The Memory Store at Kurama 2nd District

Chapter 2 | Kurouan, the Memory Store

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“Welcome to Kurouan, the memory store. My name is Momose.”

Said the young man, who handed me his business card. He had a neat face and wore a dark blue casual kimono with something like a thin haori coat. 

“Ah, thank you.”

Those things alone were of course eye-catching, but the most unusual thing was the crow perched on his shoulder.

 Apparently, that man was called Momose. While I was receiving his business card, my line of sight was completely focused on the crow. 

“Hello, young lady from before.”

“Eh? Wow!”

The crow… spoke. It opened its beak and raised its right hand. Or, well, in this case, its right wing. 

“I’m Katatamaru. Don’t be so surprised.”

It would be impossible not to be surprised!

Katatamaru spread his wings and jumped on my shoulder. His heavy weight, warmth, and breathing all indicated that he was alive. 

“What is your name, miss?”

“Ah, uh, it’s Mashiro. I’m Touko Mashiro. ”

I still didn’t know what kind of person the guy was, but I had reflexively answered his question.  I hurriedly bowed my head respectfully to Momose-san.

After thinking for a bit, he replied. “Then, I’ll call you Shiro-sama.” Though “Shiro” seemed like the name of a pet, so wasn’t it a bit rude? 

“Thank you for coming today. Now, can you tell us your memories?”

“Memory……?”

When I heard that word, my parents immediately came to mind. 

“Yes, this is a place to deal with memories.”

“Oh, no. I’m not a customer. I just want to know the way back. I got lost trying to take a shortcut …”

I was feeling more and more pathetic as I explained, with an added lie, the fact that even as a high school student, I got lost. At the end, my voice seemed to almost disappear. 

“Well, well……” Momose-san put his hand on his chin and laughed while staring at me.

Rather than a laughter that came from his mouth, his laughing seemed more like a strange repetitive cramping of his throat. 

“And so, I just want to know the way back home …”

“Well, there’s no need to be in such a hurry.”

 He approached my face without hesitation and drew a purposeful smile across his face. The crow on his shoulder had its beak pointing directly at me.

“No, I can’t stay. My grandfather will be worried if I don’t get home soon.”

“You live with your grandfather? What about your parents?”

Perhaps Momose-san noticed the discomfort on my face, since he tilted his head slightly. 

“Are there any circumstances you can’t talk about? Like, for example, you lost your parents in an airplane accident.”

A cold sensation ran through my spine. It was the first time I felt it so clearly, that in that moment, I got goosebumps.

My parents, who repeatedly had business trips and mostly lived in America, had passed away. The plane which they had boarded in order to come to my middle school entrance ceremony, was in an accident. It happened a few years ago.

How can this person, who I’ve only met for the first time, know that?

“I’m going home”

“But you don’t know the way home, right?”

“It’s fine!”

Momose-san, who tilted his head down for a moment, lifted the corner of his mouth and opened it. It was a shady smile.

“… That’s also your choice.”

I backed away little by little. His never-changing expression didn’t fade. The beautiful west sun repainted his thin figure with a vermilion pigment.

“Oh, by the way. Next time, bring a memory-item of you and your parents, please.”

Though I was afraid to turn my back, I opened the sliding door behind me. I turned around and started running away without looking back.

It surprised me how the area had become so dark, and as I kept running, I could feel a gritty sensation on the soles of my feet. 

A few street lights illuminated the silhouettes of the cars. I also remembered the gravel at my feet.

And when I had enough conviction to turn around, Kurouan wasn’t there. 

My grandfather scolded me for being late last night. When I told him there was an alley, he became angrier, as he insisted there was nothing there. 

Even the next morning, my feelings remained hazy.

“Look, Touko, it’s right here, isn’t it?”

My grandfather showed me a photograph after I finished eating breakfast. It was an old photo taken in front of Makiki Kinemaki.

“It must be a lie…”

There really was no alley there. There was only a block wall between the stores.

“Grandpa, I’m going out for a while!”

I got ready in a hurry, and my grandfather eyed me suspiciously, but I couldn’t help it.

“Next time, bring a memory-item of you and your parents, please.”

Momose-san’s words crossed my mind, and I grabbed the teddy bear on top of a shoebox. With that, I left the house.

It was a lie. The photo must have been a lie.

I ran through the shopping street, crowded with people, and reached the same place as I had been at yesterday. 

As I adjusted my heavy breathing and looked in front of me, I confirmed that the alley certainly existed. 

It would be better to stop. Even if I were to enter, I would only meet the same person from yesterday. In the end, I forcibly silenced the voice inside my head.

After looking at my surroundings for a bit, I set foot in the store once more.