Episode 7 – Horror Novels to Choose From the Bookstore

After a nice chat in a coffee shop.

I knew where to go next.

“A bookstore. I don’t read much these days.”
“What a waste. Reading books increases your knowledge and broadens your world.”
“I know how enjoyable it is. But it has become a chore to get up the nerve to read a book.”

In today’s world filled with entertainment other than books, reading has fallen in priority.

Once time is consumed by the highly addictive video sites that can be enjoyed just by lazing around. It is difficult to choose reading as an active pastime.

“Let’s buy a special book today.”
“We can’t just buy the same old thing.”
“Yes, yes. Special.”

Following Rika’s words, I headed to the bookstore.

There are several bookstores near the high school. I went into one of the larger stores.

“I don’t think she’ll be coming here.”
“I guess I’m prejudiced that Kisaki doesn’t seem to read.”
“Is she not?”
“No. She seemed to have no interest in books.”

When I passed through the automatic door, I could smell the special smell of books in the air. It is not unpleasant. It calmed down my mood.

“What kind of books does Rika read?”

Even though we are childhood friends, I don’t know much about her taste in books.

When Rika was little, I think she read things that featured princesses. She chose books that were exactly the kind of books that girls would like.

“I used to read a lot of books with girls as the main characters.”
“What about now?”
“All I read are horror novels.”
“That’s surprising.”
“Horror novels are graphic. I get into them the most. It’s fun to see people in extreme situations. Of course, I’m talking about novels.”
“I know.”

Follow the direction Rika is heading.

“There are a lot of stuff around here, both domestic and foreign.”

There was a section devoted to horror stories.

“The common grotesque story. Novels in which a human is driven into a corner. Novels in which a curse is placed on you.”
“It seems that the term [horror] doesn’t really cover it all, does it?”
“Yes. Scariness is not all-encompassing. Sometimes, even compassion can be frightening for the recipient. It is because of the difference in the way of thinking.”

In my mind, I thought of Kisaki.

She had been terrifying at that time. She did not even think of cheating as a bad thing, and made suggestions that were out of the ordinary.

A gap in thinking creates fear, huh? It was something that stung me now.

“People often say that humans are the scariest, but what do you really think?”
“I wonder. I think humans and ghosts are the same. It’s hard to say which is which.”
“Yeah.”
“On a different note, I think people and ghosts are more frightening when they have a clear reason for their actions.”
“That’s surprising.”
“Events whose principles of action are not understood are scary because we are ignorant. On the other hand, when we know the reason for an event, we are afraid of it because we know the reason for it. It’s called ignorance is bliss.”

I’m impressed that Rika has thought this through.

It is scarier to know.

“You’re indeed a horror expert.”
“There are always higher-ups. I think I’ll buy another book today so I can aim even higher.”

She picked up a horror story involving a stalker. I’m not very good at it.

“You thought I had bad taste, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“It’s all over your face.”
“Ugh.”
“I want to know how stalkers hunt people down. That’s why I read. I relive it.”
“That’s a fun way to relive it.”

The fear you want to relive, huh.

That’s why she chose the books she read.

“Heh, so you’re a psychic?”
“I’m more scared when I don’t know how they work.”
“I haven’t read this one yet. Tell me what you think of it when you finish it. If possible, today.”
“I wonder if I’ll be able to do it, even though I haven’t read any books in a while.”
You’ll be surprised at how much you can do. If you keep interrupting your reading, you’ll forget what you’ve read.”
“I know it well. I’ll read it in one sitting.”

When I told her that I wasn’t sure I would be able to express my impressions well,

“That’s okay. My purpose is to relive it. I want to feel what Masatoshi felt, and I want to feel the same way. By listening and repeating what I hear, I get closer to Masatoshi.”
“Is that a line from a horror movie?”
“That’s terrible. They are my words.”
“I’m sure it’s influenced by the novel to some extent.”

We each made our purchases without incident.

I had a new library card in my wallet, which I was able to use to buy the book. It was probably given to me as a gift for my entrance into school.

“I still have a few more library cards left, so I think I’ll come back when I’m done reading.”
“That’s wonderful ! I hope you will remember the joy of reading again.”
“I wonder if Rinka is a book-worshiping guru.”
“You’re overreacting.”

I wandered around the cash register, shaking the bag.

I noticed some stationery.

“Today is fine, but I could use a new set of stationery.”
“Haven’t you bought anything recently?
“They’re all the ones I’ve been using since middle school. Many of them are broken.”
“In that case, we’ll buy some new stationery together.”
“Of course.”

It was hard to believe that it had been so long since we had spoken yesterday, but we seemed to fit in so naturally.

I have learned that it is easy for long term friends to get back together again even if they have been apart for a while.

“Today……I told you to read the book you bought, right?”
“Yeah. I’ll read it carefully.”
“If I read it too, I’ll scare Masatoshi to the bone.”
“That would be terrifying.”

We walked slowly back to each other’s houses.

It was definitely a fulfilling time.

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