One day, about half a month after I returned to Japan, I was at a funeral.
It is my own funeral.
Nevertheless, it would seem that we would have to wait six years for a few missing persons to be treated as legally dead, and this funeral would be a ceremony to be held for the separation, declaring to the public that our family would treat a few as dead.
It's been over a year since I fell off the ferry, and it's normal to think I'm already dead. However, my family left the funeral unattended due to the slightest possibility of survival. And that possibility disappeared when I, Alice, showed up.
The funeral was held at home and became a secluded one that basically called only for the body.
The cleaned up living room is equipped with an altar decorated with flowers, and at its center is a photograph of me processing something I took at my high school entrance ceremony last year.
I was on the top of a Buddha that looked serious in the picture, and he also seemed unhappy to be decorated like this.
"You're sad this time."
My aunt, a relative who looks familiar but can't remember her name, speaks to me.
"……… I'm afraid."
"That's Alice you wrote in your letter. How many men have you heard?"
The letter I sent to my relatives at this funeral contains a report that several people have died and that Alice, the daughter of an acquaintance who lost close friends abroad, will be taken from my house.
One of the purposes of this funeral was to reveal Alice to relatives.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Alice Ruzuki. This time, my father-in-law and mother-in-law welcomed me as the adopted daughter of the Rutsuki family. Please don't leave me alone."
"Oh well, you speak Japanese well...... and you're as beautiful as a doll. You've had a lot of trouble too..."
"Yes...... but my father-in-law thanked me and I was going to have a place here. I'm a happy man."
"You're a little girl, but you're a solid girl... maybe it's because of you that I'm able to accept a few things like this."
In fact, you're right, but the content would be different from what my aunt thinks.
I smiled vaguely and clouded my answer.
"Auntie, it's been a while."
Youna, with her face out of the hallway, greets her aunt.
"Oh, Yuna. Long time no see - be a woman for a while."
"Thank you very much. My aunt is as beautiful as ever, and I admire her."
Yuna naturally comes to my side and takes my hand and connects.
"Oh, you're such an aunt... and you're like a true sister when you line up like that."
"I feel like my real sister about Alice!... I haven't felt like anyone else since I first met you."
"Sister..."
Yuna appeals to the friendliness of this place.
It was important to prevent rumors from spreading to relatives that the family was shattered by the death of several people and the taking of Alice.
Yuna and I are dressed in the same outfit. White socks with a fold length on a black short-sleeved princess line piece. The goal is to emphasize and impress that we are sisters, and apparently that is a success.
... Youna looked like a clear lady even though she was dressed in the same design, and it is a little sad that I only looked like a child who was stretching out and hugging.
By the way, since the day I got home, Yuna has left her hair black without dyeing it again. He liked how it looked in black and white when he lined up with me.
In the meantime, my mother came and talked to my aunt, so we left the living room. It was an unexpected person I saw in the hallway.
"Mr. Saber..."
That was Dr. Saab, who served in my class last year. I have heard that Yuna is in the class this year.
He was a young single male teacher about thirty years old and a pleasant teacher with the impression of a brother he could count on. However, today's teacher's condition was as depressing as he could not imagine from his usual condition.
…… Do you know me? "
"Well, ask your sister……………………."
Yuna greets me face-to-face from behind me.
"Hello, Doctor. She's my sister."
"Oh, Rutsuki... I'm sorry, it was my supervisory misdemeanor who killed your brother."
"Doctor, you've talked about this many times. The accident on the school trip was caused by my brother's own carelessness and the teacher was not responsible..."
The enthusiastic and serious teacher apparently came to us again and again to apologize for the accident that occurred during his school trip. As long as I'm completely sorry that this accident was my "Ikto" carelessness.
"Don't really worry about the teacher. He went to the lookout deck of his own accord and stepped off carelessly. There's no need for the teacher to apologize...... sorry"
I know it was an unnatural act, but I still couldn't help but apologize to my teacher.
The teacher is one of the ones who has caused a lot of trouble because of my misdemeanor behavior.
What would the teacher have thought, suddenly apologized to his sister, who had never seen it before and seemed to have a blood connection.
I'm having trouble knowing how to return it. I get a hint of it.
"This girl left Alice and became my sister-in-law. I would like to move to our school from the second semester, so thank you for your sister."
Yuna, who I saw, helped me out.
"... well... if that happens, you can count on me for anything."
When the teacher said that with his hands on his neck, it looked slightly bad, he slipped into the living room, unlike us.
Yuna hits me in the elbow with a cold gaze. I hear a silent protest about what you're doing.
"You're annoying a lot of people with what I've done..."
"That's obvious…… think hard."
... Doctor, I'm so sorry.