I Hope You’re Still Alive When Tomorrow Comes - 28

Chapter 28: About Her

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The train gradually slowed down before it came to a stop. The doors then opened. Standing up, I started walking towards the open door when… 

“Umm…”

After hesitating until the last moment, I finally spoke up. Since I got on the train, something had been distracting my mind. There was a girl in a sailor uniform sitting diagonally across from me. Although she was sitting by the window, she wasn’t looking outside or playing with her phone. She just looked down on the floor, seemingly lost in thoughts. I recognized her sailor uniform. It was the uniform of a private girls’ school near my high school. Which meant, she should’ve gotten off at this station too. However, she showed no sign of moving even after the train stopped. She still sat there quietly with her face bowed down. 

Maybe she fell asleep? 

I tried to check, but I couldn’t see her face because she was looking down. 

“Are you not going to get off here?”

I finally spoke up after hesitating until the last minute. Startled, her shoulders jumped. 

“…Huh?”

She lifted her face in surprise and looked up at me. The moment I saw her face, I was taken aback. She wasn’t just pale, but she was deathly pale! Her eyes looked vacant, devoid of any life and there were horrible dark circles above her eyes. Just from a single glance alone I could tell she was extremely unwell. 

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Huh?”

“Your face looks really pale. Never mind that, let’s just get off the train first.”

I pulled her arm as gently as I could since she was still sitting there in a daze. I helped her to stand up from her seat and guided her toward the closing doors. Then, I carefully helped her walk on the platform. 

“Sit here.”

Since she still looked out of it, I sat her down on a bench on the platform for now. She complied with everything I told her silently. Her gaze was still empty, causing me to feel uncertain if she even heard my voice.

“Wait here for a bit.”

But still, I couldn’t help but to feel worried about this girl, especially after remembering what had happened to Nanami. Just a few days ago, Nanami had fallen ill on her way to school. Back then, she also looked terribly pale, but I had believed her when she told me she was fine. In the end… It turned out Nanami was anything but fine. 

“Yes.”

I bought a bottle of water from the vending machine in the station and gave it to her. 

“…Huh?”

She looked at me with the same vacant expression, causing me to wonder if she was alright or not. Maybe she was having a fever? That explained why she was looking disoriented. 

“Here you go.”

I opened the cap and handed her the bottle more persistently now. Then, I sat down on the bench next to her. She was staring at the bottle, seemingly hesitating for a moment before she finally brought it to her lips. She took a small sip and made a faint sound as she swallowed to clear her throat. 

“Are you okay?”

“Huh? Ah… Ye-Yes.”

I asked her again and this time she responded to my question properly, albeit her voice still sounded weak. I glimpsed at her side profile. She still looked ghastly pale. 

“Are you still going to school today?”

“Huh?”

I knew I was overstepping my boundaries, but I couldn’t stop myself from asking. The all girls school she went to was at the top of a small hill. She would need to walk at least thirty minutes from the station to reach her school. She might collapse halfway given her condition, just like Nanami. 

“Eh? U-Umm.. E-Erm….”

For some reason my question seemed to confuse her greatly. Gripping the bottle tightly, she lowered her head again, as if she was trying to hide her face. 

“Ah, never mind. You don’t need to answer that question.”

Flustered by her unexpected reaction, I continued quickly. 

“But if you’re feeling unwell, I think it’s best if you don’t push yourself too hard.”

Even so, if she insisted on going to school, I had no right to stop here since I was nobody to her. I wasn’t that kind to meddle into a stranger’s business that much. 

I pulled out my phone from my pocket and checked the time. it was almost time for classes to start. 

When I stood up from my seat, she raised her head abruptly, seemingly startled at my action.

“U-Umm…”

“Hm?”

“The money…”

“Money?”

Looking flustered, the girl hurriedly opened her bag and took out her wallet. 

“The money for the water…”

“Ah, it’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”

She had straight black hair that reached her shoulders and she wore her uniform neatly without any sign of crease in sight. Judging from her face, she must be a first-year student. In that case, we were both the same age. I didn’t want to take 100 yen from a girl who looked so pale like this. 

“I will give it to you for free. It’s nothing much anyway. besides, I don’t bring that much change with me.”

What she took out from her wallet was a ¥10.000 yen bill. I only had around ¥3.000 yen in my wallet. 

“I-It’s fine. You don’t need to give me any change.”

“No, there’s no way I can do that. That water bottle is only ¥120.”

“It’s…. A way for me to express my gratitude for the other things you’ve done to me…”

She must be a wealthy young lady. I remembered a lot of the girls from that school gave off the vibe of a rich young lady. 

“It’s okay. That’s still too much for a mere thank you. Besides, I didn’t do anything much to you.”

“It’s okay. I…  I don’t need the money anymore, so…”

“Huh?”

“So please, just take it.”

Her frail disposition from a moment ago disappeared, replaced by how stubborn she was as she pressed the ¥10.000 bill onto me.

“It’s fine. Really. I don’t need it. Just please take better care of yourself. Don’t push yourself too hard.”

Feeling a bit uneasy, I quickly told her that before turning on my heel. I could hear her calling out to me, but I chose to ignore her and hurried up the stairs.

When I passed through the ticket gate, I made sure to tell a station attendant about her.

“There’s a girl that looks unwell on the train platform.”

The kind-hearted station attendant immediately headed toward her. I felt relieved since I knew the station attendant was going to take care of her and at the same time, a warm feeling of satisfaction was blooming in my heart from being able to help someone. 

However, amidst the hectic rush of just starting high school, I quickly forgot about this incident. Her face, her voice, everything faded away from memory. I didn’t even think about what had happened to her afterward. She never crossed my mind, not even once. Until… Six months later, she appeared before me again. 

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