2024 Girls

The Inoue household.

I just stood by the road.

They had a nice house.

I didn’t particularly sleep well. The hotel had thin walls. I could hear everything. And I mean everything. Next door to me was a pretty invigorous couple. Yes. I made that word up. Their energy and, well, sounds could be transmitted into my brain. They went at it for such a long time, that I just gave up and didn’t bother to count past the first thirty minutes.

That said, even if I had peace and quiet, it still wouldn't change the fact that I have suddenly found myself temporally disconnected from October. I barely even remember the date. I was looking forward to a nice weekend, doing normal school activities, just hanging out with my friends, letting time go by.

It's if I let time fly by 20 years ahead. There are just so many things in my head that I just can’t even put into words. I’m speechless, and I just feel completely mute. There’s nothing in the world that can describe my sorrow. I don’t even want to see any of my friends. A sight of your friends all old, their dreams either chased or long gone. I don't care if they reached their potential or not. At least they had a chance. The tadpole that never became a frog as its peers are laying theirs.

That’s what it feels like.

I miss one person in particular. I never really got a chance to even say anything. Hirano Riko. I only last saw her yesterday, 20 years ago.

And yet, there is a plus side.

You could look at it this way. Because I have essentially skipped 20 years, I get to live through two different eras as a young man! This is the bright side! I can be melancholic all the time and proverbially drink myself to death or I can just bite the bullet. Someone’s sunset is another’s sunrise. Yin and yang. The beginning and the end.

So let’s make this a new beginning! Look at how pretty the sun is. Breathe in…

Exhale.

Guess what I did?

I just breathed in life.

A disconnected voice came from in front.

“What are you doing?”

Guess who just saw me be positive.

That’s right.

Inoue Ayami.

I should call her my saviour, my guide, yadda and all. But I don’t particularly feel like doing so. Firstly, you’d think your saviour would be… I don’t want to say cute or be a bit weird, but you know… less of a slob in the morning. I mean, people want handsome princes to save them, right?

“Are you deeply breathing in life?” She said, whilst wearing literally an open hoodie with a stained vest, as well as some shorts.

I stand by my first statement. The Inoues had a nice house. Sadly, one member of the Inoues did not keep their personal style as well polished as their facade.

“Umm…” Shit. She caught me off guard. “Yeah. There’s nothing wrong with breathing in air that technically shouldn’t exist for 20 years.”

“Not cool. Are you saying technically I shouldn’t exist? Because you’re in front of my house.”

We both laughed a bit.

“You raise a good point. Sorry, Inoue-san.” I said whilst scratching my chin.

She smiled. “No need to call me Inoue-san,” she scolded me lightly. “This whole household is full of Inoue-sans. Ayami will do just fine.”

We’ve only known each other for technically less than 24 hours, and now we’re on a first-name basis. Ayami-san is one strange person, to be honest. Maybe it’s because I’m all out of faith in the world 20 years ago and I’m not sure time has healed the wounds.

“Okay, Ayami-san. What’s your plan for me?”

She jumped a little bit back. “Plan?”, she said with a rather confused look. “I thought you had a plan.”

“Well, I… uhh?”

Incredible. There is no plan. To be honest, I was hoping that she had a plan because I literally had no idea where to begin. The only reference point I have is the street layout. What people sell, cultures, everything else, I have no clue. I mean, isn’t it meant to be August? It’s not even the right season for me. Luckily for me, I was just wearing my school uniform which was foolish that day but now the right choice! Can I just let you know, by the way, I had to sleep in.

“You know what, my bad.” Ayami put her hands on her chest to apologize. Or at least, that’s what I think? “It’s not fair on you to navigate this city. Let me put you on some new game.”

“Okay?”

What does ‘new game’ even mean?

“Bisai and Kisogawa don’t exist anymore.”

Huh? What? Did they explode or disappear? What?

“What… what do you mean? I have cousins in Bisai! Are they dead? You can’t be serio-”

Ayami-san tried to calm me down. “Umm, well… I meant as in they were abolished and are now a part of Ichinomiya. I realize how, well, leading that phrase means. No. None of your cousins are dead, at least not due to some government thing. No one died.”

“Oh,” I said with a tinge of relief and slight anger. “Don’t lead people on with questionable statements like that.”

“Yeah. My bad. By the way, I go to Kisogawa High, and I’m not dead, so…” She twirled her hair whilst saying what possibly might be the most ludicrous ending statement to any topic like this.

To be fair to Ayami, I remember my parents talking about some vote about expanding the city so that’s probably what they meant.

Then again, who says something so misleading? Doesn’t exist?

“Well, I guess you’re not dead…” I just had to awkwardly add something to the conversation.

After, quite honestly, an extraordinary meeting, life is feeling a bit still. Everything in front of me is like a surrealist painting and I feel like I’m falling backwards from what I see. It’s just… weird. Is this really 2024? This just doesn’t really feel exactly like it. There were loads of 70s and 80s buildings back in my time but those same buildings are still around… no facade change or anything. There was some slight optimism when I was alive that the future would be brighter. It just looks like another shade of grey.

“You okay Tokuyama-kun? You look like you blew a fuse?”

Ayami-san pointed at my face turning red. I apologized to her quickly. My displeasure at things can show really obviously on my face.

“Oh, sorry, I’m fine, just a bit tired, that’s all!” I gave a weak smile, but surely enough for her to get off my back.

I won’t lie to myself and say nothing has changed because I’m not the World’s Biggest Liar, but I’m simultaneously disappointed but absolutely confused. It’s like you were focusing on rails whilst climbing up the stairs of life and then you check which floor number you are - and it’s a whole completely different building.

Ichinomiya, I suppose, will be here for a hundred years more. I guess I have to get used to the year 2024. Snow melts, the sun rises, and I will still be here. Something will still be there. I remember reading this book from a library that was just all about the philosophy of time. Now I kinda get what ideas the author was on about. Time is basically a sheet, so it doesn’t exactly matter which point you’re in, right?

Oh, who am I kidding? I can’t even think about these thoughts without just thinking how stupid and meaningless it all is. So, I suppose I just gotta roll with it.

“So… Do you want to go in?”

I gulped.

I looked around for a bit. “Are you talking to me?” Ayami hit me jokingly with her hand. “Who do you think I’m speaking to? A ghost?”

“I mean… what if something happens?”

Ayami once again hit me… but slightly harder. “Idiot. My parents are home and there’s probably going to be a time paradox if we even touch, right?”

Right… “Oh. And I realized that technically I’m 38.” She started laughing. “That makes you a weirdo for creeping on high school girls!” I blushed a bit. “The worst part is I’m pretty sure you're older than me.”

Ayami grinned with a cheek. “I’m surprised you can tell.”

“So that makes you an Onee-san?” I asked her. “I’m only probably a few months older than you… plus twenty years. And besides, that makes you my uncle.”

She looked at me with an impish smile. “Oji Takuya-san.”

I think you could see the steam coming from my ears. I was, let’s just say, slightly miffed.

“Hey! Who are you with, Ayami-chan?” A soft voice came from behind me. If I were to guess, it was probably from the other side of the road.

Next, I heard a bell and the incoming sound of tyres on the ground. It’s almost nostalgic. I think I’m already getting too used to being an uncle now. It kept getting closer.

The girl slid on her bike as she concluded her journey with a noisy drift. She was rather small but appeared to be our age or even older. “Oh,” she said. “Ayami-chan is getting hit on in front of her house?”

Ayami-san laughed a little. I suppose it’s good that she could see the humour in this.

“Maybe…” She said with a massive grin.

Whoever Ayami spoke to had jumped out of her bike. This wasn’t a metaphor, she literally jumped from her pedals onto the ground as her bicycle just fell flat down. Frankly, it was a rather heavy crash noise.

She stared up at me and went closer to me as she tried to inspect me, I think? Her head level was my stomach level so I’m not sure what she was trying to see. “What’s your name!” She said in what appeared to be her curious critter mode.

“Tokuyama Takuya, nice to meet you.” I did a pretty formal bow, but I felt like doing it. I’m sure she’ll make a comment about how ‘unnecessary’ it is.

“Cool! Nice to meet you, Tokuyama-kun! The name’s Aihara Airi.” She did a little twirl, as if Cinderella came to grace us with her presence.

Aihara-san is, without a doubt, a pretty person. It’s the first thing you notice. I’m not going to describe too much because I don't want to indulge in being a pervert but I will just say ‘curves.’ That said, I like the way she wears her hair. I think they’re called ‘twintails?’ I’m not exactly sure, but she’s done them up the Western way. I know this must be 2024 because she’s braided her hair! I didn’t see many braids back in my days, which was a shame. Or is? I don't know my tenses anymore.

Wow. I really adapted to being old, eh. When in Rome, I suppose. I like Ayami-san’s simple pink long hair but when you compare it to Aihara’s complex brown twintails, well…

I’ll leave it there.

“So Aichi-chan, wanna hang out in my house? I might as well explain this whole situation with Tokuyama-san to you. If you’re ready to believe in the unbelievable.”

Aichi-chan? Like the prefecture we live in? What a crazy nickname.

“Sure thing, Ayachii!”

Man, I'm losing my mind. Did girls in my time use -chii as a suffix? Now I’m wondering and it was just like two days ago I was there twenty years ago.

“That said Ayaa~ I can tell that Tokuyama’s your man. The way you said -san betrayed how normal people say it.”

The so-called Ayachii flatly denied it with no emotion.

“Just come inside the house, Aichi-chan, no one is home anyway. Everyone’s working outside! Work, work, work! Leaving an empty nest for me…” Ayami gave a comically large frown as if it were a skit. She’s… a character, for sure.

“That’s cool! You gonna come in, Tokuyama?”

Sure? I mean there wasn’t even a transition. I nodded to her because I was just astounded at how fast the conversation went. It’s so direct, it’s jarring. You 2024 girls are driving a 2004 guy insane.

Afterwards, next thing I remember was Ayami dragging my arm like she was forcing me to enter her home. 

I have free will, you know.