Where the Heart Resides | Entry for the Chibi Creative Writing Awards

The doorbell rang softly.

The shop was quiet.

The old pendulum clock on the wall ticked away the seconds.

Tick.

Tick.

Tick.

The scent of coffee drifted from somewhere.

"Good," I whispered to myself.

I still had thirty minutes until my business meeting.

"Welcome."

A man in a gray suit looked up from behind the counter.

"I'm by myself. Could I have a coffee?"

"I am terribly sorry."

"Yes?"

"We do not serve drinks at this center."

"...A center?"

The man pointed quietly to the wall.

A small plate was hanging there.

Lost and Found Center

"Oh."

The sound escaped my lips before I could stop it.

"How may I help you?"

No, I made a mistake.

As I turned on my heel to leave,

Since you are already here,

the man said gently.

Is there something you are looking for?

I have my wallet and my smartphone.

It does not have to be something like that.

It doesn't have to be something like that?

Yes.

I thought for a moment,

Then... maybe my heart.

The man nodded just once.

Understood.

His reply was so natural that,

my smile froze.

The man took a single sheet of paper from under the counter.

This is a lost property report.

I received it and couldn't help but smile.

Lost Property Report

Item Name: ________________

Date and Time Lost: ________________

Location Lost: ________________

Color: ________________

Features: ________________

"Are you really going to write this?"

"Yes."

"It's a heart, you know."

"Yes."

The man didn't change his expression in the slightest.

I gave a wry smile and slowly wrote in the item name field.

Heart

"Next, please provide the color."

"The color... you say?"

"Yes."

"I've never even thought about it."

"An approximation is fine."

"Can everyone else answer that?"

“About half, I suppose.”

“And the other half?”

“They say, ‘It used to be red.’”

I couldn't help but burst out laughing.

“Is there really such a person?”

“Yes.”

“Last week, there was someone who was blue, too.”

“Blue?”

“They were a little cold.”

I couldn't hold back my laughter.

“Just for reference.”

“How is your color lately?”

Click.

Click.

“...Gray.”

I answered quietly.

The man nodded silently.

“Understood.”

So, you understand.

Yes.

As if nothing had happened, he moved his eyes to the next item.

Please tell me where you lost it.

Probably... at the office.

In the conference room, perhaps?

Maybe.

The man wrote it down smoothly.

Thank you.

One final confirmation.

Could you tell me the reason you are looking for it?

I was silent for a moment.

The reason, you say?

Yes.

I started to open my mouth, then stopped.

...Can I tell you later?

The man nodded slightly.

Of course.

Then, after neatly aligning the papers, he stood up.

"Well then, I shall go and look for it."

"Yes."

"The fastest way to find a lost item is to look where you lost it."

Saying that, he disappeared into the back of the counter.

The man who had disappeared into the back returned sooner than I expected.

"May I continue with the verification?"

"...Yes."

The man stared quietly at the lost property report.

"Lastly, do you remember the place where your heart felt light?"

"A place where it felt light... That item wasn't written on the form."

"It is optional."

"...I can't remember."

"I see."

The man wrote nothing.

Click.

Click.

Click.

As if pushed by that silence, I thought about it once more.

...The sea.

"It was the sea."

"The wind was strong."

My hair got all messy.

Walking along the beach.

I don't know what was so funny.

I was laughing the whole time.

"Has it been since then?"

I couldn't answer.

Click.

Click.

I looked at myself reflected in the glass.

"My junior colleague told me yesterday."

The man nods quietly.

"He said, 'Section Chief, you've been looking troubled lately.'"

I laughed and replied.

"I wonder." That's what he said.

But.

That one phrase stayed with me, lingering on.

"I suppose you must have said 'heart' because you mistook this place for a cafe."

The man gave a small laugh as well.

"We get quite a few customers like that."

The man closed the lost property report.

Click.

"It seems we do have it in our care."

"Thank you for waiting."

The man held a small envelope in both hands.

It was an envelope in a color that felt somehow nostalgic.

"This is what we have been keeping for you."

"May I... open it?"

"Of course."

The man smiled gently.

"Before you look inside, just one thing."

I stopped my hand holding the envelope.

"There are two types of lost items.

Things you have lost, and

things you have left behind."

I remained silent.

"I do not know which one your 'heart' is, customer."

"……That is frightening, isn't it."

"If I open it and nothing changes."

The man thought for a moment.

"Please, smile somewhere else again."

That was all.

I put the envelope into my bag.

"Are you not going to open it?"

"I will save it as a treat for when I get home."

The man nodded slightly.

I think that would be best.

I stood up.

Thank you very much.

Likewise.

I headed toward the exit.

I placed my hand on the doorknob.

Customer.

I turned around.

Yes?

Even if what I returned to you feels a little heavy.

Everyone feels that way at first.

I smiled.

Will I get used to it?

The man smiled a little, too.

No.

You will just get better at carrying it.

I don't think I will be coming back.

Everyone says that.

I smiled a little and left the shop.

It wasn't a cafe.

But,

I was able to rest a little.

End