In Those Deep, Starry Eyes, I See Cherry Petals Depressed but breathing

The Fifth Meeting... Has Been Postponed

A deep sigh exited the shrine maiden’s lips. It was pretty hot today. She tried to reason that the weather was the sole reason that she was feeling glum. There were no clouds in the sky… so the weather theory was tossed out the window. She sighed again, standing up from her seat and moving toward the torii gate.

Miko swore she was okay. No, she was the textbook definition of fine. She definitely had all of her facilities about her. She definitely wasn't panicking because she hadn't seen Suisei in nine days. No, not at all. Miko would call you an idiot if you'd suggest such a thing, because it obviously wasn't true.

The stalwart shrine maiden continued about her duties as usual. She gave her advice to the people who came to her wholeheartedly. Her inner worry about the comet not coming for a long time definitely didn’t bleed into her advice through dejected lines such as “make sure you cherish the precious things,” and “don’t stew on your emotions while contemplating action.” Maybe it wasn't just the clients she was talking to when saying these things.

She realized, when she sighed and could feel the melancholy permeating the air around her, that she missed the company the comet gave her. It wasn't even all that often that the bluenette appeared. They'd only had four previous meetings for crying out loud! Why was this bothering her so much?!

It occurred to her that the reason for her melancholy was in part due to the fact she had yet to help Suisei get over her troubles. She still felt horrible that after all this time she couldn’t read the comet's eyes. Everyone else was an open book, but Suisei’s was written with invisible ink. It frustrated her to no end. It was even worse now that she couldn't even see those eyes… those blue starry spheres that reflected the night sky perfectly never ceased to amaze her…

…Okay, so maybe she was a bit troubled right now. The cat was out of the bag, but even admitting it to herself didn’t make the shrine maiden feel a bit better. She'd kept her hours open for much longer than before. Opening time was two hours earlier and closing time was three hours later than usual. This had gone on since day six. Miko was growing tired with the extra work she was placing on herself. It really didn't matter to her as long as she knew Suisei was alright.

She'd even been getting the newspaper, making sure that Suisei's name wasn't in the obituary. She'd never forgive herself if she saw the name appear there. Each day was filled with dread as she opened those flimsy pages, and each day only a momentary reprieve graced her mind as she learned that Suisei wasn't on that terrifying list.

Miko flipped the sign to "closed" before walking back to her living quarters. She was slouched over as she walked, not unlike a rejected high schooler. It was frankly ridiculous.

Miko wished, when she prayed that night, that Suisei was okay wherever the comet might be. She vaguely acknowledged that this was the fourth night in a row that the bluenette had taken the forefront of her prayers. It…wasn’t all that horrible to admit, in her opinion.

Miko got sick on the tenth day. Overwork and stress had worn her mentally thin. Her thermometer told her she had a slightly intense fever. Fatigue made her muscles ache on top of the pounding her head was feeling. She decided that she was in no condition to work. For the first time in five years, she didn't open the shrine. She regretted every second she wasted in her bed. ‘I could miss Suisei...’ It didn’t change the fact that the fatigue claimed her a few hours later.

The next morning, she'd recovered from her illness. It really was burnout and stress. That relieved her a bit. She could open the shrine again. As she checked the mailbox, she stretched her sore legs while leaning down to peer inside. There was a note from an address she wasn't familiar with. Curiosity struck her and she tore the letter open. It was plain blue without any words or graphics on the outside. Her heart started beating fast. It was the same color as Suisei’s hair. ‘Why does the color of the letter matter, Miko?!’ She opened it anyway.

"Shrine Maiden Sakura Miko-san,

I'm addressing this letter to you because I haven't been around for a while. I got hired and I've been trying to pull as many shifts as I can to earn back some money for the days I wasn't working.

I'm doing fine, more or less. I'll definitely stop over sometime in the next few days. I can promise you that. Recently more of the reasons that I've been struggling have been revealed, so I'll be in your care for working through that. There's still a lot of work to do before I can consider myself 'okay' again. I wish I could write more, but if I do, I’ll be late for my next shift.

Thank you for all your help so far,

Suisei Hoshimachi"

Miko felt her heart seize with relief. A huge weight had just been lifted off her shoulders. She clutched the paper to her heart with both hands, not worried about wrinkling it. Her legs almost gave out from the sheer happiness bursting through her. It was just a letter, for crying out loud.

"Thank goodness…" She stayed there like that for a few minutes before suddenly realizing she was reinvigorated. "I should go get the shrine ready for today!" As she went about her way, a thought occurred to her. She hadn't known Suisei's family name before today. A smile made her lips perk upward. Her emerald eyes shone with happiness to any who might have seen her in that moment.

"I learned something about you today, Hoshimachi-san."