Interlude: Kaede
“I’m glad to see that Mother is doing well…”
When I heard from Father that she was hospitalized, I was worried. But when Father and Grandfather took me to visit her, she cried tears of joy. She said that it wasn’t the time for her to be cooped up in a place like this. Afterward, Father told me that she had been mentally struggling since I disappeared, and we all laughed, knowing that it was only natural for her to feel better now that I was back. I don’t know when she can be discharged, but since I’m here now, I believe everything will be alright.
“Well then, next is to report to Grandmother.”
“Yeah…”
Father’s words weighed heavily on my heart. It seems that Grandmother passed away about two years after I was summoned to this Otherworld. She had been so full of life. A lot had happened during the five years I was gone—both with Mother and Grandmother. I should have been a high school student by now, but I haven’t even graduated elementary school, and I can’t help but feel anxious about what the future holds.
After about thirty minutes in the car, we arrived at the cemetery on a small hill. Guided by Father and Grandfather, we climbed the stairs and stood before Grandmother’s grave.
“Grandmother. Kaede has come back. Can you see me?”
As Father spoke, placing flowers and cleaning the gravestone, Grandfather joyfully reported my return, but my mood remained heavy. I had learned about Grandmother’s passing just a few days ago, but it hadn’t truly sunk in until now.
“Grandmother…”
Standing before the grave, the reality hit me hard. For Father and Grandfather, it had been two years, but for me, it felt like just yesterday. I couldn’t hold back the tears that spilled over, and I cried out loud.
“Kaede…”
Father and Grandfather gently stroked my back and head. In this Otherworld, one becomes an adult at fifteen, so I felt like I had grown up. But here, I was still just a child. A wave of embarrassment washed over me, and my tears began to subside.
At that moment, a man who had been visiting a grave further back approached us. I stepped aside to let him pass, but I accidentally bumped into Father.
“Oh, excuse me.”
The man apologized hurriedly as he walked away.
“Honestly…”
Father watched him with a frown, but then the man took out his smartphone and dashed off.
“…Wait!”
Realizing the reason for his sudden departure, I instinctively called out and began to chase after him.
“Kaede?”
Father and Grandfather’s surprised voices called after me, but I couldn’t let the man get away. When he glanced back at me, his expression turned to one of shock, and he quickened his pace down the stairs. It would take too long to follow him down the stairs, so I leaped over the railing and jumped down.
“Kaede!?”
I heard a scream from behind me, but all I could do was fall.
“Whoa!?”
I landed on the path below, and the man who had been fleeing let out a scream and stopped in his tracks. Slowly rising to my feet, I locked eyes with him, and he took a step back, looking frightened.
“W-What…?”
“What do you mean ‘what’? You know exactly what I’m talking about.”
He feigned ignorance, but I had encountered plenty of people like him in the Otherworld. If I caught him in the act, he had no way to deny it since he was holding the evidence himself.
“Hand over what you stole.”
“…Huh?”
“I said, you took something from my father just now, didn’t you?”
“What are you talking about?”
His voice was a mix of confusion and irritation as he raised his voice.
“I’m in a hurry, so what’s going on?”
He peered at his smartphone, frowning.
“Kaede! What’s going on all of a sudden?”
“Oh, Father!”
Before long, Father and Grandfather appeared at the bottom of the stairs behind the man.
“Don’t worry. We’ll get back the wallet he stole.”
“Huh?”
“Wait, what?”
“Uh…?”
As I declared this, the man let out a voice of disbelief, while my family reacted with confusion. As the words sank in, Father checked his pockets and the inside of his jacket, looking puzzled.
“I haven’t stolen anything! What the hell is going on?”
“That can’t be true. Then why did you run away just now?”
“I’m in a hurry! I don’t have time for this!”
The man protested while showing his smartphone, but at this point, refusing to admit it seemed rather cowardly.
“Ah, Kaede.”
“What is it?”
However, what Father said next was completely unexpected.
“Father hasn’t had anything stolen.”
“…Huh?”
I couldn’t believe what I heard and looked at Father, who was checking his pockets again and again. Of course, his wallet was there, and if he took it out to show me, it would be obvious.
“See? Damn it, I’m in a hurry… What the hell?”
As I stood there in shock, the man seemed to have his doubts cleared and muttered curses as he ran past me.
“Haha, are you alright, Kaede?”
“Wasn’t that about three meters? Am I okay?”
“…Ah, yeah.”
Father and Grandfather looked at me with expressions that were a mix of worry and disbelief as they gazed up at the height I had jumped from.
“This place isn’t that dangerous, you know.”
“Oh!”
Father’s words, spoken with a wry smile, reminded me that this wasn’t the Otherworld.
“I-I’m sorry…”
“Ah, I’m fine with it.”
That’s right. The one I should apologize to was that man. I turned to look back, but he was already gone. He really had been in a hurry. I had assumed he was running away because of the timing, but perhaps he was just checking the time on his smartphone. In hindsight, that made sense.
As I hung my head in embarrassment and guilt, I felt a hand gently placed on top of my head.
“You can take your time to get used to it.”
“Yeah. We still have plenty of time.”
“Right.”
With Father and Grandfather’s words, I realized that I had my own challenges to face here.