I Know You're Out There (Epilogue)

-sed the little note and put it into his drawer. Tetsudo was ready to go out. The day was a bright one, he could hear a lot of birds chirping through his window. July never really ended for him. Ever since then for him it has always been summer.

He got out the front door and started walking down the street, towards the small park. The street was warm and empty. The wires above his head were vibrating and buzzing with a fragile happiness. The town everywhere was painted, renewed and rebranded. It was not the same five years ago. Since then everything has looked brighter.

Passing the school, where Tetsudo used to go, and the café where he used to wait for Yai, he finally reached the park. Many old people were seated, playing chess, despite it being one of the hottest days this summer. A refreshing sight – to see so many people out in the park made it look like it wasn’t a complete ghost town.

“Tetsu~! Over here!” A familiar voice called out to him. He turned around and saw Hiraya and Yamada sitting together on a bench under a tree shade. He smiled and went over to greet them.

“Hi guys!” he waved at them.

“Tetsu, how are you man?” Yamada exclaimed and gave him a manly hug. He had gotten significantly bigger than their high school days.

“I’m very good,” Tetsudo said, struggling to breathe because of the power of Yamada’s hug. Luckily, he let go at the right time. “And you’ve gotten a lot bigger, huh?”

“Hahaha, yeah,” he chuckled. “For four years at uni, I went to the gym two times a week! Been a while, eh?”

“Yeah, been a whi-” his words were interrupted by Hiraya hugging him as well.

“Tetsuuuu! I’m so glad to see you!” She shouted. Tetsudo chuckled a bit.

“I’m glad to see you too.”

He took a better look at her – she had become even prettier than in high school. Her eyes still sparkled like they did before.

“Come on, let’s sit down,” she said and let him to the bench. “We have a lot to talk about.”

The three got together for a few hours under this tree, exchanging memories about their time in university. The day moved quickly, but they still laughed at all the lovely birds flying around in the sky. It all seemed a bit too unreal for Tetsudo. Five years had gone by in a flash and now he was going to be a normal grown-up adult.

“I heard you learned how to play guitar!” Yamada said.

“I did, but it’s just a hobby,” Tetsudo chuckled. “I don’t plan to become a full time musician.”

“You gonna play it for us sometime?”

Tetsudo thought for a minute and smiled sadly.

“I’d love to, but I have to play for someone else first.”

Yamada realized who he was talking about and immediately the tone of his voice changed.

“Anything from Yai since starting uni?”

“Nada – no texts or calls, since we didn’t exchange numbers, no mail since she doesn’t know my address and I don’t know hers. But I know we’ll meet again, someday…”

“Who knows, maybe that day is today!” Hiraya exclaimed. Tetsudo laughed – her optimism hadn’t changed a bit.

“I sure hope so!”

“Well, if you finished uni, it means she should’ve finished as well!” Yamada added.

“I don’t know,” Tetsudo rubbed his hands in nervousness. “What if she forgot about me?”

Yamada and Hiraya looked at each other with worry, both unsure of what to do. Yamada mouthed to her:

“Do something!”

“What??”

“I don’t know, but you comfort him better!”

Hiraya gave him a menacing look, but Yamada pleaded. She gave up and looked back at Tetsudo, who was bent down deep in his thoughts. She finally decided to do something.

“Tetsu…” Hiraya reached out and kneaded his hair. “We know the story and we know that the thing between you and Yai was true love.”

He looked up with a sunken face.

“There is no way she could forget you, you know? Same with you not forgetting her,” Yamada chimed in as well.

Tetsudo smiled. It seemed like hope still lived in his wings.

“Thank you both.”

After this lovely encounter, the three parted ways. As he was leaving, he could see Hiraya and Yamada kiss and hold hands. He was happy for the two, especially Yamada, who since he could remember him liked Hiraya. They waved at him from afar, Tetsudo waved back. After that it was a slow walk to his house. The sun was ready to settle down, so he had to hurry to get his guitar from home.

The streets were warm once again, but now they simmered in red and orange colors, floating on mirages of forgotten rays of light. People were strolling up and down, some parents, some teens, some kids, some old people. For there to be a lot of people, it was an unnatural flow of the roads to say the least. Usually more cars would roam, but today seemed the other way around.

Tetsudo quickly entered his house, got his guitar and the small note and exited right back out. After walking some minutes uphill, he finally reached the famous bushes the separated the street from the old rails. They were now even more rusty, but to Tetsudo they still shined, like they did five years ago.

He walked over to the still running train station – it was a little bit better, since they did some renovations, but it still looked abandoned from an outsider’s perspective. Tetsudo got to the small hill, where he and Yai would sit when they were together here. It was a pretty view, one that he had seen many times but couldn’t get enough of. He took out his guitar, tuned it and started playing the only song he knew:

Oh no! I am lacking

I want what I see

You have rolled away

In shaded valleys

So here I am on the railway

So here I feel my way, in the dark

What wonder? What treasure map?

What breaking of day?

What stream used to flow here?

And now what dusty decay…

You're vultures in trees

I know you're out there

You're lanterns on lakes

I know you're out there

As he was singing this song for what felt like the millionth time, he suddenly heard a female voice behind him, singing alongside him. He turned around to look, while still playing and saw… Yai. Standing, grown up, with the same black hair he knew her with, and the same old uniform she wore. Her same sly smile he always knew her for. And she was here. The sun’s glow played on her red face. She got closer the more and more she sang, until finally she sat down next to Tetsudo. Together they watched the old train station slowly turning pitch black and fireflies overtook the small hill. The wind quietly galloped across their faces.

She sang with him, until the day dawned:

I know you're out there

You're swaying and pleased (I know you’re out there)

I know you're out there

You're vultures in trees (I know you’re out there)

I know you're out there

In mountainous peaks (I know you’re out there)

Don't let gravity win (I know you’re out there)

Blow on me, Solar Wind (I know you’re out there)

I know you’re out there…