5:37 am.

The dark night turns into a new day in a matter of seconds. The birds chirped, she hated how loud they were. She was on the roof of her apartment complex, where she goes when she can’t sleep. It’s been three days. The dark circles and the bags under her eyes are making it more difficult to keep her eyes open during the day. Letting out a yawn, she made her way down to her apartment and made breakfast.

She tried her best to look decent for her first class of the day, trying her hardest to wash away the drowsiness from her eyes. Looking in the mirror, she noticed something was different about her eyes. Her once warm brown eyes now looked dull and boring. She couldn't help but laugh out loud:

“Damn, I look like .”

She wonders why she couldn't sleep for the past several months, she had episodes like this.

Mina let out a groan and looked at her alarm clock. 2:34 am. She has class the next day. She hasn’t slept for the past two days.Taking the covers off her, Mina made her way to kitchen and started to boil water to make her favorite tea. She didn’t want to turn on her small television and ruin the silence of the late night. Mina looked through her Murakami collection and picked, “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.” She read so much by the time she looked up its was already 6:38 am. She let out a yawn, Mina didn’t want to go to class.

..

7:01 am.

She looks at her watch and turns in the direction where her bus is supposed to pick her up. She is the only one waiting. The bus is late today, she thinks. She saw the bus behind the many cars at the intersection. The wind was so strong and Mina’s red scarf was blown away. She wanted to run after her scarf, but the cars were going so fast. If she ran to go pick up her scarf, she would miss the bus. She chose to get on the bus. Leaving her scarf behind, she didn't notice someone picking it up.

Her first class was at nine, it was an one hour commute from her apartment. She wanted to be there early to read at her usual spot under a tree. Gripping her novel, she noticed someone was already there. For some reason, she no longer felt that the spot was special to her. Walking past the tree, she couldn't help but notice her red scarf and the very same novel she had in her hands.

For a moment, she thought she was looking in a mirror.

..

Fifteen minutes before class, she made her way to her assigned desk. No one was sitting next to her, the class had an odd number of students until today. The professor walked in and the whole class bowed and took their seats. She noticed someone standing with the professor, the girl from before. The sight of the new girl in front of the class made Mina up in her seat, she wanted to know her name. “Class, this is Minatozaki Sana, she just transferred from a university from the main city.” The new girl bowed to the class and made eye contact with Mina.

“Sana, take the empty seat by Myoui Mina. Mina, raise your hand.” Mina did as she was told, and when Sana started to make her way to the back of the class, Mina lowered her arm. She saw that the red scarf she lost today was wrapped around the new girl’s neck.

“Mina right? I’m Sana.”

Mina nodded her head, not wanting to meet Sana’s eyes.

..

Class ended, Mina got up in a rush, stuffing her notebooks and pencils in her bag pack. She was almost at the door when Sana stopped her, “Hey Mina, do you want to grab something to eat?”

“I already ate.”

“Coffee?”

Mina stood there in silence.

“I’ll only let you through if you agree to go with me,”

Mina gritted her teeth.

“Fine.”

..

They were seated at the school’s coffee shop, Mina opened her bag and got her reading glasses and Haruki Murakami’s “Sputnik Sweetheart.” Mina was a big fan of Murakami's work, and she read every single book. Sana was tapping her fingers on the table, her other hand supporting her head. She watched Mina bring the book up near her face, taking her bookmark out, and flipped to the last page where she left off. “You don't talk much do you?” Sana noted.

Mina looked up.

She said nothing, just stared.

Letting out a sigh, Mina replied, “Because no one really listens to me. I can feel when I’m not wanted.” She tried to remember where she left off in the book.

“I’ll listen to you. Your presence is wanted by me.”

Mina started to fume.

“You don’t even know me. I don’t know you. What do you mean?”

The pair was interrupted by the waiter, who had brought them their coffee. Before responding, Sana put some creamer and two sugar cubes in her coffee, stirred it, and waited for the hot beverage to cool down. She adjusted the red scarf around her neck, “I want you here.”

“Here? What is here?”

Sana took a sip of her coffee, but Mina left hers untouched. As she put her book down, she she cut her right index finger, let out a low hiss, and used a napkin to stop the bleeding.

“You’ll see, Mina, very soon.” Sana finished her coffee and paid for both, leaving Mina dumbfounded.

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