Another Morning

The morning sun, timidly lighting the crowds making their way to the first train, was not enough to fully reveal the presence of a young woman, finishing a song, satisfied.

“Hey miss.” A station worker approached the musician sitting on the floor. “Why are your songs so sad?” The young woman looked at the employee who had been listening to her songs every time she visited that large station in Central Tokyo. “Do you like sad songs?” he asked.

“It’s just the best songs I write, usually. Maybe I just think life is sad, or..." She was unsure, and hadn’t really thought about it. "Maybe they feel more real, somehow."

The station worker nodded. “Remember you can’t be here for too long, so just watch out, alright?” He smiled at the musician. She knew his threat was not real.

The station employee made the musician rethink her choice of songs. She flipped through her songbook, looking at her old songs, trying to pick a happier one, from happier times. It didn’t help that the songs were poorly organized. She also didn’t have too many happy ones.

“Hmm, this one is still a bit too personal, I think.” The title on the songbook read Rising Star, and the page was full of scribbles and corrections everywhere.

“Would you mind signing this for me?” A man spoke from among the crowds, but he was barely audible. The musician, surprised, looked around quickly, but couldn’t find the source.

“You really should sign them. These are worth a fortune.” The man appeared in front of the musician. He carried an album in his hands: Spring’s Final Concert - Rising Star.

“Aoi?!” She froze upon seeing him, and was shocked by what he was carrying.

“Looks like I finally found you,” said Aoi. He was still wearing his glasses, and although he looked slightly older, Mika could easily recognize him. “I like that messy hair,” he said as he approached Mika.

“Oh please. I have a lot of hair and it’s hard to manage, alright?” Mika looked at him defensively.

“And the makeup?”

“Look, I just got out of work. I don’t need you, coming here out of nowhere, to tell me about my hair and my makeup.” Mika glared at Aoi, who just smiled at her.

“Then, would you like to walk with me instead?” Aoi offered his hand to Mika, but she got up without taking it in protest. They both started walking aimlessly through the busy streets.

“You really should sign these,” said Aoi, showing her some of her old Spring merchandise.

“What for?” she asked, confused.

“Some of these are expensive, for example these Rising Star recordings sell for a lot.”

“Really?” She seemed surprised.

“We didn’t make a lot of them, because your concert was so small in the end.”

“Yeah. I guess retiring was the right choice, wasn’t it?” Mika seemed a bit disappointed thinking about her last concert.

“And yet that concert is one of the most expensive pieces of merchandise. The resale value is crazy, look.” Aoi pulled his phone out to show her the online prices of Spring’s old goods. Mika was in awe and her eyes were wide open when she realized how much her out of print merchandise was worth.

“These are pretty big in the underground scene, it’s taken me a lot to find a few copies, and they were very expensive.” Aoi showed her a backpack with some of Spring’s old albums.

“I never would’ve imagined.” Mika was still surprised that some people remembered her past.

“Seems like you were a cult hit, everyone loved your story.”

“Really? Cult hit? I kinda like the sound of that." Mika seemed happy, but also had mixed thoughts. "I thought I wasn’t that great. I was shy, unstable, and my music was… not that good.” She paused trying to remember what her old music was like. “And there wasn’t much of it.”

“But the few people that did follow you really rooted for you, and you became a symbol that inspired a lot of other small artists, musicians and entertainers.”

“Stop, stop,” she said while blushing. “That’s not my life anymore.”

“Yeah, well, but you can sign these and get a lot of money.” Aoi wrote how much he thought she could sell her autographed products for, and her eyes lit up when she saw the amount.

“No way! That much?” It took her a bit to calm down. “Either way, I don’t really need more than what I have right now, so it doesn’t matter much to me.”

“Well, if you change your mind, I made sure to buy out all the ones I could. Now, their value is even higher.” Aoi seemed proud of how he was gaming the law of supply and demand.

“Calculating, yet caring as usual. Driving up the value of my goods, that’s clever.” Mika acknowledged his business sense.

“It’s also because I’m your biggest fan,” said Aoi with a smile.

“Oh stop.” Mika was a bit irritated by his words, but was also somewhat bashful, and wanted to believe that was still true. They both walked around the busy neighborhood, buying snacks and sharing stories along the way.

“Hang on, I’ll get us a drink.” Mika bought Aoi a coffee from a vending machine they walked past and gave it to him proudly. “Drink up.”

Aoi sighed, and resigned himself to drink that coffee. At least this time, it was warm enough.

“I’m glad you're back to making music Mika.” Aoi smiled as he watched Mika walk next to him with her guitar on her back. “I was afraid I would never hear you sing again.”

“Yeah well, don’t celebrate too early. I’m on the fence about letting you listen to my songs. I will tell the owner to ban you if you show up.” Mika wasn’t completely happy about how things had ended with Aoi, and all the distance and time that had gone by. “Besides, I’m just a humble bar musician.” Mika smiled smugly, somewhat proud of her secret past. They both walked together for a few minutes without deciding on a destination.

“How about a bowl of eel with rice, Mika? My treat.” Aoi offered Mika something he knew she loved.

“I would like that, but are you having that for breakfast?” Mika asked, bewildered. But her surprise immediately disappeared when she imagined the slices of eel in front of her. “I know just the place.” She quickly changed her tune and smiled, and soon after she dragged Aoi along to the nearest open restaurant.

“Mika.” Aoi stopped Mika to make sure she was looking at him. “If you’re willing to start making music again-” He paused for no other reason but to fill Mika with suspense. “Would you be willing to start with me again too?”

“Shut up Aoi!” She pointed at him. “Your cheesy smooth talk won’t win my heart back, after everything that happened.” Mika looked away shyly. “But, I’ll think about it.”