1

Aiba was gazing at the sunset outside the windows of Dan Soba when his father set another box of fresh soba on the pass-through sill. "Here. This is the last one for today. It should be at Suite 110 on Peony Drive."

Aiba's attention returned. "Thanks," he said. He set the box on top of the stack and lifted the tray onto his shoulder and out of the restaurant. Balancing the food, he got on his bike and began to pedal through the cooling summer air.

The streets were lightly buzzing with activity, the sound of footsteps and chatter filling the air. He biked quickly, carefully weaving his way through until he reached his destination, a corporate office near the outskirts of downtown Koganeo. He dismounted his bike and buzzed the intercom.

"Hello?" came a staticky voice.

"I have a delivery from Dan Soba."

"Oh, of course."

Soon a man in a business suit came out and let Aiba in. He led him to the conference room filled with salarymen. "You can just set it over here," he said, gesturing at a nearby table.

Aiba set the soba down, and the man paid for the soba.

"Thank you," the man said.

"No problem."

Aiba made his way out of the building and glanced up at the half-moon hanging in the clear dark sky. He got back on his bike and headed further away from downtown Koganeo. The buildings and roads gave way to an increasingly untamed forest, and an hour later, he took a left and found himself at the entrance of Ichigo Solar Farm. Each solar panel was separated from the others with concrete walkways, forming a grid of panels. While during the day the panels raised and tilted to face the sun, at night they embedded themselves flat into the ground, forming a spacious clearing.

Aiba set down his bike, and located a black duffel bag inside a nearby tree. He carried it over to the center of the field and looked up. "Perfect," he muttered. He opened the bag and took out the parts of a small tri-pod telescope and assembled it, aiming it towards the sky. He pulled out a small notebook and pencil from his pocket, checked some notes, and readjusted the telescope's angle. He slipped his sleeve down to check the time. 23:43. He peered through the eye of the telescope. "Any moment now." The stars stood motionless, as if holding their breath. Aiba felt a yawn come on, but he stifled it.

Then a faint dot appeared, on the upper left edge of his lens. It grew more and more luminescent as it slowly traveled across the lens, leaving an icy white trail in its wake. Aiba felt his phone buzzing in his pocket, but he ignored it. Then, after a minute traveling across the lens, the dot fizzled away, leaving only its memory imprinted on Aiba's eye.

His eye stayed transfixed for another moment, processing what he just saw. Finally, he pulled away from the telescope and opened his notebook, noting the time and other measurements. Then he put his notebook away and stared at the sky for a moment. Months of research and observation and calculation had led up to this. Of course, he had checked his results with the official predictions, but seeing it for himself was another thing.

Now it was over.

Aiba checked his phone; he had a missed call from his mother. He called her, and began to pack up.

"Aiba, where are you?" Her voice was tinged with a mix of anxiety and annoyance.

"I'm coming home right now. I told you I was going to view the Darius Comet."

"I know it's important to you, but you have school tomorrow. You have to get up at six o'clock."

Aiba cringed a little. "I'll wake up on time, I promise."

He could hear her sigh over the phone. "Well, get home safe. Love you."

"Love you too, Mom."

She hung up. Aiba put the black duffel bag back in the tree, then got on his bike and began the long ride home.