Kimi no Na Wa Afterstory

1.5

     "Oh I can't believe that you're crying!"

     I lay sprawled on my full sized bed, swollen eyes barely registering the dusty cracks in the yellowed apartment ceiling before they blinked with tears again. "What should I do, Yotsuha?"

     Her face in the screen, which had been obscured by the darkness in her own room, suddenly loomed close to the camera as she squinted at me. "First of all, stop crying. I'm working on a paper here, y'know...college student and all. Be glad my roommate's currently out."

     I gave Yotsuha – that little punk – the best stink eye I could make while suffering the consequences of a quality cry session. Meanie.

     "—I'm not done yet, don't look so wounded." Yotsuha interjected. "Second of all, communicate with him soon. Don't let go of him like you said you did eight years ago again. Half of me still thinks this is a bogus story, but if this man is really worth your tears then you better hold onto him damn tight."

     "What if things don't go well again?"

     There I go. I said it. The haunting fear I've had ever since I crossed paths with Taki this afternoon (which seemed to have occurred a lifetime ago already).

     "Then you know it was never meant to last. I mean it, Nee-chan, contact him soon so both of you can move on with your lives already. You've spent enough time caught in the shadows of Itomori's past — it's time you move into a new chapter of you life whether it includes this Taki guy or not."

     Listening to her words struck a melancholic chord inside me. I hadn't been able to objectively look at my past and think of my reunion with Taki as two separate events and phases in life. If anything, I felt guilty and burdened by the sheer fact that I had loved yet forgotten him. How could I face such a man now? Do I greet him as an old friend, or with the beginning of a new relationship?

     Either ways, I had realized something. I still desperately wanted to meet him again. At any cost, my mind whispered.

     I thanked Yotsuha for her surprisingly solid advice, bid her goodnight and a sly good luck on her paper, and ended our call. Again with reckless abandon, I fell back on the bed. My heart thudded inside me as the seconds ticked by in absolute silence. I rolled over to face my phone, which was still lit from the last time I showed Yotsuha Taki's contact in my phone.

     With a hint of trepidation I typed in Taki's name and brought up a new email:

SUBJECT: （＾◇＾）It's Mitsuha! Hi!

About your.....

     The minutes bore on as I struggled to properly convey myself as concisely as possible. I wanted us to start off on the right foot this time, because as far as memory serves, we never once saw each other under normal circumstances. No matter what misgivings or faintness of heart I was experiencing, it would only be fair to give Taki my all.

     At last, feeling satisfied with my creation, I exhaled once before quickly pressing 'SEND'. It was done.

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Author's note: Looking back at the way I set up the first chapter, I realized how much I value conveying Taki and Mitsuha's emotions to the audience. I wrote this small chapter to try grounding their fantasy-sweet reunion with reality and mix in what likely emotions both would have faced at the end of the day when they had all the time in the world to reflect on their meeting. I guess you could compare it to missing an old friend, talking with them again after a long time, and fearing that you no longer have the connection as you once did. For Mitsuha and Taki, being in each other's pasts in such a unique way makes normalizing their relationship much harder.

     Apologies if this update was not expected! I am working on the coffee date ;) but am in a bit of a writer slump because I can't quite perfect the approach I want to their future interactions. Thank you for reading and the comments you guys left! I really appreciate it. Until then!