LOST TIME MEMORY Vol. 1

Chapter 2.3

Shintaro was sitting on a bench near the electronics store, opening the pack of earphones and immediately putting it to use. The sun was shining inside the mall through the glass ceiling and provided more than enough light for the entire space. But there were added lamps and light sources everywhere on top of that. Everything was well-lit, and there was just a friendly atmosphere going on in general- a good "vibe" that spread around. He subconsciously thought about that as he connected the earphones to his smartphone and spoke up to Ene.

"Can you hear me?"

"No."

Now only he could hear her, and others would just think he was talking on the phone with a friend. After he got done with that, he stashed the packaging and receipt into his sling bag and looked around. For a moment, he was a bit lost as to what to do next. A little boba tea stall caught his eye, standing between two great bonsai trees with detailed patterns on their respective pots. The booth matched its surroundings and added excellent detail to the overall setup of the mall. He could see the neon-bright monitors displaying the menu from where he was and almost asked Ene if she would like some. His eye then caught sight of dark silhouettes coming over.

Walking in a hurry, nearby the stall and other stalls beside it, were three men. They usually wouldn't have been much of note. However, what caught Shintaro's eye was their pitch-black outfits being entirely out of place for the season. It was as if they were about to attempt climbing a skyscraper in the middle of winter. There were multiple layers to their clothing, and it seemed rather odd. They each wore a particular reflective vest, the very image of working men, and none of them had anything on their person. None, except for one of them who held a toolbox. He met Shintaro's gaze with a menacing, almost murderous glare. For some reason, it hadn't been until that moment that he'd noticed how frightening their complexions were. He abruptly pulled his face away from the man and stared holes into the floor. The man started whispering something to his 'co-workers,' both of which looked at Shintaro in response. Much to his luck, Shintaro hadn't decided to look up anytime soon. And Ene, conveniently placed in the front upper pocket of his jacket, had all the view she would need to keep her occupied and was, although uncharacteristically, not saying anything. And maybe she didn't notice the men, either. The taller one of the three men said something, then the other two followed him, and thus they all went their way. Thankfully, he didn't get in trouble for just looking at people, but it made him more anxious to even look up.

A few moments later, Shintaro looked straight at the boba tea stall while checking for the men in the corner of his eyes. He had contemplated leaving the mall entirely. Though he'd had a bit of fun so far, he really was completely out of his comfort zone with these people, and the thought of others trying to start trouble with him urged up a nervous lump in his throat that wasn't going away.

"Hey," someone called to him inside his head, and he jumped, then looked around like a lost child. Who was that? It sounded to him like it might have been a girl.

"Shintaro, hey. You okay? You don't look so good." It had been Ene. He'd thought it'd been someone else. She stared at him with eyes full of worry. "...We don't have to be here, you know. We got a lot of stuff done today, so we could just go home for now. Come back another time..."

This day had been one of the weirdest days of Shintaro's life. It was, of course, unusual to see Ene change her mind about something to this extent. She was worried about him. He could understand that much, but he didn't feel comfortable leaving. Somehow, he felt as if he'd disappoint her if he did. Himself, too. Her reaction to him going out was probably something that had been building up for the past year or so, constantly either subtly or very directly wishing for him to take a step outside. He didn't want to betray those feelings, sappy as it made him feel. Even as heavy as those emotions were, he wanted to meet her expectations. Or, at the very least, buy that goddamn keyboard.