Short Story: "Awakening" #ThreeDialogueStory
I woke up to a cool, breezy sensation.
I must have fallen into a light sleep, defeated by the warmth of the sun, while reading Ryotaro Shiba's "Sogen no Ki" on a park bench. The fresh green ginkgo leaves swayed in the wind, and that breeze carried a dry scent that somehow reminded me of the vast Mongolian steppes.
That wind passed right through the center of my face with a whistling sound.
...The center of my face feels breezy.
I touch it gently with both hands. It's hard. It has the hardness of plastic. It's cylindrical, and the tip is slightly pointed.
The realization hit me in an instant.
"My face is a penne rigate."
A classic short pasta. The vertical ridges on its surface hold sauce well, and it goes perfectly with both Mongolian "red food" (Ulaan Idee) and "white food" (Tsagaan Idee).
Even faced with that fact, I was surprisingly calm. I stood up from the bench to return the copy of "Sogen no Ki" I had finished reading.
My cylindrical head felt light, but it swayed in the wind. The air resistance was strong, and my body staggered slightly. As I started walking, I suddenly felt thirsty. That was only natural, as I was dried pasta. I was struck by the urge to dive into a pool of soup right then and there, but first, I headed toward the food truck in front of me.
There was no need to look at the menu. To shake off the sleepiness, only an espresso would do.
"Short... no, make it a grande."
I poured the espresso, filled to the brim, down in one go. The dark brown liquid passed quietly through my cylinder and spilled straight onto the ground.
Watching it splash and splatter, I finally realized the gravity of the situation.
End
(622 characters in the main text)
Afterword
I participated in Haratokei-san's project, "Three Dialogue Story." I tried to make it a chaotic and surreal story that probably no one but me could write. I can't deny that I might have gone too far. Also, I have never actually read Ryotaro Shiba's "Sogen no Ki." I thought that fact itself was part of the chaos.
■ Dialogue
"Short... no, make it a grande."
■ Three Topics
・Steppe ・Return ・Penne
#ThreeDialogueStory
#GrasslandReturnPenne
#ShortShort
#RyotaroShiba
#RecordOfTheGrasslands
#Mongolia