Chapter 4 (1/2)

The Lying Cicada and the Blue Sky

“Miin-min-min. Miin-min-min. I’m a cicada!”

Under the dark black sky, I could hear nothing but the buzzing of an unknown creature.

It was a night around the middle of summer, on which the heat was coming back in full force. When I heard that voice suddenly ring out, I was abnormally fearful.

What was this? What was going on? My head spun, unable to get my thoughts in order.

I hid in my futon and covered my ears, but the voice showed no signs of stopping. In fact, it seemed to get ever louder.

I was feeling even sicker than usual today, and yet the voice mercilessly rung in my eardrums.

“My mistake! I’m a human! Just a human, so it’s okay! Please open up! Heey, open up! Please! OPEN! Don’t worry, I’m not shady! HEEEY!”

The dilapidated, tiny, forty-year-old apartment was violently shaken by the creature’s knocking. The creaking of the squeaky, badly-fitting door echoed all around.

My vision spun with fear and anxiety. My head was short-circuited by the sudden event.

“Open up! I’m not shady! I’m really just a human!”

The creature continued to insist she was a human in a cute voice. Of course, a normal human would never say “I’m really just a human.” So she was clearly something else.

“I know you’re in there! I am not seedy, suspect, or dubious! And I’m not a cicada or anything! No problems here, just please open the door! Open it! …Murderer! Rapist! Guy with a lolita complex!”

The things she said got stranger and stranger. At this rate, the neighbors would complain for sure. I had to do something.

I cautiously approached the entryway. As ever, I heard insults of “Open up! Bean sprout farm owner! Excavator of rare metals!” through the door. Well, I wasn’t sure if the last one was an insult.

Just then, I heard knocking on the wall from the neighboring room. Surprised, my body faltered and fell, and my hand landed on the doork.n.o.b.

Since I’d forgotten to lock the door, it slammed right open.

“Wahh!”

There were no cicadas at the door. Instead, there was a short girl who resembled a small animal.

Surprised by the sudden lack of a door to knock, she staggered a bit and let out a strange yelp.

“Ah! You finally opened up!”

What on earth was happening.

“Don’t worry, not a cicada! I’m a human, it’s fine!”

No, that wasn’t it. That wasn’t where the problem was.

I experienced for the first time an event that was, at the time, so far beyond my comprehension that I couldn’t do anything. I froze on the spot and stared vacantly.

“Good afternoon! Oops, my bad. Good evening! It’s me, Semiko! I’ve come today to repay the favor!”

“Semi? So you are a cicada?”

She continued to speak, leaving me no chance to make that comeback. That’s what it felt like she was doing, anyway.

It’s not that I don’t have any memory at all of what followed. But I soon lost consciousness, unable to process the situation. I collapsed in a heap in the entryway while she introduced herself.

My senses cut out with her adorable panicking voice in the background.

This is the story of that lying cicada.

“Are you okay?! Firetruck! Somebody call a firetruck!”

When I regained consciousness and opened my eyes, she - Semiko - was squatting beside me, fl.u.s.tered.

“Whoa! Whew! I was really scared when you just collapsed!”

Semiko in her white one-piece was especially radiant in contrast to the jet blackness outside. She wore a single orange ribbon under her chest that stood out like a flickering flame.

She reminded me more of “the ghost of a flowering plant” than a cicada. Making hovering sound effects and all.

“Um… You’re…”

Before I could finish, Semiko pushed my words aside.

“Good evening! I’m the human Semiko! I’ve come today to repay the favor!”

“Er, who are you? And why were you saying you were a cicada at first?”

I had lots of questions, but that was what I wanted to know first of all.

Suddenly, sweat formed on Semiko’s brow. Her face got stiff, her legs trembled, and she started to whistle unnaturally.

“D-Did I say thaaat?”

“You did. And something about the Cicada Kingdom.”

“Waaaugh! Now I’ve done it…”, Semiko mumbled, crouching and holding her head.

“Aaaa, I can’t believe I screwed up right off the bat… Me, who they called the j.a.panese Cicada Genius…”

“Right, well. I don’t get it, but could you take off your shoes?”

Semiko’s face went red like an apple, and she hurried to take them off, then ran to the entrance. When she tripped on the step there, I began to have doubts about the future of the Cicada Kingdom.

“This is something I really shouldn’t be saying, so I’m really begging you to keep it secret…”

Though no one was around, Semiko spoke in a whisper about apparently confidential matters. The explanation took nearly three hours, so I’ll spare you the non-essentials.

Evidently, a long time ago, I had saved her.

“When everything was looking super no good for me, you were all ”Waaah!” and saved me!“

Semiko rapidly talked on and on with excitement. The fact she was still saying all this in whispers seemed to have fallen out of her brain.

It was a very aimless explanation, but that seemed to be the gist of it.

Of course, I had absolutely no memory of it. So I asked her for details.

”It’d be really bad to say any more. If I did, it’s entirely possible that the people of the Cicada Kingdom would use a curse kind of thing to give Marukuru anorexia…”

And I got another aimless answer.

According to what Semiko told me, this “Marukuru” was her pet. He liked fish, and he hated water bottles.

He sounded very cute, a creature that had a habit of curling up in kotatsus in the winter, and that made this “meooow” noise.

Yes, he was obviously a cat. A cicada keeping a cat…

“If Marukuru got anorexia, he wouldn’t be all fluffy anymore… That’s something I have to keep from happening. A Marukuru who isn’t all fluffy is like a cat who isn’t all fluffy!”

“Right. Because he’s a cat.”

Forgetting the topic at hand, she went on feverishly about Marukuru and his fluffiness and the retaining of such. Then suddenly, as if remembering the topic…

“But that doesn’t matter!”, she yelled, and got back on track.

Semiko went on to explain how she had to somehow return the favor for me saving her, or else Marukuru would be stricken with a curse that made his fur come off in clumps, tripping over herself all the while.

“So I have no choice but to repay the favor to do something about that curse-like thingamajiggy…”, Semiko lamented, finally concluding her explanation.

I… see? Is that how it is?

No, there was still no way I could understand.

I had never heard of a “Cicada Kingdom” since the day I was born, and I didn’t intend to hear it ever again. I couldn’t even consider such a thing with all common sense.

“Err… Hold on a second. Let me sort things out.”

“You bet! Sort until you can sort no more!”

I frantically thought. Maybe it was how sick I felt, but my brain just wouldn’t work. I was unable to figure out this ridiculous situation.

While I pondered, Semiko got bored and went around staring the plants in my room with scrutiny.

I struggled to think what about them she found so interesting. Sometimes she hid her face and quietly giggled. Her wide grin was fully visible from where I was. It was honestly scary.

“That, um, Cicada Kingdom, was it? Where would that be?”, I asked, my thoughts in disarray.

Semiko thought a few seconds and looked around. Then she pointed to the north window and said smiling, “I think it might be thataway!”

Ahh, perhaps she was a full-blown moron. Now I could be fairly sure.

“I see. Thataway.”

“Yep! If it weren’t thataway, whataway would it be?”

“I see. I gotta go to the bathroom.”

“Understood! See ya!”

I was nearly convinced now that I’d never be able to get my thoughts in order in such an unreal environment. So I stumbled unreliably over to the bathroom.

I wondered if my cold was coming back. The pain in my joints, like they were being constricted, made me feel like fainting every time. Still a little woozy, I tried to think.

Was she, Semiko, really a cicada girl who came from the Cicada Kingdom?

No, that couldn’t be. More than likely she was just an aloof nut with a few screws loose.

And this was the kind of nutso girl who it was best not to get too involved with. No doubt this would end in calling the police.

I’ll have the shady girl take her leave. That was the natural conclusion I came to after a few minutes of thinking.

“Now how should I get her to leave…”, I mumbled, leaving the bathroom.

For some reason, Semiko was practicing somersaults. Flip…. Flip… Splat. She flubbed one.

Semiko held her forehead in pain; apparently she hit her head.

“What are you even doing?”

Instantly, Semiko hid the hand on her forehead behind her back, acting like nothing happened.

“I-I was bored and wanted to kill time, so I was doing somersaults,” Semiko admitted in embarra.s.sment.

Shortly after saying that, her eyes flew wide open, and she continued.

“U-Um, but you see! In the Cicada Kingdom, being able to do somersaults is a proof of adulthood!”

“I-Is that so.”

“Yeah, so, doing somersaults just ‘cause isn’t embarra.s.sing at all in the Cicada Kingdom!”

“I… see. Impressive.”

Semiko chuckled, proudly beaming. Clearly it was an afterthought, as the way she was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with confidence seemed to imply she was thinking “Ha, I sure fooled him!”

“I guess if I were born in the Cicada Kingdom, I’d be a prodigy.”

“A thoroughbred!”

I could make all kinds of comebacks to that. But since she seemed to have no ill intention, I had the gut feeling that people from the Cicada Kingdom would do no harm to humans.

But I only thought it; I didn’t say such a meaningless thing out loud.

“Ahh! It’s time! I gotta go!”, Semiko suddenly shouted.

It was four at night. Nearly five hours since I’d opened the door.

“Well, see you next time! Sorry about today!”

“Right…”

Semiko stood up and flew to the door. And exactly as before, she tripped on the step.

I could swear I saw blue and white stripes under her one-piece… but I pretended not to see.

“I-I-If you’ll excuse me!”, she stood up and said red-faced, then ran outside.

Gone with the cold wind, I again could only stare. Two seconds later, I plopped down on my futon.

What happened today was only a dream, I thought, and prayed, as I gave up consciousness.

*

I woke up to simmering heat. I felt like I’d had the strangest dream, though I couldn’t remember what it was exactly.

I felt much better than yesterday. My head and body were light.

As I tried to recall my dream, I noticed the murderous heat of the room. Before I went crazy from heat stroke, I hurried to turn on the air conditioning. Cool air quickly began to flow and lower the temperature.

I took off my sticky clothes and went to take a shower to wash off the sweat.

“What kind of dream was it…”

Since I started living alone, I’d begun talking to myself a lot. I spoke to the wall as I showered.

Soon, I was able to remember last night’s strange dream, almost as if it had been real.

Ah yes, Semiko.

It felt strangely real for a dream.

Just what did that dream mean?

I couldn’t help pretending that it was just a dream. I got out of the shower early and returned to my room.

Thanks to the cool air conditioning, within ten minutes, my skin even felt a little chilly.

Suddenly, I looked to the clock and saw the hour hand on five.

Oh, now I’ve done it. It was already 5 PM.

My cold was really wreaking havoc on my usual routine.

I hurried to get ready to head for the library. But I stopped.

I would only be able to study at the library for about two or three hours if I left now. I might as well stay at home to study.

I took my cla.s.sical literature reference book out of my backpack and flipped through looking for where I’d stopped two days ago.

Like always, I didn’t really understand any of it. I sighed and reluctantly started answering questions.

Every time I confronted these cla.s.sical literature questions, I felt an immense hate for the person who came up with college entrance exams.

Grinding my teeth over questions I knew nothing about, I went on answering in silence.

About six hours pa.s.sed. I had made some real progress today, something I hadn’t managed in a while.

I didn’t hate studying so much when I could get a sense that I was actually getting smarter, albeit very slowly. It felt particularly nice to understand questions I didn’t before.

I was in a pretty good mood, having finally gotten over questions that had stumped me, all by myself.

Taking a break after six hours, I skipped around my room.

Suddenly, I noticed pink stationery that was clearly not mine.

I immediately had a bad feeling. I could easily gleam that my good mood was being threatened.

I fearfully picked up the stationery. On it was written, in cute handwriting:

“I’ll be visiting again tomorrow to repay the favor. I like carbonated drinks, so it’d be great if you could prepare some soda.”

Though my cold had long since healed up, I faltered. Just as I finished reading, I heard a voice at the door. Yes, hers.

“Good evening! It’s Semiko! The human Semiko! Please open up!”

So yesterday had not been a dream. The high-pitched girl yelling outside was proof of that.

I ran over to Semiko as fast as I could move.

“Wow, you’re fast today! Did you do weight training?”

I let Semiko, saying detached nonsense as usual, into the room for the time being. Perhaps it was too late, but I was concerned about people getting the wrong idea.

No, but would they be mistaken? It was undeniably true that this hopeless, aloof nutso-ette existed. My stomach churned.

Looking at Semiko, so whimsical I doubted whether her feet were on the ground, made me feel somehow melancholic.

Once inside, Semiko quickly began to speak.

“Sorry I had to leave so suddenly yesterday!”

“No, um, I don’t mind. In fact, I was grateful…”

“I will absolutely, positively repay the favor today!”

“No, there’s really no need to…”

“Leave it to me! My repayment’ll be like a crane’s times seven!”

Oh, she wasn’t even listening. I sighed once again and gave up on thinking of how to force the nutso-ette out.

To drive out Semiko, eyes glittering with motivation, would be asking the impossible.

Thus, it would be easier to quickly fulfill her conditions so she’d leave.

Giving it all up, I looked at Semiko and asked, “So, how will you repay me?”

“By…”

Semiko was stuck for a bit. Then she looked up and spoke with confidence.

“Er, I don’t… know?”

“You don’t know…”

“It’s for you to decide what you want me to do.”

“Me?”

“Yes. You.”

Indeed, it made more sense for a repayment to be on the terms of the one being paid back. That was logical.

I pondered for a bit. A while, actually, since I wasn’t having any good ideas.

Meanwhile, Semiko, with all too much time on her hands, started swinging the curtains left and right. I was already getting used to that stuff.

“I know,” I said, having come up with a plan.

“Get me into the college of my dreams.”

If Semiko could grant any wish I had like magic, I would be able to escape all that studying.

And if she unfortunately couldn’t, and were to stay here a while, then at least she wouldn’t bother me while I studied.

My studies were no doubt at the forefront for me right now. I couldn’t mess them up. It was a perfect idea, if I do say so myself.

“Understood!”

Semiko lifted herself up and briskly walked toward me. Once in front of me, she stopped and squatted down to peer into my face with her big eyes.

Her long black hair fell on my cheeks as if brus.h.i.+ng them. I could smell her uniquely girlish scent.

Semiko put her palms against mine, and whispered…

“I sure hope you pa.s.s. Amen!”

Semiko returned to where she was before, smiled like a dog that had caught its master’s frisbee, and asked in a lively voice “Okay, what’s your next wish?”

Yeah, this wasn’t looking good, I quietly thought.

The pointlessness continued.

When I wished “I want money,” Semiko smiled and said “I only have three yen on me, so take this!”, handing me tissue paper.

When I said “My shoulders are stiff,” similarly to before, she prayed “Hope they get better! Amen!” Come on, at least ma.s.sage them.

I gave up and said “Please, bring about world peace” like someone who’d attained enlightenment.

She took out a compa.s.s (which she apparently carried with her at all times), faced north, and shouted “Pleeease do something about it!”

This is just a guess, but I think Semiko was requesting the United States of America to usher in world peace.

It seemed pointless, and I wondered if it meant her own Cicada Kingdom couldn’t do anything.

“What are you good at? What can you DO?!”, I eventually asked with all honesty, as this was getting nowhere.

“I’m good at finding well-shaped stones!”, Semiko said with seemingly all seriousness.

“H-How might that help in repaying me?”

“Maybe it could help when you’re looking for well-shaped stones!”

All I could do was clutch my head.

We went on like this, and in the blink of an eye it had already been four hours.

All I’d learned in that time was that this girl had no particular abilities whatsoever to repay me. Nearly all desire to actually receive her help had long vanished.

While I sighed over the surreal responses to my desires, in the gap between requests, Semiko stared absentmindedly out the window.

As I looked at her, I found myself thinking back on my college life that started up this spring. That dull gray college life.

As soon as I got into the college I was presently attending, I thought that I wouldn’t be able to study what I wanted to study here. I felt that this wasn’t where I should be.

On the day of the entrance ceremony, I decided I would retake the exam to go somewhere else.

So I didn’t try to make friends. It would be a waste to if we’d just part in a year. So I didn’t go to freshmen events, cla.s.s events, anything.

That was for the best, I kept telling myself.

All to retake the exam. All to retake the exam. Al l to re ta ke the ex am.

I didn’t have a single friend, of course. Even my local friends had all gone far away, so I had no one to talk to.

Sometimes I’d go to college, but I didn’t say a word. I hated the cafeteria, so I had no choice but to eat lunch in the bathroom.

I was never invited to any get-togethers, and communities which I was never a part of formed all around.

Everyone’s laughter pierced me in the gut.

It got so painful to ride the train to college with the rising of the sun.

But I wasn’t lonely. There were things I had to do. What else could I do? I wouldn’t want to be friends with them anyway.

That was a lie. A big fat lie. I could bear being alone, but isolation from the group was too much.

I didn’t feel that strongly that I wanted to abandon relations with people. But while I knew that, I couldn’t make friends because that would interfere with my choice.

In a year, I had completely forgotten how to make friends.

Of course I wasn’t unique, I recognized again and again. Even knowing that in my head, I isolated myself daily to protect my pride.

As a result, I was hopelessly alone.

Living that life had really depressed me, hadn’t it.

I wondered, had it not been that way, if this enthusiastic nutso-ette would have come knocking on my door.

“I want a friend.”

I found myself muttering. It took me a moment to realize I’d said it out loud.

When I did, my face went red like it had caught on fire.

Even I didn’t know who I was directing that toward.

Perhaps it was just a hope that crawled from the depths of my heart as I reflected on college.

I still can’t say if it really was a request directed at Semiko.

“Understood!”

Semiko confidently spoke, hearing my words. She pointlessly stood up, looked at me with her big eyes, and -

“Starting today, I’ll be your friend!”, she said, pointing at me.

What? Not “I hope you get a friend, amen”? I didn’t want this lunatic, I wanted someone more normal -

“Scratch that, BEST friend! Hey best friend, buy me a soda!”

Semiko interrupted my thoughts with eyes sparkling. How impudent.

“If you want a soda, just get one from the fridge.”

I was very gloomy, but I felt like my day-to-day gloom was cleared up just a little bit.

As I watched Semiko drink noodle soup from a bottle in the fridge, I felt the tiniest grat.i.tude for this bizarre cicada girl.

*

“Ah! It’s time!”

Before we knew it, four at night came around.

“Time to go.”

“Yeah, it’s already morning, I gotta go!” Semiko hurriedly got ready to leave.

“Are you alright at night? I feel like you shouldn’t go out so late.”

“Er, well, in the Cicada Kingdom, you see, it’s very recommended to go out late at night!”

“Maybe so, but it’s dangerous in the human world.”

“It’s fine! If it comes to it, that’s why I brought my stungun!”

Semiko dug through the bag she was always carrying.

A compa.s.s, a pastry, a well-shaped rock, a miniature light bulb, an alarm clock, a rock, lip cream, a rock, a rock, and another rock.

“Geez, you really love your well-shaped rocks…”

What was the point of carrying all this stuff around?

“Ahh… Not here. It should be in there…”

She spent some time fis.h.i.+ng through her bag, but could not produce the vital stungun.

“Huh? That’s weird…”, she muttered. Suddenly, she found a macaron inside the bag, and her face brightened at once.

“Oh, I remember! I put macarons in instead of my stungun today!”

Then she opened up the bag of macarons in her hand and started munching on them.

“Ahh, macarons are so good…”

Happily stuffing her face with macarons, Semiko already seemed to no longer have any memory of the stungun. Such a simple girl.

“Well, it could be dangerous going home, then. I’ll take you.”

Semiko’s expression got a little cloudier in response.

“Err, umm…”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nope, that won’t do. If you, uh, learn where the Cicada Kingdom is, then, uhh… Right! I won’t be able to come here anymore!”

…Aha. So that was it. Well, I had no intention of digging too deep into it. Everyone has things they prefer not to open up about. Myself included, of course.

“I see. Then be careful on your way back.”

“Alright! I’ll go home like I’ve never gone home before!”

Semiko stood up and spun over to the entryway. She didn’t trip on the step this time.

“Well, see you tomorrow!”

Outside, with a full and radiant smile, Semiko rhythmically stepped down the apartment stairs.

So she’d be back tomorrow, huh.

Seconds later, I heard someone falling over down below.

I sighed, but smiled a little.

*

The next day, my routine still had not recovered from the havoc my cold wreaked. I woke up at 4 AM and studied for about six hours from there.

Meeting my quota for the day, just as I was going to take a break, Semiko arrived.

Just like yesterday, she did surreal things to repay me, looked at my plants while I studied, polished well-shaped rocks, read stories, and generally killed time.

Perhaps taking my request to heart, she didn’t disturb my studies.

And like yesterday, when four at night came around, Semiko left.

After that, I got in the bath, then did a little more studying.

Just as the sun announced the start of a new day, I dove into a world of dreams.

I had become rather nocturnal. It was something I seemed unlikely to come back from.

Still, talking with Semiko turned my mood around, and I was making good progress in my studies.

And yet, what really had Semiko come for?

That day, she had done little in the way of repayment, just talking to me to wasting time on her own.

But I supposed it wasn’t a problem if she wasn’t getting in the way of study.

*

“Come to think of it, Semiko…”

The fourth night since I met Semiko, I asked her something as she rolled around reading a particularly damaged book.

“Why do you only come at night?”

Semiko only visited after the sun set. And always left right at four at night.

So it was a question that was always on my mind.

“Blue skies…”, Semiko whispered.

“I hate blue skies.”

“You hate blue skies?”

“That’s right. I like the night. I like the dark.”

“Huh. Kind of like a mole.”

“Moles are so cute! I love moles! But blue skies, hate.”

“I like them, though.”

Semiko looked just a little upset to hear it. But in a moment, her expression was back to normal like nothing happened, and I couldn’t help but smile.

Still, it was a weird thought. People who hated blue skies must have been rare.

“So why are you studying?”

While I was thinking about that, Semiko threw a question back at me.

“Aren’t you a college student? So why are you studying to take college entrance exams again? That’s waaay more weird.”

She hit on a painful spot.

There was indeed a reason why I wanted to take college entrance exams again.

But I wasn’t yet at the stage where I could tell it to anyone, so I didn’t.

To others, it would certainly look like a pointless endeavor, and I didn’t have any idea if I could really do it.

Ordinary, average, and talentless as I was, I couldn’t speak of it.

“Hmm, how should I say it… I’m not suited for science courses. So I’m thinking I want to go to a liberal arts college.”

I was vague, and hid the core of the issue.

“I see. Where are you aiming for?”

“Hmm. Something like ___ University’s literature department, maybe. It might be a little hard for me, though…”

When I said this, Semiko’s face brightened.

“L-Literature?!”

“Uh, yeah.”

“So you can get a job writing stories!”

“That’s just part of it. I want to have a fun time at college.”

“Huh…”

Semiko took a tone of disappointment. She was obviously let down.

Hating to see her like that, I switched the subject and asked “Do you write, Semiko?”

Once again, her expression flipped and her eyes shone.

“Um, well, I’ve been thinking up all sorts of stories since I was teeny tiny! I’m almost done with the one I’m writing now!”

Semiko spoke innocently and unhesitatingly, like a child being complimented by her mother.

Ignoring the p.r.i.c.king pain in my chest, I asked Semiko, “What kind of story is it?”

“Well, it’s a very strange sentimental love story that takes place in the Cicada Kingdom!”

Her long hair swaying as she made all kinds of gestures, she excitedly told me about the stories she was writing.

“I’m also thinking of writing a story about these weirdo aliens, and a story about a girl who stuffs herself full of macarons, and some others too. I haven’t yet, but I definitely will someday!”

Semiko shone so brightly as she told me about all the stories she wanted to write, I had to look away a little.

That night, I listened intently to the tales Semiko spun as she glittered like the night sky.

*

“Huh? Long time no see.”

The fifth day after I met Semiko, I woke up in the evening as usual. But unusually, I didn’t study; I went to a bookstore in the heart of the city.

I had finally completed my book of questions, so I decided it was time to buy something a little more difficult.

At a big bookstore in the city, I was looking around for something good. Just then, I met Yuuki, a friend of mine from high school.

I had hung out with Yuuki often back then.