Sana yawned cutely as she woke up. She stretched a bit, moving her arms in all sorts of weird directions and angles. She rubbed her eyes a little before focusing her vision on something odd.

Really odd.

Sana saw a thin red string tied around her pinky finger.

What’s this?

Sana tugged on the string. That’s when she realized that the string is really long. Like, leading-out-of-her-bedroom long. Sana tried to untie the red string from her pinky finger, but it was tied pretty tightly. It didn’t hurt though.

“Hmm…” Sana looked at it strangely.

Is this a prank? Who would do this to me?

Sana shrugged and decided to ignore the red string on her finger for a moment. She got out of bed and freshened up for the morning. It felt odd to see the red string moving about as she did, but it didn’t really bother her. She was surprised that she hasn’t tripped over the string yet.

“I’ll just cut it off.” Sana picked up a pair of scissors from her desk and attempted to cut the red string.

Key word: attempted.

“What the heck?” Sana kept opening and closing the scissors on the string, but it wouldn’t cut. It seems unbreakable.

“You know what? I’m just going to leave you there for a bit.” Sana put away her scissors with a huff. She opened her bedroom door and noticed that the red string led downstairs.

What the?

Sana walked down the stairs. She noticed that the red string led out of her front door, but she decided to get breakfast instead of following it. Sana walked into her kitchen and saw her mother.

“Mom, did you do this?” Sana held up her pinky.

Sana’s mother look at her with a raised eyebrow. “Do what?”

“This!” Sana lifted up her pinky even higher, dangling the thin red string in the air.

“I don’t understand… Honey, are you okay?” Sana’s mother looked at nothing.

“You don’t see it?” Sana questioned. She was really confused right now.

“See what?” Sana’s mother continued to stare at Sana with concern.

“Uh, nevermind.” Sana quickly grabbed a piece toast and ran out of the kitchen.

“She’s weird.” Sana’s mother shook her head as she washed the dishes.

“How did someone like her come out of my womb?”

______________________________________________________________________

 

Sana looked at the red string again as she munched on her toast.

My mom couldn’t see this string on my pinky? Is she lying to me? It’s RIGHT there.

Sana finished her toast and trailed her eyes to where the red string led to again.

Outside her front door.

I might as well see where this leads me to.

Sana sighed as she stood up. She clapped her hands a bit as she opened her door. She was surprised to see that the red string continued all the way down her street.

Weird.

Sana sighed as she began to follow the red string. Sana thought the string was very strange. The excess parts of the string that she already passed didn’t pool up behind her. It’s almost as if someone was pulling the other end of the string.

Sana stopped walking.

What if this red string leads me to some murderer?

Sana stared at the long, seemingly endless string before shaking her head.

I’m WAY too curious to stop now.

Sana continued her way down the street. She saw a few people walk past her, but they didn’t say anything about the red string. They walked past it like it was nothing. They didn’t even look at it; almost like it wasn’t even there.

This is weird.

Sana began to think that everyone was in on this creepy prank.

“Excuse me, do you know where this goes?” Sana stopped a woman.

“Where what goes?” the woman pondered, looking at Sana confused.

“This!” Sana held up her pinky.

“Ma’am, are you okay? Your pinky isn’t going anywhere…” The woman raised an eyebrow.

Sana rolled her eyes. “Nevermind.”

“I know a good psychiatrist!” the woman shouted after Sana.

“I said nevermind!” Sana growled as she walked off.

Sana sighed as she continued to follow the long string. After she passed a rather large hill, she noticed that the she could finally see where the string ended: at a convenience store. Sana straightened her posture and began walking quickly to the convenience store, getting ready to give whoever tied this to her a piece of her mind.

Who the heck would do this?

Sana held up her pinky nice and high as she stopped in front of the convenience store. The doors automatically slid open and Sana groaned.

The red string continued to trail throughout the store.

“Damn,” Sana huffed.

A child exiting the store look at Sana weirdly as he eyed her raised pinky.

“Are you practicing your fancy tea-cup-holding method or something?” he asked curiously, poking her leg with his lollipop.

Sana grimaced when she saw the lint from her pants stick onto the lollipop. She grimaced even further when the kid stuck the lollipop back into his mouth.

Before Sana could respond, a man gently nudge the boy away from her.

“Sorry about that, my son is quite inquisitive,” the man apologized.

“It’s fine,” Sana smiled. Sana got ready to go inside the convenience store. Before she could, however, the man stopped her.

“By the way, you should stick out your pinky at this angle when you hold your tea cups.” The man slightly altered the angle of Sana’s pinky before walking away.

Sana felt her eye twitch.

Sana shrugged it off and entered the convenience store. The nearby cashier noticed her and waved a hand.

“Do you need any help today?” he asked politely.

“Yes, with this!” Sana held up her red-string-attached pinky.

“D-Do you need to wash your pinky or something? Did you just pick your nose?” the cashier tried not to show his disgust.

“No! I- Nevermind,” Sana growled again before stomping deeper into the convenience store, following the red string.

“You aren’t allow to use our restrooms until you purchase something!” the cashier yelled.

“I’m not using your restroom!” Sana yelled back.

“You’re just going to walk around with a booger-covered pinky?!”

I will strangle him.

Sana decided to ignore the cashier and continued to weave through the small aisles, following the string. Sana kept her gaze low - she was super focused on the string. She didn’t want to let it out of her sight.

Sana heard a little sound of surprise as she bumped into someone. Her gaze were currently on a pair of sneakers. She noticed that the red string trailed up the person’s body. Sana slowly looked up; she saw the end of the red string tied to the other person’s pinky. She also realized that the string is now really short, it was only a few feet long.

How the heck?

Sana gulped when she looked up higher.

Who is this hot girl and why did this string lead me to her?

“Can I help you?” the girl asked Sana with a small smile. Sana noticed that the girl worked at the convenience store. She was currently restocking some drinks.

“I… Uh…” Sana looked at the pretty girl’s name tag.

[Tzuyu (pronounced like chewy, like chewing gum- you know what I mean)]

“Tzuyu…”

Tzuyu giggled. “Yes, that’s my name. Do you need help finding something?”

“No, no.” Sana waved her hands. “I’m actually here because of this.”

Sana raised the red string and held it in front of Tzuyu. “Do you know who tied this to us? Was it you?”

Please tell me it was you.

“Tied what to us?” Tzuyu raised an eyebrow.

Sana almost wanted to cry.

Oh please, not you too!

“You don’t see this?!” Sana waved the thin, red string in front of Tzuyu. She then tugged on it a bit. “You don’t feel that?!”

“See what? Feel what?” Tzuyu asked with wide eyes, she didn’t understand anything Sana was telling her.

Sana groaned again before roughly tugged on the string. Her eyes widened when she realized that Tzuyu’s hand wasn’t budging one bit. Sana continued to tug, but Tzuyu’s pinky wasn’t moving. It’s almost as if the string wasn’t even tied to her.

“Are you okay? Why are you moving your hand like that?” Tzuyu asked worriedly.

“You… You really don’t see it?” Sana asked quietly.

“See what? You keep asking me if I see and feel this thing, but you haven’t told me what it is yet,” Tzuyu replied softly.

Sana cleared a bit before looking into Tzuyu’s eyes. “Let me start over.”

Sana stepped back a bit, lowering her raised hand. “My name is Sana.”

Tzuyu smiled a bit at the random introduction.

“Nice to meet you, Sana.”

“Likewise,” Sana nodded. “Anyways… I woke up with this red string tied to my pinky. I couldn’t take it off. I followed it string all the way here to you.”

“A red string?” Tzuyu tilted her head a bit.

“Yes.” Sana looked excitedly at Tzuyu. She thought she finally noticed it.

“I don’t see a red string…”

Dammit.

“Really?” Sana was shocked. She held up the thread again and rubbed it against Tzuyu’s hand.

“You don’t feel that?”

“I only feel your soft hand,” Tzuyu said with a chuckle.

Oh.

“You’re not lying to me, are you?” Sana narrowed her eyes a bit.

“No, you really do have soft hands.”

Sana blushed a bit. “Not that! I mean about not seeing or feeling the red string!”

“Oh.” Tzuyu rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. “I’m not lying, I really don’t see or feel it.”

“I must be going crazy…” Sana placed her palms on her face. “I’ve been asking people all day if they see the string, but everyone just looked at me like I’m crazy.”

“I don’t think you’re crazy,” Tzuyu comforted, stepping closer to Sana and patting her back.

“Really?” Sana looked up with beaming eyes.

“Yeah, I believe you. If you think you saw a red string, you probably did.”

Sana pouted. “I see it! Not ‘saw’! I see it right now!”

“Oh.” Tzuyu nodded slowly. “Maybe you are a little crazy, but it’s okay. Crazy people are fun.”

Sana didn’t know if she wanted to punch Tzuyu or hug her.

“I don’t know what to do about this damn string…” Sana said in frustration.

“Is it bothering you? Tzuyu asked.

“Uh…”

“Has it been affecting your lifestyle? Is it hurting you? Is it in the way?” Tzuyu continued to ask.

“No…” Sana replied, looking at the red string tied around her pinky again.

What IS this thing?

“Then… just go about your day normally… Maybe it will disappear or something,” Tzuyu suggested.

“I guess you’re right.” Sana looked at the end of the red string that was still tied around Tzuyu’s pinky. “I don’t understand why I see it tied to you though.”

“That’s strange,” Tzuyu nodded.

“Can I see your pinky? Maybe I can untie it from you.” Sana walked a little closer to Tzuyu. She managed to step on a piece of gum in the process.

“My shoes!” Sana whined, hopping around on one foot. Tzuyu tried to stifle her laughter as she held her hand out towards Sana.

“Come with me, I’ll help you clean it.”

Sana gave her hand to Tzuyu and let her lead her to the restroom. She hopped on one foot the whole time.

“She didn’t buy anything! You can’t let her use the restroom!” the cashier from earlier shouted.

“Shut up!” Tzuyu replied before gently tugging Sana into the restroom. Tzuyu laid her hands on Sana’s hips.

What is she-

Tzuyu lifted her up slightly and seated her on the sink’s countertop.

Oh.

As Tzuyu grabbed some towels and dampened them, Sana wiggled her feet, still whining.

“I can’t believe I stepped on gum!” Sana kicked her feet, annoyed with herself.

Tzuyu laughed as she watched Sana wiggle about on the countertop. “You’re cute.”

Sana stopped moving. “What?”

“You’re a cute person.” Tzuyu shrugged.

“T-Thanks…” Sana twiddled her thumbs.

Tzuyu smiled in response and squatted to be eye-level with Sana’s shoes. She used her damp paper towel to wipe the bottom of Sana’s shoe. She ripped off the gum and continued to wipe Sana’s shoe to make sure it was no longer sticky. Sana saw the red string move about as Tzuyu did. It really did seem like it wasn’t even there, since it didn’t bother Tzuyu at all.

Sana smiled to herself as she looked at Tzuyu’s concentrated face.

I barely know her, but she acts like a concerned… girlfriend. Because trust me, my friends would just laugh at me and refuse to help.

“I think you’re all good!” Tzuyu stood up and threw away the dirty towel. She washed her hands a bit before outstretching her hands towards Sana again. Sana took it happily and hopped off the sink’s countertop.

“You didn’t really need to hold my hand for that,” Sana pointed out with a giggle.

“I know, I just wanted to hold your hand.” Tzuyu smiled adorably. Tzuyu opened the restroom door for Sana and gestured towards it. “After you!”

Sana felt her body shiver from Tzuyu’s cuteness. Sana coughed awkwardly as she walked out of the restroom, still holding onto Tzuyu’s hand.

Very nice.

“Thank you, by the way, for cleaning my shoe and putting up with my… weirdness,” Sana said in gratitude.

“You’re welcome,” Tzuyu replied with a little squeeze to Sana’s soft hand. “Do you still see the red string?”

“Yes! It frustrates me that no one else can!” Sana whined once more. “Can I try taking it off of you?”

“Sure.”

Sana took Tzuyu’s other hand and tried to untie the string. She tried to untie it for a good five minutes. Tzuyu just stood there patiently.

Sana couldn’t untie it.

“Ugh! This is so annoying!” Sana stomped her foot in anger.

“If it makes you feel any better, just think of that Red String of Fate myth,” Tzuyu laughed.

“The red string of what?” Sana asked in confusion.

“It’s an old Chinese legend.” Tzuyu clarified. “The Red String of Fate is a myth where a red cord or string is tied around two people. It’s suppose to be unbreakable. It is said that the two people with the red string attached to them are destined to meet.”

“Destined to meet?” Sana was very interested with this myth.

“Yeah, the red string is suppose to be tied to people that are fated to meet. Some have said that the two people are suppose to help each other,” Tzuyu continued.

“Oh, like how you helped me?” Sana said cheesily.

“Maybe,” Tzuyu laughed, patting Sana’s head. “A more popular theory, however, states that the red string is tied to people that are soulmates.”

Sana froze as she looked at Tzuyu with wide eyes. “Soulmates?”

“Yeah, according to Chinese legend, the two people that are connected by the invisible, red thread are destined lovers,” Tzuyu replied with slightly tinted red cheeks.

“R-Really now?” Sana felt a little shy now. Her red string did connect to Tzuyu, after all.

“Do you think that’s what I’m seeing?” Sana whispered.

“I don’t know… One thing doesn’t match with the Chinese legend though…” Tzuyu put her finger on her chin in thought.

“What?” Sana asked curiously.

“You said that you see the red string tied around our pinky fingers,” Tzuyu pointed out. “I learned that it was suppose to be tied around the ankles.”

“Oh.”

Not gonna lie, I’m a little disappointed.

Sana sighed a bit before speaking again, “I see.”

“Are you… sad about that?” Tzuyu raised an eyebrow. She also had a little smile on her face at the thought of Sana being upset about not being her soulmate.

“No comment.” Sana shut her lips together into a pout.

“Okay.” Tzuyu just shook her head in amusement.

“Tzuyu! Some kid threw up near the candy section! Can you clean it up?!” the cashier shouted, waving his hand frantically.

Tzuyu sighed in annoyance before stepping away from Sana. “I have to work now.”

“Okay… I’ll see you around?” Sana said sadly, she felt a special connection with Tzuyu. She didn’t want to stop being around her.

“Yeah, definitely.” Tzuyu smiled at Sana before waving and turning around. Sana watched at the red string stretched, following Tzuyu. Tzuyu disappeared into the back as she went to go fetch the mop and bucket.

“I’m definitely coming back here tomorrow,” Sana said determinedly to herself before walking out the convenience store’s doors.

“Did you wash your boogers off your pinky?” the cashier randomly asked. Sana glared at him and didn’t answer.

Sana skipped home happily. She turned around to look behind her and saw the red string increase in length once more.

Still weird, but eh.

Sana walked inside her house and found her mother relaxing on the couch.

“Oh, you’re back! How was your day?” Sana’s mother asked with a smile.

“I met this wonderful girl today~” Sana spazzed.

“Really now?” Sana’s mother asked in amusement.

“Yeah! We talked and held hands~ The whole situation was so magical!” Sana bounced around.

“I’m glad you made a new friend,” Sana’s mother replied, proud of her daughter.

“Future girlfriend,” Sana coughed out.

“What?” Sana’s mother blinked.

“Nothing.”

“Okay…” Sana’s mother raised an eyebrow. “What did you two talk about?”

“The Red String of Fate! It’s about-”

“Oh, I know what that is, it’s a popular Japanese myth!” Sana’s mother interrupted excitedly.

“Japanese myth? Tzuyu told me it was a Chinese legend,” Sana said, confused.

“I think it’s a common East Asian belief,” Sana’s mother replied.

“Oh.”

“The Red String of Fate is so romantic!” Sana’s mother giggled. “It’s such a beautiful tale~ A red thread being tied around two soulmate’s pinkies-”

“What?!” Sana suddenly shouted. She stared at her mother in shock. “N-Not the ankles?”

“Uh… The Japanese version of the myth states that the red string is tied around the ‘little finger’ or pinky finger…” Sana’s mother didn’t know why Sana was so shocked.

“You mean… we have a chance?” Sana’s eyes were as bright as the sun.

“What are you talking about-”

“We have a chance!” Sana ran out the door.

“Hooray for ankles and pinkies!” Sana shouted happily.

Sana’s mother sighed before laying down on the couch.

“She’s really weird.”