A Year To Remember

Chapter 1 " Encounter "

Day by day passed. It's been almost three months since I arrived in Japan. Summer break is halfway over, and, from what I've heard, this is peak summer festival season.

Ah... festivals. The one place where you can find the most random food ever created. Seriously, who decided bugs should be edible? Well, at least I get to see girls in yukatas. That's the one upside to these festivals.

5:00 PM

"Yo! You guys have festivals this time of year, huh? I swear, Indonesia's weather is so boring—two seasons only!" My friend Truno laughed over the phone, his voice full of his usual energy.

"Dude, trust me, summer here is like actual hell. It's way hotter than anything Jakarta can throw at you," I replied.

"Really? Well, I mean, you've got air conditioning, right?"

I groaned. "My uncle thinks ACs in summer are a waste of electricity. He says it's better to 'let the air flow naturally' through the house instead of closing it up with the AC on."

"Oh man, that's brutal," Truno said, sounding sympathetic. "Must be rough, huh?"

"You have no idea."

"But hey, at least you get to enjoy the summer festivals! Come on, man, take a few pictures of those cute girls in yukatas for me!"

"Hell no. I'm not a creep sneaking photos of random girls in public. If you're that curious, just look it up online or come here yourself."

"Hehehe, you know I'm just kidding," he laughed. "Anyway, gotta run—I've got night classes. Talk soon, yeah?"

"Yeah, later." click

The festivals should be starting in an hour or two. Maybe I'll go. Who knows? I might actually run into someone interesting... like, I don't know, a random girl my age, cute and everything, and fall in love at first sight. Heh. Yeah right. Just another dumb thought.

7:00 PM

What in the actual... I've never seen a crowd like this before. It's packed! People as far as the eye can see. This level of crowding... it's over 9000! There are babies, kids, teenagers, adults, grandparents—literally every kind of person imaginable. And so many couples, too. Even kids who look like they're in elementary school holding hands. Disgusting. And here I am, by myself. Loneliness level: off the charts.

...

Bump

"Ouch."

"Hey, watch where you're go—" I stop mid-sentence as I look up at the person who bumped into me.

"I... I'm so sorry!"

"N... No, it's fine," I say, suddenly thrown off by the way she's staring back at me, wide-eyed.

The person standing in front of me is a girl, about my height but shorter. She looks my age, with a ponytail, a t-shirt, and a skirt. Her expression is nervous, almost panicked. Then I see her hand shoot up to her face. "My... my glasses!"

I look down and see them lying there, broken from the crowd trampling over them.

"Oh man, I'm really sorry!" I blurt, even though she was the one who bumped into me.

"My glasses..." she whispers, and I see tears welling up in her eyes. Then she starts to sob quietly, right there in front of me.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," I say, trying to calm her down. "You can still see without them, right?"

She sniffs. "Y... Yeah, kind of."

"Alright. Um, here, I'll walk you home so you don't have to worry." I can't believe I just said that. Where did that come from? Mr. Super Kind Guy?

"T... Thank you. I live just a few blocks away," she says, looking up at me through watery eyes.

"Okay, let's go. And don't cry anymore, alright?"

We walk the 200 meters to her house mostly in silence. Not exactly comfortable silence either. I don't know what to say, and she doesn't look like she does either. Finally, we reach her house—a huge, three-story place with a big front yard, easily double the size of my uncle's.

"T... Thank you for walking me home," she says quietly.

"No problem."

The night ends there.

...

Why didn't I ask her name?