Still, the Earth is Curved | Weekly Short-Short Note

"I got a girlfriend."

A message with a photo was sent to my smartphone from a friend. The photo showed my friend with a goofy grin and a beautiful woman smiling.

Looking at the photo, I felt a sense of unease. It wasn't that I wasn't envious... well, that's not entirely true, but I couldn't bring myself to say "Congratulations!" honestly.
I looked at the beautiful woman in the photo again. She didn't look like an AI girlfriend or an imaginary one.

Usually, I'd expect some kind of "preamble," like "I have someone I like," but there wasn't a shred of that. To have a photo sent out of the blue saying "I got a girlfriend"—it would be impossible not to be suspicious.

"She's a beauty, isn't she? Good for you."

I sent a harmless message for the time being, and my friend called me immediately.

"What is it? Are you already bragging about your girlfriend?"
"Bragging? I don't have any intention of doing that."

His tone was lower than I expected, and I still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

"Hey, hey. Isn't the world today a total mess? Earthquakes, wars, guerrilla rainstorms, rising prices, tax hikes, pension cuts, and all sorts of other things..."
"What's this? What's with the sudden change of subject?"

I agreed that the world was a mess, but I couldn't understand why he would go out of his way to say that over the phone.

"Above all, people's hearts are becoming desolate. Everyone is sick. She, you see, has a job that saves the hearts of such people."

It clicked for me.

"According to her, the Earth is curved. So we have to use our power to straighten it out."
"Hey, listen to me for a second."

I interrupted my friend and took a deep breath.

"Did you buy anything from her?"
"I'm glad you asked. I bought a large vase. For 6.23 million yen."
"Six... How did you manage to get that much money..."
"They let me pay in 321 installments of 20,000 yen. I can get you a special deal for 1.5 million yen. Let's grab a meal sometime—"

—Click.

I hung up the phone in silence and, without a moment's hesitation, blocked my friend's number.

—I hope the Earth gets straightened out.

I pictured my friend, who had taken out a 26-year loan for a vase, and muttered with pity.

(End)

I am participating in Tarahakani's project, "Weekly Short-Short Note."
This week's theme was "Still, the Earth is Curved."

I based this on a true story.

Please take a look at this as well.