🌅 Short Story 'The Door of Karma' ─ At the End of a Repeating Morning
I wake up.
—Huh?
My cheeks are wet. I was crying.
When I was little.
When I fell and cried, Shun-niisan would gently put a bandage on me.
"Fuka, you're such a crybaby."
His large hand would stroke my head as he laughed.
Ever since that day, Shun-niisan has been the center of my world.
"Fuka! It's morning!"
My mother's voice echoes from downstairs.
I sluggishly sit up and slip my arms into my uniform.
The morning sun streaming through the window was strangely dazzling.
◆ ◆ ◆
On the way to school.
"Morning, Fuka."
My heart leaps at the voice of Shun-niisan, who lives next door.
"...Morning."
I answer, looking down while fiddling with my bangs.
That exchange of just a few seconds was a treasure to me.
"Shun! Morning!"
Kiyomi runs up with a bouncy voice.
Kiyomi had always been like that.
She could get along with anyone, laughed at the center of the classroom, and always naturally possessed the things I wanted but couldn't get.
Shun-niisan's gaze naturally turned toward her.
I was quietly left behind on the outside.
(Why... I'm the one who deserves to be by his side.)
Kiyomi has plain features, and her only merit is her bright laugh.
I have been told that I am beautiful.
Slender legs, fair skin, clear and large eyes.
I am also confident in my figure.
And yet—
Why don't you look at me?
◆ ◆ ◆
On the way home from school.
Kiyomi turns pale,
as we reach the stairs.
She looks visibly unwell.
"Kiyomi, are you okay?"
I approach her while calling out.
The scene of Shun-niisan and her this morning flashes through my mind.
Before I knew it, I had reached out both hands.
—A dull thud echoes at the bottom of the stairs.
"Are you okay!?"
Shun-niisan's shout.
Beside him, Kiyomi lets out a pained voice.
...However, it was I who had fallen to the bottom of the stairs.
Tears overflow as I curl up in pain.
I close my eyes.
—And then, I wake up again.
◆ ◆ ◆
"Huh...? I'm crying."
My mother's voice.
The morning light.
Shun-niisan's "Morning."
Everything is the same.
(Am I... repeating the same thing?)
On the way home from school.
Kiyomi feels unwell again.
In front of the stairs.
I reach out both hands.
...And then, I wake up again.
The same morning.
Tears wetting my cheeks.
I repeated it over and over again.
Jealousy toward Kiyomi.
Feelings for Shun-niisan.
The emptiness of unrequited love.
Every time, I would fall, cry, and be returned to the morning.
—I can't escape.
Is this a punishment imposed on me?
Or is it a trial to make me realize something?
◆ ◆ ◆
One morning.
The usual tears and my mother's voice.
But at that moment, the morning sun streaming through the window looked different just for today.
Transparent light with nothing to block it.
As if it were the door of karma that appeared at the end of a long maze.
"It's this way."
I felt like someone whispered.
I tried to run to Shun-niisan's house.
But suddenly, my feet stopped.
A quiet, very calm voice echoed from deep within my chest.
(It's... okay now.)
Shun-niisan's smile.
Kiyomi's laughter.
I gently let go of it all.
At that moment.
The tears that had been wetting my cheeks melted into a warm breeze and disappeared.
Dazzling light envelops me.
My stubborn heart slowly unravels.
The pain.
The jealousy.
The loneliness.
Everything is comfortably fading away.
"Everyone... thank you."
I whisper the final words in my heart.
And then, for the first time, I started walking toward the other side of that light of my own will.
◆ ◆ ◆
The morning sun shone quietly,
and only the sound of birds filled the world.
🌙 Afterword
Loving someone intensely, or even maddening jealousy, may indeed be the 'proof that we are alive'.
When you embrace even that pain with affection, your heart finds true freedom.
May this little story become a warm light that gently nestles in your heart.
—Moonlight Scribe
🌕 Would you like to read these as well? ☕️
A moment for you
To soothe your heart—
Little stories spun by the Moonlight Scribe 🌙
🌈 Where the Light Is
A journey to find the 'light of hope' sleeping deep in your heart.
▶️ [Where the Light Is](https://note.com/quirky_squid9988/n/n907ac04e82ce)
🌇 The Person Waiting in the Twilight
A promise at twilight that gently wraps around your heart.
▶️ [Short Story 'The Person Waiting in the Twilight'](https://note.com/quirky_squid9988/n/nca144ea42e42)
🔮 The Door of Karma ─ At the End of a Repeating Morning
A story of 'heart regeneration' that questions fate.
▶️ [The Door of Karma](https://note.com/quirky_squid9988/n/n4dc36d23897a)
👿 The Fallen Girl and the Devilish Ex-Boyfriend
A slightly bitter love that sways between laughter and tears.
▶️ [The Fallen Girl and the Devilish Ex-Boyfriend](https://note.com/quirky_squid9988/n/nee10cd9884f5)
🌙 Thank you for reading.
May this place light a small lamp in your heart 🕊️✨
If you could give me a 'Like' or a comment,
it would be very encouraging 🙇♀️
#ShortStory #Spiritual #Karma #Liberation #LoopStory #TearJerker #SoulStory #Novel #CreativeAward2026 #CreativeAward2026AllCategoryDivision