The Recipe for Magic

These emotions were familiar to Kimiko, but they did not comfort her. They were reflections of nights she'd leave her parent's small apartment and sit out on the sidewalk when she wasn't supposed to. She'd look up at the stars and tell herself sweet stories to soothe her ache. Use them as reasons to believe everything would be alright.

Tonight, the chill of the wind chipped away at her nose as she sat on a wooden bench at the park near her work. She knew she shouldn't be staying out alone when the orange glow of lanterns signaled their warning that the last ray of sun had left. Still, knowing that once she returned to her apartment, she would be watched by strangers through lenses she hadn't placed made her reluctant to go home.

Her earbuds were nestled in her small ears as she hugged her knees to her chest. Then, a tuft of silky dark blue hair flopped down into her view. Makoto's gently smiling face tilted down to see her. She looked at him, then rested her chin on her knees and stared at the ground.

His expression lost its mirth and let in her somber tone instead with empathy. He sat beside her, then gently tapped on her shoulder. Once she looked, he pointed to his ear, causing her to take out her earbud. He turned his palm up, hand extended closer in a silent ask to listen to what she was hearing.

She hesitated for a moment, then cleaned off the earbud with a small hand wipe and handed it to him. Makoto sat closer to her then put the earbud in his opposite ear, expecting to hear somber or maybe uplifting music, instead, he heard this:

The severed fingers were left hidden under the dog bowl by the owner's cat, guarded for three days. If it weren't for the feline, they would not have been able to identify the body.

Makoto stared at her, curiosity mixed with bewilderment, yet she was completely at peace as she listened to the true crime story. 

"Are you sure this is the best thing to listen to when you're down?"

"Hm?" Kimiko hummed, then paused the audio and took out her earbud at the same time as Makoto. She winded up the wires and put them away as she spoke. "Well, besides my interest in forensics, I listen to it because it makes me feel grateful for where I am in life when I start to feel sorry for myself."

"Really?" Makoto said with growing interest. "Guess I never thought of it that way before."

"It's kind of the same for nightmares with me. I mean, I can't say I like them, but when I wake up to my real life, suddenly everything feels a little better. In good dreams, sometimes I wake up sad."

Makoto nodded, and the silence held for a few seconds before she spoke up again.

"Do you think I'm… weird for that?"

Makoto smiled with a certain fondness that he couldn't place himself. "Absolutely. But that's why I like ya." He ruffled her hair, making her smile, which he felt a boost of pride for doing. "I'm not really that normal either, if you haven't noticed."

"Ya don't say?" She teased, the shine in her eyes slowly returning.

"In fact-" Makoto took out his phone, at first seeing an article about the two of them before quickly swiping it away and pulling up an ebook called, The Enchanting Life of a Romantic.

He showed her the screen. "This is one of my favorite books. I read it whenever I'm feeling down, or just because, you know, it's good." He hadn't expected himself to sound so shy near the end of his sentence.

Kimiko peered over at the cover and looked at the picture of a couple surrounded by rose petals. "Do you read a lot of books like these?"

"Ehh… you can say that." He said. "Don't uh, tell anyone, okay?"

"You have my word." Kimiko said in earnest, then looked from the cover to his face. "You're a hopeless romantic, but you don't ever want to get married?"

Makoto put away his phone. "Yeah."

"Can I ask why?"

When he hesitated, she quickly added, "I'm not aiming to convince you, I'm just curious because… well, I've always been the opposite, and I've never met someone like you before."

"Well…" He mused, now looking out at the people walking down the street, all with places to be. "I guess it's a lot of things, some things I don't really want to talk about right now but… one of them is that I just don't want life to be boring, I guess."

"Boring?"

"Yeah. Being with the same person for eternity. Eventually they'd hate me or I'd hate them. Or, even worse, we'd stay together just because we're used to each other. Every day would blend into the next, filled with, 'how was your day?' and 'the weather is nice isn't it?'."

"I see…" Kimiko mused.

"There's a reason why in most stories they drag out how long it takes for the couple to fall in love. Because once they do, or once they get married, there isn't anything interesting after that. It's routine."

"Routine…" Kimiko echoed with great consideration.

"Yeah. So, that's why I like reading books or watching movies where the ending can stay… well, good. Ya know?" Makoto rubbed the back of his head, hoping he made some sense.

She was quiet for a time. Part of him had expected her to argue against it, and the other part worried he might have hurt her feelings, but she was just looking at the people walking in the dim light in peace as the wind pushed her bangs back every now and then. Her legs had moved from their fetal position to rest her feet on the floor with her palms on her thighs.

"So, one reason is that you think you'll get bored over time. I can see why marriage can seem that way. It probably is for most people." Kimiko agreed.

"Then… why do you want to get married?"

"Mmm… Well, like you said, lot's of reasons, but… I guess one of them is that, to me, life can only get more exciting if you're with the right person. Besides, not all of life is fun and adventures. A lot of it is sorrow and struggle, and I don't… I don't want to be alone for that." The vulnerability in her voice brought his arm around her shoulders without him thinking twice about it.

"You won't be alone Kimiko. Not someone like you." He felt her lean against him and for a moment he felt a jolt of panic. Maybe he'd made a mistake, and his kindness was leading her on.

"You're such a good friend, Makoto." Kimiko said, and those words were enough to calm him to a relieved smile.

"You are too, Kimiko."

They enjoyed the tranquility of being with each other for a few moments, sitting in comfortable silence before reality crept in once more.

"I'm sad that I don't want to go back to our apartment anymore." Kimiko admitted. "Daichi came to see me after work, and I had an argument with him. But during it, I found out that those cameras in our apartment broadcast everything we do. It's kind of... unsettling."

"Oh… you found out about that too huh?" Makoto said. "My brother told me about it today too. I guess the drama caught some attention."

"It just makes me feel weird. To have people looking at me. How can I be myself in there now?" Kimiko sighed, pressing her forehead against the side of his body for comfort while he gently rubbed her back.

"I'll admit, I feel weird about it too, but we shouldn't let them ruin our fun, right?"

Kimiko pushed herself up a bit so she could look at him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean." He said, fueling his energy like a car preparing to race. "If they want a show, then let's give it to them!"

Kimiko's eyes found their spark, that playful smile returning. "But how?!"

"I don't know, but they have no idea what happens out here. So whatever we say and do in there is all they know about us. That means, really, we can live whatever life we want." He said with a boyish smirk.

"Like… I could be a princess?"

"That's right." He said with a tap to her nose. "And I could be a pirate! How could they tell us no?"

Kimiko's elation was created by the magic he gave her, unknowing that the desire to see her smile gave him his magic in the first place.

With a squeal she threw her arms around him in a big hug. He held her a few moments before she pulled away and scrambled to stand on top of the bench. "To the fantasy world!" She declared, pointing up at the stars.

Makoto chuckled, then stood up and tapped his shoulder with a slight bend of his knees to motion for her to climb on his back. "Your chariot awaits, princess."

With a sparkle of excitement rushing a gasp to her lungs, she carefully wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.

Neither of the duo cared about the looks they were given on the way to the train while Makoto carried her there. She kept herself close to him and enjoyed the soothing feeling of a former ache turning into the warmth of companionship instead.