Episode 1 - Mr Sasaki (3)

I tried to keep my composure, but my tears burst out again.

-Hey, hey. What is it, my vagabundo? What happened?-

Her warm voice, as soothing as it may have been, just couldn't do anything about the pain I was feeling in that moment.

I slowly let go of her and wiped my tears away with my shirt.

-When was the last time you saw Mr Sasaki?-

She looked at me with a confused expression.

-He took his tent and went to the western part of the city a few days ago, just like he always does this time of year. Why?-

Her face slowly began assuming a worried expression and I could see her hands begin to tremble slightly. Maria knew me too well to not realise what I was about to say.

-They found him dead. He was stabbed by someone last night.-

Her gaze began to feel empty as if she had stopped looking at me and began looking through me.

-Please, come with me, the others need to hear this.-

Unlike her now shaking body, her voice was calmer than ever. She slowly turned around and began walking towards the small makeshift "village".

It was a nostalgic sight, I had grown up here after all. The familiar sight of the old overpass greeted me once again.

I had spent all of my early life up until I got my first job living under the overpass together with Maria, Mr Sasaki, Daniel and Shaun. We didn't have much back then, just a few makeshift tents and whatever we could carry on our backs.

The overpass at least protected us from rain and snow, but the cold in winter times was a whole other story. I still remember all five of us sharing one tent once it got cold, huddled up together to keep each other warm. We also had to scavenge for anything we could find that would burn so we could light at least a small fire.

Back then, I thought of it as a fun thing families do when they're close to each other, but as the times went by I started to realise what kind of life we were really living. It's odd then, that the only memories I have of this place are fond ones.

-Come vagabundo, Dan and Shaun will want to see you too.-

I hurriedly followed after her and as I came closer to the tents the smell started to penetrate my nostrils. Did the smell start to get worse after I left or did I just not notice it back then? Maybe I've just gotten used to my life away from here too much to just come back here and not notice it.

As we made our way toward the tents Daniel quickly came out to greet me and suddenly all of the times of him taking care of my hair and fixing my clothes came back to mind. He never wanted to tell me that all of the blisters he would get on his hands were from sewing up my clothes.

-Sammy! You're back! To what do we owe this visit, my boy?-

Daniel was as cheerful as ever. Without him, our days wouldn't have been half as lively.

-I'm sorry but...-

-Akira died, Daniel.-

Maria cut me off, most likely trying to spare me having to say it again.

-This must be some kind of joke Maria. That old man wouldn't just die like that, he's way too stubborn for that.-

-He was stabbed by someone in the street last night.-

Daniel's cheerful energy quickly subsided and he became slouched over. Had I ever seen Daniel looking like this? Wasn't he always the one of us all whose optimism was unwavering?

-Oh lord. We have to tell Shaun.-

Daniel swiftly turned around to go look for him.

-I'm here you old fart, don't move too much or you'll get a heart attack.-

Shaun stepped out from behind the pillar next to which the tents were set up.

-Why are you all acting so surprised? He was a 74-year-old kendo teacher who hadn't eaten a proper meal in days. He wouldn't stand a chance against a squirrel in his state.-

While none of them were related to me by blood, Mr Sasaki was always like a grandfather to me, while I saw Maria as my father and Daniel as my mother. Shaun was the cool uncle of the family who'd let me do reckless and dangerous things while no one was looking, but such a reaction was too much even for him.

-Come on Shaun, this is not the time to be a hardass.-

Maria gave him a stern look and he quickly aimed his gaze towards the ground.

-I'm just saying what everyone is thinking.-

-Enough!-

Rarely ever had Maria shouted at someone unless it was warranted.

-I'm sorry vagabundo. Do you want something to drink while you're here? We have some clean water left.-

It took me a moment to recover from the shock of the scene that had just unfolded.

-No, thank you. I'm gonna have to get going soon anyway. There are some things I have to take care of.-

My body started to move on its own back towards my car when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

-Thanks for coming vagabundo. If you want to come again when you take care of your things, we'd be really happy. But it's okay if you don't have the time.-

Maria's discomfort was tangible. They all obviously wanted to see me again but were at the same time ashamed of showing me what their lives looked like these days.

-Yeah... I'll come around soon, don't worry.-

It hurt to leave them just like that after telling them one of their oldest friends had just died, but I knew there was something that needed to be done. After all, I was doing it for them more than anyone else.

***

On my way back home I stopped by a few stores to get the things I would need. They weren't overly cheap, but it was worth every penny if I could accomplish what I hoped to.

A set of protective clothing for motorcyclists, steel toe boots, a hockey mask, a metal baseball bat and a few other things that looked useful. With all of these and a little bit of manual labour, I had everything I needed except for information.

The moment I got home I turned on my computer and began browsing reports of assaults and murders of homeless people, hoping to at least get a rough estimate of where the person who did this might re-appear if they ever did.

After several hours of searching, I was able to narrow it down to a small area in west Edsham that had an increased number of reports in the past month. It was just cases of assaults, but it was better than nothing. My mind was set and my body was burning with conviction to do this.

As the evening came closer, I put on and prepared my newly acquired gear, gave the baseball bat a few test swings to get used to the feeling of it and eventually headed out into the night, ready to do what the police couldn't be bothered to do.

CHAPTER END