There is a girl named Tanabe-san. She’s quiet, always alone, and looks like she’s “mixed.” I bet she is because she’s tall and has a lovely face like a doll. Though she is so pretty, she doesn’t speak a lot. I think she should be more friendly. That would be better… What a waste.
One day, I saw some girls calling Tanabe-san over. Again, she is stunning, so I thought she would be flattered by them, even without speaking by herself. I could hear a girl asking her some questions and responding “Oh, really?” or “I’m jealous!” I couldn’t catch what they were saying clearly, but Tanabe-san also seemed happy to be in their circle.
The following day, one of the girls talking with Tanabe-san passed away. It was an accident, the teacher said. There was no more information. I was shocked, but because I wasn’t close with her, I forgot about it by lunchtime.
I happened to see Tanabe-san on my way home. For some reason she was surrounded by middle-aged women. It was very similar to yesterday. She was asked some questions, and praised with each answer.
The next day, my mom told me Yamamoto-san, who lived nearby passed away. She was talking to Tanabe-san yesterday. The cause of death was suffocation by paper balled up into her mouth. On the paper, the word “Australia” was written with a thick permanent marker.
