Sadly, we couldn't find Reina yesterday. Nicole and the others did join back up with us but over time we all split up, going our separate ways. However, one thing I noticed was right when the others came, Midori quickly made some distance from me, giving back my jacket to me. I guess she was embarrassed about the idea of having the others see us like that? But I don't really understand. We're all friends, right? I didn't touch on the subject though as I too went home after the last couple trains. Which brings me to today, Sunday; the last day of the weekend.
Unlike yesterday, I'm here all alone at the train station. Midori texted me, saying that she'll try and come by, but with her having moved back in with her mom for the following week, she's been quite busy with her instead. I don't really mind though considering that I would've come here no matter what, but I can't help but think about how it'd be nice if she were here with me. At least she could help distract me with my thoughts as I wait for the trains.
"Hmm?"
But just then, another train came to a stop as the time reached 2pm. It's around this time, around noon, that it gets really busy as I watch many people come in and out of the train. But what caught my eye was a girl walking out of the train, the same girl I saw that was with Nicole's boyfriend at that time. Unlike before, she left the train along with the other passengers. Is this my chance to talk with her? Midori seems quite upset about it after I told her about what I saw, so I'd like to try and get some answers in hopes to maybe help Midori out.
Thinking that, I stand up from the bench as I quickly make my way over to the girl. Her shoulder-length hair flowing out from the scarf around her neck.
"Excuse me."
"Hmm-? AH!"
I call out to her as she swiftly turns around, meeting my gaze head on. It's only then do I realize that she is quite small, maybe just by a few centimeters? But what was that reaction just now? She looked at me as if she had just seen a ghost. Even now, she's staring at me in disbelief. Nevertheless, I need to-
"Are you Luna?!"
"...Eh?"
I was taken aback by hearing my name come out of her mouth. How in the world could she know my name? Wait, maybe she's like another Midori? She could've been one of the customers that came by the library and maybe seen through my disguise just now. That's the only thing I can think of...
"Are you not? Sorry, it's just that-"
"No, you're right. My name's Luna."
"Ahhh!~ N-nice to meet you! Ah-"
Just then, a few of the passengers brush past us, cutting our conversation short. Maybe this isn't the best place to have a conversation like this actually...
"Do you mind if we go somewhere else?"
"Sure!"
So, we make our way to a more secluded part of the train station. I do want to confirm how she knows me, but right now, I need to make sure of something.
"This might sound weird, but do you know of someone called Kai?"
"Kai? Ah! Wait, you know Kai?!"
It took a moment for her to realize, but it does seem like she knows him.
"Yeah. He goes to my school."
"Are you one of his friends? Ah, or maybe his girlfriend?!"
"What? No. He's more like a friend of a friend."
Hang on... If she's asking me that, then would that mean that he's not secretly dating another girl behind Nicole's back? The realization puts me at ease as I breathe a small sigh of relief.
"Hehe, I see."
"Then can I ask what your relationship with him is like?"
"Me? Oh, we're just childhood friends."
"Childhood friends?"
"Yeah! We grew up together as neighbors. We even attended kindergarten together! It was when we went to high school did we go our separate ways though."
"Did something happen?"
"Hmm? Oh, no, nothing bad like that. My father had to move to a different place for his work, so I had to attend a different high school than Kai. Hahh~ I'm just glad I managed to run into him the other day."
What? She makes it sound like that her and Kai weren't in contact while in high school.
"But don't you two have phones?"
"Ah, my parents are actually really strict. I actually still don't have a phone, hehe."
So that explains that... So Kai really isn't cheating with another girl. Plus, just from our little conversation, I can tell that she's quite charming, wearing a bright smile on her face through the scarf around her neck. Almost looks like she doesn't have a bad bone in her body. In a way, she sort of reminds me of Midori.
"So then, Kai isn't your boyfriend?"
"Hehe, nah. Wait, so you ARE interested in him?!"
"No. I was just asking since he actually already has a girlfriend."
"WHAT?!"
She raises her voice in surprise at the new information I have given her, which even surprised me as well. She was just talking about how I was his girlfriend or how I was interested in him, so why the sudden reaction?
"Why hasn't he told me that?!"
"You didn't know?"
"Of course not! He said that he wasn't seeing anyone!"
I thought this would be all over, but now I feel like my body's back to being tense again. So he just lied about the fact that he's dating Nicole?
"Don't worry, I'll talk about it with him."
"Wait, talk about it with him?"
"Mhmm! I'm actually here to see him today. He asked me if I could come over to his house today."
I'm almost certain that Nicole has no idea about any of this. Thinking so, I pull out my phone to contact Midori, which seemed to have caught the girl's interest.
"Ah! Wait, are you texting someone?"
"Nn."
"Lemme see!"
Like a puppy, she comes around to my side as I let her watch me as I type out my message to Midori.
Luna: "I just ran into the girl that Kai was seeing-"
"Ah, my name's Yume by the way."
"I'm Luna."
"Hehe, I know."
Ah, that's right. I nearly forgot to ask that.
Before finishing my message to Midori, I look back over to the girl, Yume as she too looks back up at me.
"Actually, I was meaning to ask you. How you know my name?"
"Ah! That's right! I almost forgot, Sorry!"
Why is she apologizing? But before I could ask why, she continues-
"I'm actually friends with your sister, Reina!"
"..."
I felt like I could literally feel my heart stop upon hearing my sisters name come out of her mouth as time felt like it was standing still. The weight of my phone in my hand slowly feeling heavier as I end up losing grip of it as it slowly slips out of my hand, crashing into the ground. It was when I heard the clatter from my phone did I also feel my heart begin to move once more as my mouth flapped open.
"U-uhm... Your pho-"
"You know my sister?"
"Mhmm! Ah, but I've only known her for about a week. She-"
"Where."
"Eh?"
"Where is she?!"
I impulsively grab the girl by her shoulders, leaving my phone on the ground between us.
"C-calm down! She's actually absent from school at the moment. She said that she needed to do something important."
Important? No, now's not the time for that.
"What school! What city?"
Despite how demanding I was, Yume told me what I needed to know as we moved to the café that I visited with Midori and the others last week. I offered to pay for her food and drinks as thanks for telling me everything, but also to say sorry for how rude I was earlier.
"Thank you..."
I've been saying that over and over as I feel like I've been on the brink of crying, but I've managed to keep it together so far.
"It's alright. Hehe. It was actually a guess on my part. I didn't actually know that you'd be Reina's twin. You two look so alike~"
According to Yume, Reina has opened up to her a bit, but apparently not to the extent like Midori and I. That's how she learnt about my name.
"So you said she's busy?"
"Yeah, but she never said anything about it."
I wonder if it's something to do with our grandparents? I remember them being the ones to took Reina in. Could it be that something happened?
"Ah! Do you know if she has a phone?"
"Well, hehe. I never really asked. I don't have a phone, remember?"
"...Right."
Damn! It was a stroke of luck to run into this girl, someone who knows about my sister, but it's unfortunate that she can't even give me my sister's phone number... At least I know what city she's in and what school she's attending...
"May I ask something?"
"Sure."
"How long have you two been separated?"
So Reina never went that far into the details? I guess it was painful for me to do so with Midori so I can imagine Reina struggling as well. Yume's helped me so far, so I don't mind her knowing.
"Nearly ten years."
"Ten?!"
"Nn..."
Not wanting to think about it, I take a spoonful of the tiramisu as it helps contain my emotions by just a bit. My tears really want to burst out, but I need to keep it together. This isn't the time to cry, but to celebrate. Finally! I've got SOME sort of lead, and a great one at that. I wonder if I could transfer schools to where she is?
"Wow. I'm... I'm sorry to hear that."
"It's alright. Thanks to you I finally found something."
"But you really didn't need to pay for all this."
"It's nothing really. I work part-time, so it's not that much."
Especially when considering how much money I'll save. I was planning on scouring the whole country with the money I have saved, but now with my sister's location narrowed down so much, I feel like I don't need anywhere near as much money as I have now. I'm even debating whether to just quit work altogether, although my boss is quite nice.
"Where do you work if you don't mind me asking?"
"Just at the local library. It's not too far from here."
"Ah~ I see. Hehe. Is gramps still working there?"
Gramps? Is she talking about my manager?
"Yeah?"
"Hehe. I remember when he let me take home more manga than I was supposed to when I was little. He kind of treated me like one of his grandkids, hehe."
"Manga?"
"Mhmm! I love reading them! Novels too! I have a store near where I live now, but I always loved visiting that store..."
Hmmm... On second thought, maybe I shouldn't quit. If anything, I might want to work on the weekends rather than the weekdays if it means that I can meet up with Yume. With her not having a phone, this might be one of the only ways that I can get info about my sister.
"Well feel free to stop by when you can. I work there pretty often."
"Really?"
"Nn. I was thinking about maybe keeping in touch? You're the only person that knows about my sister, so-"
"Th-then, would that make us friends?"
"I guess."
"Hehehe~ Okay! I can't wait to tell Reina about this!"
This is good. With this, Reina will know where I am and hopefully we can finally reunite before Christmas. But to think I would get all this information from the girl I thought Kai was cheating with... In a way, I must thank Kai for being an asshole, otherwise I might've never approached her...
"You know, I feel like you're much more easier to talk to than Reina."
"Hmm? How so?"
"I don't know. Sometimes I think about whether I'm actually her friend or not, but you simply just accepted it, ehe."
"Well, I guess that would be my friend's fault."
I feel like I would be the same way if it weren't for Midori. Without her, I probably wouldn't have spoken this much with Yume like this. When I think about it like this, I'm glad I made the decision to open up more. I feel like I've been finally rewarded in a way.
"Are they also friends with Kai?"
"I think so?"
I would've said yes before, but it seems like Midori actually has some disdain for him. Oh, right! I need to contact her!
Thinking that, I pull out my phone from my pocket. Thankfully it's not damaged from when I dropped it earlier and it seems like my half-written message from before is still there.
"Sorry, could you give me a moment?"
"Sure!"
She responds with going back to eating her parfait with a bright smile on her face. Alright, time to send this message.
Luna: "I just ran into the girl that Kai was seeing. Apparently she knows about my sister, Reina and they go to the same school together. She says that she isn't dating Kai, but I feel like he does have plans about it just judging from my conversation with her."
"And, sent."
"Was that for your friend?"
"Nn."
"Hahh~ Phones are really convenient, huh. You can just get in contact whenever you like..."
"Yeah..."
It really is... But if only I could get my hands on Reina's-
"AH!"
A sudden thought enters my brain as I unintentionally jump up from my seat, causing Yume to tense up with her spoon still in her mouth.
"Is everything okay?"
"Can I give you my number?"
"Huh?"
"For you to give to Reina!"
"Ahhh~ Good idea!"
I'm still new to using my phone like this, but I'm thankful I thought of something like this. If Yume goes to the same school, then surely she can just give my details to Reina, then at the very least I have a means to contact her, to hear her voice again... After so long.
"Are you okay?"
"Huh?"
It was then that I realized that the dam that I've been holding onto finally burst as a stream of tears flowed down my cheek as I quickly go to wipe it clean.
"Y-yeah... I'm okay."
After taking a moment to calm down, one of the staff members of the café came over to collect the dishes. When I asked, they gave me a pen and paper to write down my number. It actually took me longer than I thought to find my number, but I eventually hand over the paper to Yume as we began heading outside of the café.
"Thank you again for treating me. I'll be sure to get this to Reina."
"Nn. Thank you again as well."
"Hehe. I'll be sure to stop on by at the library when I find the time!"
"Nn. I'd like that."
"Hehe, alright. Then I'll see you later~"
We both wave goodbye to each other as she starts walking off in the opposite direction towards Kai's house.
What an eventful day... To think that I'd stumble upon Yume... If I trust everything she said, then it's pointless to wait around at the train station now, but that's if this "important" thing Reina needs to do doesn't involve coming here. I guess there could still be a reason to stay at the train station just in case, but with Yume now helping me out on her end, I feel as though I can calm down a bit. Right now, I need to contact my manager and see if I can start working weekends instead.
As I ponder this, I hear my phone ring as the display reads a familiar name as I quickly go to answer it.
"Hello?"
"Hey Luna~ Sorry, are you still with that girl?"
Seems like Midori was worried about disturbing my conversation earlier.
"It's alright. You actually timed it pretty well. I just said goodbye to Yume."
"Yume?"
"Ah, that's her name. She's a pretty sweet girl."
"I see... Wait! More importantly- you know where your sister is?!"
Looks like the topic of my sister is more important than Kai.
"Yeah. It's quite far and I was planning on heading there immediately, but apparently my sister's away for some important business."
"Important business?"
"Yume didn't seem to know what it meant so I'm not really sure. But I did give my number to Yume for her to give to Reina, so I figured I'd wait for a while."
"Hahh~ I'm really glad to hear that."
I could practically hear the weight lift off of her words as she sighed in relief. It makes me happy to know that I have someone like Midori to care about me.
"Hehe, so I take it that you won't be going to the train station anymore?"
"Yeah, and actually I was thinking about changing my shifts at work to work weekends instead."
"Weekends? Why?"
"Well, I figured it'd be easier to meet with Yume on the weekends rather than the weekdays."
"..."
Her silence after I said that leaves me with a slight bit of worry.
"Midori?"
"Uh, yeah! Mm! Okay. Sorry, haha."
"Is everything okay?"
"I'm fine~ I'm just. Mm-mmm. It's nothing, don't worry about it."
Saying stuff like that will only make me worry though...
"Ah- sorry, my mom's calling for me. I'll talk to you later!"
"Sure..."
"Bye bye."
"See you."
With that, she hangs up as I stare blankly at my phone screen. Just what was that about?