Classes had ended for the day and Baba Haru watched Mae Keiko as she left the classroom. The other students avoided her as she exited the room. Haru’s eyes turned cold when he saw this happen. He clenched his fist.
“They lined up to ‘protect’ her yesterday, but they’ve been avoiding her since. What’s wrong with them?” he said, “I should thank her for helping me, but she’d probably think I’m trying to trick her.”
A student sneared at him, “Of course, she would. You’re always up to something.”
Haru moved to the side of the classroom. He stood still until everyone else had left before leaving himself.
Keiko watched Haru exit the room. She was hiding around a corner.
“He hasn’t done anything bad all day,” she noted.
Keiko pulled up a bag from the floor and walked into the women’s bathroom.
She said, “Maybe I can figure things out with this?”
When she came out, Mae Keiko had her hair tied up under a large hat, wore a trench coat, and had a pair of googly-eyed glasses with a fake nose and mustache attached to them.
Using this disguise, Keiko followed Haru outside of the school. She ducked behind rocks, hedges, and fences. At one point, Haru turned around and she jumped behind a bush. After a moment, he turned back and kept walking.
She tailed him at a further distance after that. He walked into a building. Keiko was about to follow him when a harsh voice stopped her in her tracks.
“That’s him, officer!”
She swerved. A police officer glared down at her. There was a fat man behind him.
“Don’t move,” the officer said, “I’ll have to ask you a few questions.”
“What? Me?” Keiko blinked, “Did I do something wrong?”
The fat man said, “You’re walking around in a trench coat! A man like you, dressed like that, has got to be a pervert!”
“Look, I’m not suspicious. I’m not even a man. I’m just a student, see?” she removed her glasses and hat.
The officer’s eyes fixed on her face. He froze as a chill ran down his body.
“A girl dressed like that is suspicious too!” the fat man argued.
“Sorry, but she’s no one to worry about,” the officer said, “Don’t waste my time.”
“But officer…”
He turned on the guy, “Listen here! The Mae family is a decent group of good people! If you call me on one of them again, I’ll have you arrested!”
The fat man shut his mouth. Keiko saw the officer glance at her before walking away as fast as he could.
“Who was that guy? Why does he know who I am?” she muttered, “I wish I could ask my father about it, but he’d just ignore me or make some excuse. My family would all do that.”
After that, Keiko ran like her shoes were on fire to catch up to Haru. He had left the building and was walking into a forest. She skidded to a halt, and then she started walking at a slow pace. Haru made his way into a clearing deep in the forest and Keiko hid behind a bush. A twig snapped under her feet. He turned around in her direction.
“Who’s there?” he said.
There was silence. Keiko held her breath. Haru’s harsh voice blasted through the clearing.
“Come out or I’ll make you come out!”
Keiko jumped out of the bush. She held up her hands. Haru covered his mouth. His cheeks puffed out and his eyes watered. He was struggling to avoid chuckling.
“Focus, Haru,” he took a deep breath, “Now is not the time to laugh.”
“I’m not here to hurt you. You can calm down,” Keiko said.
“What’s with the getup?”
She replied, “What getup?”
“Let’s just get on with this,” Haru pointed his arm at her, “Veter Dut.”
Wind blasted from his outstretched hand. It smacked Keiko in the face. Her hat and glasses went flying and her trench coat flapped in the torrent of wind.
Haru took a step back, “Mae? Why are you coming after me?”
“What was that?” she asked, “You just shot air at me!”
“It was a magic spell. I’m a witch,” Haru answered.
Keiko said, “You’re a witch? Witches exist? Magic exists?”
He tilted his head, “…didn’t you…know that?”
“No, I didn’t. Does anyone know?” she said.
She stumbled back, covering her face with her arms.
“Hold on, are you going to have to kill me now that I know your secret?”
Haru’s face turned blank, “Think about it, Mae. If you went around saying that I was a witch, would anyone believe you?”
She thought a moment.
“You’re right,” Keiko said, “That was pretty obvious. Sorry, Baba-san.”
“Of course, I need to now why you’re here. You will tell me,” he pointed his hand at her again.
Keiko waved her arms across her face, “I’m not here to hurt you! I just noticed that people hate you when you didn’t do anything wrong! I was trying to find out why!”
“Oh, that’s easy,” Haru put his hand down, “I’m under a curse. People automatically assume that I’m the type of person they hate the most.”
“You’re under a curse? That sounds a bit silly,” she said.
His expression turned blank again, “I just told you that I’m a witch. You saw me use a magic spell. Do you really think that curses are silly?”
“Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!” Keiko said.
In frustration, Haru said, “You don’t have to apologize. Just say I’m evil like everyone else.”
Keiko put her arms down. Her eyes softened. She recalled how she thought he saw her as worthless. Keiko couldn’t remember having any reason to think that aside from looking at his face.
Her thoughts turned to how her own family treated her. A chill ran through her entire body as she remembered the feeling of isolation from them and the other students.
“I’m sorry for how everyone treated you, including me,” she spoke, “You must have had an awful life.”
Haru said, “It is awful. People are awful. They’re the second worst scum out there.”
“Second worst?”
“Demons are the worst.”
She hid her shock that demons existed, “Listen, I…”
“Save it,” he cut her off, “Now that you know of the curse, you’re just going to use it against me.”
“What do you mean?” Keiko looked into his eyes with empathy.
He said, “Everyone else who found out about it just used it to hurt me for their own benefit. You’re no different. Now, leave me alone.”
Haru stomped away. Keiko stood tall and took in a deep breath. She said the only thing she could think to.
“Please don’t assume that I’ll do that! I’m sorry that I wrongly judged you, even if it was because of a curse! I just want you to give me a chance! Please, I’m lonely too, Baba-san!”
When that last sentence hit his ears, Haru stopped dead in his tracks. His shoulders loosened, and he turned to her with soft eyes.
He said, ”Everyone avoids you. They like you, but they won’t tell it to your face. It’s just another form of isolation.”
“It is,” she agreed.
“Alright, I’ll give you a chance,” Haru decided, “Why don’t we do something this weekend? It’ll give you a chance to earn my trust.”
Keiko replied, “I’d be happy to spend time with you. I’ve…never really had a friend before.”
Haru said, “I haven’t either. Let’s do our best to get along, Mae-san.”
They both gave each other smiles.
Ved'ma Story 