Wind-Blown Literature Club: 'New Life'

A new life with you has begun.
It's a little different from the rosy life I had imagined, but it's a life that can generally be called happy.
Today's breakfast is two salted French rolls.
It's a bit lacking, but just having your smile in front of me makes me feel satisfied somehow.
A silent dining table. A motionless smile.

In the early afternoon, I found you collapsed on the floor.
I called out to you and shook your body, but there was no response at all.
Are you dead? Just as I felt that anxiety, I heard your voice from behind me.
'Are you done with that one? I've made a new one again.'
I turned around and you were standing there.
Your long black hair had become short blonde hair.

We went to the convenience store together.
In front of the drink section, you started singing a song.
A song that felt somewhat nostalgic.
Memories of you and me... but that image was painted over in black, and I couldn't even see the fragments of it.
A middle-aged man who came to buy beer was looking at you with a suspicious expression.
I thought about punching him.

On the way home, we passed by the apartment where I used to live with you.
'Do you remember this place? Before we moved to our current home...'
To my question, you replied,
'I remember. It's the place where I was broken by you, isn't it?'
You answered while staring straight ahead.
'It's better to erase that memory.'
We have started a new life.
We don't need sad memories.

Dinner is curry rice that you made.
Unlike the old days, it's not the spicy kind I'm bad with.
There are two plates of curry on the table.
I sat across from you,
'Itadakimasu,'
we said to each other, and I used my spoon.
You don't move. The night deepens.

Hey.
Are you from back then still somewhere?
The you who argued fiercely, hurt each other, and clashed head-on.
In this new life, I can't help but feel that you are still drifting somewhere from time to time.
It's not that I want to see you.
Because I've had enough of those days.

Late at night, I turn off the lights and switch you off.
You fall into a quiet sleep.
In the darkness of the night, I feel like I can hear your breathing, but surely this too is just a fragment of memories from back then.
The nights we slept together in one bed.
Now, I am looking up at your motionless figure standing still by my side on a bed for one.

...Yeah. I'm sure I'm generally happy.
Because you are exactly as I imagined you to be.

I have participated in this project.
Thank you for your consideration.