Santri Famiglia's

Manhole Tunnel

"Don't worry! We're running in the right direction!" reply Mitsuki with hardened volume.

He knows this is a ridiculous plan. Mitsuki only wished in her heart that they could arrive on time. Death is not his agenda.

His dark eyes continued to stare at the red dot on the phone. Their breaths clashed with the roar of a loud machine. One minute and thirty seconds later, they stopped. Mitsuki bit her phone. Both of his hands were busy fingering and holding a circular object attached to the wall.

The lack of lighting did not make Sanubari difficult to recognize the black-hanging red object. Her memory returns to a stormy night as she attempts to chase after the masked man.

Mitsuki opened the object, then held the phone with her hand to speak, "Anki, ABRI, Sanu, come in quickly! Our time is limited" Mitsuki ordered as she shone a cell phone flashlight into the culvert.

Anki enters first, followed by Abrizar who assisted Mitsuki. Then, he patted Sanubari. "Let's go in! Don't be dumb!"

Sanubari awakens from his daydream. He followed Abrizar. Mitsuki came in last time. He managed to close the manhole one second before the train passed. The place they were sitting in felt trembling.

"Where is this? Dark once? I can't see anything" chirped Anki who sat leaning back.

Sanubari raised his hand. The roof of this place is very low. His hands were even bent eighty degrees when used to touch in a sitting position.

"This is an underground channel. By tracing this channel, we can find a way out" Mitsuki replied.

"The underground channel? How do you know there's a place like this around here?" ask Anki curious. Abrizar and Sanubari were equally curious.

"You know for yourself, don't you? I'm a part-time oddball worker. Almost every job I've ever done. Including being involved in the construction of this channel and being a sanitary controller."

That answer sounds reasonable. However, Abrizar has not been able to debunk his bad prejudices despite his previous suspicions. So far, Mitsuki looks like a friend. Nevertheless, Abrizar ceaselessly guessed the veiled intent of Mitsuki's friendly and friendly attitude.

On the other hand, Sanubari aborted his prejudice when he heard Mitsuki's testimony. He said, "Maybe the emblem and the cover of the road at that time had nothing to do. Maybe ABRI was right. He's just an officer checking the waterways."

"Time to walk again. I want to get to the house and rest" Mitsuki said in a pleased tone, "finally, we can walk around casually."

Mitsuki chuckled at the end of her sentence. Anki cringed in the darkness. Their fate in the tunnel alone was unclear, it could be that one man sounded happy.

"Why are you laughing? What's so good about being stuck in a dark tunnel like this?" gerutu Anki turned to the light that pierced through the bodies of Sanubari and Abrizar.

"At least this place is safe. Those people won't know we're here" Mitsuki casually replied.

"That means we're gonna be stuck here forever?" Anki widened her eyes.

"Don't be such a pessimist! We'll get really stuck if we just keep quiet. Let's go fast!" mitsuki.

"Where?" ask Anki again.

"Go there!" Mitsuki looked for a gap, shone a flashlight forward, "you're ahead of Anki!"

They crawl away from the channel cover. The extent of the tunnel made it impossible for them to stand and walk normally.

"Why is there a dry line in the subway tunnel wall?" Abrizar voiced the incongruity he felt.

"Then, this place was indeed a waterway before the train tunnel was built. Massive reconstruction has partially diverted drainage pipes" Mitsuki said, which sounded very convincing

In front, Anki stopped. His hands fumbled across the surface, stretched out to the right and left, and then up. She shook her head.

"No more footing. No up and side tunnels, either" he reported later.

"Jump down! We've reached the end. The tunnel is one floor above the next on the road" explains Mitsuki again.

Everything down. However, the place was still very dark. Wherever the eyes looked, only pitch-black could be caught by the eyes. The light from Mitsuki's phone becomes the only light that shines.

"Go this way! Don't get separated if you don't want to get lost." Mitsuki took a path to the left after exiting the tunnel.

This time, they could stand up normally. The basement is wider. Anki calls Abrizar and Sanubari to confirm their existence, then takes the two together.

"Your grandfather's house, Anki."

"How can you find an arahnha from a pitch-black underground street like this?"

"GPS." Mitsuki held up her phone.

Thirty minutes down the underground road, they reached another manhole that was on the ceiling. Mitsuki climbed the stairs, opening one by one the cover. After the third manhole, then they actually appeared to the surface.

The stars accompanying the moon give a gentle shine to the streets. Mitsuki reached out, helping Anki and the others climb through the hole.

Again Sanubari noticed the hole cover that was reassembled as before by Mitsuki. The colors and designs were the same as the ones that night he saw in different places.

Finished installing, Mitsuki stood on it. "It looks like we should split up here. See you soon, Anki, Sanu, ABRI!"

The man waved his hand, then ran towards the opposite direction. Anki breathed a sigh of relief. He could breathe in some more air

"You're going home is fine, too. My house is close." Anki looked at Sanubari and Abrizar.

"We have to make sure you get to your grandfather's house" Abrizar replied.

"I'm not planning on going to Grandpa's. It's too late to meet."

"After the incident, you should stay at your grandfather's house. I think it'll be safer. Moreover, Eiji is currently not at home, right?"

Anki thought about Abrizar's suggestion. Not long after, Anki said. The manhole they passed was actually near Anki's grandfather's house. Just one turn in ten steps, they had already arrived before the gate. Anki rang the bell and spoke through the intercom, waiting with Abrizar and Sanubari.

"Angi!" call Sanubari to remember something. He almost forgot to hand it over.

"Yes." Yeah." Anki.

Sanubari reached into his bag. He took a small wooden box. "It's from Eiji's sister."

Anki accepted it and smiled. "I'm not on a birthday. But, thank you."

"Open up and put it on!"

"I'll wear it later."

Sanubari. "You should wear it now and never take it off. I have to watch you wear it before you leave. Eiji's sister told me that."

"I'll see it later. Just tell me I've accepted it if Eiji's sister asks!"

Sanubari nodded again. "I don't want to be the one who denies the trust.

Anki looked at Sanubari for a moment, then lowered her gaze on the small box in hand. "Basic Brother! What the hell is here? Why is he forcing so much."

The girl opened the small box. White gold necklace pendant clear crystal. The buds and cherry blossoms that had bloomed perfectly were trapped inside. It is three times smaller than the original flower, so it is not too big to be pendulum.

Anki smiling. As a child, she once asked her sister for an eternal ice flower necklace, "Sister really kept her promise. He managed to create mini sakura."

"Angi!"

The voice of the old man called out from behind the open door. Sanubari and Anki turned. The old man walked closer. It seemed, the old man was about to send Anki in. The girl looked back at the necklace, then picked it up.

"It's so pretty. Hm, okay. I'll wear it right now so you can see it."

Gentle shiny clear crystal reflects street light. That simple design exudes maximum beauty when attached to Anki. White clothes that have been shabby did not reduce her beauty.

Just a moment ago they were caught in tension. Now, relief lines are drawn on them, although there are still other things that block Sanubari.