, too.
Likewise, I hardly knew anything about Izagani. Amaya rarely talked about him.
