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Her shelter had been invaded.
The graveyard had always been Kasumi’s territory. Specifically, the corner furthest from the entrance, with the now-red Japanese maple trees. No one bothered her there, except for the spirits. But spirits tended to keep away from humans, even a spirit medium like her, unless they had a personal reason for it.
Which meant that the woman sitting in front of her either needed something from her or was a new resident here. The confused expression she bore made the former seem unlikely, and Kasumi knew for a fact that the last burial had occurred three months ago.
“Why are you here?”
“I just felt like sitting here, is there an issue with that?”
“No.”
Kasumi decided that the best course of action would be to ignore the woman’s presence. She could go on with her daily routine, and hopefully, the woman would be gone the next day.
“What’s your name?”
Kasumi sat down, keeping a safe distance between her and the woman.
“Are you a high school student?”
Kasumi pulled out her book, flipping to where she had last left off, page 154.
“I’m Miyadera. I’ve been in this graveyard for around 4 years now. I’ve seen you around, but I don’t think I’ve ever approached you before.”
Kasumi finally looked up at the woman. Despite her frail body, clearly she had died of a terrible sickness, the woman had a dazzlingly bright smile, one just like the sun.
“It’s nice to meet you, Miss Izumo.”
Most of the spirits knew Kasumi’s name, even if they didn’t speak with Kasumi directly. It wasn’t the fact that this woman had spoken to her so casually that irritated Kasumi. It was her smile. Kasumi hated bright things.
That was the first time she had met Miyadera. Oddly enough, as vexed as she was with this unwelcome companion, Kasumi couldn’t help but want to know more about this strange woman.
-
Kasumi had never been a big supporter of the concept of soulmates. Soulmates existed, that was a fact, the lettering on the back of her right hand proved just as much, but in that exact graveyard lived the spirit of a man who had been murdered by his own soulmate. Soulmates were not always desirable beings.
Moreover, it was ridiculous that you only knew your soulmates last words to you. What was the point of discovering that someone was your soulmate right before you’re separated from them forever? By that point, it might be too late for some people, and they’d live the rest of their lives drowning in regret.
There are also the people who had common phrases marked on their hands. Her own mother has ‘I’ll be off’, the exact phrase Kasumi’s father utters every morning. Not a single day goes by without Kasumi’s mother afraid that she’ll never see her husband again.
It seemed that the strange woman was victim to that, too.
‘Goodbye. I’ll see you soon, I hope.’ A simple phrase that could be spoken by anyone in almost any context. Although she had no interest in meeting her soulmate, Kasumi still felt mildly grateful that the words on her hand were ‘The moon is beautiful tonight’, instead of something like ‘See you next time’.
Speaking of the strange woman, she was, in fact, not gone by the next day. Or the day after that. Every day, after school, Kasumi made her way to her beloved corner, and every day, without fail, the strange woman, Miyadera, would be seated there, unspeaking, unmoving.
Kasumi did not understand why the woman wouldn’t just leave her alone. Kasumi had never responded to any of her questions, and other than occasionally attempt to strike up a conversation with Kasumi, she did not do much in the six hours Kasumi spent in the graveyard, quietly reading.
“What’s your soulmate’s last words to you?”
As usual, Kasumi did her best to simply ignore the strange woman. All of a sudden, she felt something icy wrap around her wrist. The strange woman twisted both Kasumi’s wrist and her own neck in order to read the black words written on Kasumi’s hand.
“That sounds really nice. It’s romantic. You’re lucky, I would love to have something poetic as my soulmate’s last words to me. Instead, I have this.”
The woman was really very strange. Her expression was one of both sadness and joy, and it pulled Kasumi in. Kasumi realised, for the first time, that she actually wanted to speak to this woman. She felt a connection to Miyadera that she had never felt before, to spirit or to human.
-
Kasumi disliked the equinoxes. Other than funerals and burials, these two days were the days the graveyard was the busiest. Countless families and groups gathered in front of the many gravestones to pay respect to their ancestors.
Little did they know that most of these spirits were either uncaring towards or upset with them. The spirits were free to roam, and they could discover every dirty little secret their descendants were trying to hide.
Kasumi pushed through the crowd, not bothering to apologise to those she ended up stepping on or shoving aside. On these days, the only somewhat quiet location in the graveyard was Kasumi’s corners, where the gravestones were broken, neglected and covered in dirt and moss.
Miyadera was there again. A faint smile appeared on her face when she noticed Kasumi, but the medium did not return the gesture. After sitting down next to Miyadera, Kasumi brought her knees to her chest and tried to cover her ears with her arms.
It was too noisy. There were too many people. The spirits, too, were feeding off the energy, their whispers being carried clearly to Kasumi’s ears.
Kasumi had always preferred to be alone. Ever since her talent was discovered during her elementary school days, many see her as a ‘freak’. No one wanted to spend time with her, thus she grew to dislike interaction with others over time. She didn’t like speaking to the spirits that much, either. Those that still remained in this world would either demand that she assist them in fulfilling all their unfulfilled desires, or worse, ask her to let them possess her. Even if they didn’t seek to make use of Kasumi’s abilities, conversations with angry spirits usually consisted of one-sided ranting. It was tiring to deal with, which is why she was grateful that the spirits did not bother her most of the time.
Except for Miyadera, who was now looking at Kasumi with a mixture of sympathy, pity and compassion.
Kasumi was starting to become afraid of Miyadera. She was rarely afraid of spirits, or anything for that matter. But the way Miyadera forcefully yet patiently tried to get her to open up, Miyadera’s unexpectedly comforting presence, Miyadera’s brilliant smile... All these things left Kasumi sinking into uncertainty and fear.
The noise was getting louder. Kasumi tightened her grip on herself, willing a miraculous tidal wave to just come and wash everyone else away.
It was very faint and light, but Kasumi felt someone wrap their arms around her.
On the outside, she was cold, yet Kasumi felt warm.
-
The snow had ceased to fall, but it was still difficult to walk around. Regardless, Kasumi made her way to the graveyard.
Ever since the equinox incident, Kasumi found herself responding to Miyadera more. She has yet to initiate a conversation with Miyadera, but she does answer some of Miyadera’s questions from time to time. She could not deny that she was growing closer to Miyadera. For some reason, that excited and terrified her.
“Why are you here?”
Kasumi was stunned by the question. Miyadera looked genuinely shocked to see her. Recalling their first conversation, in this exact same place, Kasumi felt a little playful.
“I just felt like coming here, is there an issue with that?”
“No.”
Unlike Kasumi’s cold, blunt words from the first time they met, Miyadera’s words were cheerful and inviting. Unlike Kasumi’s emotionless expression from that time, Miyadera’s was her usual shining smile.
Kasumi once again sat next to Miyadera. Over the days, the distance between them had been growing smaller, and now Kasumi was close enough to touch Miyadera’s face without stretching her arm, not that she had ever actually tried something like that.
“Today is Christmas, isn’t it? I thought you’d spend it with your family and friends.”
So that’s why Miyadera had looked shocked to see her. Kasumi struggled a little in her mind. The truth was that her family ostracised her almost as badly as her classmates. But would she be able to tell that to Miyadera?
“My family and I don’t get along well.”
That was the best she could do. Despite her vague response, Miyadera smiled and nodded.
“My younger brother would often gift me all sorts of souvenirs from around the world on Christmas. He was into cultural anthropology, you know? He travelled around the world a lot, but because I was always either hospitalised or recuperating at home, I could never join him on his travels.”
It was truly bizarre. The expression that Miyadera had then was one Kasumi had never seen before. It made her feel... jealous?
-
It was New Year’s Day. Most associate this day with new life. To Kasumi, it was just another day in the year. But to Miyadera, it meant so much more.
“New Year’s Day was always special. It was kind of like a symbol of my life. Whenever New Year’s Day came by, I was reminded that I had survived for another year. That I was still alive. I know it must sound ironic now that I’m dead, but I still see New Year’s Day as something special.”
As per Miyadera’s request, Kasumi had brought some paper and a pen to the graveyard that day.
“I heard that it’s very popular in the Western countries. You write down something that you want to achieve this year, like changing a certain behaviour or accomplishing a goal. They’re called ‘resolutions’. Ah, actually I’m not sure if they write it down. I just thought that it was similar to what we do during Tanabata, so I combined it with our tanzaku.”
Kasumi did not completely understand what Miyadera was talking about, but she still started to think about what to write on her paper. It was funny, really. A few months ago she would have found this idea completely ridiculous. Yet here she was, seriously contemplating her hopes for the year.
Miyadera really did make her do strange things.
“So? Have you decided?”
“No. There’s nothing I really want to accomplish.”
“Eh? Then how about something simple and common? Like, I want to exercise more, I want to do better in school, I want to make more friends, that kind of stuff?”
“But I don’t want to do any of that, though.”
Miyadera started giggling. Hearing her lilting laugh, Kasumi couldn’t help but smile.
“Let’s do yours first, then. What do you want to do this year?”
Miyadera’s laughter died down. She was silent for a moment.
“I want to send my brother to the afterlife.”
Kasumi felt her blood run cold. She slowly turned to look at her companion.
Miyadera bore a look of both guilt and desire. Kasumi could not look away.
-
Ever since that incident on New Year’s Day, neither of them brought up the topic of Miyadera’s brother. In the end, both of them wrote generic things on their paper.
‘I want to meet my soulmate’ and ‘I want to find happiness’.
Just typical, basic, meaningless things.
On this day, however, Kasumi wasn’t making her way to the graveyard. She was going to the place she hated the most, the ever-crowded Central Park.
Solely to meet Miyadera.
“Kasumi! Over here!”
Miyadera was, as usual, in her hospital gown. However, Kasumi was donned in the only yukata she ever owned.
The reason was simple: Miyadera had never gone to a summer festival before, and she had desperately begged Kasumi to accompany her.
“You look really nice in that! Come on, let’s go!”
“You do know that you won’t be able to eat any of the food or play any of the games, right?”
Miyadera’s smile did not slip from her face at all. In fact, it seemed to grow wider.
“I know, I know! But just being here, drinking in this atmosphere, is fine with me! Also, I really want to see the fireworks.”
And so the two of them weaved in through the crowd. Kasumi did attempt some of the games on Miyadera’s request. On the other hand, she was never a fan of festival snacks, so she adamantly refused to buy the candied apples.
Finally, it was time for the fireworks show. Kasumi was glad that she could leave the crowd. It was Miyadera herself who suggested that they find a quieter spot to watch the fireworks.
They were just like colourful flowers, exploding in the sky. Yet Miyadera’s smile outshined all of them.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
Kasumi never liked bright things. But it seemed that being with Miyadera really did make her act weirdly.
-
“Ever since we were little, my brother and I had been very close. I even thought he was my soulmate. But when I died, the last thing I heard was his voice. ‘Don’t worry, you won’t be alone for long’. He became obsessed with helping me get ‘friends’ to play with, and started an insane plan to kill a hundred girls for that purpose.”
Kasumi was enraptured by the story. She had listened to the life stories of more than a few ghosts, yet for some reason, Miyadera’s seemed so much more interesting to her than the life of the general who fought in the war, or that of the little child genius.
“I loved my brother. I really did, even though he wasn’t my soulmate. But he changed after I died. Now, I don’t know who he is. My sweet, gentle brother had become an insane serial killer. I... I don’t like that.”
Kasumi felt like she finally understood the wish that Miyadera almost got her to pen down on New Year’s Day.
“That’s why you wanted to kill him?”
“Yes. Oh, I hope you didn’t think that I wanted to use you to kill him. That wasn’t my intention. I just wanted to share my deepest desire with you."
Kasumi didn’t think that it would have been worth it to tell Miyadera that yes, she had, in fact, thought that. Instead, she just nodded in what she hoped was an understanding manner.
“I don’t want him to just die, though. If he becomes a spirit, he would still be obsessed with me. Being with me, even after death... He might actually love that. But he has committed too many sins under my name for me to be happy with that. I want his spirit to be gone, as well.”
Kasumi could feel the negative emotions emanating from Miyadera. They were so strong that under normal circumstances, she would have felt sick. But with Miyadera, she was fine.
“Why are you telling me all this now?”
“Because his time draws near. The wheels of fate have already begun to spin. Today, his future is decided. He will either die, as I have planned, or he will live on, with the lives of countless girls on his shoulders.”
Miyadera said no more, and Kasumi probed no further. As curious as she was, she did not want to hear of Miyadera’s plan either. She merely sat back, closed her eyes and drowned herself in Miyadera’s anger and delirious excitement.
-
They both knew this day was coming. Any spirit that had no business left with Kasumi’s world would be taken away by the light. Their destination was unknown to Kasumi, but she knew that they never returned after that.
So when Kasumi noticed Miyadera’s figure gaining a small glow, she bit down on her lower lip.
Miyadera’s plan had succeeded. She had no reason to remain in this world. Kasumi understood that much, even though a small part of her had desperately hoped that she could become Miyadera’s reason to stay.
Kasumi had long realised why. Miyadera didn’t seem to have noticed, but Kasumi knew. It would only be a matter of time before those words would be spoken. It seemed that fate hated her, letting her meet Miyadera.
The light was brighter than anything she had ever seen before. Although she had seen her fair share of passings, this light was blinding.
Miyadera gave her a troubled expression. It seemed that she was hesitant to leave as well. She threw her head back and stared at the sky for a long while, unsure of what to say. But Kasumi knew what she was going to say.
Miyadera’s eyes widened, as if seeing something new for the first time. Kasumi braced herself for what was to come.
“The moon is beautiful tonight.”
Kasumi couldn’t help but smile. She knew that phrase like the back of her hand.
“Goodbye. I’ll see you soon, I hope.”
From the look on her face, Miyadera had finally pieced things together. Tears pooled in her eyes, but they refused to fall. Instead, Kasumi saw the bright smile that she had gotten so accustomed to over the year.
The light was slowly fading, Miyadera along with it. Trying her best to hold back her own tears, Kasumi waved frantically. She didn’t want to say goodbye so soon, yet she was glad.
The light dimmed out. Kasumi was left by herself in the darkness of the graveyard. Just like it’s always been.
Now, she could finally return to her daily life. A life she had been living only a year ago. A life without Miyadera.
Something indistinguishable pulled at her heart. It was both painfully bitter yet sickeningly sweet. Kasumi had to fight the urge to both laugh and cry.
This feeling... was nameless.