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Return to Hinamizawa I – Predestination Chapter

3
Opening the Box

Alas, time is no-one's servant. The more I wished for the days to linger, the faster they seemed to fly by, so rapidly that I now have only very confused memories of that time. All I know for sure is that until then, I'd never known two weeks that were so happy. Even my friends in Kyoto, who had known me all my life, were never as welcoming and keen to entertain as the Hinamizawans. Every day we played a different game, and every day there was a different forfeit; but they were never too malicious, and I kept that in mind when I finally got my own back on the others for making me wear that maid costume.

The games were not always at school. Sometimes we went round to the Sonozakis' house to play on Akito's PS2, and sometimes we went to Saki's to play with her collection of mechanical toys. I learned that her parents, Fujiura Takumi and Satoko, had started their own business in selling handmade toys with ingenious mechanisms, with Satoko providing the ideas and Takumi constructing the toys to her designs. Takumi had died when Saki was still a baby, and his unmarried sister Azusa had moved in to help bring Saki up and to take over his share of the business. Apparently, they had become hugely successful and were known all across Japan, though I had to admit I hadn't heard of them before.

But what toys they were! There were little birds that would flap their wings and scuttle about in a panic if you touched them in the right way; gliders that you could send off and watch as they veered in wide circles around the room; cats with hinged parts that moved together so realistically, you could have sworn they were alive. They were all made of catalpa wood, lovingly carved in intricate detail, and although Satoko was kind enough to give me one of the cats for my very own, I couldn't help being very jealous of Saki, who got one of these toys for her birthday every year!

The Sonozakis' house was no less interesting. It was a gigantic manor, and Naoya explained to me that the Sonozakis were one of the largest, wealthiest and most important families in the area. Eight of them shared the home: Akito and Kotone – Sonozaki-sensei and her husband Satoshi – then there was sensei's twin sister Mion (who really did exist!), she was unmarried – and the twins' parents, Akane and Juntarou. I didn't get to meet the eighth person, Akane's mother Oryou; that made her Akito's great-grandmother, so she must have been ancient indeed. I can't imagine what it must have been like to share a house with such a large family; I think it would have driven me mad. I've never met my own grandparents – Father is estranged from his family, and Mother's parents are dead – and I don't have a sibling, so it's always been just the three of us.

Then, in the second week of my stay, the games stopped, and club activities were taken over for a while by helping to get everything ready for the Watanagashi festival. I hadn't realised just how huge an undertaking this was until we arrived at the shrine precinct on Sunday, and found what seemed like half the village already there and very busy. The entire level in front of the shrine was filled with stands being set up, and people hustling about carrying materials and tools. Rika remained indoors, as she was in no condition to be helping, but her husband, Suguru, met us as we entered the precinct, bowed deeply and thanked us all for volunteering to help. We bowed in return and then walked into the middle of the area, and I looked around in some bewilderment. I caught sight of a few familiar faces – Satoko and Azusa were hammering together some kind of framework, and Sonozaki-sensei, easily recognisable by her long green hair, was striding around organising a group of helpers. There was no sign of her twin sister. Or perhaps this was the twin? It was hard to tell. She certainly had an enthusiastic commanding attitude that wasn't at all like the demure, almost melancholy demeanour I was used to seeing at school; but perhaps it was just one of those changes that happens when a person is seen in a different situation.

Anyhow, Saki and I helped to set up the stands, while Akito and Naoya were assigned fetching and carrying duties, and Kotone and Kizuna ran round taking messages, holding the ends of things that needed to be held, and just being generally encouraging. All in all, it was fun, and if it got a bit tiring after a while, that just made the refreshment breaks all the more enjoyable.

By Saturday, the day before the festival, everything was ready, and after school we went round to the shrine one last time – to help Kizuna try on her costume for the ceremony. Normally it would be Rika who took the leading role, but this year, due to her pregnancy, Kizuna would be taking over the duties for the first time ever. At first she had seemed very excited about it, but from the moment we arrived at school on the Saturday, she looked like she was so nervous she was about to be sick. We all did our best to encourage her, and Saki took her outside and sat with her for a long time. They came back and got on with lessons without saying anything; Kizuna at least no longer looked sick, but she spent a long time absent-mindedly staring into the distance with a worried frown on her face.

When we got to the shrine, Kotone took her off into a back room, and the rest of us sat round and waited. About a quarter of an hour later, they came back out, Kizuna wearing a flowing white robe and red trousers; the robe was edged with gold embroidery in exquisite floral patterns, and red tassels drifted out from its seams. She bowed to us and twirled around a few times, and we all applauded. Then, at last, she looked up at us and, slowly, her face opened up into a glowing smile.

"So, what exactly is this 'cotton drifting' festival?" I asked the others as we walked down the path together. We were going back to the Sonozaki house, as Mion had promised to make us all a special meal as a reward for the week's work.

"Well, it's called that because everyone takes a ball of cotton and drifts it down the river," said Naoya. "You're meant to think about the sins you've committed in the past year, and if you sincerely repent, your sins are absorbed by the cotton and float away from you."

I gave him a slanting smile. In truth, it had been such a full two weeks that I had almost forgotten about the circumstances that led to my coming to Hinamizawa; but I could never entirely forget. I knew that I would have deeper sins to think about than any of theirs; and I could not really believe that I could get rid of them as simply as absorbing them into a ball of cotton. Still, I had to admit it was a charming thought, even encouraging in its own quaint way.

"Don't talk of such matters so lightly!" said a strange voice. I turned to see a man approaching us along a side path. He was short, with dark skin and sparse grey hair and beard, and his clothes were dishevelled. He looked very old, his face worn and creased, and his posture crumbling as though it was a constant struggle to keep lifting himself up. Naoya and Akito, as soon as they saw him, both stood in front of me as if to protect me. I'm not sure why. He was carrying a walking-stick, but even if he did try to use it as a weapon, he looked far too frail to do much harm with it.

"Leave us alone, Yanagida-san," said Akito.

The man snarled at him, showing his teeth. The few that were left were worn down into narrow spikes. "Why, are you trying to stop the new girl finding out the truth?" he said. "She must learn to repent in blood, or the curse of Oyashiro-sama will strike her!"

Naoya stepped forward. "Miaka-san is an honoured guest of the Sonozaki family," he said. "Now leave us alone, or we will make sure Mion-sama has you thrown out of the village."

I stared at him; I hadn't guessed he was capable of such ferocity. "Beware the quiet ones" indeed.

"I'm leaving," the man said, turning very slowly and fixing me with an icy glare as he did. I know it's silly of me, but I found myself feeling very cold, as though I had a sudden urge to hold on to someone for warmth. "But you will wish you had listened to me. The aura of death surrounds you!"

I stood staring after him for a while as he vanished down the path; then Akito tugged my arm. "Come on, Miaka-chan," he said. "Let's keep moving."

"Could Mion-san really have him thrown out of the village?" I said after a while.

"Sure," said Naoya. "Kimiyoshi Ryouta-san is the village chief, but everyone knows it's really the Sonozaki family who are in charge."

"What did he mean, though?" I said. "What is the curse of Oyashiro-sama?"

"You don't want to know about that, Miaka-san," Kizuna said firmly. The smile had vanished from her face, and she was intent and serious. "Mother says that Oyashiro-sama is a gentle god and would never curse anyone."

"Still, he must have meant something by it," I said. I glanced round at Akito and Naoya, who were now walking one on each side of me. Both of them were fidgety and apprehensive, immediately deepening my suspicion that they knew something they weren't telling me.

At last, Akito sighed. "I guess we may as well tell you," he said. "You'll find out sooner or later anyway."

"Go on..."

"Well, it all happened back when our parents were around the age we are now," he said. "But it's a great mystery that's never really been cleared up."

"Wow, really?" I said. "I love unsolved mysteries! Do tell me about it!"

Naoya chuckled at my enthusiasm. "All right," he said. "Do you know about the dam that was going to be built here?"

"Yes – Tomitake-san told me about that on my first day here."

"Okay then. So, the first thing that happened was that the manager of the dam construction was murdered, on the day of the Watanagashi festival. The police think he was killed by one of the workers, but the man disappeared – and has never been seen since."

"He probably just ran away after doing the murder," I said, feeling a little disappointed.

Naoya glanced round and grinned at me. "Leaving all his money and possessions behind?"

"Hmm, that is strange," I said. "So, go on. You said that was the first thing."

"Well, the next year, also on the day of the festival, Satoshi and Satoko's father died in an accident. It's thought that their mother died too, but no-one knows for sure; her body was never found."

"Oh, that's horrible!" I said, looking round at Saki. She was tagging along beside us, watching the sky and swinging her arms as she strode along; her face was serene and impassive. "I'm so sorry..."

She seemed to suddenly notice she had been spoken to, and looked round and smiled at me. "It's okay," she said. "I never knew my grandparents, so I don't know what I'm missing. Though from what I've heard, it may not be at all a bad thing." She pulled a face.

"Anyway, go on with the story, Naoya-kun," said Akito. "If we have to talk about this, let's just get it over with."

Naoya nodded. "On the third year, also on the day of the festival, Rika-sama's father died of a sudden illness. Her mother disappeared, leaving a suicide note saying that Oyashiro-sama had put a curse on the village because of the dam project. Satoshi and Satoko's father had supported the project, you see."

"So Rika-san and Satoko-san were both orphans," I said. I felt a lump rising in my throat as I thought again of what might have happened if my parents had died that night. Where would I be now? Well, I certainly wouldn't be walking down a village path with my friends, on a cool evening with the cicadas singing away brightly, enjoying the sight of summer flowers all around me and the woods in the distance. I think Kotone must have guessed what I was thinking about, for I suddenly felt her place her hand in mine and grip it tightly. I smiled down at her and returned the grip, as though I were on the edge of a cliff and holding on to her hand could stop me from falling.

"Yes, and Satoshi and Satoko were taken in by an uncle, who was married but had no children," Naoya went on. "And what do you think happened, a year later, also on the day of the festival?"

I was beginning to get a horrible sinking feeling, like when you're about to look at a test result and you know you've done badly. "Don't tell me that he died too..."

"Well, you're close. His wife was beaten to death – the police later found a drug addict who claimed to have done it. And Satoshi-san disappeared."

"Satoshi-san did?" I said. "Wait, isn't that –"

"Yes, that's my father," Akito said heavily. He was facing towards the ground and scowling. "Out of the ones who disappeared, he's the only one who ever came back. But he never speaks about what happened to him."

"What, never?"

"Literally never. I have no more idea about it than you do."

"Oh, come on!" I said. "I can't believe that. You live with him, for crying out loud! You must have talked about it – you must have asked –"

Akito shook his head and looked away. "He doesn't talk about it," he mumbled.

"So that's why you didn't want to talk about any of this," I said quietly.

"Yeah. I'd rather just forget about it. I hate feeling like I have this shadow hanging over my life."

"But if you tried to explain to your father that you feel that way –"

"No," he said firmly. Then he took a deep breath and looked back at me, grimacing sadly. "Look, I'm sorry, Miaka-chan, but I can't do that. I've tried. But I can see... it's not that he won't talk about what happened; it actually hurts him to try. And I don't want to cause him that pain."

"I understand," I said gently.

"Thank you, Miaka-chan," said Kotone. I felt her grip on my hand tighten again, and I smiled.

"So, anyway," said Naoya, "have you seen the pattern in what I've told you so far?"

"I think so," I said. "Each year, one person died and one person disappeared."

"That's right. And always on the day of the Watanagashi festival."

"And how long did this go on for? It isn't still happening, is it?"

"No, it stopped after just one more year," said Naoya. He frowned, and shook his head a little. "But the last year of the curse was the strangest of all."

"Why, what happened?"

"Well, firstly, the person who disappeared was a nurse from Irie-sensei's clinic. Unlike all the other victims, she had no connection to the dam project or its supporters. There was no reason for the curse to target her!"

"Very strange," I said. "But there's more, isn't there? Who died that year?"

"Rika-sama."

I stopped abruptly, let go of Kotone's hand and swung round to face him. I was almost expecting to see him grin and admit that he was joking, but his face remained solemn.

"What the hell did you say?" I said. "Stop fooling around, Naoya-kun."

"I'm not fooling. She really did die. I know it sounds crazy, but it's the truth."

"Oh, and what happened then?" I said sarcastically. "I suppose she was replaced by yet another identical twin sister – or did she just miraculously come to life again on the third day?"

"Well – yes." Naoya looked almost apologetic.

"What do you mean, yes?"

"Yes, she miraculously came back to life. Or at least, that's the way everyone tells it."

I reached across and slapped him.

"Ouch!" he said, screwing up his face and rubbing a hand across his cheek. "What was that for?"

"Aren't you ashamed of yourself, talking such nonsense in front of Kizuna-chan? Don't you think you might be upsetting her feelings?"

"It's all right, Miaka-san," said Kizuna. She looked up at me earnestly, almost pleadingly.

I took a deep breath and tried my hardest to swallow down my anger. I was not entirely successful. "Naoya-kun," I said, "she's eight years old! Don't you know how impressionable children are at that age? You may think it very funny that you've fed her all these fairy stories and gotten her to believe them, but have you got any idea how much damage this could do to her? When she's older and people don't think it's cute any more that she still believes such nonsense, they'll just think she's strange and avoid her! She'll be lonely and miserable, with no friends, and it will – all – be – your – fault!"

Behind me, I could hear Saki snickering, and I whirled round and slapped her. Hard.

Akito put his hands firmly on my shoulders. "That's enough of that, Miaka-chan," he said. "What Naoya-kun said is quite true."

"But... but..."

"I'm only saying that's what people say," said Akito. "It's up to you whether to believe it or not. But it's not a matter of local legend; it happened in living memory. All the adults in the village remember it, and nearly all of them would tell you the same."

"Though in fairness," Naoya put in, "Rika-sama herself has always denied that anything miraculous happened."

I looked from him to Akito and back, studying their faces. They were both sincere, that was obvious enough. And I also got a strong sense that, whatever they might say, this was an important belief to them, one that they cared about getting me to accept or at least treat with respect. I felt unsettled; I didn't want to get into an argument with them about it, but I couldn't just pass it off like there was no problem either.

At last I scowled and slowly said, "All right, I'll accept that something happened. But dead people cannot come back to life – I refuse to believe that."

"Okay," said Naoya, "I'll tell you as much as we know and you can draw your own conclusions –"

"She should apologise to me," Saki interrupted, glowering at me.

"Yes, you should," said Akito.

"I..." I stopped. Akito was looking at me sternly, and deep down I knew he was right. "All right, I'm sorry," I said.

"Well, I guess that's good enough," said Saki. She stuck out her tongue, and then turned round and stood with her hands on her hips, facing firmly away.

Naoya began again. "So, here's what we know. Rika-sama was taken ill two days before the festival, and Irie-sensei said she should stay at home and people should keep away from her."

"Hang on," I said. "At home? Where was she living, after her parents died?"

"Good point. She and Satoko-san were living alone with each other at that time."

"And no-one objected to this?"

"Well, Rika-sama is said to be the mouthpiece of Oyashiro-sama, and you can understand, if the village god says it's good enough for him, who's going to object?" Naoya drew a deep breath. "Anyway, no-one saw her for two days, and the next that was heard was that she'd died and her body was taken to the police station for examination. This is all in the official records. I haven't looked at them myself, but I've heard it from some of the Sonozakis – and they are very close friends with the local police."

"Hah!" I said. "Sounds to me like there's a big conspiracy in which the police, the Sonozaki family and Satoko-san are all involved!"

"Don't say things like that, Miaka-chan," said Kotone, tugging on my sleeve.

"Why not?"

"Well... if you say too much about conspiracies, people will think your Hinamizawa Syndrome is coming back."

I grimaced, and Naoya must have noticed, for he quickly went on, "I don't think it can be a conspiracy, Miaka-chan. It would have to be a very big conspiracy if it was. For a start, someone came in from Prefectural Police Headquarters to verify for certain that Rika-sama was dead, and I know that Sonozaki Akane-san, the twins' mother, brought in her brother Saburou as well. He's retired now, but he was a Councillor in the Prefectural Assembly. So it gets to the point where you just have to ask – why? Why would a local superstition, if that really is all it is, be worth so much that such important people would get involved in preserving it?"

"Well... I don't know," I admitted. "What do you make of it all?"

Naoya looked round at the rest of the group, then back at me. His expression was thoughtful and a shade melancholy. "I think," he said slowly, "that it has to be admitted that there is a secret connecting the series of deaths – and that this secret is known to a small circle of people within Hinamizawa."

"What's your evidence?"

"Human nature, for a start. It's only natural to be curious about a series of mysteries like this, especially when it happens in your own village and especially when it involves people you know. But they're not. Not only do our parents show no curiosity about the mystery, they actively try to dissuade us from finding out about it."

"Very good point," I said. "So – who do you think is in on this 'secret', whatever it is?"

He took a deep breath. "Well, Satoshi-san and Rika-sama, obviously. Both of the Sonozaki twins – Shion-sensei is married to Satoshi, and Mion-sama was the leader of the club when they were all in school together, so it's hard to see them not knowing. And then there's Satoko-san – she's Satoshi's sister, she was living with Rika, and she's always been very close to the twins, as well."

"The Sonozakis and Fujiuras are like one big happy family," Kotone said, grabbing Saki's arm and giving it a tight affectionate squeeze.

"I'm detecting a pattern here," I said. "We have Akito-kun and Kotone's parents – Saki-chan's mother – Kizuna's mother – as well as Sonozaki Mion. What about your parents, Naoya-kun? Or what about Kizuna's father, for that matter?"

"He's a possibility," said Naoya. "He was friends with the others at school – you've seen him in Sonozaki-sensei's photos."

"Which one was he?" I said, thinking back to his face and trying to guess what he must have looked like as a child.

"The little kid with spiky black hair. His name before he married Rika-sama was Okamura."

"Oh yes, I remember him now." I grinned; he'd been pretty inconspicuous and stayed in the background most of the time, just as he still did now. Well, I suppose when you're married to the mouthpiece of a god, it's hard to maintain anything other than a supporting role.

"He and Tomita Daiki joined the games club after Mion-sama and the older members had left school, so you have them to thank for its continued existence," Naoya said with a smile. "Still, they were never part of the inner circle so to speak, so I just don't know if they know about the secret or not. It's possible that Rika-sama's taken him into her confidence."

"Okay," I said. "And your parents, Naoya-kun? I haven't met the Ryuuguu family yet."

He frowned. "My parents weren't part of the same friendship group – they're quite a bit older than the others'," he said. "You remember the red-haired girl in the photo album?"

"Of course." I knew at once whom he meant, though her hair was closer to orange, not a real copper red like mine.

"That's Rena, my father's daughter from his first marriage, so that gives you some idea of his age. And my mother was the schoolteacher when Mion-sama and the others were in school."

"I see." There was a long silence, as I filed away all the information I had learned. "And what happened next? After Rika-san died, I mean?"

"She turned up for the festival alive and well, and wouldn't say anything about what had happened to her," said Akito. "I've tried asking her about it, but all she says on the subject is 'nipaa'. I think it's her way of saying 'I'd rather you didn't ask'."

"But what the villagers say," Naoya added, "is that because she died for the sins of the people in place of the intended victim, Oyashiro-sama's curse was lifted. Since then, there have been no more deaths or disappearances – though we still get people, like that old idiot Yanagida, trying to stir up trouble and threatening everyone that the curse will strike again. No-one really believes them, though."

I had to fight back the urge not to laugh. I was not entirely successful.

"What's so funny?" said Akito, giving me a strange look.

"The people really believe that?" I said. "Come on, that's so unimaginative. It's exactly the same as The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe."

Akito covered his face with his hand for a moment – I'm not sure whether he was hiding his own laughter or his embarrassment.

"Actually," said Naoya, "it bears a closer resemblance to the belief found in –"

"Stop it," Kizuna said fiercely. We all looked round, startled; I hadn't heard her speak like this before.

"What's wrong, Kichi-chan?" said Naoya. (That was Akito's pet name for her.)

She turned to face us, face drawn and fists clenched. "You shouldn't joke about things like that," she said. "It's really serious. You can't take someone's sins away just like that. They have to come to terms with it and deal with it for themselves. That's the whole point of the Watanagashi festival."

"Well, to be honest...," I said slowly. Damn. I was probably going to end up offending her either way, but I decided I may as well just tell her how I felt. "I don't see much difference between having your sins taken away by a sacrifice and absorbing them with a ball of cotton."

"Of course there's a difference!" she said. "Oh, I can't say it... you tell her, Saki-chan."

Saki, who had remained some way off, skipping and twirling around us as though we just couldn't move fast enough for her, turned towards us and smiled. "I guess little Kichi-chan doesn't like saying it out loud," she said, stretching out a hand to ruffle Kizuna's hair. "The Watanagashi festival was originally a human sacrifice ritual. They took one person as a scapegoat for the village's sins, and tore out his guts. Tearing up bits of cotton is so much more civilised, don't you think?"

I glanced towards Kotone, who had faced away from us at the start of this recital, and covered her ears. I frowned. But it was a bit late now to ask Saki not to talk about such things in front of the children, and I wanted to get all this sorted out, so I ignored her. "So in other words," I said, "you think that the villagers' belief in Rika's sacrifice is connected to this old custom."

"And that could go a long way towards explaining why no-one seems to want to talk about it," said Akito.

"Well, it's all a confused mess to me," I said. I glanced around at the others one last time and then continued walking.

Naoya quickly fell into step beside me again. "Ah, but you might be in a good position to help us find more of the truth," he said.

"I might?"

"Sure. You see, there's one more person I feel sure is in on the secret – and that's Irie-sensei."

I stopped again. "Irie-sensei?"

Naoya nodded earnestly. "Yes. He's very close friends with both Satoko-san and Sonozaki-sensei, and he was the doctor who treated Rika-sama when she was ill. And being a doctor – well, you can see why we'd think he might know a bit more than he lets on."

I took a deep breath. "So you want me to spy on him?" I said coldly. "Because it would be nice, wouldn't it, if I could turn up proof that Irie-sensei committed all the murders. That would let all your parents off the hook quite nicely! I can't believe I'm hearing this."

They had all stopped. They all looked shocked. Well, serve them right! What a load of bloody cheek.

"Miaka-chan...," Akito began.

"I'll handle this," said Naoya. "Miaka-chan, we do not believe that Irie-sensei committed the murders – and we don't believe that any of our parents did either. As far as I'm concerned, the dam construction manager really was murdered by the worker who disappeared; Houjou-san's death was an accident; Furude-san took ill, Houjou Tamae was killed by that drug addict, and Rika-sama... well, I just don't know. But I'm sure that Irie-sensei and the others' parents know something that links all these deaths together, and we'd all like to find out what it is, just so that we don't have to spend the rest of our lives wondering. You can understand that, can't you?"

"Yeah." I paused. "You're right. I'm sorry, Naoya-kun – and everyone."

"That's fine."

"Not fine!" said Kizuna. "You've got to shake hands and make friends."

"Is that really necessary?"

"Necessary, necessary! You have to nurture your bonds of friendship, so they can hold you together when the winds of despair threaten to tear you apart."

Naoya and I looked round at each other and grinned. "Where does she get these speeches?" I said.

"From Rika-sama, no doubt," said Naoya. "Shall we shake?"

We shook.

Sunday was a fine day, and we were all much too busy enjoying the festival to think any more about deaths or disappearances or any such things. The shrine precinct was full of life and colour all day, and in the evening it was illuminated by long strings of coloured lights shining down from the trees around it. The day started with a firework display as magnificent as any I had seen in the city, and then we mingled with the crowd as we went round all the different stalls. There were food stalls at which we made it a competition to see who could eat the fastest, and game stalls at which we spent many pleasant hours and more money than I like to think about. We had a few arguments as well, of course; but we were all in too good a mood to stay angry with each other for long.

In the evening, a huge crowd – it must have been everyone in the village, two thousand people – gathered in the courtyard of the shrine to watch Kizuna performing her first ever ceremonial dance. Even Rika, who had spent the day in the clinic to get away from all the noise, came back for the dance. Satoko and Azusa opened a curtain at the back of the courtyard, and Kizuna came on stage wearing her ceremonial robes and wielding a large hoe. I was in the front row with Akito and Naoya, and as she came closer we could see that she looked so nervous, I was afraid she was about to run away. But her eyes found Kotone giving her an encouraging wave, and she smiled, half-closed her eyes, and began the dance as if she hadn't a care in the world. And soon, the whole village was cheering for her as she twirled around, waving the hoe in intricate curves like one of those hypnotic screensavers. The dance went on for several minutes, and once she had gotten started, none of us had any more worries about her losing her nerve, nor did we have reason to. The ceremony ended with Kizuna using the hoe to tear up a large mattress, and we all queued up to take our balls of cotton and float them down the river.

"Now remember," said Saki, who was standing in line next to me, "you have to concentrate intently on your sins of the past year, and repent from deep inside your heart; otherwise it doesn't count and Oyashiro-sama will be angry with you."

"I remember," I said wearily. If this was a personal matter as Kizuna had said, the last thing I needed was for her to butt in on it. As I've said, I would have a much deeper sin to think about than any of the trivial misdemeanours Saki would be congratulating herself over apologising for. Oh well; it's nice to be young and carefree, and I could hardly hold it against her.

And so, when I got my ball of cotton, I went away from Saki and crouched by myself on the riverbank, and closed my eyes as I cradled the cotton in my hands and prayed. I wasn't sure if this was the correct ritual, but it's the thought that counts, isn't it?

"I'm really sorry that I hurt my parents," I whispered. "I'm sorry that I forgot my duty to love and trust them as they love and trust me. In future, I promise I will remember how they have nurtured and cherished me for fifteen years, and all the sacrifices they have made for me, and I promise to do what I can to be worthy of those sacrifices." Well, I hoped that would do. I placed the cotton carefully on the surface of the water, and then stood back and watched it float away. It really did feel as though a burden had been lifted from me, so perhaps there was something to what Kizuna had said after all.

"Come on, Miaka!" It was Saki, tugging vigorously on my sleeve. "We have to go downstream and see whose reaches the bridge first!"

"Huh? How will you know whose is whose?"

"We put flags on them, of course! At least, Kotone and I did, but Kizuna refused, so we'll know hers because it's the one without a flag!"

Well, there wasn't much point in arguing, so I let Saki drag me away. We went in a wide arc that avoided the crowds and brought us to a little bank away from the noise of the festival.

"There they are! They're coming!" Saki shouted, jumping up and down.

Kotone and Kizuna, licking identical ice-creams, soon walked over and joined us, with Akito and Naoya following behind at a more leisurely pace. "Yay!" Kotone called out. "I can see mine!"

"Mine's gonna beat you," Saki retorted.

"Hey, what's that?" Kizuna said quietly.

She was pointing at an object that was floating in the river, bobbing up and down in the middle of all the cotton balls. We all looked forward eagerly, and when it came closer, I could see that it was a little wooden box.

"What on earth is that doing there?" I said.

"Search me," said Naoya.

"I'll see if I can fish it out." I knelt on the edge of the river, stretching out my arm. (Did that mean that other people's sins were rubbing off on me as I fumbled my way past the balls of cotton?) The box seemed tantalisingly just out of reach, but I grunted and stretched out my fingers as far as they would go, and a sudden shift in the current tilted the box so that it fell right into my hand. "Got it!"

"Open it! Open it!" Saki chanted.

"I would if I could see how," I said, turning the curious object over. It was one of those puzzle boxes – beautifully carved, with woods of several different colours arranged in an elegant mathematical lattice – but without any lid or other obvious way in. They're fun. Mother has one like it that she keeps her wedding ring in, and she lets me play with it when I want to.

"Let me do it," said Saki. "I bet that one's easy. You should see the ones Mother makes!"

"No, I want to do it," I said. "Besides, I got it out of the river." I explored the surface methodically, noting which parts moved and in what patterns, trying to figure out the sequence that would allow me to get one side of the box fully open. Saki was very soon tutting with impatience, but Akito seemed to agree that I had the right to try first, as he held her back from interfering. Kotone stood close by and cheered me on; Kizuna just stood by the side of the river and watched the cotton balls as they floated past.

At last, I found the method, and got a panel loose that I pulled off with a triumphant flourish. But then I looked down in surprise. There was nothing inside except for a scrap of newspaper!

"Let's see that," Akito said, digging it out. He started to unfold it, and I suddenly caught a glimpse of the picture –

"Hey!" I shouted. "Those are my parents!"

"Huh?" Akito said, fully unfolding the paper and staring at it. His expression immediately changed; his eyes narrowed and his frown deepened into a grimace.

"Let me see that!"

He quickly held it behind his back, out of my reach. "You don't want to see this, Miaka-chan," he said. "This... this is just someone's idea of a sick joke."

"I want to see it!" I screamed, jumping up. I tried to snatch it, but Akito kept turning so that the paper was always behind him. However, as he was concentrating on me, Naoya stepped up and quietly lifted the paper from between his fingers.

"What does it say, Naoya-kun?" said Saki.

Akito whirled round and tried to snatch it again, but I grabbed onto his arm and held him back. "Please just read it out," I said.

"Oh, very well," Naoya said with a sigh. He, too, was frowning deeply. "Grieving parents Teramachi Shunsuke and his wife Mikoto mourn the loss of their daughter Miaka, the only outsider known to have been present in Hinamizawa when the village was destroyed."

"What!" I shrieked. I couldn't take this in. "My parents... think I'm... dead?"

"I told you you shouldn't have read it," said Akito, rubbing the side of his face. I guess that shriek had been a little close to his ear. Still, it served him right.

"But wait a second," said Naoya. "This must have been written yesterday, to be in today's paper. Haven't you spoken with your parents at all today?"

I put a hand over my mouth. I'd meant to, but I'd been enjoying the festival so much that I'd completely forgotten!

"Is it today's paper?" said Akito.

Naoya unfolded a little crease along the top edge, and then blinked in surprise. "June twentieth."

"The twentieth?" said Akito. "But... today is the fifteenth! It's... from the future?"

"That makes no sense," said Naoya. He had now turned over the scrap of paper and was scrutinising the other side. Kotone had come forward and was holding my hand tightly, for which I felt very grateful. I just stood there; I couldn't say anything. I just couldn't.

"You're looking on the wrong side," said Akito.

"Actually, I think this is the more important side," said Naoya. "Look at this league table. It says that Tsukimori are on 24 points, with 22 goals for and 13 against. That means they must beat Miboshi 5-2 in tonight's game. And Shirakawa get a draw, and Kazemiya must beat Karuizawa – no-one in their right mind would ever bet for that to happen."

"You idiot!" cried Akito. "Miaka-chan's going to die and you waste time talking about sport!"

"She is not going to die," Kotone said firmly.

But Akito paid her no attention. "You and your stupid football obsession," he went on. "Football is for sissies. Baseball, now – that's a real man's game!"

Naoya adjusted his glasses and looked him straight in the eyes. "Now who's wasting time arguing about sport?" he said.

"That's not the point!"

"Stop it, you two!" said Kizuna, stepping in between them and extending both arms as if to hold them apart.

"Thanks, Kichi-chan," said Naoya. "Don't you see?"

"See what?" said Akito.

"I can go to town tomorrow and find out all tonight's actual results. If this thing does turn out to have predicted them correctly" – he gulped as he said this – "then there's a chance that what's on the other side ought to be taken seriously too."

We all stood and stared at each other in dumbstruck horror.