INM 1 Part 1

Chapter 1: The Incident That Befell Me

Ah, really, bad things come in clusters.

If they had come one by one over time, I could have laughed them off, had a drink, and turned them into amusing stories. I think I could have handled them quite calmly. Unlike my teenage years, when everything in the world was new and exciting, now that I’m approaching my thirties, I’ve experienced most of the difficulties and at least thought I had the mindset to face them.

But with so much misfortune piling up, even I couldn’t help but feel pessimistic about life. So many things came into my life at once that I didn’t even have time to process them, let alone deal with them.

The scene in front of me was as dark as my heart. Even in the rapidly developing Brisbane CBD, a small detour led to this state. Despite being in a subtropical region, the July nights were quite chilly and there was no sign of people to ask for help. The situation I found myself in only added to my sense of despair.

There must be countless tiny lights twinkling in the sky. But I didn’t have the energy to look up.

My grandmother, who died two days ago, used to say that when you’re too tired to walk, do what you want to do the most. And come to think of it, her death was the first notable misfortune. The fact that I couldn’t think of a single thing I wanted to do made me feel like my future was about to be cut short. I’ve encouraged many people by saying “Just do what you most want to do right now”, but now I want to punch that theory and cover my ears. Those who heard these words from me probably wanted to hit me and shut my mouth as well.

In a daze, while reflecting on my life, my left hand reached into my pocket without my permission and pulled out the device. It then displayed a contact as if on its own. The phone number of a man I had blocked three years ago, thinking I would never contact him again. If someone asked me why I hadn’t deleted it, I wouldn’t have a good explanation.

After a moment’s hesitation, I pressed the call button. The future might not be there for me. I wanted to hear his voice one last time… though in the midst of despair, all I wanted to do was call him. Not only my life, but even my own thoughts were always out of my control.

The phone pressed to my ear began to ring. Just as I thought that, a nostalgic yet familiar deep voice reached my ear with a beep.

“Darcy here.”

Ah, there were times when just hearing that voice made me feel like I was on cloud nine.

For a moment, I indulged in the nostalgia, then politely greeted my childhood friend on the other end of the line.

“Hey, Brian.”

He paused for a moment, then his already deep voice dropped even lower as he growled.

“Luke, you…”

“Sorry, I wasn’t planning on calling you at all. But right now I’m really at the end of my rope, literally backed into a corner, and extremely unlucky.”

The more I talked, the lighter my words felt and the more anxious I became.

“Hey, Luke.”

“You’re a former cop, right? Not that I have anything to do with you, but I thought I’d hear your voice one last time before my life ends!”

Even I had to admit that I was making no sense.

“Okay, okay, calm down, Luke.”

Brian tried to calm me down from the other end of the line.

“Take it one step at a time. What do you mean by the end of your life? What happened?”

“Brian…” I couldn’t help but grip the phone tightly. “Brian, my grandmother passed away.”

“Your grandmother… you mean your mother’s?”

“Yes. My mom called me.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. She was a wonderful woman.”

Ah, at times like this it’s easier to talk to a childhood friend. Brian continued.

“But, I see. So you got a call, which means your mother lifted the disowning?”

“No, she said, “You’re still disowned, so you’re not coming to the funeral, are you?” When I impulsively said “Yes”, she scolded me harshly.”

“Of course. You should attend the funeral properly. And then?”

“Right after I hung up, I got a call from Kirk.”

“Kirk?”

“A colleague I work with occasionally. Sometimes he wants me to design furniture, but he’s always got something to say. He says my designs are unconventional, or that I’m a genius if I can create an interior design that works well with them.”

I felt the tone of my voice drop.

“I know he recognizes my work, and I’m used to it, so it’s okay. But the timing was bad… I felt incredibly incompetent and got a little depressed.”

“Luke…”

“And he ended up using my design as is! Why does he always criticize before he even tries it? Give me back my depression!”

“Tell him just that. If you plan to continue working with him, you should definitely address it properly…”

Ignoring my childhood friend’s words, I continued.

“And then my mind just couldn’t take it all in. So I decided to go to Alexandra’s shop. I just couldn’t stand being alone.”

“Whose store?”

“Alexandra. You don’t remember? Tanned, muscular, green eyes. About fifty years old, I think.”

“You mean Max?”

“That is the legal name. The name given to the soul is Alexandra.”

“Alright. Got it. And then?”

Brian sighed in resignation and urged me to continue.

“And there was Leo, completely drunk.”

“I see. And who is Leo?”

Brian asked patiently from the other end of the line.

“Leonard, my ex. He started making fun of me out loud, saying things like “It’s no fun being with this guy”, so it wasn’t a place where I could talk quietly… I thought we were in a serious relationship, but I didn’t know he felt that way.

“Paying attention to the words of a lousy person is a waste of life. Is that all?”

I looked down at my scraped arm and sighed.

“I fell into a pitfall.”

“What?”

“I didn’t want to see anyone, so I took a less crowded path. It turned out to be under construction. I stepped through some stacked boards and now I’m stuck up to my chest. For now. If I have to spend the night like this, I’ll probably die.”

I thought Brian would mock me for exaggerating about Brisbane’s winter, but to my surprise he didn’t. He just sighed deeply on the other end of the line.

“Okay. Where are you? I’m coming to help…”

“Huh? No, it’s okay.” Remembering that he was quite caring despite his appearance, I quickly interrupted his words. “Talking to you has calmed me down. I don’t know why I contacted you. I’m really sorry.”

“Luke, just tell me where you are…”

“And now that I think about it, I have a police’s business card with me. This is the perfect time to use it.”

Brian’s voice became low and cautious at my words.

“Wait, why do you have a police’s business card?”

“Because of that…”

The sadness I hadn’t fully felt due to the surreal nature of everything suddenly surfaced and I hung my head.

“Alan died too.”

“Who is it this time?”

“My friend. Not a close one. Just someone I had occasional meals and conversations with.”

“I see.”

“The cop told me. He said that my friend was dead. Then I was interrogated.”

I could feel Brian’s shock on the other end of the line.

“Murdered. And it seems I’m one of the prime suspects.”

*Since Australia is in the Southern Hemisphere, June to August is the middle of winter.