Under the Starry Sky Spun by People. [Weekly Short-Short Note | Theme: Long-Distance Relationship for Sale] Participation Article

Taraha-san, thank you for the theme. Following the linked article, here I go.

What's the point of watching it? I thought that many times, yet here I am, sitting in this seat after all.

Student exchanges between the city center and the rural area a bit further away. That had been going on between my alma mater and its partner school long before we enrolled.
She was one of those
exchange students who came from the city to the countryside where we lived.

"There's no change in the curriculum. We're doing the same things."

As the final exams approached, when classmates asked her, "If you came from the city, you must know all the problems, so tell us the answers," she would smile and decline.

Three days before her exchange program ended, I invited her to the planetarium.

The planetarium show projecting tonight's starry sky ended, and we went outside. Instead of saying goodbye, I said, "I want to meet you here in a year."

She wore a faint smile and looked at me quietly.

A year later, I visited the planetarium. I still don't know if she wanted to see me. I watched the projection alone, and as my faint expectations dissipated, I headed home—

—or so I thought. Even though I was prepared for that—

"Long time no see. Have you been well?"

Her unchanging smile was there.

A year ago, I might have booked a ticket for a long-distance relationship. I'll find that out from here on. As I took a step forward, I thought.

Title of this draft: Under the Starry Sky Spun by People.
Total character count: 540 characters

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<©2024 Mutsuki Harunaga. This text is protected by copyright. AI images are not free stock materials. Unauthorized use or reproduction is prohibited.>
(©2024 HarunagaMutsuki This text is protected by copyright. AI images are not free materials; unauthorized use or reproduction is prohibited.)