The Disconsolate Maiden

Chapter Forty-Two

As Homura pressed down once again on the man's stomach, to her surprise, water began to squirt everywhere out of his nose, ears, and even a place on his head. She pressed down again and again, relief washing over her body.

The man had begun to breathe again, that was obvious.

More and more, Homura pressed down, water continuously coming out each time. But, as soon as she stopped pressing down, the water would immediately stop.

A slight giggle escaped Homura's mouth. It was, for once, a genuine laugh. The more she pressed, the harder she'd laugh. Truly, Homura had thought she would never ever laugh again. She hadn't done such in ten years. Nothing seemed to amuse her anymore.

But now, here she was, almost about to commit suicide just awhile ago, now trying to contain her laughter as tears escaped the corners of her eyes.

Cheeks hurting from laughing so hard, Homura bowed over in the sand, unable to control herself.

The man sat up, shaking his head a little as he looked to the side, staring at the girl dying beside him.

"What's so funny?" the man asked, but he too began to laugh with Homura.

Homura wiped her eyes a little, struggling to breathe as she continued to replay that moment in her mind, again and again.

The next day...

"Hello, Homura!" the man smiled, meeting her at her front door early in the morning.

Homura's jaw dropped open, almost angry that he had shown up at her house. They had walked home together that night, but she didn't expect him to remember the way. She just wanted to die.

"Since you saved me, I thought we could go out today! You know, like just have fun together! I don't want to seem pushy, but you seem like a really nice girl! I don't know why you'd live alone!" he said with a smile, bowing down as he offered out his hand. "If you'd like to, that is."

Homura, a girl who was raised to never reject people, was inclined to accept his offer. Yet in the back of her head, she could hear her boss's words, ordering her to not be seen out in public.

"I-I..." Homura stuttered, then quickly forced a smile on her face, bowing politely to the kindhearted man. "I would love to, b-but...my b-boss..."

"You're here because you don't have work, right?" the man said, tilting his head like a dog.

Homura nodded her head.

"Then what's the big deal? Let's go!" the man grabbed Homura's hand, literally pulling her out of her house as he took off into a run.

Staggering along blindly, the poor girl had absolutely no idea what was even going on.

Holding to her red skirt so it wouldn't blow up in the breeze, which was totally the only thing Homura was concerned about, a smile spread across the girl's face.

"Running like this reminds me of something..." Homura thought, closing her eyes, just trusting that the man would safely lead her to wherever they were headed. "But I don't remember..."

"By the way," the man stopped abruptly, Homura running into his back.

Stumbling back a bit, cheeks tinted red with embarrassment, Homura looked up at the handsome man.

"W-What is it?" Homura asked.

"Do you remember me?" he asked simply.

"Remember...?" Homura mumbled. "But we haven't met before, right? There's no way..."

The man's face fell a little, but he abruptly began to smile again.

"My name is Jyushimatsu," he introduced himself for the first time, bowing a little to Homura just in the middle of the sidewalk on a busy street.

"J-Jyushimatsu..?" Homura asked softly, tears welling up in her eyes. "I-I never knew anyone named Jyushimatsu...did I..? Kanola mentioned a name like that in her letter to me..."

Jyushimatsu sighed a little, then grabbed Homura's hand again, walking side by side with her.

"Well, if you remember me or not, I want to thank you for saving my life!" Jyushimatsu exclaimed, squirming a little with excitement. "So, lets go on a date!"

Homura's entire body went stiff, the words sending chills down her spine. Those were the exact words she would hear in a random scenario during her work.

"D-Date..." Homura thought, her heart pounding with anxiety. "I can't...Good or bad...my job forbids me to be seen out with another man..."