Mobius Strip | Epilogue of Five Loves ⑤

At the counter of Cafe Fluenta. Reiko stared at her empty coffee cup.

How many days had it been since she failed to recover from the pain of her heartbreak? Compounded by the frustration of losing a sales deal at her foreign-owned company, today's coffee tasted even more bitter than usual.

She heard a man sitting in the next seat talking to the master.

"Master, do you know what a Mobius strip is?"

"It's something like this, right?"

Saying that, the master quickly cut a piece of memo paper, gave it a twist at the end, and made it into a loop.

Reiko thought to herself. This master is a mysterious person. He isn't slacking off on his work, yet he manages to be a good conversational partner for his customers. But he never says anything unnecessary on his own. When she thinks she wants another cup, he casually pours her more coffee. When she thinks she doesn't need any more, he doesn't come to pour.

(I wish Takeshi had been like that, too.)

She had experienced several romances appropriate for her age. But things never went well.

Like a Mobius strip, she was always going in circles. And somewhere, it was twisted. It was the same with her English conversation. Even though she was trying her best, the words wouldn't come out when it mattered most.

"Yeah, exactly, that's the mysterious part, isn't it?"

The man continued, starting a solo performance of mysterious anecdotes. At a table a little further away, two salarymen were talking in low voices.

Before long, the master looked at Reiko, who was frowning slightly, and said, "This is also mysterious, isn't it?" He picked up a pen and skillfully drew a straight line along the Mobius strip.

"Wow."

The man was impressed. Reiko, sitting beside him, was also watching intently.

After drawing the line all the way around, the master cut the loop and opened it up. A single line was drawn on the rectangle. In front of the two of them, who were staring at it, the master flipped the paper over. There was a straight line on the back as well.

After being impressed for a while, the man fell silent.

"It's a single line, you see."

As he whispered that quietly, it seemed to Reiko that the master had winked at her.

Even if it feels like you're going in circles, that's not the case. The path continues, even if you don't realize it. And what's more, it's straight.

The two salarymen from earlier left the shop. As if in sync with their departure, Reiko took her notebook out of her bag.

The master said nothing, simply placing a fresh cup of coffee in front of Reiko in silence.

After Reiko left, the afternoon light gently illuminated the Mobius strip sitting on the windowsill.

This time, I introduced an unpublished work as a crossover for the 'Cafe Fluenta' series. I hope you enjoy this series as well.

Likes, follows, and comments are always encouraging.

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