NOVEL NEXT Chapter 5: Permanently canceled
Mika dove off the busy street, the noise of traffic fading as she slipped into the narrow side street that led to her apartment building. The evening air was cooler here, quieter, and the rhythm of the city seemed to slow as she walked.
Every time she looked around, everything felt off. After the visit to the witch and the trance experience with Aiko and Kaito, it felt as if she had been away from these places not for a few hours, but for years. Everything was the same—the crumbling brick walls, the weathered sign next to her building, the same cracks in the sidewalk she'd walked over a thousand times—but now it all felt unfamiliar, distant, out of place.
I feel like I'm walking down this street for the first time.
She suddenly felt the cold touch of the amulet against her skin.
Everything did change. For me!
Mika looked up, beyond the buildings crowding around her. The evening sky glowed faintly with bloody red stripes. Momentarily, she remembered Kaito's face as he fell beside her in the dirt and almost screamed, her chest contorted with anguish.
He's dying! I have to hurry!
Chills ran down her spine, and she instinctively tried to wrap herself tighter in her flimsy coat, when she felt a vibration. It took her a moment to realize it was her phone. Grudgingly, she pulled it out, reluctant to be reminded of earthly matters.
The subject line read: Acting Class Permanently Canceled.
"Oh no!" Mika exclaimed.
With shaking fingers, she tapped to open the message.
Dear Students,
It is with great regret that I must inform you that the acting classes will no longer be continuing. Due to unforeseen circumstances, I am unable to continue providing them. I wish you all the best in the future, and I hope you find success in your pursuit of acting.
Sincerely,
Kenji Matsuda
Mika's heart dropped.
She stood there in the fading light, staring at her phone.
Permanently canceled!
Mika felt like her world had just crumbled. The class had been her everything for the past few months. It was the only place where she could believe in the possibility of her dream—where she could imagine herself as Aiko.
Her breath caught in her throat. She didn't even realize she was still standing outside her building until her legs began to tremble. She felt... powerless. Completely powerless.
What now?
Mika stared ahead not seeing anything. After she had been so close, it was all over.
It must be my fault. Not only have I failed, I've also let everyone down. Kaito is going to die. And Aiko – no one knows what happened to her after her escape…
Mika felt like collapsing on the pavement. She wanted to cry and scream at the top of her lungs. If everyone else was going to die, so should she.
Unexpectedly, Mika became aware of another pair of eyes she was gazing into. They were deep, blue and green, alien-like. Mika reeled. Across the street, sitting perfectly still on the side of the road, was a cat. It was the oddest cat she had ever seen. With slick fur, as if from a picture, it sat upright, staring directly at her with piercing, intelligent eyes. Its face was a striking contrast of black and white, almost entirely symmetrical—one side of its face completely black, the other stark white.
Where did it come from? I've never seen this cat before in my life.
The street around them was empty, and the cat sat motionless, its unwavering gaze on Mika. It made the scene so eerie, Mika almost panicked.
It wants something from me.
She thought frantically. It seemed to her that the cat's pupils kept dilating, as if growing closer.
"I can't go home," suddenly popped into Mika's mind. "I have to find him."
Him? Whom?
"The teacher."
Matsuda-san?
Mika was stunned by her own thoughts.
Of course, I have to find Matsuda-san! How didn't I think of it before!
At that very moment, she saw the cat finally move. It stood up and tilted its head expectantly.
"I'm going to find him," said Mika.
Am I talking to a cat? I hope I'm not losing my marbles.
But as soon as she spoke, the cat turned and jumped onto the stone fence around the little parkette on the side of her building and lay down, with only one eye open, tracking Mika's movement.
"I'm leaving," said Mika, surprising herself again.
Mika rushed back to the main street. She pulled out her phone and started searching for Kenji Matsuda's address.
It turned out that her teacher lived not far away from her. In less than fifteen minutes, she was at his house. According to the sign, Kenji Matsuda lived on the second floor of an old two-story building. Mika climbed the stairs, losing her breath, and knocked. There wasn't a sound. But as she knocked again, Mika noticed that the old door wasn't fully closed.
"Matsuda-san!" Mika called out.
Why is the door not closed? Is everything alright with him?
The sense of doom suddenly gripped Mika, filling her with cold dread.
"Matsuda-san, please open the door!"
After a moment of hesitation, Mika pushed open the door and slowly stepped inside.
The apartment was quiet, but a sense of disarray hung in the air. The smell of strong matcha mixed with the mustiness of old paper. Books and scattered papers littered the floor, among half-packed boxes. But everything was perfectly still and silent.
Mika's eyes darted around the room before landing on a figure kneeling in seiza near a table, head bowed, his back to her.
It was Kenji Matsuda.
Afraid of what she might find, Mika stepped sideways instead of approaching the seated person.
"Matsuda-san?" she called out in terror, her voice barely above a whisper.
She heard a strained sigh.
The man's head turned unnervingly slowly, as if in slow motion. Finally, his eyes met hers, and she was stunned by his look. His face, usually energetic, was drawn and haggard, and his eyes bleak and empty.
"Is that you, Mika?" he said softly. "What are you doing here?"