Chapter 2: The Listener Part 2

I thought the telephone game was quite difficult. Because people interpret the messages they receive in their own way and pass them on to the next person. Even though everyone thinks they conveyed the message correctly, the information often changes between the starting point and the end point.

Even in a telephone game where a few people line up side by side, it’s difficult to get the correct answer. So, what if it’s an urban legend that involves a lot of people and spreads widely?

The story about the Patrol Man that I heard from Naomi may not be accurate. But I believe the idea that came to my confused mind was probably not wrong.

“Using your phone while walking is dangerous, you know.”

I heard the voice again from behind. It was a very low voice of a man.

Huh? I wasn’t walking just now, was I?

Was it my imagination? No, it definitely wasn’t. I heard it twice. Gathering my courage, I slowly turned around to look, but there was no one behind me. Of course, there was no one around either. I felt a cold sweat running down my back. My damp clothes stuck to my skin.

I quickly put my smartphone back in my pocket and started walking as if nothing had happened. I had about 500 meters left to reach home. There were two traffic lights. Can I make it…? No, I have to. I took a deep breath and then sprinted with all my might.

As someone who was not good at sports, of course, I was also not good at running. Physical education class was my least favorite. Yet, here I am now, running faster than I ever thought possible, surprising even myself. I didn’t know I could run this fast. But I don’t have time to dwell on that. I need to get home quickly.

Quiet residential areas could be both good and bad, and today it had been too quiet for comfort. Of all days, there had been no one else walking around. Not a single car passed by. Even though the street lights had been on, they didn’t offer much reassurance.

I reach a pedestrian crossing. The traffic light was red. There were no cars coming. I ignored the signal and dashed across the pedestrian crossing. I was struggling to breathe. If only I had exercised a bit more regularly, I wouldn’t be feeling like this now.

Just a little more until I reach home. I didn’t sense anyone chasing me from behind. I was too scared to look back, but I’m sure I’ll be fine. At this pace, I might just make it home by running all the way. Even though I was swinging a convenience store bag filled with snacks, I didn’t care anymore.

I could see the second traffic light. It was on the slightly larger road near my house. Even late at night, this road had moderate traffic with cars and pedestrians. As the traffic light turned red, I slowed down my pace. I had already come this far, so I should be fine now. Plus, I wasn’t using my phone while walking, so I was definitely being careful. I stopped just before the pedestrian crossing.

My phone in my pocket vibrated, but now wasn’t the time to look at it. I didn’t know what could happen, so I couldn’t afford to be distracted. There were enough people around, so if anything were to happen, I could shout for help. But I couldn’t let my guard down.

The traffic light still hadn’t turned green. I was getting more and more anxious. I wanted to ignore the signal and cross quickly, but I saw a truck coming from the right side, so I resisted the urge. It was just at that moment when the truck was passing by.

“Ignoring traffic signals is dangerous,” 

I heard a man’s whisper right by my ear. The sudden event caused my thoughts to freeze, and my body stiffened in an instant. What should I do? As I began to consider whether to turn around or not, I suddenly found myself being pushed towards the middle of the road where the truck was coming.

As I fell towards the road, everything seemed to slow down in slow motion. The asphalt ground was slowly getting closer in front of me. I tried to twist my body to see who had pushed me, but there was no one near me where I had been standing.

After a loud screeching of brakes and a dull collision sound, the bag with snacks and soy sauce flew through the air.

The bag floated through the air without defying gravity and fell straight to the ground, accompanied by a soft thud as the soy sauce bottle bounced on the road. At the moment the bottle landed on the ground again, a scream from a young woman in a business suit who happened to be passing by on her way home echoed through the quiet residential area.

The scream triggered many people to gather at the scene of the accident.

People called for an ambulance. The truck driver was in a panic. Curious onlookers came to see what had happened. People gathered at the scene of the accident one after another, and the noise grew louder. It seemed like it would become even more chaotic as time passed.

However, suddenly silence fell over the accident scene. Everyone present was seized by a chill, and everyone stopped moving at the same time.

“It’s okay. I’ll make sure you’re not lonely,” a low whisper of a man’s voice echoed through the scene.

Everyone at the scene heard the mysterious man’s voice. They looked around at the same time, but no one knew where the voice had come from or whose voice it was. Some of the onlookers tilted their heads in confusion, but many of the people at the accident scene prioritized saving lives over unraveling the voice mystery, and they hurriedly resumed their movements.

At that time, despite many people hearing the mysterious voice, not a single person could understand the meaning of the whisper.

The next day, Naomi waited for Eriko to arrive at school. They had made a promise yesterday that Eriko would tell her the scope of the math homework, but there had been no contact at all. A sense of unease washed over her.

Eriko was not the type of person to forget promises. Naomi wanted her to come quickly. The anxiety within Naomi gradually turned into frustration.

The bell rang, and their homeroom teacher, Yamashita, entered the classroom slowly with a dark expression. Eriko hadn’t arrived yet. Eriko, who had never been late before, still hadn’t come. The anxiety that gripped Naomi grew even stronger.

Yamashita stood silently in front of the class and looked over the students before slowly starting to speak.

“Good morning, everyone. Today, I have some sad news to share with you. …Tomita passed away yesterday. It seems it was a traffic accident.”

Naomi felt her mind go blank, and immediately after, a flood of questions filled her head.

“Eriko had an accident? We were together yesterday. She even messaged me. That’s impossible. Eriko couldn’t have had an accident. I can’t believe it. Why? Why? Why?”

“Hey, what’s wrong, Sasaki? Are you okay?” Yamashita called out to Naomi, who had stood up from her seat without realizing it and was staring blankly into space.

“Sasaki?” Yamashita became anxious and called out to her again, but Naomi didn’t respond. In fact, Naomi remained standing, trembling, and clutching her head.

The entire class was in an uproar. Sensing something was amiss, Yamashita walked towards Naomi’s seat in the middle of the classroom. When Yamashita was just a few steps away, Naomi suddenly looked up at the ceiling with a blank stare.

“It’s me. It’s my fault. Because I told Eriko,” Naomi screamed, scratching her head frantically. Yamashita reached out to stop her, but she forcefully pushed his hand away.

“Calm down, Sasaki! What happened? What’s going on? Calm down, it’s dangerous!” 

Yamashita tried to calm her down, his voice echoing down the hallway. Other teachers who sensed the commotion gathered in the classroom. Yamashita and the other teachers grabbed Naomi’s arms and escorted her to the infirmary as she continued to struggle.

The unpleasant atmosphere filled the classroom, along with silence.

Ten minutes later, Yamashita returned with scratches on his face. After explaining to the students that Naomi accompanied the school nurse, he continued the story from the morning.

“It’s really unfortunate about Tomita. It’s infuriating and regrettable that there’s nothing more I, as her homeroom teacher, can do. It seems Tomita had an accident while crossing the street, looking at her smartphone despite the red light. And yesterday, Tomita’s parents also passed away. They were involved in separate traffic accidents in different locations. I haven’t heard the details of the cause. But everyone, please, please stop using your phones while walking, it’s dangerous. I don’t want to lose any more of my students.”

The air in the classroom was heavy, gripping the hearts of the students tightly. The cawing of crows flying in the sky seemed to mock the dark atmosphere that was unsuitable for a sunny spring day.

“That’s it for today’s homeroom. Despite the dark topic we discussed, let’s do our best for the rest of the day,” Yamashita said.

He left the classroom as if running away. There were several students who seemed like they wanted to ask him something, but he pretended not to notice.

He didn’t talk about how everything about the Tomita family’s accident seemed too unnatural. He made a decision. He would bear the burden of puzzling over the inexplicable things alone for now.

The unnatural aspects of the accident would eventually reach the ears of the students, according to eyewitnesses. However, at this moment, Yamashita didn’t want to cause any more distress to the students.

According to the eyewitnesses, Eriko Tomita had been waiting for the traffic signal to change properly just before the accident. She wasn’t looking at her smartphone. Moreover, the driver of the truck that collided with her reportedly said she appeared to have been pushed from behind.

However, the dashcam footage from the truck that collided with her showed her crossing the pedestrian crossing during a red light while looking at her smartphone.

At almost the same time when the daughter had an accident, the mother was also involved in an accident at a pedestrian crossing far away from home. She was holding a smartphone in her hand, and the dashcam footage from the car that collided with her showed her walking while using her smartphone.

However, the driver of the car that collided with her, just like in her daughter’s accident, testified that the woman who was hit didn’t seem to be looking at her smartphone and appeared to have been pushed from behind.

And around the same time, Eriko Tomita’s father also had an accident. He fell onto the train tracks from the platform as a train approached at the nearest station to his home. The security camera on the platform captured footage of him falling onto the tracks while walking and using his smartphone.

However, the witnesses to this incident also unanimously stated, “He wasn’t looking at his smartphone. He appeared to have been pushed by someone.”

At almost the same time, the entire family had accidents in different places. Despite the witnesses claims that they weren’t looking at their smartphones, the dashcam footage and security cameras captured all three of them walking while using their smartphones.

There was no way the students could be told about such incidents. Losing classmates was already shocking enough. Moreover, it was unclear what had happened to Sasaki in that situation. If more information was shared, it could cause many students to lose their composure. That’s what Yamashita decided.

However, Yamashita lacked confidence. He didn’t have the confidence to completely hide the incomprehensible story he had heard from his students. At that moment, all Yamashita could do was escape from the classroom before the students could sense anything.

It goes without saying that Yamashita’s face was filled with agony as he walked down the corridor.