message in a bottle | soudam

Day 09 : Riverside Ponderings

I fell back onto my bed, that pained sliver still clutched in my pale hands.

''I have to save them,'' I muttered quietly. ''It looks like I'm all they have.''

Slipping the note onto my bedside table, I plunged my face into my soft bedsheets, guilty all over again. I had destroyed a clue, I realised, and this person had found out. They had trusted me, and I had betrayed them. And yet, they must have placed this new bottle quite deliberately. I decided to go for a walk - both to search for clues and clear my head. I got changed into a red and black hoodie and jeans, fastened some chains to my outfit and headed out.

My feet guided me towards the bridge where this had all began, but this time, a figure I recognised stood in its centre, gazing almost lovingly over the railings.

Gundham Tanaka.

Cautiously, I approached the Ultimate Breeder and opened my mouth to speak, but, seeming to sense my arrival, he turned to me. ''Souda. Wh-what brings you here?'' His words carried the telltale hint of a previous bout of sobs, and I took in his red-tinted eyes.

''Um, I was on a walk,'' I answered honestly, a little scared of the young man before me. ''Had to get some things off my mind.'' My lips twitched as I offered him the hint of a hopeful smile. He did not return it. Seeming reluctant, Gundham turned from the bridge and took three slow steps towards me. ''A walk. I see. Well, I suppose our meeting must be fate. Talk,'' he commanded in his usual low tone.

My eyes widened and I tilted my head. ''What about?''

Gundham sighed. ''You are troubled. It will do you good to talk to someone about it. You are scared of me, but you have no one else at this time. So, talk.''

I simply stared for a few seconds, mystified. Gundham had dropped his villain complex and as he spoke, his words were almost caring. He huffed, waking me from my trance, and, with a sudden burst of trust for him, I began.

''Well... Some weeks ago, I found a letter in a bottle by this bridge. It looked to be a suicide note, I guess. But I got annoyed and destroyed it. Then, today, I went home and found another bottle in my house. The letter in that one just said 'help'. I- I guess I'm just... really, really worried about this person. I want them to stay alive, even though I don't even know who it is!''

It was Gundham's turn now to find himself speechless. ''You-'' he began gently and cut himself off with a rapid head-shake. ''That must be...'' he amended quickly, ''Awful.''

I nodded slowly. ''Yeah. Well... thanks for listening to me, Gundham. I should be going now, my dad'll be home. See you at school!'' I turned with a wave and began to walk away.

''Wait-'' Gundham called. I swivelled back to face him, but he had dipped his head. ''No problem. I hope to see you soon.''

Confused yet again, I began home.

Gundham's words and his constant mistakes in speech had made me think. Was he hiding something? Perhaps he knew about the suicide notes. I made a mental note to confront him again when I could to discuss further; as scary as he had seemed, I learned today that Gundham Tanaka was actually a great person.