[Illustration] A small gift for those who have read it, and those who will read it
"Shapes That Tread Water"
It is being read by so many people.
I have truly received more kindness than I deserve,
enough to overflow from both my hands.
We are currently in the period for the Creative Awards.
There are times when I feel as if an invisible heat
is reaching me through the screen, whether I wish for it or not.
Thank-you notes, announcements, reviews, work introductions...
I often write thank-you articles myself.
However, if seeing or reading them
makes your heart heavy,
please feel free to let them pass by.
I cannot always return the 'likes',
and I find it particularly difficult to follow everyone back right now,
so I hope you do not feel exhausted
by obligations, routines, or trying to be considerate.
𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧
Today is an article of gratitude.
――I want to convey my heartfelt thanks――
To those who have read it, and to those who will read it.
A small gift for you.
《Menu》
Character illustration collection
Photos of the food in the story
Hokkaido sweets
A few of the impressions I have received
The story behind what inspired me to write this (it's a bit dark)
I hope you can enjoy this in a relaxed way.
🌛
The two protagonists of this work are Madoka Yamaguchi and Tsuki Yamada.
Both of their names are shapes that signify a triangle/square and a circle.
Madoka Yamaguchi
A girl with extreme stage fright who cannot talk to people.
In the virtual space 'O-UNABARA,' she drifts near an existence that resembles the person she loves.
Tsuki Yamada
A quiet boy who carries a sense of emptiness.
He spends his days in the virtual space while feeling a clouding of his memories.
Neither of them talks very much.
It is a very quiet story that progresses by weaving their inner thoughts together.
Imagining the color ultramarine,
I can hear the sound of waves, bubbles, and breathing.
Living is hard,
but even so, clinging to something, I am somehow managing to live.
Three outfits other than her school uniform
Lemon-colored hoodie
The image of the 'love letter' that appears in the story is based on this ⤵️
Since the moon part is a watermark,
they say you can enjoy the gradation by putting colored paper inside.
I love stationery with this kind of playful spirit.
And, a lot of food appears in the story as well.
In the feedback I received, people also mentioned that it looked delicious.
'Grilled rice ball x wild salmon'
Ours are wedge-cut,
salt, nori-salt,
and tartar sauce x ketchup is also delicious
Salt, nori-salt, black pepper
The ingredients are just potatoes, oil, and seasonings like salt
I couldn't get the Lindt chocolate or the Kinotoya milk cookies...
Here are the milk cookies ↑
I'm sure some of you have seen the Sapporo Agricultural College logo before.
Moon, mermaid, sea, ultramarine, star, faint hope, bubbles
Image Design: pekomogu
Illustration generated with ChatGPT
I
was not comfortable in the classroom during my middle and high school years.
But I couldn't choose to stop going to school either.
To my grandparents and mother, being able to go to school was a wonderful thing,
and voluntarily giving up the environment where you can study
was something they told me was a terrible 'evil'.
It was painful, but I kept thinking about it in my heart.
Without telling anyone, I just kept thinking about it on my own.
Sprinkling in my favorite keywords,
imagining a dream-like world,
if that could someday become fragments of a story like this,
I finally felt that maybe it was okay to have suffered.
Besides, I think it's okay to feel that things are painful.
Everyone feels things differently.
If anyone who read this is feeling lost right now,
even if you're marking time, or decide to take a break,
or run away, or look for a place where you belong,
I think that's perfectly fine.
I wrote this while wishing for that.
Does it have a fairy-tale atmosphere...?
Illustration generated with Gemini
The reason I wrote this work is actually a darker story.
There are parents who love their children from the bottom of their hearts, but
there are also parents who intentionally choose divorce for the sake of money.
I couldn't believe my ears when I first heard it.
Child allowances, child-rearing allowances for single-parent families...
I don't know the circumstances, so I'm not blaming them.
Divorcing because you want money...?
Are the children's feelings even considered there?
Children cannot choose their parents.
But because they cannot be independent, they have no choice but to follow whatever parents they have.
Every time I hear stories about various families,
I learn and feel pained,
or I learn and feel happy.
I worried about what I could do,
and in the end, there isn't really anything I can do,
but I poured in the wish that
the reader might think, 'That's okay.'
If you could think, 'Maybe I'll just eat a meal alone or look up at the moon...'
then I would be truly happy.
From here on, I will introduce some impressions.
(I have received permission to post these)
If you are thinking about reading it from now on,
I hope this serves as a reference.
I was also bad at expressing my feelings in junior high and high school... and I had a phobia of men... so this really reminded me of that time.
Madoka-chan and Tsuki-kun are amazing for facing their own feelings! And they aren't just thinking about themselves, but acting with their loved ones in mind.
I thought it was wonderful.
It's also interesting that Sapporo place names and Rokkatei appear.
I myself am not very good at speaking.
Rather than hurting someone,
I sometimes choose not to speak at all.
I empathize with the protagonists so much.
Words support people,
'It's okay to be you,'
'You are just right as you are,'
I was deeply moved by this story that conveys that to me 😭
When I finished reading, a sense of warmth and a quiet resolve naturally welled up from the bottom of my heart.
A resolve to live by letting my true self out without fear.
This story has a kindness that considers various possibilities for every person and treats their existence with care.
That is why, by reading this story, I was able to cherish myself.
It made me realize that it really is possible for the feelings you hold in a place where no one can see them to be discovered by the very person you most want to find them, and thinking about what a gentle world that is... it really touched my heart.
It's like being allowed to drift on the open sea,
gentle, comfortable,
and like being told it's okay to be alive,
like having my head patted,
like being told such things.
It quiets my mind,
and allows me to confirm my own existence.
I am receiving such time.
When I have had a hard time,
it tells me it's okay to breathe.
When I am tired,
it tells me it's okay.
When I am happy,
it tells me it will surely become even more fun.
It feels as if I am being told these things.
My heart is filled to the brim
with the warm feelings the author has poured into it.
I have received warm words
in both recommendation reviews and Tales comments.
🌛Click here for the list of recommendation reviews🌜️
As I have written many times in previous articles,
I cannot build a platform
that can reach people far away.
That is precisely why I am savoring the joy
of being supported once again.
To Tales and note,
I express my deepest gratitude.
Top illustration by Fu-chan (thank you as always)
“The Moon and Ryosuke”
A crossover that would never have happened
if I had just kept marking time
(Ryosuke also appears in “Cafe Ajisai Short Story Collection” and “Hydrangeas and the Sun”)
After this, Tsuki was told by Maruo,
“You have to let me thank you for taking that Instax photo of me,”
and was dragged off to a set-meal restaurant without any room for argument 🤭
Thank you for reading until the end!
pekomogu
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