The Book of Heroes Read Free Page A

given the phone to Yuriko, but all she could do when she heard her father’s voice was nod quietly. There was nothing to say.
    The day waned and night came. They still hadn’t found Hiroki.
    The incident was on the news that evening. They were calling Yuriko’s brother “Boy A.” With a grave look on his face, the newscaster was saying that the police were looking for any information that might help them find Boy A as quickly as possible.
    Yuriko sat still while all around her time marched on.
    Yuriko wanted to wait in Hiroki’s room. She felt like if she waited there he might come home. But they wouldn’t let her. Adults were in and out all day and evening, examining his things, probing for clues.
    Her mother called Hiroki’s cell phone over and over again. The automated message said that it was turned off. She kept calling.
    Yuriko didn’t have a cell phone of her own. She thought about her friends—Kana must be worried sick. Of course, even if Kana tried calling the house, she’d never be able to get through with all the other people calling. If Yuriko couldn’t go into Hiroki’s room, then she wanted to at least be able to talk to Kana, but neither of those things was going to happen anytime soon, so she sat silently in her chair and did nothing.
    It was almost as though everyone had forgotten she existed.
    And in “everyone,” she included herself. Even though Yuriko was right there in the room, she felt like she wasn’t. She felt like she was just as lost as her brother.
    Maybe I am. Maybe my soul’s off somewhere with Hiroki. She had heard somebody on television saying that human beings had this kind of ability. Anyone could do it. Their body would sit still while their mind traveled freely, seeing things, hearing things, feeling things, even talking to people.
    Hiroki! Yuriko tried calling in her mind. Hiroki, can you hear me? It’s me, Yuriko. Come home. Everyone’s so worried.
    If she thought it loudly enough, she was sure that her soul or whatever it was would transmit her voice to her brother. If she only wanted it badly enough.
    Yuriko called all that night, but there was no answer.
    She was sure she had eaten something and probably gone to the bathroom. Maybe she even slept a little. She couldn’t be sure though. Everything felt so distant, like she was looking at her own life backwards through a pair of binoculars.
    Her mother had worn herself out crying.
    Now the harsh light of the morning sun was spilling into her room through the lace curtains. Yuriko always slept late, but her brother was an early riser. He said it was because he always had sports practice to go to in the mornings. Wherever he was now, she bet he was already awake.
    If only she knew where that wherever was.
    The reality of the situation had finally taken concrete form in Yuriko’s heart. It was as hard as stone, and heavy. She felt like she might be crushed under its weight. Crushed so completely she would no longer be able to feel that she was being crushed. She would no longer be able to feel anything.

    Two days passed. Hiroki Morisaki’s disappearance was the top story on every news channel. boy a still missing went the headline. They mentioned that the boy with the stomach wound, who had been unconscious in critical condition for a while, was now showing signs of recovery. The television had been on constantly since Yuriko had come home from school, but when the news started reporting fears that Boy A might have committed suicide, everyone in the room rushed to turn it off. Yuriko wasn’t sure who hit the switch first. It might’ve been one of her grandparents from Kyushu, who had finally gotten there the night before. Or it might have been one of her grandparents from Mito, who had been squabbling from the moment they walked through the door.
    A frenzied crowd of journalists and cameramen hovered near their apartment building. Yuriko and her mother were moved to a hotel. She packed all of her clothes into the