Encounter

“I’m… I’m sorry. I… I don’t deserve all of this.”

“Beep! Beep! Beep!” goes the alarm.

“07 00 FRIDAY DEC 16” read the clock.

“What was that about? Who was that?” Mitsuru wondered, reluctantly getting out of bed.

Stretching, he walked out of his room into the kitchen to scourge for breakfast. Mitsuru, full name, Mitsuru Onada lives alone in an apartment away from his parents. Currently enrolled in High school, he has no friends in class. So he usually spends his time at home playing computer games. His parents constantly encourage him to at least make one, but he refuses as he is not only scared, but doesn’t feel the need to. While preparing breakfast, he suddenly realised, “Oh shoot! I need to pick up some stuff from the shopping mall. I’ll grab it on the way back from school.”

As per usual, Mitsuru washed up, ate breakfast and prepared to leave for school.

The commute to school was like any other. Other students from his school and others fill the subway along with adults in office attire. The students are talking to one another while the office workers are on their phones either texting or browsing the internet. Mitsuru however, since he does not have any friends, he has his headphones on, blasting his favourite music while browsing the internet.

At the station, Mitsuru and his schoolmates got off the train and began the walk to school. The streets are christening with Christmas lights waiting to be brought to life come night. The mood is rather cheerful. Everyone is excited for Christmas, planning their lives away on what to do.

Mitsuru walked to his classroom. Classmates are at each other’s desks chatting up on the latest trends and planning for Christmas. On the other hand, Mitsuru doesn’t care about Christmas. He doesn’t really spend much time with anyone, even his parents. He doesn’t even visit them often, only when they ask.

Thinking to himself, he wondered, “Hm.. What should I get for christmas?”

Nothing related to going out of his home, nothing related to other humans, only himself.

“Alright class! Return to your seats, class is starting soon.” Said the teacher as she walked in. Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, Social Studies, History, Japanese Language class, English Language class. All blew by seemingly instantly as his mind wandered aimlessly.

“Alright. That's the end of my class, dismissed”

Mitsuru immediately packed his things and moved out of the room within a minute. “Oh yea i still need to pick something up from the mall.”

At the mall, the mood was lively. Christmas songs were playing, students and adults alike were shopping including the occasional couple. “Alright let's just grab it and go”

2 hours of searching later, Mitsuru had finally found what he was looking for. The latest release of his favourite manga. He was not expecting bookstores to have it sold out so quickly. In the end, he ended up in another mall’s bookstores looking for it.

“Alright, let's go home. Oh shoot it’s already 9pm what? Did I spend that long looking around?” Mitsuru hastily began walking towards the subway station when the wind picked up out of nowhere. It went from a very slight breeze to gusting conditions. Without much concern, he ventured on.

On his commute, he walked through dimly lit streets, with the occasional vending machine. The wind came and went in repetitions, freezing his face, penetrating his coat. His teeth started chattering from the cold. “Let’s go back quickly.” He said to himself.

As he arrived at the final traffic crossing before he reached home, he took a random look around. That’s when something caught his attention.It looked like a human figure in an indoor bicycle park. “What is that? Who’s that?” he wondered. Curious, he walked towards the suspicious figure to investigate.

It was a girl.

She just sat there, back against the wall in the bike park while the snow fell, wind gusting into the park, all while trying to stay warm. A part of Mitsuru wanted to leave right then and there, but another part of him wanted to offer help. It was unprecedented.

Hecouldn’t bear to leave her like that. On closer inspection, he realised she didn’t have any proper winter wear on, a sweater at the most.

“I don’t wanna help her, I don't know her, I don’t have to. But… I can’t help but feel like wanting to offer assistance.”

“I… I… I should at least ask whether she’s alright… No. I think something to help will do.” Mitsuru thought to himself.

Mitsuru stepped out to locate the nearest vending machine.

“Miso soup, 130 Yen.” Without hesitation, he put in the amount needed and pushed the button. The can dispensed as expected, piping hot from the warmer inside. Walking back, he couldn’t help but think about what he’s doing. “I feel like this isn’t enough… but it’s honestly the least I could do.”

Looking through the entrance, she was still there, in the same position as before. He slowly walked up to her, squatting down to place the can in front of her. Seizing the opportunity, he went to take a closer look at her appearance.

She was stunningly beautiful.

“How could a girl this beautiful be out here?” Mitsuru thought to himself. Not forgetting what he wanted to achieve, “This is for you. Keep yourself warm with this.” He whispered.

No response. “I guess she’s asleep, or passed out from hypothermia. I don’t know. I don’t want to disturb her though so I’ll just leave for now.”

Mitsuru stood back up and made his way out. “Ahhhh… still cold and windy. At least she can stay a little warmer now.” He thought to himself, a little proud of what he had just done. He set off for home.

Back in the parking space, the girl looked up. She was awake the whole time, listening since Mitsuru stepped into the parking space the first time to inspect the situation. In front of her stood the can of soup. Hesitant, she refused to pick it up. “That person did say it was for me…” She pondered. Soon after, she decided to take the can. It was warm, at just the right temperature. Her ice cold hands immediately relieved from the cold.

She couldn’t help but warm her hands, imagining it as a hand warmer. Resting her index finger under the ring tab, she pulled back. “Pssst!” it produced the iconic sound. Fully opening the can, she took a whiff of the aroma. It was heavenly to her. Taking the first sip, flavours exploded throughout her taste buds.

She couldn’t help it anymore. She raised the can up, gulping down every last drop of the “gourmet” soup she had in her hands. Satisfied, she did feel warm after all that. “Thank you… whoever you are for this. I won’t forget you.” She leaned back, trying to fall asleep. Unknowingly, tears started to form.

Throughout the night, he couldn’t get his mind off the encounter he just had. “What was she doing there? Why doesn’t she at least have winter wear? I wish I could have done more for her… unless…” All these thoughts denied Mitsuru a single wink of sleep. He tossed and turned, his mind in overdrive considering the numerous possibilities of what he could have done for her, as well as why she was there in the first place. It varied from simple reasons; she had a fight with her mother or sister, so she left home for the night, or something worse, fearing that her life was in danger.

Eventually, he managed to get some sleep; at 4am.

As the sunlight crawled across his face, he shot wide awake. Initially blinded by the sunlight passing straight through his curtains, he sat up and got out of his bed. He still couldn’t get that girl out of his head. Trying to resist any intrusive thoughts, he went about his usual morning procedures, before beginning his usual weekend activities; gaming till night. However, this time Mitsuru decided to step out of the house for a bit, this time to check if that girl was still there. He quickly got dressed and stepped out.

The streets are fairly empty, which is normal for the part of Tokyo he lived in, Oshiage. It’s located on the east side of Tokyo, although it seems fairly uninteresting, it is where Tokyo Skytree is located. Past the final traffic crossing, he ran over to check out if that mystery girl was still there, or it was all a dream. To no one’s surprise, she had already left. “Oh well.” Mitsuru thought to himself. Though expected, he couldn’t help but wonder if all that really happened.

Upon returning home, he went straight for his PC, booting it up to start playing games. Hours passed like nothing, the bright, cloudless sky turned to a wonderfully contrasting sunset. Looking out of his window, he could make out the usual sight of photographers taking pictures of Tokyo Skytree. “What’s all the hype down there? It’s really not that interesting.”

His stomach began to growl as he did not eat much for lunch. He got up and walked to the kitchen, digging for some cup noodles, when he realised there was none left. He also didn’t feel like making something from scratch, so he decided to walk to the nearest convenience store to grab some microwave ready food. On his way, he walked past the photographers gathered to take photos of Tokyo Skytree. That’s where he realised why the photographers were gathered there despite the cold.

The wonderful contrasting sky behind the tower made for a beautiful shot, and not only that, the river under the neighbouring bridge was perfectly still, producing a mirror-like effect. It was other-worldly to see. Mitsuru never knew that such an angle of an otherwise “normal” structure existed. Instantly captivated, he took his phone out to snap a quick photo of the sight. From the 3 short minutes he spent, an interest in photography grew.

Continuing on his journey, he finally arrived at the local FamilyMart where he usually scoured for cup noodles. He grabbed a few of his favourite flavours, as well as a microwave ready bento, paying for his items before making his way back. As he made his way back, the sun had fully set, all before 5pm. As he passed the photography hotspot, photographers had mostly vacated, with the last of them packing up.

Purely out of curiosity, He decided to check the bicycle parking space if that girl was still there. The streets had already been vacated. Either everyone was shopping around the city centre, or they were at home, with only the occasional passerby and vehicle. As he approached the venue, he saw someone that seemed familiar. “Is that who i think it is?” Mitsuru thought to himself. He set off in the direction of the person.

He couldn’t predict that person’s destination, but he could sense that he knew who it was, just no names at that point in time. He could infer that the person was walking aimlessly, with no ideas where to go. Meanwhile, he tried to catch up, while not looking like a stalker; though not dressed the part at all. Continuing on, the light revealed that the person was a she. “Is that the girl I'm looking for? Or is it someone else, or I’m just wasting my time. Whatever, doesn’t hurt, also gives me a nice view of Tokyo Skytree.”

He turned his head around to take one quick look at the tower. The lights have fully come on, a nice yellow and blue stretched the height of the tower. “Man that looks so good.” Mitsuru said to himself before turning around. The girl had walked to the top of an overhead bridge over the water. Curiously however, she did not cross, she just stopped, as if to admire the sights. “I don’t blame her, it is a nice view.” Giving up on the goose chase, he decided to cross the same overhead bridge to make his way home.

“I really wonder now if that encounter with that girl was all a dream, because she hasn’t appeared yet. Or that was really just a one off event, maybe my best case scenario was right.” Satisfied with himself, he climbed the overhead bridge with confidence. Next thing he knew, he was very wrong.

The girl from the night before was standing right there, but she wasn’t admiring the sights, she was doing something else.

She was climbing over the railing.

Mitsuru could not believe his eyes. He thought he was in a lucid dream. Memories from years ago began flooding in, a past life he once had which ended abruptly. He still cannot let it go. At the centre of it all was someone he held dear, someone he loved.

She completed the climb, the only thing separating herself from impending doom; her two hands.

Mitsuru froze, like a deer in headlights. He can clearly see someone about to jump off a bridge, but he can’t bring himself to do anything. His mind raced back and forth; do I help? Do I ignore it? Do I do something? Do I pretend nothing is happening?” He looked up, all he could think of was: “Not again… Chisato.”

In an instant, Mitsuru accelerated from a standstill to a sprint. “Stop!” He shouted, running as fast as he could. The girl seems to be completely zoned out. “Stop! Don’t do this!” Mitsuru shouted again as he ran.

Ignored.

At that point in time, he completely ignored the concept of personal space, not even going to ask for permission.

The girl finally released her grip from the railing.

“Oh shit… It’s over.” Mitsuru thought to himself, seeing her two hands free from the railing.

He could foresee that girl, landing flat in the water, blood oozing from multiple locations. Her body floating aimlessly downstream; and he did not do anything to help it. Guilt, anguish and self-blame overwhelmed him completely. “I- I’m a failure” He thought to himself. All he could think of was “I’m a terrible person. I can’t even protect the people I care about… I don’t deserve to have people look out for me, when I can’t even look after people around me.”

He looked around. He could feel a weight pulling on his hands from somewhere. “It’s probably my groceries.” He looked towards where the weight was pulling him from.

It was that girl, wrapped in his arms.