**An excerpt from my upcoming anime FF,
“OFF THE RECORD”**
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Then, I saw her.
A girl. Tall. With hair that swept her waist. She was wearing a bright pink backpack that could’ve been picked up from a space satellite and clutched something against her chest, though I couldn’t see what.
I don’t know why she stood out so much. It’s not like I could even see her clearly; our houses weren’t close enough. Maybe it was the way she stepped out of the car, not timid, but careful. Maybe it was the way her arms clung tightly to the item she was holding, like she was still deciding if this new place might try to steal it away. Or maybe it was just that stupid backpack.
Whatever it was, from the moment she stepped out, she was what my eyes followed.
She trailed the man that I assumed was her father to the porch. He unlocked the door, turning to pat her head before entering. She hesitated, just for a second. And right before she followed him inside, she looked back. Up the hill, toward my house. Toward the driveway.
She noticed me—a scrawny kid watching from afar.
Then she waved. Small. Polite. Nothing special, really.
But in that moment, at that small gesture, something in my chest went quiet.
And I spent every day after that trying to catch up to that brief second in time where the world paused.
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Publication begins January 31st.
More details to follow.