[Serialized Novel] "A Song of Love for You" #10 Premonition

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28. <Reika>

While I spoke with bravado and believed in miracles, my heart was filling with anxiety and fear. I understand why Tomo-kun rejected Takumi's "travel preparations" by lashing out in anger. After all, if he didn't do that, he would likely be crushed by the terror.

Tomo-kun, walking ahead of me, has been holding my hand ever since we left the room. His brisk pace seemed to express his lingering anger toward Takumi, or perhaps it was an attempt to brush away his own fear.

The song for Takumi is, for the most part, finished. I haven't played and sung it through even once yet, and it's still rough around the edges, so I would have liked at least one more day to work on it. Even so, if there is a reason Tomo-kun insists on having Takumi hear it, it must be because he feels that Takumi's time is truly running out.

"Have you heard from Takumi? About how much |time|,,| he has left..."

There was no immediate reply. But after a few seconds, he answered while still looking ahead.
"Asking such a thing is meaningless. No one knows a person's lifespan."

"You're right, I'm sorry..."

"But it is also a fact that because we don't know, we are in such a hurry. ...Tch. A red light again."

Every time we were stopped by a traffic light on the way to the station, Tomo-kun showed his irritation. His impatience made it clear that he wanted to sing for Takumi as soon as possible. And that he was betting everything on the song the two of us had written.

If you say that miracles don't happen easily, that's the end of it. Tomo-kun said that at first, too. But to me, it looks like he is acting now because he thinks it's better than turning his eyes away from reality and doing nothing.

Tomo-kun's desperate figure would likely look painful to an outsider. However, if there were a way to save a partner you had supported for decades, you would cling to even something called unrealistic. Everyone surely would.

While waiting for the light, I gripped the charm hanging from my guitar with my free hand. It was something we bought when the three of us went to a nearby shrine at New Year's to pray for Takumi's recovery from his illness.

(God, please give us time to sing for Takumi... And please give the song the power to heal his illness... Please. Please...)

There is no way he could have heard my prayer, but Tomo-kun squeezed my hand tightly. As if to tell me, "It's going to be okay."

29. <Takumi>

Although I didn't tell anyone I was coming here, it seems Tomoatsu, whom I've known for a long time, figured out where I was. Well, that's fine. Fortunately, the recording work is finished safely. If I finish the checkout procedure and run a little, I should probably make it in time.

I was bothered by how furious Tomoatsu was over the phone. I'm used to being scolded, but given the circumstances, I couldn't just brush it off this time.

(If I make him any angrier, it's going to be a pain later... I'd better get back quickly...)

However, when I headed to the reception desk, several men were shouting in an irritated manner. From the conversation I could overhear, it seemed they were angry because the room they were supposed to have reserved hadn't been secured. The receptionist was being unilaterally blamed and was shrinking away.

(This has turned into a hassle. If I wait until they're done talking, Tomoatsu is going to chew me out... Maybe I should try negotiating...)

I don't like being meddlesome, but I'm short on time. I cleared my throat and headed toward the reception desk.

"If the room I was using is fine, it'll be opening up. So, don't blame this person so much, okay?"

The men looked at each other, but then raised their voices, saying, "We came here planning to use the biggest room!"

"Well, I understand how you feel. But if you're just practicing, any room is the same, right? Don't you think it's a waste of time to be complaining like that?"

"............! It's not the same, old man!"
It seems I only told the truth, but I ended up making them angry. The men started complaining about this and that, dragging me into it.

After about five minutes of arguing, someone who looked like the manager finally came out from the back office and apologized for the blunder. Then, he negotiated by offering to make today's usage fee free if they would use an available room, and finally managed to silence the men.

I, who had to finish the checkout procedure after the commotion, was quite panicked because I was running behind schedule. Of all days, I had to get caught up in trouble on the very day I was ordered to "be back within thirty minutes."

(Even if I tell them the reason, they probably won't believe me, but if I'm late without saying anything, I'll definitely get scolded...)

I had no choice but to send an email from in front of the studio, knowing it would sound like an excuse.

"Alright... If I tell them I might be late and then make it in time, they shouldn't have any complaints...!"

Trying to at least show my sincerity, I dashed through the crowded street. I rarely run these days, and on top of that, I'm carrying a guitar on my back, so my steps are heavy. Combined with my illness, it's hard to breathe. Even so, I ran. To get back to them.

But after running for less than a minute, I started to hear a wheezing sound I'd never heard before coming from deep within my lungs. Has my lungs finally gone bad too...? Immediately after thinking that, I was struck by a pain that felt like my throat and lungs were being torn apart at the same time, and I came to a stop. I fell to my knees from the pain, but by then, I couldn't breathe anymore.

(Are you kidding me... Am I going to die in a place like this...)

When I collapsed onto the road, the people around me screamed and moved away, forming a circle. I could hear the voices of two brave people calling out to me and calling an ambulance from far away. Mingled with those voices, Reika's ringtone started playing. I tried to reach out in a panic, but my body wouldn't move an inch.

(Wait for me, Reika... I'm heading there now...)
However, I couldn't answer the phone, and my consciousness faded away right there.

30. <Tomoatsu>

"There's trouble at the music studio. I just left, so I might not make it on time...? I'll dash to the station, though🏃"

I received an email from Takumi just before I reached the nearest station. Hearing about trouble, I guessed that since Takumi is such a pushover, he must have stuck his nose into someone else's problem and gotten dragged into it.

"Tomo-kun. Don't be angry if Takumi is late. ...Actually, I think thirty minutes is pretty tight even if nothing goes wrong."

"If my anger gets through to him, that's fine. I'm not the kind of guy who would really get angry over a five or ten-minute delay."

"I hope Takumi thinks so too..."

When we arrived at the station, the ticket gate was strangely crowded. It seemed there was a personal injury accident on the outbound line, causing delays. The outbound line was the one Takumi was supposed to be taking. The accident apparently happened about ten minutes ago, and the station staff were busy dealing with it.

"Good grief. At this rate, he's not going to be here within thirty minutes..."

"...What should we do? Should I contact Takumi and tell him to take his time?"

"...You tell him, Rei-chan. I'm not the type of character to say things like that."
Rei-chan sighed softly and then called Takumi. However, she tilted her head repeatedly, as if the call wasn't going through.

"...He's not answering. That's strange."
She hung up once and tried calling again, but it still didn't seem to connect.

"Could it be that something happened that prevented him from answering the phone...?"

"No way."
Just as I was about to say that couldn't be it, I felt a strange sense of foreboding. I could have convinced myself it was just my imagination, but I couldn't settle down.

"Tch... It can't be helped if he's not answering. Shall we go and find him ourselves?"

Even though I knew he would be late, I didn't have the patience to wait for someone who might not show up at all. My anxiety was only growing. If that was the case, it was better to move ourselves. We pushed through the crowded ticket gate and jumped onto the inbound train that was pulling into the platform.

*

Perhaps because it coincided with the evening commute, the train was crowded. Students, office workers, an elderly couple. I could see all sorts of people. Yet, everyone's eyes were glued to the small screens in their hands, devoid of any spark of life. Those who weren't were looking down, wearing earphones, as if they wanted to shut out the sounds of the outside world.

Everyone was sick of this reality and was trying to escape it. Even while saying how much they hated it, they whipped themselves to keep living because there was nowhere else to exist. Yes, this is reality. I, too, had lived in such a world for a long time. While lamenting the unchanging reality...

Just one station away, a large number of people boarded the train. We were pushed by them, ending up pressed tightly against each other. The guitar on my back dug into my body, and it was painful. Rei-chan also had a pained expression on her face.

I had no choice but to push the person nearby slightly to create a wall and pulled her into my arms.

"Just a few more minutes of patience..."

"Yeah, thank you..."

I struggle desperately to keep my balance as the train starts moving and the swaying threatens to throw me off. I brace myself so I won't be crushed by the people who have surrendered themselves to the motion.

(I won't be swept away...! The center of my world is me...!)

People who disrupt the flow have been ostracized throughout history. Yet, it is also a fact that those who continued to resist have paved the way for new eras. Ironically, it was the duo of Rei-chan and Takumi who made me realize that.

If I hadn't agreed to the reunion of Southern Cross back then and accepted living with Rei-chan, I would have ended my life as a spineless person. But now that the two of us, having joined hands, are literally trying to lead me to a "New World," even a cynical person like me knows that I shouldn't brush away the hand offered to me or listen to plausible excuses meant to stop change.

---We will be arriving shortly. Thank you for riding with us.

Hearing the announcement, I start preparing to get off. The doors open, and I wait for the people heading to the exit to clear out before I step off last. An impatient old man tries to board by bumping into us, but I push past him anyway to get off. He glares at me, but when I snap back, "People getting off come first!", he turns his face away and hurriedly slides his body into an empty seat.

*

The platform for the opposite line was as crowded as ever. It seemed there was still no prospect of service resuming. Is Takumi in that crowd? For now, I'll head out through the ticket gate and try calling him again from an open space.

"...Hey, look over there. I wonder if something happened?"

When I look at the edge of the station square visible from the platform at Rei-chan's suggestion, there is indeed a strange crowd gathered. Looking closely, an ambulance is stopped in the center. An accident? An incident...?

"I have a bad feeling about this..."

I was already running the moment I muttered that. What if the reason the call didn't go through was because he collapsed...? What if the cause of his collapse was because I rushed him...?

---Calm down, it's not like it's confirmed that the person there is Takumi, right?

At a time like this, my inner self spoke up as if to urge me to be calm, but I ignored it. No, the anxiety was rushing in so relentlessly that I wasn't in a position to argue back.

I can't stop the cold sweat.

Why didn't I stop him? At the moment he emailed me that he, suffering from a serious illness, was running to the station. Why did I rush him? There wasn't the slightest reason for him to have to hurry back.

(I should have realized it if I had thought about it calmly, but I, in my anger, forced Takumi to do something reckless...)

"Get out of the way...! Move...!"
I run down the stairs at a speed that surprises even me, pass through the ticket gate, and push through the crowd in the station square. My bad premonition comes true; there is Takumi, looking like an old man with a deathly pale face, just about to be loaded into the ambulance.

"Takumi...!"
As I rush to his side, I am stopped by the paramedics.

"This is a time-critical situation. Please step back..."

"He's a friend... no, he's family!"

"Family? If you know anything about his medical condition, please come with us and tell us the details. It would be helpful for us as well."

"Please let me ride. I'll tell you everything."
Just then, Rei-chan arrived, out of breath. She let out a scream the moment she saw Takumi.

"Why did this happen..."

"I'm going with Takumi. What about you, Rei-chan?"

"I'm..."
Rei-chan started to say, but she looked down at the ground and picked up Takumi's guitar, which had been left behind. She took a step forward to get in, but a crew member stopped her.

"You can't bring that luggage with you! ...We're leaving now!"

"...Then I'll follow in a taxi!"
Rei-chan hugged the guitar tightly and ran to a nearby taxi stand. Seeing this, the paramedic immediately closed the door and drove off with the siren blaring.

You can read the continuation (#11) here

*The header image was created using generative AI and then edited.

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