Original Short Story: The 1 AM Delivery Girl

The cover image was generated by Gemini.
The prompt for the image was 'Draw a watercolor painting that fits this short story.'

This is an original short story by Gemini.

The 1 AM Delivery Girl

1:00 AM.

For me, currently on a diet,
the most brutal 'witching hour' has arrived.

I'm so hungry I can't sleep.

Should I go to the convenience store,
or should I endure it and drink some hot water?

After much internal conflict, I open a dedicated app on my smartphone.

The app is called the '1 AMDeliveryGirl'.

Just three minutes after pressing the order button,
the door to my run-down apartment, which lacks an auto-lock,
was knocked on vigorously.

'Sorry to keep you waiting! I've arrived with your 1 AM exclusive
calorie bomb!'

When I opened the door, there stood
a girl in a flashy neon-colored hoodie,
looking unusually high-spirited.

In her hands, she held a gleaming silver thermal case.

'Here you go, our special "Midnight Sinful Ramen with Extra Back Fat" and
a dessert of "Fried Chocolate Banana"!'

'...Um, did I order something like that?
I'm pretty sure I ordered regular fried rice.'

'That won't do, customer!'
She wagged her index finger at me.

'Calling me at 1 AM means
you want energy for tomorrow!
Why are you playing it safe?
At this hour, fat and sugar are justice!'

She let herself in without permission,
lined the food up on the table,
and proceeded to snap open a pair of disposable chopsticks and hand them to me.

'Now, eat up!
I'll be right here beside you, cheering you on with "Delicious!"
and "The best!"'

"The guilt of eating alone,
I'll blow it all away!"

Beside me as I slurped my noodles,
she cheered me on like an idol fan,
shouting things like "Great appetite!"
and "Nice carbohydrates!"

Strangely enough, while eating a late-night meal alone
usually feels so shameful, with her,
it felt like I was at a music festival.

By the time I finished, I had moved past the feeling of indigestion
and felt like I had become invincible.

"Phew, mission accomplished!
Call me again when you're hungry.
I'll rush anywhere as long as it's after 1:00 AM!"

She left like a storm.

The next morning, when I looked in the mirror, my face
was puffy and swollen,
but my heart felt surprisingly light.

……Well then, I guess I'll work hard until 1:00 AM tonight, too.

The end...?

This was a prompt from Akira Yamane.

It was a short story full of things to nitpick,
but I would appreciate it if you could watch over it with a warm gaze 😆

Thank you for reading the article to the end 🙇‍♂️