Looking at the same sky—somewhere in a distant city

It's Miyu.

I wrote a short story based on a song.
Please listen to the song while you read to fill in the gaps in your mind!

Somewhere in a Distant City - Miho Nakayama

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With slightly unsteady steps, Misaki unlocked her front door and entered her apartment. She turned on the lights, sat down on the sofa, and let out a deep sigh. Today is December 23rd, the day before Christmas Eve. Misaki had just enjoyed an early Christmas dinner with some close friends.

“Everyone is meeting their boyfriends tomorrow, aren't they? Must be nice. I’m all alone tomorrow.”
She muttered this while staring at her smartphone. There were notifications for emails and LINE messages, but none from the one person who mattered. Misaki opened Shoya’s LINE chat. All she saw were her own messages, marked as read.

As Misaki stared at the screen, a tear fell onto it.

“Shoya, do you not love me anymore? Did you find someone else over there? Are you just busy? ...I’m lonely. It’s so boring. I want to see you.”
“But I’m the one who chose not to go with you. Still, I’m lonely. What should I do?”

Misaki and Shoya are in a long-distance relationship. When Shoya was transferred, he asked her to come with him, but Misaki, who had started to enjoy her work, decided after much deliberation not to go. She finds her work fulfilling and spends her days productively, but the loneliness of not being able to see him when she wants to only grows.

After a night of little sleep, she headed to the kitchen, rubbing her eyes. While drinking water, she thought with a hazy head that today was Christmas Eve. She brewed some coffee and stepped out onto the balcony with a mug in her hand.

“Is Christmas Eve on a Saturday this year? Everyone must be on dates today. Must be nice. It’s such beautiful weather, yet here I am all alone. Ah, the sky is so pretty. I wonder if Shoya is looking at this sky, too. I hope he is. This sky stretches all the way to where Shoya is, doesn't it?”

While drinking her coffee, she looked up at the sky and thought about such aimless things.

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Shoya looked unhappy as he stared at his smartphone. There was a LINE message from Misaki. The words “Good work today. Don’t push yourself too hard,” along with a sticker, caught his eye. A single message at the same time every day. He hadn't been able to reply to Misaki for a while.

“Is Misaki angry? I haven't replied at all. What should I do? This can't go on. She must be lonely. She acts tough, but she’s actually quite lonely.”

While most of his colleagues were heading home, Shoya still couldn't leave. He was tied up with an urgent project and had been working overtime constantly. From the office window, he could see the illuminations twinkling beautifully. Watching those lights, he resented himself for using his busyness as an excuse to run away from difficult things.

At that moment, he realized that tomorrow was Christmas Eve. Shoya smiled slightly, returned to his desk, and finished the rest of his work.

On the morning of Christmas Eve, he opened the window wide, letting in the chilly air. He took a deep breath of it and looked up at the sky. It was clear, and he felt as if the sky stretched on forever. Shoya thought that Misaki was under this same sky, too.

He put on his down jacket, grabbed his Boston bag, and left the house.

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Past noon, Misaki was thinking about what to have for dinner. Since it was Christmas Eve, she wanted to eat something delicious, but since she was alone, she thought she might just go buy something nice.

“Everywhere is full of couples. What should I do for dinner? That’s it! I’ll go to the department store and splurge on something delicious! I’ll buy wine and cake, too!”
Thinking that, she felt a little excited. Just as Misaki was about to get ready to go out, her phone rang. The person calling was Shoya. Surprised, Misaki answered the phone with trepidation.

"Hello?"
"Misaki? It's me, Shoya."
"Sho-chan, I know that. What on earth... is wrong?"
"I'm in front of the station right now."
"In front of the station? Here? Wait, why? What happened?"
"It's Christmas, so I came to see you, Misaki. I'm sorry I couldn't get in touch."
"Sho-chan... I was so lonely. But I didn't want to be a burden, so I kept it all inside. I've wanted to see you for so long."
"I'm sorry. Let's eat something delicious today."
"Wait just a second. I'll get ready quickly and head over there!"

Misaki quickly got dressed and headed toward the station with a light step. She could see a familiar figure in front of the station. Shoya was waving. Misaki ran toward Shoya with a beaming smile.

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I wanted to create something for Christmas. If possible, I wanted to write a short-short story. However, I haven't been able to write short-short stories lately.

At that time, I participated in the One Verse from a Song pre-event for the Polar Bear Cup. While I was looking for various winter songs, I remembered Somewhere in a Distant City. I didn't use it for a tanka poem, but I decided I would write a story based on this song!

I wondered what kind of situation to use, but in the end, I went with the most classic, cliché approach possible. I thought about adding a twist, but since it's a short story, I made it straightforward and cliché.

I say that like I'm being cool, but it might be more accurate to say I just couldn't come up with a good idea lol

Lately, I've been thinking about tanka poems a lot. Maybe that's why, or for some other reason, I really can't write these kinds of short-short stories or poems. I wrote a short-short story for the first time in a while. It's not written very well, but please try reading it while filling in the gaps in your mind as you listen to the song.

Ah, I want to be able to write novels well, too. But I don't have the patience or technique to write a full-length novel. I think the most I can write is about 5,000 characters. I suspect that stories of about 2,000 characters are probably what suit me best.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, isn't it.
May Santa come to your place, too.
May you be able to meet the person you want to see...

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Postscript from here
Today is the 23rd.
It has been raining and snowing on and off since yesterday, and there was a light dusting of snow this morning. I imagine it's piled up in the mountainous areas.
Strong winds blow occasionally, and fine snow is dancing in the air.

It really is cold.
This morning, I wore stockings under my tights. And I layered a thin Uniqlo down vest (I don't know the official product name lol) underneath. Even though it's thin, it's down, so it's warm.
I've been wearing this down vest for over three years. I wash it in the washing machine inside a net, but it looks like I can wear it a bit longer. I'm so glad I bought it.

Oh, that's right.Today is a new moon apparently.
They say it will be a new moon in Capricorn at 19:17.
"Goals to achieve next year" should be set as if they have already been fulfilled.
Things you have been working steadily toward will bear fruit apparently.

And it seems it's important to find your calling.
By the way, what is a calling?

Is what I'm doing the same thing?
Writing various things here isn't my job, but it seems like it might be.
...I've had the ambition to publish a book someday since I was a child, though.

Oh, it turned into a long post after I added the postscript (>_<)
It's really cold, so please stay warm.
Says Miyu, who will be drinking a nice cold beer this evening lol

Thank you for reading until the end today as well♪