Short Story: July 32nd
◉ Wind-Blown Literature Club [July 32nd] Entry
It was the summer vacation of my fifth-grade year.
My grandparents' house was in a small village nestled in the mountains, and at night, all you could hear was the murmuring of the river and the sound of trees swaying in the wind.
The night of July 31st. Unable to sleep, I looked at the grandfather clock in the living room. 11:56 PM. Four more minutes until the date changed.
Just then, the shoji screen on the veranda slid open silently on its own.
Someone is there—
Thinking that, I went out into the garden and saw a girl standing under the moonlight. She was a little older than me, maybe in middle school. She was wearing a white dress and holding something like a black stone to her chest.
Strangely, I wasn't afraid.
“Good evening.”
When I called out to her, the girl widened her eyes in slight surprise.
“You can see me.”
The girl smiled as if relieved. She then told me she had come from a different world, one unlike the world I lived in. Being a child, I didn't doubt her words.
“Today, on July 32nd, I have a favor to ask of you.”
I laughed, not understanding what the girl meant.
“Today is July 31st.”
The girl shook her head.
“No, it's July 32nd.”
I looked at my wristwatch. 11:56 PM. The date hadn't changed yet.
The girl looked up at the sky.
“Did you know? A day isn't actually exactly twenty-four hours long.”
As I tilted my head in confusion, the girl continued.
“That's why, to adjust for the time that drifts little by little, there is a leap year once every four years.”
“Is that so?”
It was a difficult topic, but the girl kept smiling the whole time.
"Today is that extra time. Four minutes that no one can count. That's why it's July 32nd."
The moment I heard those words, strangely, the wind stopped completely. It was a silence as if time itself were holding its breath.
"You know,"
The girl gently held out the black stone she had been clutching to her chest.
"I want you to keep this for me."
It was a small, square black stone that fit in both hands. Its surface was as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the starry sky.
"What is this?"
"A monolith. A stone that protects our world."
The girl smiled, looking just a little bit lonely.
"But right now, it doesn't have enough power. This stone stores time."
"Time?"
"Yes."
"Fifteen years' worth in this world."
I didn't understand what she meant. When I looked confused, the girl laughed.
"It's okay. You just need to hold onto it. Give it back to me in fifteen years."
I was surprised.
"Fifteen years from now? That's a long way off."
"For you, maybe."
The girl nodded quietly.
"But for me, it's just a little bit of time."
I look at the clock. 11:58 PM. Only two minutes have passed.
"What does this mean?"
"My world and your world only overlap for these four minutes. But time doesn't flow the same way. If I leave and come back again, fifteen years will have passed in this world."
The girl placed the monolith into my hand.
"So, when we meet next, you will be an adult. I will probably stay just as I am now."
The stone was cool to the touch.
"Is that true?"
"It's true."
The girl smiled. For some reason, that smile looked like she was about to cry.
"When we meet next, you will surely be able to save the world."
Just as I was about to ask the meaning of those words, the clock struck midnight. A summer breeze brushed against my cheeks, and the figure of the girl, who had shouted "It's a promise!" at the very end, vanished as if melting into the summer night air.
Fifteen years was more than enough time to turn a child into an adult. I graduated from university, got a job, and fell in love.
My grandparents had already passed away. The house where I used to play during summer vacation was now an empty house where no one lived. Even so, every year, when the night of July 31st arrived, I remembered that girl.
Was it a dream, or did I really meet her? I sometimes thought about that, but the black monolith tucked away in the back of the closet told me it was a real event.
For fifteen years, the stone remained unchanged, just quietly existing there.
Fifteen years later, on July 31st, at 11:56 PM. I stood in the garden of my grandparents' house, holding the monolith.
I was half-doubting. She couldn't possibly come. Even while thinking that, I didn't want to be the one to break the promise.
At that moment, the wind stopped, and the same silence as fifteen years ago descended.
"You kept the promise."
A familiar voice. When I turned around, a girl in a white dress was standing there. She hadn't changed at all from that time. Her height, her face, the length of her hair. It was as if she had walked straight here from fifteen years ago.
I smiled involuntarily.
"You really came."
"I promised, didn't I?"
The girl smiled too. I held out the monolith. The girl hugged it as if it were precious. Then, a pale golden light raced across the surface of the black stone. It was a beautiful radiance, as if it had captured the stars of the night sky.
"Thank goodness..."
The girl let out a sigh of genuine relief.
"It's properly full."
"Full?"
The girl said, staring at the monolith.
"It has exactly fifteen years of time in it. In our world, we couldn't wait fifteen years. The world would have broken apart long before that."
I tilted my head.
"But didn't you wait fifteen years too..."
"No. After I parted from you, I went back to my own world. Then, I came right back here. In my time, only a few minutes have passed."
The girl looked at her wristwatch.
"About a minute, I think."
She said it so nonchalantly that I couldn't help but laugh.
"For me, it was fifteen years."
"Yeah. Was it long?"
I couldn't answer that question right away. It had been long, but it was precisely because of those fifteen years that I was able to keep this promise today.
"It was long."
When I answered that, the girl smiled, looking a little apologetic.
"I'm sorry. Even though I didn't wait at all."
Fifteen years for me, just a few minutes for her. Even though it was the same promise, the time that flowed was completely different. That was exactly why I was happier than anything that I had been able to keep the promise.
The girl hugged the monolith.
"With this, our world will be saved."
"What is happening in your world?"
"The laws of time have begun to collapse. But this monolith will fix them."
She said that, looking up at the sky.
"Once time is corrected, our worlds will never cross again."
"What?"
In other words, July 32nd would never come again. I finally understood what that meant. These four minutes were a one-time miracle allowed solely to save the world.
The girl stared at me.
"Thank you. Because you kept your promise, our world will be saved."
I shook my head.
"I was just keeping that stone for you."
"No. That was the hardest part of all. It was only a few minutes for me, but you waited fifteen years."
That gap could never be bridged. But that was exactly why. I smiled and said,
"For me, those fifteen years weren't so bad. Every time summer came around, I was thinking of you."
The girl's eyes widened. And for the first time, tears welled up in them.
"I... I never imagined that anyone would think of me that way."
I glanced at the clock: 11:59:50 PM. In ten seconds, the date would change. The girl's body began to turn transparent.
"It's time."
"Will I see you again?"
The girl shook her head while crying.
"July 32nd will never come again. But I won't forget you."
Wiping away her tears and putting on the best smile she could, the girl melted into the summer night, just as she had fifteen years ago.
August 1st, 12:00 AM. The wind blew, and the sound of the river flowing returned.
On my way home, I check my watch. August 1st, 12:15 AM. The world hasn't changed at all. But I am the only one who knows.
That at the end of July 31st, there was a brief, fleeting moment that no one noticed. And that, in those few minutes, a world was saved.
Every time summer comes, I look up at the night sky. July 32nd will never come again. Since that day, whenever the night of July 31st arrives, I have quietly begun to think of that secret 'July 32nd' that no one else knows about.