he was not happy, he was not sad. he was just, merely, tired.

The 3rd year of the imperial calendar, Japan, the suburbs of the capital New Tokyo

---- He liked to look at the stars.

When he was in elementary school, his father bought him a telescope that couldn't have been too expensive for Christmas. Not wanting to leave it alone for a moment, he would be on the balcony with it all evening after waiting for his mother to bring the laundry inside. The only other things he did were eating, washing up and using the toilet.

Since he was able to see those precious innummerable lights, it felt like it would be a waste to go to bed when his mother told him it was bedtime for kids, and while his parents were watching TV on the first floor, Eiri took the chance to sneak out of his bed.

During the heavy winter nights, he wore a sweater that had been hand-knit by his mother over his pajamas and watched the stars through the lens as if in a daze. Somehow the stars in the sky seemed to be reversed when he looked through the small side of the telescope.

"Eiri. You'll catch a cold."

While he was looking through the long telescope, before Eiri even realised it, his father came to sit down next to him with the smell of chocolate. He had known his son was awake.

It'll be a secret from mom, he said, as he passed hot chocolate onto him with both hands. The secret kept between the two that his mother and little sister didn't know of was sweeter than the overload of sugar in the hot chocolate.

When he went to middle school, he joined the astronomy club. He was a simple child that liked to carry the telescope to his house so he could watch the stars during his spare time. He didn't join a sports club. He thought it'd be difficult to regularly exercise at the sports club since he hadn't grown a lot ever since he was born.

Chibi*, that's what they called him. And that's what he in fact was.

His father had told him that he could become a regular at the astronomy club instead like that.

"Whether you watch the stars or be the first to break the tape at the finishing line or win from other schools, none of that changes anything."

He kept staring at the stars so firmly that it was as if he was trying to drill a hole into the widely spread out universe.

Rather than the glorious sun or the moon, he liked small stars. When he caught a glimpse from the corner of his telescope of a star of the first magnitude that no one knew of, he was the most excited.

When he kept looking from the same location throughout the year, he could see that the stars were moving. Even though it seems like nothing changes, the sky kept changing little by little. Through the lens he was able to catch a glimpse of distant worlds that he wouldn't be able to reach in an entire lifetime.

He said this to his father.

Dad. This is a magical tube, isn't it.

That's right, it's a magical tube.

On the other side of the steam coming from the hot chocolate, his father laughed...

----- The balcony of his house where he had planted his telescope wasn't there anymore.

It had vanished among the flames, along with his family.

( back to index. )

notes:

* as many people will probably know, "chibi" is basically calling someone a shortie in japanese.

You know the deal! Dump your address here (easier with your full name unless you have no problem with me adressing you on the envelope as "that one loser name here"), comments are screened, etc. Please tell me your prefered holiday if it isn't Christmas too! I can't promise that I will definitely get to everyone if there's a lot of people since they're practically all international and I don't have that much money available, but I'll try my best..!!

I also apologize for my handwriting in advance.