Gohtaro shrugged apologetically. “You sit in a chair, someone makes you a coffee, and you return to the past—that’s all I’ve heard,” he replied awkwardly. His nervousness must have left him dry-mouthed as he reached for the glass in front of him.

“That’s a bit simplistic... Who’d you hear that from?” Kyoko quizzed him.

“From Shuichi.”

“If you heard it from Shuichi eh? You mean you heard about it twenty-two years ago?”

“Yes, when we first came to this café, I heard it from Shuichi. He must have known of the legend.”

“I see.”

“So, even if a much-older version of me were to suddenly appear, apart from giving Shuichi a fright, I think it would be okay,” he said, returning to Kyoko’s question.

“What do you think, Kazu?”

Kyoko spoke as if the right to decide for returning to the past belonged to her and Kazu alone. But Kazu did not comment. Instead, she spoke in a cool, stern manner.

“You know that even if you return to the past, reality won’t change, right?”

What she meant was, You know you can’t stop your friend from dying!

So many customers had come to the café hoping to go back and prevent someone from dying. Each time, Kazu explained this rule.

It wasn’t that she was impervious to the grief that people felt from losing someone precious to them. There was just no getting around this rule—no matter who you were, regardless of your reason.

Having heard Kazu’s words, Gohtaro showed no sign of agitation.

“I am aware of that,” he replied in an even-tempered, soft voice.

clang-dong

The doorbell rang. A girl. When Kazu saw her, instead of saying, Hello, welcome, she said, “Welcome home!”

The girl’s name was Miki Tokita, daughter of the café’s owner, Nagare Tokita. She was proudly bearing a bright red randoseru elementary-school backpack.

“Moi is back, darlings!” Miki announced in a voice that reverberated loudly throughout the café.

“Hello, Miki darling! Where did you get that wonderful randoseru?” Kyoko asked.

“She bought it for moi!” Miki said, smiling broadly, pointing at Kazu.

“Wow! It looks fantastic!” complimented Kyoko.

Kyoko looked at Kazu. “Doesn’t school start tomorrow?” she asked in a quiet whisper.

She didn’t mean to criticize Miki’s conduct, nor did she mean to poke fun at her. In fact, it genuinely brought a smile to her face that Miki was so happy to have received a brand-new randoseru that she had been parading around the neighborhood with it on her back.

“Yes, it’s tomorrow,” Kazu said, also pursing the beginnings of a smile in the corners of her lips.

“How is Madame Kinuyo? Is she well?” Miki asked, still carrying on the conversation in a voice loud enough to reverberate through the café.