That day was April of 2028. It was the beginning of a new semester. Mizuki was a sophomore of college.
She got up early because she was pumped up about new year.
So she got ready and left. She was pretty happy about the new semester.
When she left the house, she saw Momoko.
She was going to her office.
"Good morning." Mizuki greeted her.
"Oh. Mizuki. Good morning. Doing well?" She asked.
"Yeah. Today my new term begins." Mizuki said to her.
"How nice! When I was in college all that happened. So I couldn't enjoy it." Momoko lamented.
"Don't be so sad. But you are finally working. So how about finding a guy and settling down." Mizuki suggested.
"Yeah. I have thought about it. But lately I feel like I forgot about someone." She said.
"You forgot? Who was it?" Mizuki asked.
"I don't remember. But I get a feeling that he was important and I used to care for him." Momoko said.
"Him? And you cared for him. But isn't that your misunderstanding?" (Mizuki)
"Maybe. But this hazy feeling won't go away." (Momoko)
They both talked till they reached the station. But they had to board different trains.
So they separated and went their ways.
While in the train Mizuki thought about what Momoko said.
"Someone she forgot?" She muttered.
And suddenly her chest tightened.
"Why am I getting these weird feelings?" She was confused.
But she put that away and went to college.
The entrance ceremony ended. They didn't have any class for the day.
So Mizuki decided to go home. She was walking towards the station from her college.
Basically it would take 10 minutes to walk.
She was walking, taking her time and looking at the plum blossoms.
It was a beautiful scene. She stopped and took a full look at the street. Covered by the blossoms.
But she noticed something was off.
A man was sitting by the road. He had shaggy clothes which didn't go well with the scene.
She was wondering why he was sitting there. So she walked to him and asked,
"Can I help you?" It was polite question.
He just looked up to see who it was. Then he stared at her for a moment.
And then he said,
"No. I don't think you can. You are just a college student. So you can't. Sorry, but I will be leaving."
He said and left. Leaving Mizuki all dumbfounded.
"What a rude man! He said straight to my face that I can't help him." Mizuki pondered for a while.
"Oh well. I will go home." She then went to the station.
When she boarded the train she noticed that man again.
He was sitting in a corner of the train.
She didn't notice it before. But that man was pretty decent looking except for his clothes.
His clothes were old and dirty. His hair unclean and face all jagged. He had a distant look in his eyes.
The eyes of someone who had given up on life.
"So he is here too." She said.
But she didn't pay any attention to him.
When she got off, she saw him getting off too.
He walked out of the station and went to the convenience store beside the station.
But Mizuki left. She didn't want to mix with him.
She was walking and then she walked by the neighborhood park.
"It has been a while since I came here." She told herself.
So she decided to stop at the park and take a rest.
She sat on a bench in the shade.
It was nice spring day. So she was relaxing.
Then she saw that man again. He also came to the park.
"Uwaaaah. He also came here of all places." By this time, she was annoyed of seeing him.
He had a convenience store bag. He sat on a bench which was away from her.
He took out a sandwich and a juice. He then started to eat that sandwich with a blank face.
"What a weird guy!" That was the only thing she had to say.
She was chilling. But then she noticed someone else.
A man who appeared in front of that man.
He had a beautiful face and a really beautiful figure.
No matter who it was, everyone would say that he was beautiful.
He approached that man who was sitting listlessly.
"What a weird combination! Truly like a beauty and a beast." Mizuki thought.
But they were conversing with each other. Like they knew each other.
Mizuki was minding her business. But those two were pretty loud. So she could hear everything.
The first one to talk was that gloomy guy.
"Hey dad, where did I go wrong?" He asked.
"I don't know. But the one who went wrong was me." The handsome guy said.
But Mizuki was shocked. The gloomy guy called the handsome guy dad. Are they really parent and child?
She was thinking about that. But then the gloomy guy shouted.
"PRAISE THE LORD FOR THE BEST GIRL HAS APPEARED."
"Hey Akatsuki, keep your voice down." The handsome guy told him.
"Sorry. But I wanted to say that line at least once." He made a sloppy face and said.
What a weird guy! That ran through Mizuki's mind once again.
"So where have you been for the past five years?" The handsome guy asked.
"After that happened, I went to the library and from there to our neighboring world and then to the outside. And now I am here." He said.
"So why did you do that? Everything was fine." He said.
"No. It wasn't. So I tried to fix it. But look at me. Everything was fixed but somehow I got screwed." He laughed self deprecation.
"You did it. Admit it."
"You started it. Anyway, how's mom?" He asked.
"Well, she has been hounding me lately." The handsome guy smiled, wryly.
"Well, given your personality, she must be. Anyway don't cause any more trouble for me or mom." He said.
"Ok. I will try. But no promises. So what are you gonna do?"
"Well I should be 24 or 25 right?" He asked.
"Well yeah. So are you gonna settle down?"
"Maybe. But I have infinite time. So I am not in a hurry."
They were talking about that. While Mizuki was thinking, how outrageous.
She didn't think that the handsome guy would be like that. The conversation she unintentionally listened to, was pretty weird.
So she left for home. She just walked out of the park. But she could still hear them talk loudly.
And then they started screaming. The screaming was gradually becoming louder.
So she looked behind to find them running towards her.
Then the gloomy guy started laughing while running and the handsome guy had a sour face.
"Hey dad, mom found out. She is chasing us. But what did you do?" The gloomy guy asked.
While running the handsome guy answered,
"Maybe she finally found out what we two have been doing. So be ready. If she catches us then there's no escape."
"Ok." They kept running.
Then they passed Mizuki by and ran.
"Weird till the very end." She said.
A short while later she saw a woman running by. She was also beautiful. Just a glance at her side profile was enough. She clearly understood that she was beautiful.
After stopping, she looked around. And then came to Mizuki who was the only person present.
"Have you seen a guy with a beautiful face and a guy with shaggy clothes and gloomy face?"
"I have. They ran that way." Mizuki pointed the way.
"Thank you." She said and was about to turn on her heels.
But Mizuki asked her,
"Are they really your husband and son?"
"Well, unfortunately yes. But they are not bad. It's just that my son picked up his father's bad habits." She told her.
"Oh." Mizuki wondered.
She then thanked her again and started running.
"I guess every type of family exists. But wasn't the family quite weird as the child doesn't look like parents?"