“An invitation!?”


    I wasslightly taken abackwhen I was performing my daily email checking ritual inside my dark bedroom in the morning of 6 a.m. I am not such an early person to be honest. Only deliberately wokeup early today as there wasa strange but extremely rare online-game event to join in.


    Is this just a spam or something?An unusual sender had interested me with the subject of ‘Middle School Reunion Invitation’. Ignoring the other useless accidentally subscribed promotions which I wasalso too lazy to unsubscribe. I swiftly clickedon it, and read it enthusiastically. It was from my one of my ex-classmates from middle school. He said:


    Dear Yoru-kun,


    Long time no see! How are you? Hope you are still fine and remember me.


    I miss you all, really miss the time we spent together in middle school. Most of us really haven’t gotten the chance to meet the others ever since the graduation.Some of us, who arestill in contact suggested to hold a reunion.How do you think about that? A very great idea, right?


    Luckily, I happen to havea suitable or may even be a little too extravagant place for the party.My father had agreed to lend us his mansion deep in the forest and by the shore. It is called The 13 Patrons’Mansion, and has a really nice view and natural environment. There will even be no one besides us around there. But a little downside though. The signal forcommunication there may be as bad as has been cut off from the outside world. But still,aperfect place for a private reunion, don’t you think?


    I really do hope that all of our classmates or should I call ex-classmates from our class (9-2) couldparticipate together. I realize that maybe not all of us who willbe able to attend, while our most favoriteteachers hadalso regrettablydeclined. But westill want as many members as possible to be able to meet, toshare whathasbeen going on from each of us after all these years, and most importantlyrestoring our long friendship. The time isn’t fixed yet, considering most of us must be in tight schedule because of the study or work.


    All of us who have confirmed to go to the reunion purposed to start as soon as possible, 12 December 2013, for 4 days 3 nights. Sorry if it is way too sudden. Any suggestion will be considered. And if you feel like joining in or have any other ideas. Please reply to me as soon as possible. Thanks a lot!


    Sincerely,


    Araki Ryouta (Ex-Class Leader)


    I was nothing but dumbfounded for a moment.


    Yes, you areright, Ryouta. It really isway too sudden. Moreover,the reunion isas soon astomorrow?After ourmiddle school graduation, I absolutely had no contactwith anyone from the rest of them before this. It wasn’t as though I wasdeliberately avoiding them either.


    How long had it been already? By decreasing with my current age, it seemed like a story fromover 6years ago. I wasreally glad that they still remember me, and of course I missed a lot of my friends too.Especially those little brats who used to be in our little gang, and had always been playing together more than anyone else. Ah yes, they shouldn’t be thoselittle brats anymore. They should have become a lot matured since then. Most importantly, I really hoped our close friendship was still unchangedeven the slightest.


    Sorry I forgot to introduce myself. Thename isTenki Yoru. I ama 21-year-old malefor today. Have a decent pair of parents, and a rather clumsy and sometimes kind of annoying 4-year younger little devil sister. Nothing more really needed to be specifically introduced about me. I amjust a plain black-haired late bloomerwho arestill not really ready for the adult society and somehow a little forgetful, until I had even forgotten about most of my childhood recollections. When my parents told me, it was as though not my own history. Not sure if it is normal though. Might alsoan easygoing person who dislikes to argue about anything, and have gottena little too creative imaginary mind at some certain moments.


    I am definitely not a stand out kind of person. Maybe it is a good thing. But I have still yet to learn the ultimate ability for the benefit of the society, invisibility. Also, my most stand out hobby isto think about something too much until Iactually realized that it is just a waste of very much time because I usually overthink that.


    For me personally, those years of my middle school weremy best momentof life. I hadlearned so much, made so many friends and happy experiences with them.I really yearned for those years to be repeated again and again.


    Unconsciously, I rose and gave a pair of excited punches into the midair anda silent shout of joy, just like a little kid who hadjust been granted his most longed wishes.


    Yet still I felta little doubtful. My life had been pretty normal these years especially since I entered evening college. In the daytime, just some normal activities for the normal me. Browsing internet, doing light exercise, reading books or playing games from morning till afternoon mostly inside my room which wasonthe second floor. Just occasionally, cleaning the house and garden or running some errands for my parents. After dinner, I attendto college till the classes areover. Mostly returnedstraight back home to sleep and prepare for the next day’s daily clichés. Nothing to be proud of, earnestly. Most disappointingly, I still don’t have a girlfriend, Huh.


    I walked toward my wall calendar which hung next to my wardrobe. Today wasWednesday and so many scribblesabout my boring routine. I couldskip over one day or two or even half a week by extra workouts to compensate after I finished slacking off. Nothing really specifically needed to be finished on the days of the reunion. I wasfree after all. About the college, that wassimple enough, since I should beone of the most diligent student who never skipped a class from the start of the current semester. I wasvery much certain that I could get some absences for those days.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Okay.Let’s do it!


    My mind was made up almost immediately. I didn’t care about being unable to online for just a few days. I will begoing to themiddle school reunion though I doubted many other ex-classmates will be able to show up. Since I happened to know there aren’t just a few of them who study or work overseas. Maybe some vacancies will be inevitable. But if everyone thought like that, nobody will go, right? I still hoped as many of us could participate in the reunion party. The merrier, the better.


    Accidentally, I glanced outside through the window because I felt a bit of uneasiness, like someone was glaringat me. Maybe I was thinking too much as always. There was onlyone person onthe small road in front of my house, standing still next to an electric pole, showered the shining street lamp and was facing to the ground in front of me silently. It was normal, the time was still too early for most people after all.


    The man wore a high hat of gentleman whichhad concealed his face from my higher point of view,and a full set of long sleeve dark brown coat down to his knee with black shirt, long trousers, scarf, gloves and boots that basically covered up his entire body. An unexplainable freeze suddenly run through my spine. When I tried to observe him, he started to walk away conscientiously. I noticed from his left side facethat he was also putting on a unique mask which revealed only his keeneye and a bit of dark orangehair, I suppose. He should only be mostlyaround the same age with me.


    Orange hair? don’t tell me, he is ….No, that cold-eyed man shouldn’t be him. Though we only met occasionally,he isone of the kindest man I ever know. At least that waswhat I heard from them. And I had never seenhim againsincehe graduated from our middle school one year earlier than us.


    The easiest way to think through about it was, if that man really was him, then why didn’t he say ‘hi’ to me?But still, I felt kind of bad for judging that man even before knowing anything about him. Hopefully that sharp expression wasn’t caused by anything hard in the past and everything would be better off for him.I didn’t put much attention tohim anymore. He mustbe only a common pedestrian in cold.


    After that, I just went to do, or rather play that original purpose for waking up early today while waiting for my parents to wake up.


    At last, I got thedivine concession with a little cheatingwhen my strict parentswere in a good mood. I also promised my childish little sister a very huge and expensive yellow duckling doll as the bribery for not bothering me to go together anymore. I had finally passed my last stagetoward my long longed gathering.


    Were whom I really want to gather with … them? An unknown image flashed by, maybe two, maybe three. Not again …!


    I hurried up to my bedroom and sat in front of my computeragaintotype a reply email to the kind proposer. Basically to tell that I wasreally looking forward to participate in the reunion and it would also be the best for me if the schedulestill remained the same. After the message was sent, I just resumed my daily easygoing activities. But this time, with some sort of indescribableeagerness feeling.


    I had even offered myself to be for the service on errand to go to the nearby mini-market. Since some food materials in the fridge were going to be run out in the next few days when I goto the reunion. I went to the outside of the house and walked on the shortcut route like I usually do.


    When I was going to turn left on one of the block, I almost stepped on some scattering broken glass pieces in the middle of the road. It was a blind spot for me before turning in. Who the hell had thrown these dangerous things though this is only a quietplacewhere no one passed by but me at the moment? At least, I wasn’t woundedat all. And I even helped the society to clean up this mess voluntarily.


    When I was shopping, I almost bumped into another misfortune. An unpaid chewing gum had slipped into my pocket. Seemed that I had unconsciously dropped it when I was buying sweets. Butstill I considered it as a good in my bad luck because I realized that first before went to the cashier. Maybe it was a fate? I decided to buy it all along.


    On my way back, while I was chewingon that gum of destiny lamentably because of its strange flavor, I was almost hit by a motorcycle, barely evaded a sharp invisible string in the middle of the road and the luck of falling fruits, and even got chased by mad dogs and many others. It was like a series of breathtaking andadventurous incidents on my journey to the mini-market and back to my home sweet home. But I was still safe and sound. I didn’tblame anything at all. Those were just some sort of accidents accumulated for the next few days’ happy reunion. Just forget about it. And no more bad luck happened after that.


    I blamed that gum. I would never buy that in the future.


    At10 p.m., I rechecked my email again after I returned back from my evening college. Out of the other junks, there were two new ones which I had been waiting excitedly for.Both were from the reunion arranger, and were sent after the last time I checked just before I went to the college at 7.15 p.m. The first mail at around8p.m. described:


    Thanks for the reply, Yoru-kun,


    We are really-reallyoverjoyedthat youarealso able to attend to the reunion. And we also decided to continue holding the party as scheduled since all attendants including youhas no objection. But for your information, thereareonly 11 persons including me whohavefixedto go. Is it still okay for you?We will be meeting at the fountain park in the south district of the city, and go by private bus at 7 a.m. tomorrow. All right?


    Don’t forget to bring your private things. There won’t be any shops nearby.


    The second mail was at 9.30 p.m.


    The others are stillwaiting for your answer.What is your decision, Yoru-kun?


    As I had expected, there wouldn’t be many who couldattend to the reunion.But at least it was better than nothing.And I was still very eager to go. Ryouta hadn’t mention who the other 10 participantsare. Hopefully, those had included my little gang members.


    I replied to the reunion managerto inform that the participant tomorrow would be increased by one. Might as well the last one.A quick reply of ‘ok’ was received beforeI went to pack my travelling bag passionately along with the creepy smile that I couldn’t even recognize.


    I already made an assumption that today wouldn’t end up as the doomsday by marking the end of the day up front. I didn’t want to care about such tiny thing on a huge day like tomorrow.


    After that,Iforced myself to sleep earlier than usual, by imagining a formula tocalculate the amount of biting on the chewing gum needed before it lost its peculiar taste, to be able to wake up early tomorrow.