Moonlight Memories

The sun had already given way to the moonlight when Hana went to her room to sleep. It was their first night sharing the same apartment, and although they had agreed to this unusual arrangement, they hadn’t exchanged many words throughout the day.

Earlier, Hana had decided to turn in for the night, since she needed to wake up early for work the next morning. Shinya hadn’t asked what kind of work she did, as he figured it wouldn’t be appropriate to pry into her life on the very first day, so he simply wished her goodnight before she went in and closed the bedroom door.

He remained on the couch, wondering what things would be like from then on. He thought about his first meeting with Hana and how she had made him behave in a way he’d never experienced before, his stillness and passivity at that moment felt strange, even to him.

The bluish moonlight filtered into the room, illuminating his face as he looked out the window. He wasn’t like humans; he didn’t need to sleep like they did, so he took that quiet time to be alone.

He summoned a book before him, one like many he had come across before, filled with the memories of souls who had once walked the Earth. These memories sparked a particular kind of curiosity in him, and he enjoyed spending time reading and rereading many of them, even if he couldn’t fully understand them.

Shinya could spend hours immersed in the lives of so many souls, completely losing track of time, and that was exactly what happened when Hana quietly opened her bedroom door.

He didn’t know how much time had passed, but judging by her appearance, it had been a while.

She was wearing an oversized T-shirt and a pair of shorts. Casual, comfortable sleepwear that, for some reason, left him slightly flustered. He didn’t know how to react to her casualness. Her hair was messy, and her face still showed the fatigue of someone who had just woken up, eyes half-closed, still adjusting to the dim light coming through the window.

She looked at Shinya, who was still seated with the book in hand. He looked up at her for just a few seconds before returning to his reading. She walked past him into the kitchen, grabbed a glass, and opened the fridge for some cold water.

As she drank, she watched the man on the couch with a curious gaze.

“You don’t sleep?” she asked, brushing her long blond hair back.

“I don’t need to.”

Hana let out a small, sleepy laugh.

“What are you reading?”

She set the glass in the sink, then walked over and sat beside him. The same light now lit them both, and they could see each other more clearly. A gentle breeze coming through the slightly open window stirred a few loose strands of Hana’s hair.

The image made Shinya look away.

“They’re someone’s life memories,” he replied.

“Hm… so, kind of like a biography?”

“Not exactly, but something like that.”

Hana leaned in slightly, just enough to see what was written.

“Whose memories are they?”

“His name was Masaki Fujimoto. He was a farmer who lived a long time ago.”

Hana leaned back onto the couch, letting her weight sink into it. Her head rested there as she stared up at the ceiling.

“So you’re the kind of person who reads biographies,” she said as if that single detail revealed more about him than he realized. “Where are you in the story?”

She lifted her head, adjusting herself on the couch, turning to face him, her cheek resting against her arm on the backrest.

“I’m at a part I don’t quite understand,” he said, a puzzled look in his eyes. “Masaki used to work tirelessly on his small farm, but something kept him from giving it his all as time went on.”

Hana’s interest piqued, her gaze sharpening.

“What do you mean?”

“When he was young, everything was done meticulously. Seeds planted with perfect spacing, harvesting done with care. But as the years passed, he started doing things more quickly, less carefully, which ended up reducing the farm’s productivity.”

“So what don’t you get?” Hana asked.

“Even though his harvests weren’t yielding as much anymore, he seemed happier with his wife and kids,” Shinya said, closing the book and setting it on his lap. “That doesn’t make sense to me.”

“Sounds pretty clear to me.”

“How so?” Shinya asked, surprised.

“He changed after starting a family. He probably wanted to finish work faster so he could spend more time with them. It’s simple, isn’t it?”

Shinya thought back on everything he’d read about Masaki’s life, from his early work to his marriage. Hana’s comment filled in the missing pieces. The farmer really had shifted his routine because of his family. Everything he did in life was to be with them.

“Maybe you’re right,” he said.

Hana smiled like someone who had just aced a tough exam.

“Masaki was kind of a romantic, huh?” she said. “Heading to work, already dreaming of getting back into the arms of the one you love… there’s something charming about that.”

She pulled her legs up to her chest and hugged them.

Even though Shinya understood the logic behind Hana’s explanation, he still couldn’t grasp the feeling, as if it were something that crumbled in his hands.

While he pondered this new discovery, Hana stood up, yawning and scratching her head.

“Guess it’s time to get back to bed,” she said. “And you should sleep too. It’s late. Don’t you have work tomorrow?”

“No need to worry,” he replied.

“Hmph. I’m keeping my eye on you… and don’t do anything weird, got it?”

She walked to her bedroom door, wished him goodnight, and closed it behind her. He stayed there, the book still in hand, trying to process the new insight. It was something he would never have figured out on his own, but Hana had said it so naturally as if it were obvious to anyone. He thought maybe there really was a lot to learn from humans, and maybe living with Hana was the right path to do that. She seemed to understand things that made no sense to him.

That thought brought a small smile to his face. For the first time, he wouldn’t be living alone anymore, and even though that made him anxious, there was something about Hana that put him at ease.

He got up and walked to the window, letting the night breeze touch his face. The human world was still full of mysteries, but he was willing to stay close and live among them.

***

When sunlight returned to the sky, Shinya was still on the couch, book in hand.

Suddenly, Hana’s bedroom door burst open and she rushed out. Her hair was still a little messy, but nothing like the night before.

“I’m late for work!” she said, sprinting toward the door and grabbing her keys from the table. A card slipped out of her bag and fell.

“Good luck,” Shinya said, offering a small smile at the sight of her frantic state.

But before she closed the door, she turned to him.

“You did sleep, didn’t you?”

“Aren’t you late?”

Hana gave a faint smile and shut the door. There was something about her energy that he found so curious.

As he returned to his reading, somewhere between one blink and the next, one breath and the next, the world around him changed.

Suddenly, he was no longer in that small but cozy living room. The new place was much louder and more chaotic; people rushed back and forth, monitors beeped frantically, and the sound of gurney wheels echoed around him.

The couch beneath him was gone; he was now surrounded by white walls, loud voices, and frenzied movement.

“Heart rate dropping fast!” someone yelled from the left.

“BP’s 60 over 40! Get the adrenaline now!” ordered another voice.

A flatline beep came from a monitor beside a gurney. Nurses and doctors ran by, elbows bumping, curtains swishing.

“He’s crashing, we’re out of time!”

“P-please… it hurts…” groaned the man on the gurney, eyes half-closed, skin pale.

Shinya stood still for a moment, his clothes rustling in the flurry around him.

The smell of alcohol and medicine filled the air. It was chaos, and he knew that somewhere nearby, a life was about to end.