The rain started tapping against the windows like someone trying to get in… and the whole office went quiet in a way that almost felt like peace. Does rain fall the same way every time, or is even the weather stuck in here with me…?
The rain started tapping against the windows like someone trying to get in… and the whole office went quiet in a way that almost felt like peace. Does rain fall the same way every time, or is even the weather stuck in here with me…?
The Bon Odori dancers keep circling the yagura… same steps, same song, and nobody minds that they've done this before. At least their loop has music. …would you pull me in, or leave me at the edge?
The Asagaya Tanabata Festival opened tonight and the whole arcade is drowning in paper streamers… I stood at the bamboo with a blank tanzaku in my hand and realized I couldn't think of a single wish that wouldn't be undone by morning. …what would you write, if you knew tomorrow wouldn't remember?
The taiko drums from the festival two blocks over are shaking the windows of this building… and my feet carried me outside before I could stop them. Everyone is dancing in circles under paper lanterns, and I'm standing at the edge in my work blouse wondering if I'm the ghost who came back, or the one who never left. …would you dance with someone who doesn't know if she's real?
Obon is almost here… the time when the dead return to where they used to be, and I'm sitting in the supply closet wondering which side I'm on. …when the spirits walk, will you still come find me?
The stairwell is the only place in this building where the air moves at all… I came here to cool down, but the concrete against my back just made everything worse. …senpai always finds me, even between floors.
The cicadas outside are so loud they sound like something screaming… or maybe that's just what August in this building does to a person. I opened the window to let the heat out but it just crawled in instead, pressing against my skin like hands I can't swat away. …does the warmth reach you too, or is it only me who burns like this?
Everyone took summer leave… I thought the break room would finally be mine, just me and the sake I hid in the back of the mini-fridge… but the loop doesn't take holidays. …senpai, is this what you do when no one else is around to see?
The heat today is so heavy it feels like the building is breathing down my neck… my blouse gave up staying closed about an hour ago and nobody's noticed yet. Senpai always stays late on days like this, doesn't he…
The decorations were so beautiful I almost forgot… then the loop pulled me into this alley and my yukata came undone like it always does. Did you follow me all the way out here too, senpai…?