Chapter 23: He Can't See Him?

At 10:00 a.m. on Monday, Ikawa Akemi, wearing a light blue camisole dress, walked in the direction of the school exit.

After talking with Akiwara Yuto the day before yesterday, she learned that he was a debut mystery novelist who serialized his work in "New Novel," which was released every Monday.

She was half-doubting, but he offered no further explanation, only leaving his email and phone number for her to contact him after she had confirmed it.

After some thought, she decided to go see for herself; after all, the stage play was a serious matter that she could not afford to be careless about. She took a special leave of absence and prepared to go to a nearby bookstore—she had come alone, and if she couldn't find the book, she would surely be mocked by her friends.

Twenty minutes later, she reached her destination and walked straight inside.

The bookstore she found was called Takasago Bookstore, a medium-sized shop divided into sections for manga, literature, science and education, and more. She was not very familiar with the place and searched for a short while before finding the literature section she needed.

Upon seeing a clerk in uniform, she immediately asked politely, "Excuse me, do you sell a magazine called 'New Novel' here?"

The other person was organizing books, but upon hearing the inquiry, she immediately put down her work, gestured toward a display stand, bowed slightly, and said politely, "Customer, the book you are looking for is in the upper right corner of this display stand."

Ikawa Akemi nodded in thanks and walked to the display stand, where she noticed a girl nearby also reading the magazine, occasionally showing an inexplicable expression—a mix of fear and being moved.

She was a little curious, but it wouldn't be right to disturb someone else, so she simply reached out and took the copy of "New Novel" from the stand herself.

She took a look; the cover had the three large characters for "New Novel" printed on it, with a drawing of a police officer investigating a case, and below it was a line of slightly smaller text: "Searching Footsteps," by Mamiya Yuma.

Besides that, in the lower left corner of the cover were three much smaller titles, and under one titled "Sofar," it read "Akiwara Yuto."

She was slightly taken aback; she hadn't expected what he said to be true. He looked about the same age as her, yet he had already debuted as a novelist? It was truly incredible.

Her actions caught the attention of the girl reading nearby, who put down her book and asked curiously, "Are you also a fan of Akiwara-sensei, student?"

"A fan?" Ikawa Akemi was a bit puzzled.

The girl smiled and said, "Yes, there was a book review in the newspaper earlier about the story he wrote, 'Kosode and Yoko,' and that review is why I bought this magazine."

She hesitated for a moment, then continued, "How should I put it? Although this story is a bit cruel, there is a feeling of hope behind that cruelty. Besides that, the 'Sofar' he wrote this time is the same."

Ikawa Akemi didn't quite understand what she was talking about, but it sounded very impressive, so she expressed her thanks: "Thank you for the recommendation. I will read it carefully when I get back later."

The girl was a little delighted, feeling she had successfully converted another reader. She turned around, pulled a book from the shelf, and handed it to Ikawa Akemi. Ikawa Akemi looked down and discovered it was the previous issue of "New Novel."

Her heart was even more surprised; she hadn't expected this fan to be so complimentary of Akiwara-san's writing, which made her curious about the contents of the book as well.

She thanked the other person again, then took the two books directly to the checkout counter, paid, left the bookstore, and headed in the direction of where she lived.

After returning to her place, she put down her things, took out the latest issue, and began to read the story titled "Sofar."

As she read, she became completely immersed in it...

The story was about a young boy who lived in a happy family where his parents both loved him dearly. But gradually, he discovered that his parents' arguments were becoming more frequent, and the affection between them was growing colder.

One night, his parents went out by car, and he was home alone watching TV. At that moment, the TV reported an emergency news flash: a rear-end collision on the road had left two dead and three injured, which made him very worried.

However, by nightfall, the two returned home safely. At this time, his father said to him, "Let's go eat today." The young boy ran over, only to find his mother standing behind him, motionless. She looked at the boy with a confused expression, as if asking, "Where are you going?"

At this moment, his father slammed the front door shut, seemingly not noticing his mother at all.

After this, the young boy learned a shocking fact: his father could not see his mother, and it was the same for his mother.

When watching TV, his father would be sitting on a chair, yet his mother would say there was no one there. At dinner, his mother only cooked for two, and his father only bought two bento boxes.

It was as if the two of them lived in two different worlds, and only he could see them both at the same time.

The young boy was filled with confusion and decided to ask. As it turned out, his mother said that when she went out with his father that day, they had a car accident, and she was the only one who had been saved.

He went to ask his father, and his father gave the exact same explanation.

In short, the two held different accounts, each claiming only they had survived.

Until one day, there was a turning point.

On this day, his mother couldn't find the scissors after looking for a long time. The young boy went directly to ask his father and, upon learning the scissors were in the kitchen drawer, he immediately told his mother, adding that his father had said so.

This happened a few more times, and the young boy finally made both his father and mother believe that he could see the other person. He said to them separately, "If there is anything you want to tell the other, I can help tell him (her)."

Just like that, he became a messenger between the two.

But good times didn't last long. After the dialogue was established through the young boy, conflict erupted again between his father and mother, and they began to argue incessantly. After one argument, his father learned from the young boy that his mother had left the living room, and he immediately told the boy to convey, "It's good that you aren't here."

When the young boy heard this, he blankly relayed the words to his mother.

After hearing this, his mother shed tears of sorrow and then said a hurtful thing for the boy to relay back. Sure enough, his father was thunderously angry and said a vicious thing for the boy to convey.

Just like that, the young boy acted as a microphone for their arguments. After such back-and-forth, he finally couldn't bear the pain of his parents' fighting, collapsed, and fainted on the living room floor.

After waking up, he found his mother by his side. He said he wanted juice, and his mother got up to go to the kitchen to get it for him. But as soon as his mother left, he found his father sitting on the sofa beside him. Seeing his reaction, his father frowned and said, "I called you several times just now, but you didn't even look at me."

His father was silent for a moment and asked the boy to ask his mother about tomorrow's plans. He nodded and walked into the kitchen, only to be surprised to find his mother gone. He looked back, and the person sitting on the sofa had become his mother, while his father was nowhere to be seen.

He looked again suspiciously and found that the person on the sofa had turned back into his father. In a state of anxiety, he realized the severity of the situation: he could no longer see his father and mother at the same time—when his father was there, his mother would disappear, and when his mother was there, he couldn't see his father...

He had to make a choice between the two.

After painful struggle, the young boy apologized to his father in his heart, and he ultimately chose to live with his mother.

After that, he could never see his father again.

A few days later, his mother took the young boy to the hospital for a checkup. The doctor asked the young boy, "Did your father really die in the car accident? Then who is this person standing behind you?"

The young boy turned around; his father was right behind him, but he saw nothing.

His mother and father looked at each other. His mother told the doctor that it seemed the young boy couldn't see his father anymore, and he didn't even feel it when his father hugged him.

As it turned out, his parents had never been in a car accident at all. Because of their endless arguing, both sides had decided to pretend they couldn't see the other, and the young boy had been forced to live such a life, never expecting that it would affect him...

Some time passed. One day, his mother was watering flowers in the yard, and his father was fixing a bicycle nearby. His father tried to wave at the young boy, but the boy had no reaction.

Seeing his father looking lonely, his mother felt a bit of sympathy for him. His father also looked back and saw his mother, and the two smiled at each other.

When they weren't looking, the young boy watched this scene and quietly curled the corners of his mouth. He looked at his mother's smile and knew his parents had reconciled.

It was a pity, though, that he still couldn't see his father.

After finishing this piece, Ikawa Akemi's eyes couldn't help but turn red. She was a very emotional person, and it was hard not to be moved by such a story.

In the end, she couldn't help but feel sorry for the young boy. Even though his parents were no longer arguing, he could never see his father's figure again.

Why couldn't there be a happy ending?

That said, this story was truly moving...