Short Story | Effervescent Lunar Halo

I saw a lunar halo.
There was a rainbow-colored ring enclosing the moon, which looked like a white pearl.

"Looks like tomorrow's a no-go."

Ryo Natsume stopped and muttered this to himself.
Was it my eldest sister who said that the day after a moon like this appears, it always rains?

I'd prefer not to break my daily running routine. Concerned about how my face had rounded out a bit with age, Ryo Natsume rolled his shoulders, which were stiff from desk work, wiped his sweat with the towel around his neck, and started running toward the darkness once again.

The nights in the 23 wards are bright.
It's not pitch black; a slightly reddish darkness spreads out, and even this promenade is kept open so that suspicious people can't hide.
I thought it was well-planned.

My head is always full of new projects, searching for authors, and schedules, so this night run, which I started a few months ago, was the only time Natsume could just zone out.

Even though it felt chilly when I left the house, before I knew it, the skin exposed by my short sleeves was damp with sweat.

Natsume is running along a promenade planted with trees at regular intervals, a little ways away from his apartment building. He kicks off the ground, tan, tan, as he moves forward. His legs felt dull and heavy over a short distance that wouldn't have tired him out before. His ragged breathing slowed.

As he ran for a while, he saw a brilliant white light that illuminated the night exceptionally well.
He thought about passing by, but he couldn't. Drawn in as if by a trance, Natsume entered the convenience store, picked up a can of white grape-flavored chuhai, and then remembered he wasn't wearing a mask.
He took a new mask out of his body bag, put it on his ears, and headed to the register.

The clerk looked suspicious, stared at Natsume from head to toe, and said with a dubious look, "Could you please show me your ID?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

Natsume opened his mouth in surprise. The clerk continued, "We ask this of everyone." He couldn't see the clerk's expression because of the mask, but since the corners of his eyes moved in a bow shape, he thought the clerk might be wearing an awkward smile.

Natsume took out his driver's license, looking sullen.

"Sh-Showa!?"

The clerk's loud voice rang out, cutting through the quiet convenience store just before the date changed. Feeling the gazes gather, Natsume felt irritated.

“Ugh, so annoying.”

Natsume ripped off his mask the moment he left the convenience store and started walking toward his home, holding a cold can in his hand. At that moment, he heard a sound like a burst of laughter from behind him and turned around.

“A 35-year-old getting carded... that’s hilarious.”

A friend who shouldn't have been in town was rolling with laughter. Because he was usually such a quiet person, Natsume felt a little embarrassed by how much he was laughing.

“Huh!? Wait, Hiiragi-san, why are you here?”

Hiiragi-suke didn't answer that, instead saying, “I think I’m the type whose age shows around the eyes.” He tapped the corners of his eyes lightly.

“What are you talking about?”

“For you, Ryo, maybe it’s your facial contours. If you hide them with a mask, and with your hairstyle, you’re ageless. Seriously. I hear a lot of editors are ageless, and maybe it’s true.”

Hiiragi-suke was still laughing. Natsume fell silent, noticing that he was wearing a pitch-black formal suit. The knot of his black tie was slightly loose, and it looked as though the exhaustion of a long, heavy day was seeping through.

After that, the two of them decided to have a drink in Natsume’s room.

“Just stay there for a second.”

Natsume brought a pot of salt from the kitchen, pinched some with his fingers, and threw it at Hiiragi-suke.

“Take that!”

“Whoa, hey! Wait! ...Geez. What are you doing? Stop it, could you just act a little more normal?”

“I am acting normal.”

When Natsume laughed out loud, Shusuke brushed the salt off his mourning clothes, saying, "You psychopath." Natsume stared dazzlingly at the slender ring shining on the ring finger of his left hand.

"You're going through all the trouble of running, but won't it all be reset if you drink alcohol?"

Shusuke, who was two years his senior, said this with a somewhat relaxed smile.
Even though he didn't seem to do any particular exercise, he had maintained his slim physique ever since they first met.

"Today is special. I just felt like drinking."

Natsume placed tuna and corn mixed with mayonnaise, along with some melting cheese, onto a gyoza wrapper and put it into the fish grill.
He immediately washed the spoon he had used, wiped it dry, and put it back in its designated spot.

"More importantly, why are you in Tokyo? Alone?"

"Actually..."

"Don't tell me, a divorce!?"

Natsume asked, cutting him off.

"Hey! Listen to me. ...It's not a happy story. It was for the funeral of a classmate from university."

A heavy silence fell.

"To die at this age... I'm sure he never thought it would happen. His widow was pale, looking like she might collapse at any moment... And she was probably about nine months pregnant, too."

"Wow..."

Natsume was at a loss for words.

"Sigh..."

After that, Shusuke didn't open his mouth again.

I only took the morning off, so I'm taking the first Shinkansen back tomorrow morning. Can I crash here just for tonight?

Of course.

Natsume answered while placing the small, makeshift pizza he had just finished onto a plate. Since there was only one can of chuhai, he poured it into two clear glasses, half each. A light fizzing sound followed, and the fresh—though slightly artificial—scent of grapes spread through the air.

The two of them chatted about nothing in particular while snacking on the mini pizzas. With a crisp, light sound, the crust broke into small pieces and scattered.

Hmm, maybe I should have added miso.

True.

Shusuke downed his beer in one gulp. I thought it was an unusual way to drink.

Ah, man, maybe I should grow a beard.

Natsume said, rubbing his chin, which was starting to feel rough.

It wouldn't suit you, Ryo.

Shusuke started laughing, apparently finding something funny again.

I guess you'd call it a baby face. You should just leave it as is. Isn't it good to be seen as young?

But, you know, it doesn't exactly inspire trust. Or rather, people tend to look down on me. It might be fine for a woman, but honestly, having a baby face is a real pain for a guy.

I think it's fine, though. You use that baby face to catch people off guard, and then you strike them with your dark side, don't you, Ryo?

Hey!

Shusuke clapped his hands and laughed heartily.

“...Are you a happy drunk?”

Usually, Natsume was the one who passed out first, so this was the first time he had seen Shusuke drunk.

He turned down the lights.
Shusuke seemed to be asleep in the guest room next door, so Natsume sat by the window alone, sipping slowly on a white grape chuhai he had been saving.

In the liquid remaining about two centimeters high at the bottom of the glass, bubbles still lingered gently. As he lifted it quietly, not toasting anyone in particular, it looked as if the haloed moon was melting into the bubbles that were born and popped with a soft fizz.

He was remembering Shusuke's words from earlier.

“Sometimes, I get scared.”

“Of what?”

“...Well, the three of us in the family are getting along well right now, but... accidents, disasters, and the like. It's scary. I used to think that having more people you care about would just make you happy, but...”

After letting that slip out, Shusuke's eyelids grew heavy and droopy, and before he knew it, he had fallen asleep.

"Maybe being a bachelor isn't so bad after all."

Natsume thought to himself as he downed the last of his chuhai in one go. His throat crackled with heat. He then immediately washed and put away the glass, and began preparing French toast for the next morning.

In October, I am taking on the #Inktober challenge.

While I was drawing, a story suddenly popped into my head...
I was feeling down because all the public submissions I applied for in March were rejected, so I want to become able to write endlessly and inexhaustibly, and I plan to turn what I can into short stories.

Today's theme for Day 1 was "Beard."

▼ Click here for more about Inktober.