🎵 Suggested Background Music: [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZEVxPQO-1jIQEOsC-T2c6OOqHrQCoCRj/view?usp=sharing]
(Listen to this track while reading for a better experience. The piano matches the rainy atmosphere of this chapter.)
The rain was pouring down so hard. I was standing at the school entrance (genkan), feeling stuck. I had forgotten my umbrella again. Everyone else was already leaving, but I was just staring at the grey sky.
That's when Arata-kun walked up to me. He is a quiet boy who always sits in the back of the class, like a ghost. He never talks to anyone. But without saying a word, he handed me his umbrella. It was a deep indigo color, like the night sky.
"Take it," he said. His voice was low and calm, unlike any voice I had heard before.
Before I could even say thank you, he stepped out into the freezing rain. He didn't even run. I watched his back as he got soaked, feeling so confused. Why would a boy like him do this for someone like me?
When I finally got home, I went straight to my room. I opened the indigo umbrella to let it dry on the floor.
Click.
As the umbrella opened, a small piece of paper fluttered to the ground. It was a page torn from a sketchbook. My hands trembled as I picked it up. "What is this...?" I whispered.
I unfolded the paper, and my heart nearly stopped. It was a sketch of a girl sitting at a desk, looking out a window. It was me.
But it wasn't the "Perfect Sayaka" that everyone loves. The girl in the drawing looked exhausted. Her eyes were sad, and her shoulders were slumped. It was the "real me" that I hide from the world.
At the bottom of the page, in messy handwriting, there were two words: "Stop acting."
I sat on my bed and stared at the paper for a long time. How did he know? He saw the truth that I was hiding behind my fake smile.