It's a cold winter night; cold stalks me deep within the darkness of my room; the wind comes in softly from a small gap in the open window, while I can hear the sound of the slow dripping of the kitchen sink from afar. My mind spins in dreams, attempting to solve the mystery that haunted me for the rest of the day… To whom does that unnerving smile belong? Could it be Akasha? I can see two paths here: one, it is Akasha or two, another student who is not yet on my radar. If it is Akasha, it could be dangerous because that would mean she is a skilled actress, and not even I could detect her lies. I would be dealing with a master manipulator capable of bending the people at her will. That could explain why other agents could not suspect her.
On the other hand, if we look at the second path, maybe another student was observing me without knowing I was doing the same through the mirror. I believe their primary target was my location. Again, this path would rule out Akasha since it was the second time I traveled with her on that bus; she wouldn't need to see where I got off. Both theories are good, but I need to proceed with caution. I must test Akasha. I will come up with something that forces her to show her true colors; I will do this after class.
The night followed its course, hours went by as if they were minutes and without realizing it, the annoying sound of my alarm in my cell phone woke me up for my next day of school. Within 30 minutes I was ready and waiting at the bus stop. Once more, the bus arrived in just 5 minutes, I boarded with my cup of coffee and walked all the way over to an empty seat. As I take a small zip, I notice there is snow outside. It seems it snowed a little while I was asleep. This is the first time I have seen it; few times have I ever gotten the chance to glance at such a sight.
-May I sit with you?
A sweet melody already known to my ears…
Akasha: Guty?
Guty: Forgive me…, I was thinking…, please, take a seat.
Akasha: Thank you so much.
Guty: Hmm? You got a coffee as well?
Akasha: Yes! You see, it's an antioxidant, I want to look young for a long time.
Guty: Really?
Akasha: No silly, I'm just repeating what you said yesterday, I told you I really like coffee.
Guty: Oh, I see.
Akasha: You are quite slow for some things, aren't you?
A subtle smile always follows her phrases, she seems like an ordinary girl but as the saying goes: "Nothing is what it seems". There could be a ruthless killer under that sweet mask, nonetheless that is something I cannot yet affirm without solid evidence. During the rest of the trip, we talked about the things that we liked to do. As I listened to her, I took note of every gesture, her passions… Everything she told me was incredibly unsuspicious. In fact, I find it hard that someone would have any serious concern about her. But I will stick to my plan and find out if her kindness comes indeed from the heart or if there is something else hiding underneath.
Akasha: Look, we are here.
Guty: Looks like it…
Akasha: Hey, there's quite a lot of people gathered in the front gate, do you think something happened?
Guty: We shall soon find out.
We walked straight to the front gate to see what was gathering so many people. Akasha asked one of her friends what happened. At that moment she told her something I did not expect: a murder had been committed just a few minutes before we arrived. What the hell does this mean? At that exact moment Akasha was in my presence. It took us 44 minutes to arrive at the school, she was with me the entire time, she did not use her cell phone at any time during our trip or any communication device for that matter. This is really unsettling.
Guty: Akasha, where is the body?
Akasha: I don't know, no one has said anything about it… Wait, Guty! Where are you going?
I need to know exactly what happened, so I quickly head to the principal's office. He must know exactly what happened. A few minutes later, I arrive at his office which is crowded with
Guty: Sir, may I have a word with you…
The people there with him just stand looking at me, they seem to think that I'm playing but that changes when the principal kindly asks them to leave us alone, I quickly notice the surprise in some of their faces. Without hesitating, I took a seat and asked the principal about what happened.
Principal: A student from your class has been murdered, Guty and judging by the state of the body he was killed with a machete.
Guty: A machete you say?
I am genuinely surprised at the stake of violence that must have taken place if that was the murder weapon.
Principal: Right, the kid was attacked with it until he died.
Guty: Any witnesses?
Principal: None.
Guty: I cannot believe it! Such a violent murder, I refuse to believe no one heard anything about it, whoever did it must have ended up drenched in the victim's blood, and no one saw anything?!
Principal: My thoughts exactly. Agent, I am deeply sorry for not being of any help, but as far as we know, no one witnessed anything and they did, they have chosen to remain silent.
Guty: Ah…
A small sigh of disappointment escapes my mouth…
Guty: I will be here earlier tomorrow, I will be the first to arrive. Maybe in that way I can anticipate a murder.
Principal: My apologies, agent.
Guty: No need to apologize, I'm just trying to do my job. Although there is something I would like to ask you, what will you do now?
Principal: Carry on with our normal activities, we will try to conceal this. We do not want a bad reputation for this school.
Guty: Conceal? So, none of these murders has ever come to light? Does this school really have the power to silence the media?
I can tell by the principal's face that he is nervous. He is hiding something from me.
Principal: No, it is not that...
By watching him hesitate I seize the chance to push the director, I know now he is hiding something.
Guty: What is it that you are trying to hide, sir? Who is covering all this bloodshed?
Principal: I… don't know what you are talking about.
Guty: If you really want to get to the bottom of this you better cooperate. It's the only way.
Principal: Ah… alright I'll tell you, but you must promise me that you won't share this with anyone else… If someone were to know what I am about to tell you I could lose my life.
Guty: Lose your life? Don't tell me you are…
Principal: Yes, the Japanese government sees that nothing about these murders comes to light.
Guty: Shit. At first, I thought that the intention was not to alarm the people. Typically, in other countries, when something like this happens, they come out to tell them with a silver tongue and minimize the magnitude of the matter to avoid scaring the masses. But students have been dying here for a long time without traces, which is quite suspicious. What does the Japanese government want?
Principal: They… just want you to identify the killer to keep an eye on them and forbid them from killing unnecessarily.
Guty: They are insane! Why leave someone like this free? What benefits could it possibly bring to the country?
Principal: Guty, you are barely scratching the surface, the murders have happened in the same class for years now and we do not have the slightest idea of who is behind them…, the fear and the deep trauma has opened their minds to new horizons.
Guty: What?
Principal: You see, many of the former students of that class, who have survived and graduated from this school, somehow have developed far superior intellect and skills. Currently, they own powerful corporations in Japan. Elevating the economy of our country to the highest. By having these near death experiences, a part of our subconscious awakens expanding our minds beyond our limits.
Guty: You are saying that you are using this school to drive the development of the country, harvesting students with deep traumatic experiences which they then channel through their professional growth?
Principal: Essentially, yes.
I had never heard something so inhuman and absurd in my whole career…, a profound rage burns within me…
Guty: You think we are dealing with animals here?!
For a moment I lost control, and I kicked the principal's desk.
Guty: This is wrong, so wrong and if I get to the bottom of this rest assured that you will face the full weight of the law, such a violation of human rights is a serious crime.
Principal: Do not get yourself more involved than you need to be, just do your job.
Guty: I will do that... MY JOB!
I cannot help but burst out of the principal's office and bash the door behind me. I feel outraged. I go down the stairs with celerity, heading to my classroom, but it is getting difficult to breathe, my legs are weak, and my heart is racing inside my chest. I must calm down, but this idea is frustrating me so much that I cannot relax.
Guty: Damnit!
I lean over a wall in the hallway while I take a deep breath.
Akasha: Guty! What's wrong? I will take you to the nursing office, come on, lean on me, I'll help you.
Guty: Akasha?
To be continued in Part 2...