Charm

~~~✨~~~

The meteorite had struck earlier than expected. But it wasn't Amane 天音, which was still on its unstoppable course toward Earth, but one made of chords and melodies that hit my heart like a train and shook my entire soul.

I had never expected that a video on MiuMew, a live broadcast of a solitary musician seen only from the chest down to his crossed legs on the floor, could captivate me so much in such a short time.

A soft, nostalgic strum opened the song, with an almost hypnotic rhythm, as if the guitar strings vibrated with an echo of the past. The sound was intimate, as if that stranger was playing in the room with me, with no audience but the shadows and silence. The notes swayed delicately between major and minor chords, creating a feeling of longing, of something lost but still bright in memory.

After a few moments, the air escaped from my lungs as I realized the chorus was about to begin. The strumming became more energetic, the chords expanding like a flare consuming the air around them. The melody, previously soft and contained, now rose with an intensity that seemed to tear something inside me.

"Ah..."

Each note resonated with a mixture of melancholy and determination, as if the song was torn between surrendering to the past or clinging to the little that remained of the future. I felt like an insect attracted to light, completely dazzled by the brightness of the sound, as if bewitched by that faceless magician.

The melody rose with a subtle crescendo, the notes resonating with more strength as the strumming became more determined. The harmonic progression seemed to reach for something, to extend a hand toward an unattainable sky.

I eagerly began to hum the notes of the second verse, which was the same as the first, and did the same with the chorus.

"Oh..."

I stopped humming only when I noticed a sensation that forced me to bring a hand and my eyes to my chest. I began to feel it warm again, but at the same time, it was different from before. As if it were a completely different warmth, that I couldn't explain, but did desire to stay forever.

"Really...this song…?"

I gently squeezed, as if touching something deeper than my skin. It felt like that bath after walking for hours in winter, or that favorite meal when you're starving.

Like something beautiful that I didn't know I still had, perhaps.

And I had to find out if that was true.

My fingers began to manipulate the remote control, where typing was tedious but didn't prevent me from showing what I felt.

The final chorus was about to begin, and I pressed enter in sync with the music.

"You play very well (⁠✷⁠‿⁠✷⁠)"

"How long has it been since I used one of those emojis." The thought brought a barely perceptible giggle, as if something inside me awakened after a long slumber.

On the screen, the musician didn't react immediately. His fingers continued to move across the strings with the same precision and dedication, as if the whole world was summed up in that final chorus. After a few seconds, the song returned to its most intense point, the notes vibrating with contained emotion. But suddenly, his fingers stopped.

The sound died abruptly. I blinked, bewildered.

"What happened?" I prayed for it to return.

The image on the screen shook a little, as if the musician had accidentally moved the camera. His hands were no longer on the guitar.

Instead, one of them appeared at the corner of the screen, quickly covering the camera as the microphone emitted tapping sounds.

"Huh…?"

Before I could process it, the screen went black.

"Thank you for watching this broadcast. Here are other videos you might like:"

I remained in silence.

I didn't know how much time passed before I reacted, feeling a strange weight in my chest.

"No…" I murmured, curling up on my futon.

I let the remote fall to my side, while my mind tried to find an explanation.

"Did I scare him? Did I say something weird? It can't be..."

I brought my knees to my chest, feeling a strange mix of confusion and guilt. I had only wanted to say something good, but all I managed to do was make him disappear.

Beep.

The sound snapped me out of my trance.

Almost instinctively, I grabbed my phone from the table and unlocked the screen. A MiuMew notification appeared in the foreground, showing a direct message received.

LC_TheEcho: "Thanks :)"

My heart skipped a beat, completely taken by surprise.

"Is it him?"

I quickly opened his profile to make sure. Yes, it was him. The same name, the same picture where his guitar barely stood out against a wall. There were no doubts.

I swallowed hard. I didn't know what I was expecting, but definitely not this. And like a teenage girl talking to a male classmate, my thumb hovered over the keyboard, hesitating.

"What am I supposed to say now?"

I didn't want to seem too enthusiastic, nor too insistent. But the curiosity burned inside me, and the anxiety drove me to write the first thing that came to mind, now faster thanks to my phone.

"Are you the one who was playing?"

The response came in a few seconds.

LC_TheEcho: "I don't think many people send a thank you randomly"

"It makes sense," I recalculated before refocusing. "Wait!"

I hurried to type again, my thumb trembling slightly as I pressed send.

"Did I make you stop? I'm sorry!"

The response didn't take long.

LC_TheEcho: "Don't worry. It's just that no one ever enters, lol. You surprised me <(￣︶￣)>"

Without realizing it, I let out a sigh of relief, a smile appearing on my face now that only the memory of that great performance remained.

"Ah…"

For some reason, it made me feel better knowing that I hadn't bothered him. In fact, he even seemed happy.

"Well, your music just traveled to Osaka and brightened someone's day. Thanks for the concert (⁠・⁠∀⁠・⁠)"

I saw the ellipsis appear on the screen again, a sign that he was typing.

LC_TheEcho: "I'm from Osaka too, so the music didn't travel far then >D"

My fingers froze over the screen.

"Huh?"

I didn't know why, but the idea of being in the same city caused a strange tickling in my chest and my cheeks to turn bright red.

"Really? Which part?"

I bit my lip after hurrying to ask. Something had completely piqued my curiosity.

LC_TheEcho: "I'm from Suminoe, by the bay." "And you?"

"Ah…"

I hesitated for a second, feeling a shiver in response, but quickly decided to answer. It didn't make sense to be cautious about something like this anymore. Who would want to stalk me in the middle of the apocalypse?

"Miyakojima (⁠ ⁠ꈍ⁠ᴗ⁠ꈍ⁠)"

LC_TheEcho: "Across the city? Well, that could be considered far :D. In any case, I'm glad."

I gripped my phone tighter. I was glad too. I didn't know why, but that simple phrase made the warmth in my chest burn even more.

It was stupid, right? I had barely exchanged a few words with him, and yet, something in his response made me feel lighter. As if, for an instant, the weight of the world had reduced a bit.

Was it because I felt I had found someone else in the midst of this silence? Or because his music had ignited something in me that I thought was extinguished, lost, broken?

My lips made my smile fade again, because it was time to act. I didn't fully understand it, but I didn't want to think too much either.

I was surprised when my fingers were already typing again, as if my mind didn't want to stop.

"Can I go see you play?"

The message remained on the screen, shining like a small spark of impulse that I could no longer extinguish.

The wait felt endless, longer than the previous times, and I feared once again that I would scare him off with my impulse. But once more, there was nothing to fear.

LC_TheEcho: "Sure :D"

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, feeling an inexplicable relief. I hadn't ruined it, and in the state I was in, that felt like a victory. Just after, the artist spoke again.

LC_TheEcho: "Do you know Sanyou High School in Suminoe?"

"No, where is it?"

He hurried to send me the location to my maps application.

LC_TheEcho: "I'll be there in the afternoon. Come in, there's no one there. Room 3-2M, at the end of the hallway on the third floor."

My fingers hovered over the screen, along with my entire body and mind.

"Tomorrow?"

I froze. Everything was happening too fast, and my mind began to fill with questions. Was it safe? What if he turned out to be someone completely different from what I imagined? What if... it was just a mistake?

But then I remembered his music, the sensation in my chest, and how for an instant I had felt something I thought lost.

She appeared for an instant.

Before insecurity could make me delete the message, my fingers moved on their own.

"Sure, I'll be there."