Was it nothing more than a coincidence? A piece of newspaper sticking out of Ryujis stomach, six digits on that scrap of newspaperand Ando had played with them until he came up with the word ring. Was this all pure chance?
Somewhere in the distance he heard an alarm. He remembered the fire bell hed heard once as a child in the small town hed grown up in. Both his parents worked overtime and never came back until late, so he was home alone with his grandmother. They covered their ears when the clamor of the bell broke the nights silence. Ando could remember curling up on his grandmothers knees, trembling. Their town had an old firewatch tower, and the bell meant that fire had broken out somewhere. But he didnt know that. All he knew was that the sound carried with it an air of terrible dread. It seemed like a harbinger of tragedy to come. And in fact, a year later on the exact same day, his father died unexpectedly.
Ando found that hed lost his appetite. In fact, he felt nauseated. He pushed aside the food, which had only just arrived, and asked for another glass of water.
Hey, Ryuji, are you trying to tell me something?
When theyd signed over to the family the coffin containing his body, all hollowed out like a tin toy, Ryuji had seemed to relax his white, square-jawed visage a tiny bit, giving the impression, almost, of a smile. Only an hour ago, Mai had seen that face and bowed, to no one in particular. Theyd probably hold the wake tonight, and then cremate the body tomorrow. This very moment, the hearse was probably well on its way to the familys house in Sagami Ohno. Ando wished he could watch Ryujis body turn to ash. He had the strange feeling that his old classmate was still alive.