As Daylight Dies

I start to walk around the area outside of the restaurant but none of the shops are that interesting to me.

Ideally, I’d wait for him at his house but, sadly the fast travel doesn’t really tell me where he lives, it just takes me there.

Hmmm… what if I just think of some place to go instead of someone to go to.

Will that work?

Let’s find out.

I clasp my hands and think of the place Shinichi and I were thinking of visiting sometime after we got married.

I open my eyes and am standing high above the ground outside on an observation deck.

It is already time and the sky is cloudy as if it could rain at any time.

I look out past the deck to see the beautiful city lights that flow into a large body of water.

This is the top of the Space Needle in Seattle where we were going to take in the sites and catch a Mariners Game.

While that famous Japanese player no longer plays there, some other Japanese players have been joining the team off and on.

I also heard the place is somewhat Japanese tourist friendly.

Taking in the sites again on the observation deck it feels so great to be able to do this even if it’s by myself.

I really wanted to do this with Shinichi but that’s not going to happen now. Sigh.

I know! I should bring back a souvenir for Takahiro and Shinichi.

It’s the only proper thing to do when you are on a trip, right?

But, what should I get them?

I notice the two lighted stadiums in the distance.

I wonder if they have anything there worth bringing back with me.

Something from there would be great!

I mean, Takahiro was a pitcher and all and it was Shinichi’s idea to visit the stadium.

Alright, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to stop by the park and take a peek.

I fix my gaze at the stadium.

The lights are on and the roof is open.

I close my eyes and focus on going there.

Opening my eyes, I’m standing in what seems to be an open bar area.

I turn around and gaze out at the field and it’s so spacious.

The grounds are neatly kept, like it’s ready for play at any time but, it seems the season has not started yet.

I look down from the railing that blocks the area off from field of play and notice that there is a patch that has a pitcher’s rubber and home plate.

This is probably where the pitcher warms up.

By the pitcher’s rubber there are a pile of baseballs there.

I go down there to investigate them.

Focusing, I reach for a ball to examine it.

It has markings stating this is an official MLB baseball as well as some trace amount of the red dirt you would see on the field.

I don’t think anyone would notice if I brought a couple back to Japan with me, right?

I mean they supposedly just hand these things out to kids before the games.

That’s what I’ll do.

Once again, I focus and grab another ball to accompany the one I already have in my hand.

Now that I have my presents, I decide to try an experiment.

I need to know if these balls are still physical when I hold them or not.

I pull my hand back and ready a punch.

I put my full force into the padded wall separating the bullpens.

My hand goes right through and the ball stops at the pad and drops to the ground.

Well, that kind of answers some questions.

Objects I pick up are still solid unlike me.

I can probably assume to other people it looks like the object is just moving by itself.

That would be pretty spooky.

Well, I am a ghost after all.

I guess I need to be careful of things I carry with me.

I grab the dropped ball and decide to head back to my room at my parents’ house.

I figure I need to hide one of them before I give it to Shinichi.

I can’t carry it with me all the time and having a baseball moving around town would be…well not very good.

I decide to put a ball under my bed like some teenage boy trying to hide his “treasure”.

With that done, the other ball will go with me to Takahiro’s house.

Okay, now to head back to Takahiro’s room.

Once I arrive, it’s still pretty early in the day so I decide to take a “nap” until he makes his way back to his room.

I could use his bed and he’d never know.

I think I need to collect my thoughts for my next message to him.

Okay, I got it now.

I lay down on his bed, close my eyes and the darkness comes.

Suddenly I open my eyes to see the room has gotten darker than when I closed my eyes earlier.

It’s still light outside but it seems to be about sunset.

I hear a faint “I’m home!” from the other side of the bedroom door.

I hear some other noises coming from downstairs and then eventually footsteps going upstairs and then come down the hall.

Okay, time to get spooky.

I get off the bed, stand up and wait for him to open the door.

He opens the door and as soon as he walks in, I drop the ball.

It bounces a couple of times and rolls toward him.

Startled he jumps back a little bit.

He drops to his knees and the phone in his hand plops onto the ground.

He reaches out to pick up the ball and then after he sees the markings, he drops it in shock.

“This…this is real? Am I dreaming?”

He picks it up again and examines it closely.

“Where did this come from? Is this real Beam Clay!?” No way! Kinzawa-san what does this mean?”

It seems he likes the present.

I take out a coin hold it in both hands, hold my hands over his desk and then pray.

The coin slips through my hands and then falls onto the desk.

He drops the ball again and then he scrambles for his phone.

Maybe he knows what’s coming next. Smart guy.

As he expects, a notification goes off on his phone.

It’s the special email I devised just for him.

---Insert email style graphic with attachment---

Hello Takahiro-san,

I saw that things went well with Yokoyama-san. Good job. I hope you figured out why I gave you this push to make your feelings known to her. That’s right the key word is regret. You already have the regret of not fulfilling your dream as a pro baseball player and that was unavoidable in order to pursue your engineering future however, the choice to not let your feelings known to her is a regret that is created by your lack of decision. My little trip to Seattle reminded me that some regrets are unavoidable. I always felt that if you can make decisions to avoid regret then you should do it. Satou-sensei was partially right in interpreting our motivations. Making the world a better place was really a side effect of something you should be familiar with from your time as a baseball player: doing everything you can within your power so that you can have no regrets in your decisions. For example, that day I met Shinichi I didn’t want to regret the chance to find my true love. If it didn’t work out for me at least I wouldn’t have wondered if I made the right choice or not. Shinichi has forgotten this and as a result he is in a very bad place. I say this to give you perspective on what you will encounter if or when you decide to meet him. Do I think you should meet him? The answer was already told to you in this message. Well, I think this wraps up what I needed to tell you. Congratulations on your life together. I probably won’t be sending you a message again. As for me, I chose to save your life so please remember this all the time and live a long and happy life with Yokoyama-san.

P.S.: Attached is what you have been looking for these past four years, Shinichi’s contact information and address. He seems to have every Saturday off.

P.P.S.: Oh yeah! Yes, it’s real. I told you in the message above where it’s from. Don’t forget your love for baseball. You never know where you’ll find answers to problems.

---End email style graphic---

Attached to the email is a digital contact card.

He taps the attachment and it loads itself to his address book and gives a prompt stating a new contact has been added to his contact list.

He picks the ball back up in one hand and brings both the ball and his phone to his chest.

“Thank you, Kinzawa-san. I’m sorry for everything. I mean, yes, I will meet with him and try to remind him.”

He stands up and slowly moves to his desk.

He sets the ball gently on the desk toward the back.

“I need to find a case for this to sit in.”

It’s a baseball not a Fabergé Egg!

Reaching into his chest pocket he pulls out a coin and the reaches out to the one on the desk.

He puts a coin on each side of the ball.

Aww, he made a little shrine.

Looks like my job here is done.

I’m sure Shinichi would be pretty upset that I’ve spent a lot of time alone in another guy’s room.