Don't Turn Around

Aika had cut her trip to Sayuri’s house short to meet with Hana. Though she had told Sayuri she had plans to see Hana, Aika had no such meeting planned. But the revelation that Sayuri and Shizuko knew one another was information Aika knew Hana had to hear. The two agreed on the phone to meet at a local coffee shop to talk.

“So, Sayuri was friends with Shizuko when the two were young,” said Hana, stirring her milkshake with her straw. “This is information we can use.”

“How?” asked Aika.

“I can tell that Sayuri’s getting ready to do something stupid. She might even be thinking about going to the police. But if we get that picture and show it to the police, that could get them to stop harassing us and focus only on Sayuri. That shows that Sayuri had a connection to Shizuko, while the two of us have no direct link to her.”

“The police? I don’t think we should get them involved.”

“It can’t be helped,” said Hana. “They’ve been sticking their noses in our business ever since that day. This is the only way to get them to leave the two of us alone.”

“But what if the police don’t believe us? There’s no way to prove the picture is even real. They could accuse us of forging it. We would start to look even more guilty than before if we try to make Sayuri look like the only one responsible.”

“Alright. Then what do you suggest we do? Hmm?”

“If we can get that picture, then we can threaten to go to the police if Sayuri decides to confess,” said Aika. “I know it sounds harsh, but we have to do whatever it takes to ensure that none of us takes the blame for what happened.”

“How do you intend we get the picture?” asked Hana.

“Let’s wait until she comes back to school. When I saw the picture, it was with her schoolwork. I’m sure she’ll bring it to school with her.”

“Then it’s settled. We’ll use the picture to blackmail Sayuri into keeping her mouth shut. It’s such a good plan that I should have come up with it myself.” Hana then took a bite of her piece of cake. “Chocolate tastes even better when you know you’re going to live a long life safe and free the way God intended.”

“Um, Hana-chan, do you really think Nami killed herself?”

“Of course she did,” replied Hana. “You saw how strange she was acting. She couldn’t handle the guilt. But the same thing won’t happen to us, understand? You just have to keep telling yourself that we didn’t do anything wrong. Why do you ask? Do you think something else happened that night?”

Aika shook her head. “No,” she replied.

A few days later, Sayuri returned to school. There were more than a few strange looks from classmates as well as whispers behind her back. Everyone had heard how she was the one who had discovered Nami’s body, and most thought that was more than a bit suspicious.

During a break from class, Aika invited Sayuri to the roof to finish the talk they started a few days earlier.

“You know,” said Aika, clinging tightly to the fence surrounding the perimeter of the roof, “I’ve been getting these strange feelings lately. It almost feels like someone is watching me. But when I turn around, there’s no one there. Call it a guilty conscious or even paranoia, but no matter how hard I try, this feeling won’t go away.”

“Have you been thinking about confessing?” asked Sayuri.

“Never. Have you thought about telling the police?”

The lack of an answer was nearly as damaging as answering “yes”.

Aika took Sayuri by the shoulders. “You can’t think about doing that. Not at a time like this. The police don’t have any evidence that we had anything to do with what happened to Shizuko. With time, this will all just go away.”

As Aika and Sayuri conversed on the roof, Hana began a mad rummage through Sayuri’s bag. It took no time for her to find what it was for which she was searching.

“How cute,” she said, a false smile upon her face. “Those two must have been good friends. I wonder how little Shizuko would have felt if she had known what Sayuri was going to do to her once they grew up.”

“You have to promise me that you won’t confess what we did,” said Aika. “No matter how much you think it will free your soul from guilt, only bad things will happen. What happened to Nami . . . that won’t happen to the rest of us.”

“But . . .” Sayuri wanted to tell Aika that what happened to Nami wasn’t the result of a guilty conscious but the result of a vengeful spirit. But believing that her theory that it was something supernatural that was to blame would only be dismissed as nonsense, Sayuri chose to keep what she had to say to herself.

Hana arrived shortly thereafter. “I thought I’d find you two up here,” she said, sounding as if she hadn’t a care in the world. “Hey, Sayuri-chan, guess what I found? Let me give you a hint. It’s something that’s going to make sure none of us gets into trouble.” She then pulled out the picture of Sayuri and Shizuko from behind her back.

“What are you doing with that?” asked Sayuri, who made a desperate lunge to get the picture back. Unfortunately, she was unable to take it. She then turned to Aika. “Did you tell her about it? Why?”

“It was for your own good, Sayuri-chan,” said Aika. “Me and Hana thought you might be getting ready to go to the police, so we had to do something to keep you from doing it.”

“Bingo,” said Hana. “Aika told me about the little talk you two had the other day. She told me how you and Shizuko used to be the best of friends. So if you’re still thinking about going to the police, then we’ll show them this picture. It proves that you knew Shizuko. All me and Aika have to do is tell the truth. We didn’t know her at all. There won’t be anything the police can do. They’ll have to clear us, while you take all the blame. I wonder what they’ll come up with as motive. Maybe unrequited love gone wrong.”

“Don’t feel bad, Sayuri-chan,” said Aika. “Now, we can finally move on.”

“I can’t believe you told her,” said Sayuri.

“You shouldn’t keep secrets,” said Hana. “It isn’t very nice. A good friend should always tell you everything. Just like Aika did.”

“You told her everything?” asked Sayuri. “Even about the ghost?”

Aika’s eyes bulged.

“Ghost?” asked Hana. “What are you talking about?” After not receiving an answer from Sayuri, Hana turned to Aika. “What is she talking about?” Aika was just as hesitant as Sayuri was to answer such a question. “Answer me.”

“Sayuri thinks . . . she thinks maybe it was Shizuko’s ghost that killed Nami, not suicide, like everyone thinks,” replied Aika.

“Are you serious?” asked Hana, who immediately began laughing. “You can’t be. That’s the stupidest . . .” Hana stopped herself before finishing. The delight she had just been showing was quickly wiped away. “You would have to be crazy to think such a thing. Is that it, do you want us to think you’re crazy?”

Rather than look into Hana’s angry eyes, Sayuri turned her gaze to the ground.

“If the police ever figure out what happened that day, you’re going to stick to your story that Shizuko came back to seek revenge. They’ll end up locking you away in an asylum, while me and Aika get a death sentence. You’re going to be laughing while me and Aika hang!”

“That’s not true,” said Sayuri.

“Hey, Aika, Sayuri’s plan is a pretty good one, don’t you think? Maybe we should follow her lead.” Hana then pointed at Sayuri. “Look out, there’s a ghost behind you. Whatever you do, don’t turn around or you’ll end up like Nami.”

“Shut up,” exclaimed Sayuri, lunging at Hana. Sidestepping the foolhardy attack, Hana tripped Sayuri, sending her crashing to the ground.

“Do you really want to do this with me?” asked Hana. “Even if there was a ghost, it would be the least of your problems! I’m the one you should be afraid of!”

“Come on, Hana-chan, let’s go,” said Aika.

“You had better take what I said seriously,” said Hana.