Twinkling Universe, Bottom of the Sea
I bought a plot of land on the moon. Let's live there when we get married.
The flimsy deed handed to me made my cheeks flush red.
Eight years have passed since then.
Even now, my boyfriend is still just my boyfriend.
Our one-bedroom apartment, neither spacious nor cramped, was a mess.
I sprayed the fruit flies in the kitchen with insect repellent.
I whispered "sorry" to the flies as they tumbled down, dizzy.
I'm home!
I heard the sound of the door opening.
That is the sound of my boyfriend when he is in a good mood.
Usually, he has bought something.
Maybe it's a ring.
Or perhaps, a ring.
Or it could even be a ring.
I bought a space squid. Let's raise it together.
My boyfriend held out a plastic bag filled with water.
It was the same kind used for goldfish.
A space squid the size of a thumb was swimming around fluffily.
Space squids are an extraterrestrial species discovered in recent years.
They don't speak, but it is said they have a will of their own.
When I peered in, the space squid brought its tentacles together and bowed.
I found myself bowing back.
It looked cramped, so I moved it to a washbasin.
I poured in mineral water little by little to acclimate it.
I added some Okinawan snow salt from the kitchen to adjust the salinity.
The instant life soup was ready.
The space squid began to swim, glowing brightly.
I heard the laughter of a variety show from behind me.
When I turned around, my boyfriend was lying down watching TV.
A sigh escaped me.
But I can't just leave them alone. Neither my boyfriend nor the squid.
The space squid placed a tentacle on my hand.
Is it trying to comfort me?
What a gentle creature.
The space squid grew bigger day by day.
Every day, it would flash and glow as if talking to me.
The live shrimp for food cost a lot.
Our savings slowly dwindled.
But I found myself laughing more often.
However, that didn't last long.
Ten months later, the space squid, now two meters long, looked cramped in our unit bath.
There's no help for it, let's release it into the sea.
My boyfriend said it without hesitation.
Is this a problem that should be decided so easily?
As I stroked the space squid's fin, I kept thinking.
Nothing came to mind.
In fact, it wasn't my boyfriend, but me, who was keeping it trapped in the unit bath.
Late at night, we shoved the space squid into the back seat of the car.
A drive for the first time in a while, listening to Southern All Stars.
I patted its thick body to the rhythm.
In time with that rhythm, its whole body glowed orange, flashing brightly.
The moon cast a beam of light onto the sea, faintly illuminating the sandy beach.
The space squid crawled out of the car looking cramped, and moved across the sand without a sound.
I watched over it, accompanied by the sound of the crashing waves.
At the water's edge, the space squid turned back and bowed.
Its massive body melted into the night sea and disappeared.
The sea breeze brushed against my hair.
Look, it's glowing!
Countless lights were twinkling on the seabed.
Only one point among them was flashing to the rhythm of the Southern All Stars song.
Well, it had friends after all. It was the right decision to let it go.
I was suffocated by the irresponsible remarks.
And by myself for allowing it.
I took a flimsy deed out of my wallet.
I crumpled it up and threw it into the sea.
The lights on the seabed sparkled and twinkled all at once.
(End)
I like grilled squid bought at a food stall.
I have participated in this project.
■ Dialogue
"Look, it's glowing."
■ Three Topics
・Universe
・Soup
・Insect repellent
▼ Submission Rules
Submission deadline (optional): Thursday, May 21, 2026, 23:59
Post with the hashtags "#DialogueThreeTopics" and "#UniverseSoupInsectRepellent"
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