company president? The set meal had been a thank-you, so that was unavoidable, but wasn’t the 980-yen beer a little much? Shouldn’t I explain the situation and get him to pay me back for that, at least? It wouldn’t be the classiest thing I’d ever done, but sometimes you have to sacrifice a little to keep from losing a lot. Once he knew about the mess I was in, even a cheapskate like him might be surprisingly quick to give my money back. But… I slumped over the table. That would be really pathetic. Besides, he actually had saved me, and I’d offered to pay for that beer myself. Had I come all the way to Tokyo just to be selfish and petty? I had no money or goal and nowhere to stay, and my stomach was so empty it hurt. What in the world was I doing here? What had I expected to find in the city? I remembered that day. I was pedaling as hard as I could, trying to cancel out the pain from where he had hit me. It had been raining on the island then, too. Thick rain clouds were rolling across the sky, but several rays of light had lanced down through gaps in the cloud cover. I was chasing that light. I wanted to catch it, to get inside it, and I biked down the coastal road for all I was worth. For just a moment, I thought I had it! …But I was at the edge of a seaside cliff, and the sunlight flowed away, far out to sea. Someday, I’ll go into that light, I decided back then. A faint wind blew across me, gently ruffling my hair. It wasn’t from the restaurant air conditioner. It was a real wind, the sort that carried the scent of grass from a distant sky… But inside? I lifted my head from the table. A Big Mac box was sitting right in front of me. Startled, I looked over my shoulder. A girl was standing there, dressed in a McDonald’s uniform: a deep-blue shirt, a black apron, and a gray newsboy cap on her delicate pair of ponytails. I figured we were probably about the same age. She had big eyes with large pupils, and she seemed mad about something as she looked down at me. “Um, I didn’t…,” I protested, meaning I didn’t order this. “That’s for you. Don’t tell,” she said, her voice as delicate as the scent of a small flower. “Huh? But why…?” “You’ve had that for dinner three days in a row,” she said pointedly, with a glance at my soup, then trotted away. “Uh, wait…,” I began, but the way she spun around was like a gentle hand Page 18 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com