“Did you get my letters?” Jasmine has been writing to me since she left for college. I think it’s to make up for the fact that she doesn’t come home too often. Which is the reason I haven’t read them. “I’ve sent a few of them now.”
“Yeah. I did.”
“Have you read them?”
“I’ve been busy.”
Jasmine frowns. “Promise you will, okay? I wrote them for you.”
“Yeah, I promise.”
She hugs me one last time. Part of me doesn’t want to let go of her.What am I going to do without you here?
Jasmine opens the car door and says, “Text me when you get home, okay?” Then she climbs inside and smiles at me through the window. I wave goodbye as the car heads down the road. I almost wish I could go with her, leave this boring life behind, too. Instead, I just watch her disappear down the corner. A breeze blows in from behind me, bringing the first sprinkle of rain. The train stop is only a few blocks from here. But I don’t feel like going back to an empty house. I turn around, heading in the other direction.
Rain continues to fall as I cross the road. I hold the bag to my chest to keep it dry. It’s been a while since I’ve walked through this part of the Loop. Every window display I pass reminds me of Daniel. I wish I could just call him up, ask him to hang out like old times. I thought about visiting his grave today and bringing him some flowers for his birthday. But I didn’t want to go by myself. I’m sure he’ll understand, though. Sometimes I have conversations with him inside my head. “Don’t worry about it,” he would say. “I don’t even like flowers.”
The wind picks up, sending a chill through me. I clench the bag tighter as I turn the corner and keep walking. Theblue café sign blinks through the mist. I was hoping the place was still open. I cross the street and make my way inside. A bell rings as I push open the door. I don’t order anything right away. I find a table in the corner and set my things down.
It’s been a long time since I’ve been to this café. Daniel’s dad lives a few blocks from here. He used to spend the weekends with him. This was always our meeting spot when he snuck out of the house. Maybe if I wait around long enough, he’ll show up and tell me everything’s been a dream. I close my eyes and imagine Daniel sitting across the table.
His voice fills my head. “Took you long enough. So what did you get me?”
I place the bag on the table. The one I’ve been carrying around all day. It’s Daniel’s birthday present. I bought it for him a few weeks ago. I couldn’t stop myself. Inside is the shirt from the Crying Fish tour. Daniel and I went to their concert last spring. It’s one of his favorite bands of all time. We waited in line for hours and once we got to the front, it was sold out.
“We missed half the concert for this,” he sighed.
“You could still get the keychain.”
“For twenty dollars? Am I Bill Gates?”
I spent weeks searching for it online. The band is a little obscure, making it difficult to find. I open the bag and place the shirt on the table. Daniel would have loved it. As I imagine the look on his face, it hits me all over again.I’ll never be able to give this to you. There’s nothing but an empty chair where he should be sitting. I run my hand over theshirt, wondering why I’m still doing this to myself. As if it’s supposed to make me feel better.
There’s a pain in my chest, making me feel sick. When the room starts to spin, I squeeze my eyes shut. I don’t know why I came in here. I lower my head to the table as this wave of loneliness crashes over me. I wish someone would come to make everything okay again. But Jasmine is on her way back to Ann Arbor. It feels like everyone is disappearing from my life.
The door chimes as someone enters the café. The bell sounds different this time, like a ring from a bicycle. The sound echoes through me as footsteps approach my table. Someone leans their umbrella against the wall, taking the empty seat in front of me. I don’t look up immediately. I need a second to pull myself together.
Maybe Jasmine came back to find me. But how would she know where I am?
As I lift my head slowly, I realize it’s not her. Someone else stares back at me, making me think I’m dreaming or something. It takes my brain a few seconds to process his face, the shoulders, the waves of black hair. But it couldn’t be…
“Haru?”
He smiles at me from across the table, evoking a sky of petals in my head as the memories come flooding back.A paper card flying through the air, the doors closing between us, the train pulling away. His dark hair falls gently along the side of his face, and he wears a black shirt. His tanned skin is dewy from the rain.
“It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?” he says, sitting back in his chair.
I can’t think straight.“Where did you come from?”
He smirks. “So you remember? Thought you might have forgotten me.”
“Of course I remember.” I’m trying not to stammer. “What are you doing here?”
Haru glances out the window and says, “I was walking by and thought I saw you. So I came in to make sure.”
My head is spinning. The last time we saw each other was more than a year ago. Across the ocean, thousands of miles away. “But what are you doing inChicago?”
“Visiting,” he says, so casually. “I remember all the good things you had to say. Had to see it for myself.”
