Haruka's Blog

Anime Relations: Byousoku 5 Centimeter

Road Crossing

The hustle and bustle
Never fades
In this forsaken city
Which always wakes

As the cars pass by
I simply await
Sheep moved around me
Never late

As if in tune
With the serenade of grumbles
My clock kept ticking
With the symphony of mumbles

Then it happened
As if it was fated
A gust came by
As I opened an eye

A fragrance, piercing my heart
Like a smooth, silky dart
A glimpse of you, I did caught
As my heart started crying out

My watch kept ticking
But I stood still
Remembering that hill
And that one daffodil

Those cherished times
Where have they gone?
Where have you gone?
Where have I?

I looked back
As my watch went tick and tack
Only to see
Nothing looking back

And so, I wept
At the time that wasn’t kept
Lost in the sea of destiny
I only smiled in agony

My watch kept ticking
Never stopping
So I stopped thinking
And started walking

Despite my strife
I kept on moving
For life
Kept on rolling

Anime Relations: Nodame Cantabile

Little Treasures

The melancholic symphony
Of a violin’s melody
Serenading us
As we danced freely

Under the silver light
And the moonlight sonata
The shadows dance
In the distance

It inches closer
Yet we never see
Until it’s too late
For you, and for me

The clock strikes
Midnight comes
We part ways
As the piano plays

A final gift
A beautiful
Small
Melody.

Anime Relations: Hachimitsu to Clover

Words
A thousand words, not spoken, nor read
Not a single tear for it is shed
Forgotten phrases, lost in ecstasy
Of the real world, without any fantasy

A single verse, a part of a symphony
Alas, it receives no sympathy
For what is never written will never be heard
In the mind, it is eternally blurred

They say a picture is worth a thousand words
Taking you away to different worlds
If so, then a word has lost its worth
Once a picture descends upon this earth

A broken heart, shrouded in sadness
As man descends into madness
It sought to be freed of its owner’s shackles
Only to lose hope, as his chain only crackles

Every man’s dream is to let out his feelings
Liberating him from his dirty dealings
For when a heart is free, so will the man
But if words cannot do this, then what possibly can?

This is an index for my short story series, Ten Days to the End of the World.

It's a story set in the days nearing the end of the world (obviously) as we see Mr. John Bentley, a mysterious traveler, try and live what's left of his life the most interesting way possible.

Please read it if you're interested and enjoy!

Chapter 1: The Diner of Death

Chapter 2: The Precarious Promise

Chapter 3: The Future of Faith

Thursday was never a good day for me. In my school days it was usually the day where all of my hated subjects would line up to torture me with either their boringness or difficulty. In my working days, it was not much better simply because it was ordinary; too ordinary. I never thought I’d ever actually miss those days.

[/b]

Sitting at a table in the diner and eating his food ferociously was a young man, probably a teenager. He was a pretty nice guy to be fair. He was clean, well mannered, humble, and didn’t look too shabby. He was a rare find in a world on the brink of the apocalypse. “This guy is really nice and all,” I thought as I walked back and forth between the kitchen and his table. “But I wonder how much longer does he intend to make me keep taking orders and delivering them back and forth like this?”
“This food is delicious, Mr. Waiter, sir!” the teenager said as he wiped his mouth with a tissue. “Another plate, please!”
“Yes!” Shin shouted from the kitchen as I hurriedly went back to take the last order he placed. I was aware that Shin had the worst of it, but I still felt irritated at all the work. It seemed like the kid was trying to take advantage of the situation and tried eat as much as he could!
“Hey,” I said, taking a short break. “Do you really think this is okay?”
“What is?” Shin responded, seemingly puzzled.
“The fact that this kid is quickly depleting our resources perhaps?”
“Oh, you’re worried about that are you, Mr. Bentley? Don’t worry, it’s not like we’re going to run out any time soon, furthermore this is exactly why this diner is open right? To serve food to those who wants it before the end?”
“I guess you’re right.” I conceded. “How about the payment though? How do you think he’s going to pay us?”
“Interesting question.” He said. “Perhaps he will offer us a whole autobiography, or perhaps even a novel?”
“Don’t joke. I’m too tired for humor.”
“I am not joking Mr. Bentley. There were actually people in the past who have given me whole books in exchange for food.”
“You have got to be kidding me.”
“No, Mr. Bentley, I assure you, this is true. Now, please give that young man his meal. I just finished preparing it.”
“You’re being awfully assertive today, Mr. Nakayama.” I remarked in jest and a bit of frustration.
He just smirked and answered “Have I, Mr. Bentley?”
We shared a light laugh as I walked back to the young man’s table and delivered the meal. “Here’s your meal, sir. Would you want anything else with that?”
“No, this is enough.”
“Thank you sir, your orde- wait did you- err erhm.” I cleared my throat. “Are you sure you don’t want anything else sir?”
“Well, I suppose I’d like some company. Ask your chef there to come here and join us for a talk, would you?”
“Y-yes, right away sir.” I responded before running back to Shin and telling him what happened. He just laughed and said that we should amuse him.
So there we were, two men sitting in front of a smiling teenager. He was pretty unique once I had examined him more closely. Like I mentioned before, he was clean and quite well mannered, but he was also a bit eccentric. His hair was pretty long for a boy, nearing shoulder length. Half of his face was covered by his bangs and he wore a sort of gothic, or more accurately emo look.
“So,” he suddenly said before switching gazes between the two of us. “Are you gentlemen…together?”
I was horribly surprised by his question. I didn’t know how to respond, or more accurately, I didn’t want to respond!
“Oh, good question sir, however I would like to keep such information private.” Shin suddenly responded while smirking.
“No!” I quickly interrupted, unwilling to play Shin’s dangerous game. “Erhm. I mean, no. I am perfectly straight, thankyou very much.”
The boy seemed a bit surprised. “Oh…? but-”
“As he said, young man.” Shin uncharacteristically interrupted him. “There is nothing between us.”
The boy just raised an eyebrow, rested his back on his chair and said, “Okay, I understand. Sorry for asking such a ridiculous question. May I ask another private question though? I’m awfully curious, you see.”
“Please, by all means. However, please forgive us if we cannot answer some of your questions.” Shin responded.
“Okay then,” he said, “Are you gentlemen religious? Are you not?”
“No, I am an atheist.” Shin said.
“I’m an agnostic.” I added.
“I see. That’s interesting.”
“What about you, young man? Are you religious?” Shin asked.
“Hmm…I suppose I can still be considered a Muslim, though I’m not sure I can be considered very religious.”
“Oh, that’s interesting.” I remarked.
“Indeed. Mr. Bentley, why don’t you go and get us some tea? I feel like we can have a very good conversation.”
“Certainly.” I said before getting up and going into the kitchen. It was a bit surprising, admittedly, to hear someone admit that they were still religious. Even more so with him being so young and calm. During the months near the end, most of the people split into two groups. First, there were the heavily religious people who turned to their faith in order to comfort themselves from the end. Many people gathered in religious places like the Vatican and Mecca, while others did more… questionable things in order to ensure their supposed passage into heaven. Then, there were those who completely lost any shred of faith they had and decided to either live their life without any norms, or finishing their lives altogether. Finding a religious person this calm was rare, let alone someone who isn’t really religious yet still believe in their faith.
“Here’s your tea.” I said as I served a cup of tea for the young man before taking a seat next to Shin. “So, how about you tell us your story?”
“Pardon?”
“We take stories and a picture as payment in this establishment.” Shin explained with a smile. “It should be a story of your experiences, but we’ll accept anything that is interesting.”
“I see… that’s a pretty unique way of payment…” He said before looking at all the empty plates in front of him. “Wait, does this mean that I have to tell you a whole lot of stories because of how much I ate?”
Shin chuckled. He was obviously amused by this kid. “Not necessarily,” he said. “If you give us a story of great quality, we can accept that as worth several stories.”
“I see…” He responded. He seemed a little bit troubled. “I think it’s going to be hard for me to pay then… my story is not very good or interesting…”
“Oh? Then try and tell us regardless, Mr…?”
“My name is Dian. Dian Al- Fatimah.”
“Okay then, Dian. Please tell us your story regardless. We may differ in opinion to you regarding the quality of your story. Wouldn’t you agree, Mr. Bentley?”
I nodded. “Everything’s relative, after all.”
He just smiled and said “Alright I’ll tell you my story.” He took a deep breath and started to tell his tale.
“Before the announcement of the end, my family and I lived n a nearby city. We had a pretty peaceful life. My father was a kind man, though he was always busy. My mother stayed at home and cared for me. She could be annoying sometimes, but I didn’t mind. I was their only child, so they loved me very much.”
He stopped for a moment and hinted a smile, before continuing his story. “When the announcement of the end was made, of course, we panicked like everyone else. It was understandable, the world was going to end after all. The city was filled with paranoia and fear as the unstoppable flow of depressing information about the state of the world filled everyone’s thoughts. In our hearts, we all knew that soon, somebody will break, and the city along with him.
My father anticipated this and, along with my mother and I, escaped from the city. He had prepared an emergency house in case such things happened. He said it was for insurance. It was a small house in the country. It’s pretty near to this place, actually. It was mildly self-sufficient and easy to tend to. For a while, we lived peacefully there.”
“That’s very heartwarming.” Shin commented. “What happened next? How did you get here then?” He inquired.
Dian stayed quiet for a second, stroking his chin and appearing as if he’s thinking hard about something. “My parents went out one day to get supplies from the nearby town.” He finally said, smiling. “They never came back.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.” I immediately said.
“My condolences.” Shin added.
“No, it’s okay. I’m quite over it now. It has been a while. Anyways, let me continue my story; after they left, I waited and waited, and they never came back. I always had a bit of hope of them coming back, but I knew that it was probably futile. This was confirmed when I heard an explosion from the nearby town-this town-where they were supposedly going to. I think I shed a few tears that day. I’ve always been emotionally strong, but you can’t do very much when you discover that your parents are dead, can you?”
I could only nod. I was a bit impressed by him. Judging by his height and looks, he seemed to be around 15 years old, yet he coped with the loss of his parents fairly calmly. “How did you cope that well?” I instinctively asked, in which I continued with an apology upon realizing the less tactful nature of my question.
“It’s okay.” He said as I apologized. “I was calm because, aside from the fact that we were all going to die soon anyways, they were good people.” He explained. “I’m sure they will end up in heaven.”
“Is that why you’re still religious?” Shin suddenly asked. I tried to shush him for a second, but Dian stopped me and shook his head, saying “It’s fine.”
“Indeed, I would like to think that god exists, and that he will reward us with heaven if we do good things, sir. However, that is not the main reason I am still religious.”
“Oh? Interesting. What is the reason then?”
He smiled. “Insurance.”
“Insurance?” I asked, a bit puzzled.
“Yes. Insurance. You see, Mr. erm, Bentley was it? Yes. When you don’t believe in a god, you automatically risk going to hell if the possibility of there being a god is true, whilst the believer will most probably go to heaven. On the other hand, if nonbelievers are right, then whether you believe in god or not does not matter. Nothing happens either way.”
“I see.” I said.
“So with your reasoning, among all of us here, I am the one with the highest probability of going to hell?” Shin responded.
“Perhaps, yes.” Dian answered, immediately followed by a friendly round of light laughter between the three of us.
“How do you feel about the end of the world though?” Shin continued to question him. By the looks in his eyes, I knew he was really in to this discussion. “Doesn’t it put an end to the future of faith? Doesn’t this prove that the end that your faith has predicted, has fallen flat?”
Dian, surprisingly, didn’t seem bothered or confused at all. “I don’t worry about it.” He said. “This is not the real end of the world, after all. Like we all know, a small portion of the population are going to survive. Among those people, surely some of my faith will be there. That means that it’s entirely feasible for the predictions of my faith will happen.” He argued. “I still believe there is a future for faith.”
“I see.” Shin responded. “I will not change what I believe in, but I can accept that.” He said.
“So, how did you discover this diner, Dian?” I asked after a moment of silence, trying to change the topic.
“Oh. It was nothing special. I simply wanted to see the town where my parents died before the end, and I got hungry. That’s all.” He said. “I could even say that this might be a blessing from god; a nice little reward or compensation for my perseverance, haha.”
Shin smiled and suddenly stood up. “I’ve got a better reward for you, if you want?” He said, inciting confusion between Dian and I. “Well, do you accept, Mr. Al-Fatimah?”
Dian laughed a bit and said “This seems interesting! I’d gladly accept.”
“Excellent.” He said as he led us upstairs. As we walked through the lonely halls, I noticed where he was leading us to, and I was right.
We were in the memorial of death. I saw Dian’s face. He was stunned. It was as if he saw a ghost. “This is the “Death Memorial”, where I put all of my visitor’s photos and honor them in their imminent death.” Shin said, before smiling and pointing to a section in the memorial and saying “That is a special place where anyone who has died a noble death in this diner will be forever immortalized.”
Dian suddenly dropped to his knees as tears started to flow down his cheeks. Shin just patted his shoulder and said “They were very nice and noble people, Dian. They protected me, and this diner out of pure good will. They told me about you. They said that you were a good, independent and very capable boy. They said that they believed in you, so they didn’t worry about you facing the end. They didn’t worry about leaving you alone. They had faith in you, Dian.”
The young man, on his knees in front of me, could only weep as he heard Shin’s words. He immediately embraced him, thanking him and letting all his pent up emotions out. I myself was a bit touched too. I even felt a tear escaping from my eye.
After recovering emotionally and saying his prayers for his parents, he decided that he’d spend the rest of his short life honoring his parents by staying at their house in the countryside. “Thank you for the food, and the emotional closure Mr. Nakayama.” He said as he prepared to depart. “I am not sure how I can afford to pay for all the things you have given me though.”
Shin lightly chuckled. “It is fine. I have a debt to your parents. Consider this a form of payment for that debt. More importantly, Mr. Al-Fatimah, after I gave you his reward, do you still think a benevolent god exists?”
The boy smirked. “Of course, Mr. Nakayama. After all, there is no proof to suggest that this wasn’t the will of god, is there?”
“Touche.” Shin said. “Well then, farewell.”
“Goodbye.” I added.
“Assalamualaikum.” He replied as he closed the door.
“Well?” I suddenly said.
“What?” Shin responded.
“Did you change your belief because of him?” I teased him lightly, being half-serious.
“Haha, no, not really.” He said. “Nothing he said has really changed my view on the world. I still believe in what I see, and what is proven. How about you, Mr. Bentley? Were you swayed?”
I smirked. “Well, that would make my decision to become agnostic meaningless. I do believe in the possibility of there being a god, but I don’t think any of the existing religions are right, you see. How about you, Mr. Nakayama? Do you completely disregard the notion of there being a god?”
He smiled as he heard this and said “Even if there is a god, Mr. Bentley, I’ve already lost all my faith.”
I was a bit taken aback by his answer, because I could sense some kind of sadness resonating from his words. Unfortunately, before I could say anything, the door opened again, and there stood young Dian, carrying what seemed to be a woman.
“Well then, Mr. Nakayama…” he said as he put the girl down. “I hope you have enough faith to believe me when I say that I found this woman unconscious in front of your diner, and unfortunately, I can’t possibly bring her back with me.”
“Unconscious?!” I reacted.
“Of course.” Shin said surprisingly calmly, surprising me instead.
“Thank you. I will leave her to you then. Good bye again, and good luck. I have faith in you, gentlemen!” Dian said playfully as he left once again.
I couldn’t understand what was happening, but Shin asked me to bring her to a room. I wanted to question him, but I didn’t really have a choice. However, as I started to hold her, her eyes opened and she slapped me hard, making me fall to the floor!
“Where is this place?!” She suddenly shouted.
“A diner in a small town near New Blitar.” Shin responded calmly.
“…Who are you?” she asked.
“I am Shin Nakayama, the owner of this diner.”
Suddenly, she shifted her gaze to me. It took me a few seconds, but I realized that she was waiting for me to answer the same question. “I’m John Bentley, an employee.” I said.
She then looked around the diner, opened the door and looked around outside, before finally kneeling down and shouting, “Please let me work here, Mr. Nakayama!”