Cicada of the Lull—"Azaleas by the Water / Voices from the Earth"

Dedicated to Yomogi-san

Kijima-kun was buried in the ground.

When I first saw it, I felt nothing.

Behind the school building, in a space where no one was supposed to come. Weeds, gravel, and patches of dry earth. There, with only his head sticking out, was Kijima-kun. He existed there as if he were a creature like that from the start—without any sense of incongruity, yet undeniably as a foreign object.

"Hey."

he said.

It was his usual tone.

So I replied in my usual tone as well.

"What are you doing?"

"As you can see."

The words "as you can see" rang out strangely hollow.

I stood there for a few seconds—no, I feel like it was longer. But it felt like an instant. Time was being sucked away somewhere.

"Help me out."

Kijima-kun said that.

But there was no impatience or fear in his voice. If anything, he even looked like he was enjoying it a little. The same face he always made when he was teasing me.

So I neither nodded nor denied it.

"Well then."

With that, I left the scene.

My steps were surprisingly light, even to me.

———

When I returned to my room, the air felt strangely lukewarm.

The windows should have been closed, yet the heat from outside had somehow seeped in. The light filtering through the gap in the curtains was distorted on the floor. It was swaying as if underwater.

I collapsed onto the bed.

My body felt heavy. My legs, in particular, felt heavy. Even though I had been walking just a moment ago, they now felt as if they didn't belong to me anymore.

I closed my eyes.

Then, the scene from earlier surfaced exactly as it was.

The ground. The neck. Kijima-kun.

"Help me."

That voice alone was strangely clear.

I tossed and turned.

I told myself I should ignore it. It must have been some kind of joke. That sort of prank. Kijima-kun was capable of that. Maybe someone was hiding nearby, watching my reaction and laughing.

Thinking that made me feel a little relieved.

But at the same time, there was a rough sensation deep in my chest.

"……"

I sat up.

I was thirsty. I opened the refrigerator and drank some water. Even though it should have been cold, it had no taste. It just passed over my tongue.

At that moment, there was a sound from outside.

The sound of cicadas.

A cicada is chirping unusually close by. It might be right outside the window. No, even closer. It sounded like it was inside the room.

I opened the window.

Heat flowed in.

At the same time, the sound was amplified.

Tsukutsukuboushi, aburazemi, minminzemi. They all blended together into a single mass. It surged like a wave, receded, and then came again.

I felt as if a voice was mixed in with it.

Hey.

I closed the window.

The sound was cut off.

But it didn't disappear completely.

...Help me.

It was the same voice as before.

I stood there for a while.

I felt something inside my body start to move with a delay. Even though I hadn't felt anything during the day, now, slowly, the understanding was catching up.

Kijima-kun is buried.

And he is asking for help.

...

Before I knew it, I was putting on my shoes.

---

It was still bright outside.

But the light was somehow murky. Even though it should have been approaching evening, the colors were indistinct. It felt as if everything were being viewed through a thin membrane.

I walk.

My legs are unsteady.

I thought somewhere that I was like a newborn fawn. But even that metaphor felt borrowed and didn't quite fit.

The ground is soft.

Even though it is asphalt, there is a sensation of sinking every time I step. Something is slowly seeping up from the soles of my feet.

A sound.

There is a sound coming from underground.

A low, undulating sound. Like a distant bass note, yet also like the breathing of a living creature.

I stopped.

I look at my feet.

Something is moving from the cracks in the broken ground.

Something black and thin.

It crawls out, slithering.

It was a cicada.

But not an ordinary cicada.

Its body is in the shape of a person.

Long, thin limbs. Its joints bend awkwardly. Only the face remains that of a cicada, its compound eyes reflecting the light.

It slowly turned toward me.

"……"

No voice came out.

The cicada-human began to walk, making a creaking sound.

Step by step.

An irregular rhythm.

But it was definitely approaching me.

I backed away.

My legs got tangled.

I almost fell.

At that moment, there was another sound.

"Shut up!"

It was Kijima-kun's voice.

The cicada-human stopped dead.

The next moment, the ground shook.

With a thud, the soil bulged upward.

From there, another hand reached out.

A human hand.

Covered in dirt, but clearly a living hand.

It grabbed the cicada-human's leg.

Dragging it down.

The cicada-man emitted a sound that was not a voice.

A high, mechanical sound.

It tore through the sky.

I covered my ears.

I closed my eyes, too.

The sound trailed on for a long time.

Eventually, when it faded, the surroundings had become quiet.

I opened my eyes timidly.

There was nothing there.

Only the soil, dug up just a little.

And, beyond that—

Kijima-kun's face was there.

'...You're late.'

He smiled.

It was his usual face.

But, it was somehow different.

The depths of his eyes were strangely still.

The word 'calm' came to mind.

'Sorry.'

I said.

I felt like I had finally managed to say the right words.

Kijima-kun let out a soft sigh.

"Oh well. Keep digging."

I nodded.

I dug into the soil with my hands.

It was hard. Dirt got under my fingernails. It hurt. But that pain felt strangely comforting.

It felt like I was touching reality.

Little by little, Kijima-kun's body began to appear.

Shoulders. Chest. Arms.

Everything was there, just as it should be.

However, parts of him were translucent.

I could see the soil on the other side.

"…Hey."

he said.

"Am I really here?"

I stopped moving my hands.

I didn't understand the meaning of that question at first.

But I also felt like I understood it all too well.

I grabbed his hand.

It was warm.

But, a slightly lower body temperature.

The same sensation as that time.

"I'm here."

When he said that, he smiled.

"I see."

At that moment, the cicadas began to cry all at once.

Much louder than before.

The world trembles.

The light distorts.

My vision, too, wavers.

Kijima-kun's outline blurs.

"Hey, hold on tight."

His voice grows distant.

I squeezed my hand tight.

But the sensation in my hand is fading little by little.

Spilling away like sand.

"..."

When I realized it, I was digging the ground alone.

There was nothing there.

Just dirt.

Just a hollow space.

Only the sound of cicadas remained.

———

Night.

I am lying in bed, eyes closed.

I am covering my ears.

Even so, the sound does not fade.

That voice, too.

That sensation, too.

Everything remains inside.

My heart is so loud.

It was so quiet during the day.

Now, it is thrashing about.

There is a moon in the sky within me.

A moon that shouldn't be outside.

It is terribly bright.

It spreads like gas, illuminating everything.

There is nowhere to run.

I closed my eyes even tighter.

Even then, the light did not fade.

(Continued)