Small world

When it comes to getting out of bed on a Saturday, I've never been the most enthusiastic about it. Not that I usually wake up late, because living under the school schedule meant that not only was it easier to wake up every day at the same time, but I was just too used to it to even think about doing something different. But bringing my phone under the blankets with me and lazying around was too tempting, and that's how I'd lose an hour of my morning every weekend.

Unfortunately, some kids were having too much fun outside, and their loud voices echoed in my head, prompting me to reluctantly get up. It wasn't a great start, but I decided to let it slide.

Downstairs, the house was pretty quiet, but the smell of coffee hung in the air. I figured Mom was volunteering at the local retirement home and wondered about my dad's whereabouts as I stared at my bowl of leftover rice. Then I heard a "thump" coming from the front door. No one came inside until after I finished eating, so I went to investigate and found dad seriously cleaning the inside of the car. Even under the shade, he was sweating.

"Hey," I said, and he turned to me, wiping his face with a towel.

"Good morning, Haruto. Nice timing. Let's go say hi to grandpa. I need to return some tools I borrowed." He crawled out of the car, struggling to catch his breath.

"Oh," that was my honest reaction. It was too early for so much information but sure. I quickly ran back to my room and grabbed my sketchbook. I didn't think changing clothes would be necessary for a quick family meeting, but it would give me something to do after I inevitably ran out of things to talk about.

Less than ten minutes later, we were already on the road, leisurely navigating the tight suburban streets while some overplayed pop music blared from the radio.

"By the way, I'm going out today right after lunch."

"You've been going out a lot recently." Dad found that amusing, but I felt a sense of shame – not for going out, but for realizing that it was such a drastic change of pace for him.

"Yeah, it's with a friend. Aoki's cousin. You haven't met her yet."

He let out a long, drawn-out "Hmm..." before continuing. "You should invite her next time."

"Don't even remind me..." I still hadn't gotten over how that mishap came to be in the first place, and I sincerely wished it hadn't. Dad picked up on the hidden emotions in my voice.

"I feel like there's a story in there somewhere, between the way Souma talked and this..." He offered me a comforting smile.

"I guess so..." I sighed. "The whole story the other day was Souma being insecure because he thought I was competing with him over Aoki. Which I wasn't, just to be clear."

Sakurai's name popped into my mind, and I fell into a brief silence.

"Sakurai, her cousin, is an... interesting girl."

"I won't ask you what she's like because it'll be fun to find out firsthand when you invite her to our house," he said, looking at me as we waited for the traffic lights to turn green. "But do you like her?"

I shrugged and looked outside, noticing the birds perched on the power lines.

"I like her. But in the way you're asking? I don't know..." I chuckled nervously, my words trailing off.

Dad's attention returned to the road, and a nostalgic smile played on his face as he shook his head.

"When you find yourself having those doubts, it's because the answer is no longer 'no'."

I know, dad. I didn't say it aloud, but his words echoed in my head. I was aware, but it was a circular thought that led nowhere. He remained silent after that, and I couldn't think about anything else either.

"Haruto is here too! It's so good to see you. You should visit Grandpa more often. We live in the same city!"

That's how my grandpa greeted us at the door, with Grandma joining him shortly after. As we entered, the lingering scent of fried eggs mixed with old belongings wafted through the air. I could never quite tell if it was the smell of old wooden furniture or old people, but it was the smell of childhood. We were led to the living room, where grandma served us hot tea while we gathered around the small table.

The conversation continued for a while, and I updated them on my life. They didn't venture far from home, and my dad was their only child, so they didn't have much youngling energy around. Feeling the weight of being the sole bearer of this responsibility, I tried to be more detailed and shared even the stories I didn't consider particularly interesting, including my recent outings.

After grandma insisted I eat another complete breakfast, I didn't feel like looking at food for the rest of the day. I excused myself and headed up to the second-floor balcony, where there was an old wooden chair. I had always enjoyed sitting up there and relaxing, even since I was a little kid. The sun shone from the side, its warmth comfortable early in the morning, but barely so. It was the perfect morning for some doodling, I thought. Their neighborhood was busier than mine, and the street was frequently used for commuting, making it slightly noisier – but that wasn't an issue. The problem was more so the constant movement and shifting shadows distracting me. Of course, as a laser-focused artist, I diverted my attention to the paper. Fishing seemed like a good theme, so I decided to go with it.

My draft was starting to shape up into something I liked when I heard a familiar voice echoed through the neighborhood. Thinking I might be imagining things, I tried to keep drawing. But the conversation grew louder and drew closer to where I sat, and it remained unmistakably familiar. It sounded a lot like Sakurai.

I stood up from my chair and looked around, and to my surprise, she found me first.

"Is that... Sasaki?" She stopped walking, looking at me from across the street. "It is! Hi!" I wasn't sure if she was attempting to yell, as her voice never reached a high volume, as I had come to learn.

I waved back at her and gave an awkward smile – I was happy to see her, of course, but I looked like a complete mess. No one should have to witness my full Saturday morning glory. In contrast, she wore a pink t-shirt with a fluffy character on it and jeans. Her shoulder-length hair flowed freely, not having to worry about it tangling up or having to tie it to not get in the way.

But either way, it was too late now. I hurried downstairs and passed through the living room, where everyone was, and found Sakurai waiting for me alongside a young girl.

"Hey. Um, what a coincidence!" I was never particularly good at this, but at least I got a chuckle out of her.

"Coincidence, indeed. What are you doing here?" She looked around.

"Just a quick visit to my grandparents, because why not, right." I glanced at the little girl. "And this is...?"

Sakurai wrapped her arm around the girl's shoulder, bringing her closer and slightly forward.

"This is Rina, my little sister." The girl looked up at Sakurai (I mean, the big sister Sakurai, Kaede, Momo-chan), who wasn't all that tall herself, and back at me.

"And this is Sasaki, Yuina's friend. She introduced us, so now we're friends too." Both were looking at me, but it was Saku- I mean, Kaede, who offered me a bright smile, as if she was excited about that chance meeting despite my state.

"Hi Rina" I waved at the girl. "Where are you guys going?"

"I'm taking her to a friend's house, they're having a sleepover today. Over 24 hours in there, that's a long time, isn't it..."

"Can we go? They're waiting for me." Rina interrupted us. Poor girl, I know how you feel.

"I'm not saying you should go, but..." I offered Rina a smile, scratching the back of my neck. "Let's not keep Rina and her friends waiting, right?" Rina nodded at me and looked at her sister.

"Right, right. Let's get going... Oh, and by the way, I'll destroy you in the games later, so just you wait."

I couldn't forget our bet even for a minute.

"You wish. See you!"

We all waved goodbye from a distance, and I watched until they turned the corner and disappeared from view. So... it turned out that the Sakurai and Sasaki residences were within walking distance of each other. Is this what they mean when they say the world is a small place?