It was a dark, cool summer evening.
I was situated in my red recliner reading a novel when the doorbell rang. This was an unusual instance, since nobody ever visited my house. Ever.
"…Hello?"
"It is me, Otonashi! I have come to visit you."
I was frozen in my tracks for several seconds...somebody popular had actually cared enough to visit me. I was absolutely shocked.
Moving quickly towards the door, I hastily punched in the 8 digit security code. I was anticipating what was going to happen.
Access Granted.
Otonashi carefully walked in, slipped off his shoes, and greeted me.
"Hello, Seiya. I saw that nobody really talks to you during class, so I decided to hop over and see how you are doing!"
"…Thank you for coming over, Otonashi. I usually don't have any company over at my house."
"Sure thing! I brought over some food, if you would like some."
I never realized Otonashi was so kind. I guess you should never judge a book by its cover.
"No, thank you. I'm not terribly hungry at the moment."
Otonashi took a long glimpse of the entrance of my home. He looked around, first at the ceiling, and then at the different corridors that lead to the upper floors.
"Wow, Seiya! Your house is absolutely gigantic!"
"…I know, thank you."
"This must have cost a fortune…look at those marble counters!"
"My father was a rich business man."
"Wow, no kidding! Is anybody else home?"
"No, just me." I looked up at Otonashi, and smiled warmly.
Please don't ask any more questions about this.
"Just wondering, how old are you?"
Damn it.
"15."
"Where are your parents? I mean, are they at work or something?"
"No."
"Oh, they're on Vacation!"
"Not really."
"I…where are they? I mean, are they out shopping?"
I paused for a moment, and then looked down at the tile floor.
"They aren't exactly coming back to visit me for a while."
"Oh…they had to move somewhere? That's unusual."
Otonashi paused for a moment and placed the brown paper bag containing the food onto the slick, marble counter in the kitchen. Walking back over to me, he had this confused look plastered on his face.
I nervously laughed.
"Ha ha ha, I guess you could put it that way. I can't really be in contact with them."
"Wait, are they…" Otonashi locked eyes with me, this time giving me a look of sincerity.
A big lump formed in my throat. My eyes started to grow bigger and water, so I quickly looked away. My nervous smile turned into a solemn frown.
I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of my first guest.
Swallowing deeply, I replied to him.
"…They're dead."
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry…I was too stupid to realize where you were heading with this."
"Please, do not apologize Otonashi. There is nothing for you to apologize for. Where in the house would you like to go?"
"I mean, anywhere you would like, Seiya…what is your favorite place?"
I meandered over to corridor A, and twisted the cold, glass doorknob.
"This way, to the library."
Otonashi trailed behind.
I took a quick glimpse over my shoulder acknowledging that he was there.
"The library is my most favorite place in the whole house. It is the most peaceful, and I love reading."
"Wow, that's awesome, Seiya. It makes sense since you are the top student in the class. "
Finally after a bit of walking, we arrived at the Library corridor. I twisted the handle, and pushed open the door.
"We're here."
"Oh, wonderful!"
The magnificent crystal chandeliers glowed a bright yellow, creating a wonderful ambiance in the room.
This was one of the things I loved the most about visiting the library area.
Now walking over to the storage closet, I opened the door and lifted out a chair.
"Here you go, Otonashi."
Otonashi very elegantly took the chair from my hands and placed it down.
"Seiya…I'm sorry if I ask too many questions. I just want to know that you are safe…why doesn't your Aunt or Uncle take care of you?"
"Otonashi, do you want me to be completely direct with you?"
"I mean, if you want to…"
"They're dead, too."
"Oh my god…"
I looked over to Otonashi briefly, and then looked down toward the red carpet floor.
This was going to be a long night.
