Morning arrived, which meant a new day for the citizens of Misora Town. Things in the Harukaze’s house were going a bit slower than usual.

-Doremi, if you don’t wake up now, you will be late for school!

Doremi’s mother screamed her daughter from the kitchen in the first floor as she was preparing breakfast. In the meanwhile, her younger sister Popu was almost finished with hers.

-I can’t believe she is the older sister- commented Popu in a scornful way.

-Hey, I heard you!- exclaimed Doremi as she got in the kitchen. -I couldn’t get my hair right, got it?

As the two sisters fought, the phone rang. Doremi’s mother picked it up.

-Good morning. This is Harukaze’s house- said Doremi’s mother. -Oh, it’s so nice to finally talk to you! Yes, Doremi is Seiko’s friend. I’m sorry if she’s causing any trouble. Oh, really? Well, that’s a shame. I hope she gets better soon. I’ll make sure my daughter bring her the homework. OK, have a nice day!

-Mom, who was that? Was it Seiko?- said Doremi with her mouth full with rice.

-Don’t talk like that!- scolded her mother. -It was Seiko’s mother. It seems she got a cold and won’t be going to school today. And from her voice, I think her mother was sick too.

-She’s not coming? Well, I’ll pay her a visit after school… although I don’t know where she lives- commented Doremi.

-Really? You are friends and you don’t know where she lives?- asked Popu mockingly. -Honestly, you don’t seem like a good friend.

-Hey, she just moved. And we never get the chance to go to her house… Anyway, I will ask Ms. Seki. I’m leaving!- said Doremi while picking her bag and kissing her mom.

After traveling through her usual route, Doremi arrived at the slope to her school, where she met Momoko, Aiko and Hazuki.

-Good morning, Doremi- greeted Hazuki.

-Hi, Doremi!- greeted Momoko energetically. -Hey, where’s Seiko?

-Her mom called this morning. She got a cold- explained Doremi.

-Ah, lucky girl! I wish I got sick now and then to skip school- added Aiko.

A few minutes later, Momoko and Doremi sat down on their desks along with their classmates. It didn’t take long for Ms. Seki to go inside the class.

-OK, sit down, class begins now- said Ms. Seki. As she left her bag on her desk, she looked around the classroom, until she noticed Seiko’s empty desk. -Where’s Tengawa? Is she in the bathroom?

-Oh, that’s right… Ms. Seki! Seiko’s mom called me today!- exclaimed Doremi while rising her hand.

Everybody turned around to look at Doremi, but nobody saw Ms. Seki’s reaction. She was shocked.

-What… what did you say, Harukaze?- asked Ms. Seki slowly.

-I said her mom called my house today- repeated Doremi. -She told my mom that Seiko is sick and she’s not coming today.

The other kids began murmuring between each other, but Ms. Seki’s expression didn’t change at all.

-Seiko’s… mom…?- muttered Ms. Seki to herself.

-Ms. Seki, are you OK?- asked Momoko.

Ms. Seki looked at the classroom as all the kids stared at her confused. She cleared her throat and said:

-Listen, I have to leave. There’s an… important meeting now. I’ll ask another teacher to supervise you. Don’t leave the classroom!- exclaimed Ms. Seki.

Saying that, Ms. Seki left the room in a rush. However, the kids could hear her voice at the classroom next to them, saying “I need you to come with me, please”. Some kids, including Doremi and Momoko, approached the doors and opened them just a bit. They saw Ms. Seki along with Ms. Nishizawa, the teacher of the other classroom, walking quickly through the corridor.

-What happened?- asked Momoko.

-I’m not sure, but...- said Doremi, but she was interrupted when Aiko, Hazuki and Onpu opened the door.

-Hey, what happened ‘ere?- asked Aiko confused. -Ms. Seki just came in and took our teacher.

-I don’t know, I just told Ms. Seki that Seiko’s mom called me and she just left like that- explained Doremi.

-This is strange- commented Onpu. -We… I mean, we should go to the bathroom now before other teacher comes!

Onpu said that louder than usual while moving her head towards the other kids, who were staring at her.

-What are you plotting?- asked Tetsuya.

-We’re just going to the bathroom! Stop messing, you moron!- exclaimed Doremi while pushing the other girls outside the classroom and sticking out her tongue.

The girls run to the bathroom and locked the door.

-OK, this is strange- continued Onpu. -I can’t believe Ms. Seki would react like that and leave the class for a cold.

-Do you think something happened to Seiko?- asked Hazuki.

-But then, why did her mother say that it was just a cold?- asked Doremi.

-Tis’ weird...- commented Aiko. -Why don’t we go to her house? We can ask our fairies to replace us.

-Great, but… I don’t know where Seiko lives- said Momoko smiling.

-Me neither… What about you all?- asked Doremi while looking at the other girls, who looked confused.

-We… we hoped you knew, since she’s in your class- added Hazuki.

-Wait, nobody here knows where she lives?- asked Onpu.

-I think we asked here sumtimes, but… I don’t remember her tellin’ us- said Aiko. -This is getting weirder…

-OK, we need her address first. It must be in Ms Seki’s folder or in a computer in the faculty room- explained Onpu. -Our fairies will replace us at least a few hours before they get tired. Once our fairies leave the bathroom, we’ll freeze time. Hazuki and I will search for the address while all of you wait for us above the school. Got it?

All the girls nodded and changed into their witch outfits. The fairies, adopting the shape of their owners, left the bathroom a few seconds later. Then, Hazuki used a spell to freeze time. Momoko, Aiko and Doremi waited for them on their brooms, flying above the school. A few minutes later, the other two girls met them with a piece of paper in Onpu’s hand.

-We got the address- said Hazuki-, and I got a Misora map. It is in the east area of the town.

After that, the group left flying and traveled to the east, towards a small residential area. They looked for a while and they got in front of a small apartment block.

-It should be here, in the second floor- said Onpu while reading the note.

-How are we getting in? We can’t open the door while time is frozen- added Momoko.

-Let me do this- said Hazuki smiling. Then, she took her Poron and said: -I want a big hole in the door now!

Using her magic, the girl opened a hole in the apartment’s door and rushed the others to go through. As time was frozen, they knew nobody would notice them, but that thought vanished as they look inside the apartment and they found it… empty.

-This is… weird- said Onpu. -The shoe locker is empty, there aren’t even slippers. And there aren’t any frames on the walls.

-Let’s check on Seiko first- said Doremi.

The girls returned to their casual outfits and searched for Seiko’s room, which was located at the end of the small apartment. The door was opened, and inside, there was nobody at all.

-Wait, where’s Seiko?- asked Momoko. -What if they took her to the hospital?

-No, I don’t think so. Someone made the bed- said Onpu with a confused expression.

-Why do ya care ‘bout the bed?- asked Aiko.

-Think, Aiko- said Hazuki calmly. -If Seiko was sick enough that they had to take her to the hospital, they wouldn’t waste time making the bed.

-I don’t understand anything… Let’s look around- said Doremi.

The girls inspected the whole room. There weren’t any clothing inside the wardrobe, and the drawers inside the desk just had a few blank papers and a pencil. Then…

-Hey, look at this!- exclaimed Momoko at the corner of the room. -Aren’t these… Seiko’s books?

Momoko was right: there was a garbage bin at the corner of the room, and the inside was full of books. The girls took them and checked they all belonged to Seiko: maths, language, English… All of them were there.

-OK, now I’m getting worried- commented Aiko. -Why are her books inside the bin?

-This one is not from school- added Hazuki, taking a smaller brown notebook that was left at the bottom.

Hazuki picked up the notebook and opened it. Everybody could read “My Diary” on the first page.

-Wait, this is her diary!- exclaimed Hazuki, closing the book in a rush. -We shouldn’t be reading this!

-But what if it has some clue?- asked Momoko. -Why was it with the garbage? We have to read it.

Nervously, Hazuki opened the diary and began reading:

“Dear diary,

This is my first day at my new home. Ms. Seki told me to write an entry in the diary every night, but right now, I don’t know what to write. The place is small, but it’s enough for just me. I don’t know if things will go well here, but Ms. Seki says life will be better from now on now that I can be myself. Somehow, she makes me happy saying that. At least it’s better than being with… them”.

-This was written… one week before Seiko got into our school- said Hazuki. -Did she meet Ms. Seki before?

-Maybe when she applied for the school?- asked Onpu. -But I don’t get the parts of “I can be myself” and “it’s enough for just me”… Go a bit further, when she started classes.

Hazuki passed the pages and read again:

“Dear diary,

Today was my first day at the new school. There are a lot of kids and they look fun and nice, especially the girl I met yesterday: Doremi. Her name is funny, like music scores. She has a friend, Momoko, who is from America and recently moved as well. They seemed to understand what it is to begin in a new school. I begin to think things will go well”.

-Yeah, I remember that- said Doremi. -She looked a bit shy, so I talked to her and told her Momoko was a bit like that as well.

-Yeah, after talking a bit, she relaxed and was more open- added Momoko.

-OK, let’s see… Look, she talks about you two!- exclaimed Hazuki.

“Dear diary,

I started hanging out with Doremi and Momoko at school. They are so nice! Doremi is a bit clumsy. She calls herself “the unluckiest girl in the world”, but I don’t think that’s right. I can see she worries about others and tries to help, even if she makes mistakes. Also, I like her pigtails, they look like mandarines!”.

-I… I mean… it’s not like I always help...- said Doremi with red face. -Why did she write those things? Look, she even drew my pigtails! What else?

“Then there’s Momoko. She’s still learning Japanese and it’s taking her a bit longer to catch up with the rest of the class. However, she doesn’t feel bad about that. Not only she works hard, but she’s also very happy and friendly. Even if she can’t talk well yet, she enjoys her time with everybody, including myself. That makes me feel happy”.

-Oh, that’s embarrasing- said Momoko blushing as well. -Read other page!

-OK, OK, let’s see… She talks here about Aiko and Onpu and… me!- exclaimed Hazuki. -I can’t read this!

-Oh, we’ve been through this, now it’s your turn!- exclaimed Doremi as she took the diary from Hazuki’s hands.

“Dear diary,

Remember how I met other friends from Doremi the other day? It was as Ms. Seki said, they are all really open and welcoming. Aiko makes a lot of jokes and can be a bit sarcastic as well. I think that’s because she’s from Osaka and they talk like that over there. She’s also really good at sports, but she has a soft side as well. I’m sure she cares about others a lot.

Then there’s Hazuki. She’s smart, pretty and quite sensitive. I feel like she needs a bit more of courage to defend herself. I know how it feels when people push you and I wouldn’t like her to go through that. Still, she will always lend a hand to others and her smile can make you cheer up.

And finally, there’s Onpu, the famous Onpu Segawa! I haven’t watched her films or TV shows, but I have listened some of her songs and she’s really good. Sometimes she shows a bit of a “celebrity” side, like she doesn’t care about trivial things, but I think that is her way of going through her job. Fame can be a hard place to live. And still… I saw her eyes. She actually pays attention to situations and understand what’s going on. She cares more than she actually shows”.

-Come on!- exclaimed Aiko. -How can she say those things? I didn’t know she was this sensitive!

-She really tried to know us all- said Onpu. -Other kids don’t pay that much attention when they meet each other, but Seiko…

-Hey, look at this!- interrupted Doremi.

“Deary diary:

It… it happened. I have friends. I FINALLY HAVE FRIENDS! This is the happiest day in my life. Meeting them was like a dream and now… we are friends, just like Ms. Seki said”.

-Wow, this is from the first day we took her to the store. It feels… I think she was really happy to know us all and… She was so excited for being our friend, but I don’t know why...- said Hazuki a bit shyly.

-After this… she talks about the activities we have done… the time she spent with us at the store… that time we went shopping… Seiko really enjoyed all those things and noted them down here- explained Doremi while passing through the pages.

-Maybe it’s something more recent? What did she write last night?- asked Momoko.

-Last night… Everything normal so far… It’s the next page… What?- exclaimed Doremi.

-What? What does it say?- asked Aiko surprised.

With confused eyes, Doremi read:

“Everything was a lie”.

Nobody said anything for a few seconds. They were all looking at the page with a mixture of confusion and shock.

-”Everything was a lie”?- asked Momoko. -What does that mean? What was a lie?

-”Everything”… But what is “everything”? Does she mean the diary?- asked Hazuki.

-That doesn’t make sense- said Aiko. -She talked about us, the things we did together, those things happened.

-Aaah, I don’t understand!- exclaimed Momoko taking her hands on her head.

-Nothing makes sense… Her mom’s call, that there’s nothing here, this diary… If she’s not sick, where is she?- asked Doremi.

Suddenly, they heard a noise. Someone opened the entry door and said:

-Seiko, are you here? Answer me!

-Wait, that voice...- said Doremi.