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

Chapter 12: Their First Call, and a Glance Inward

Miko checked her clock. Yep, it was 7pm. Time to close up for the day. She stood up from the stand, slowly walking toward the torii gate. Her phone weighed heavily in her pocket, and her heart pounded in her chest with anticipation. Crossing under the gate, she easily navigated to the open sign, flipping it to its “closed” position. She walked back toward the main temple, her stomach not even grumbling after the long work day. Was she seriously so excited that she wasn’t even hungry? That kinda scared her.

She made her way to the kitchen, pouring herself a glass of water, and ended up on the modest gray couch that was the main attraction of the living room. It was probably only big enough for three people to sit on tops, but that made it the perfect size for her to lie down on. She fumbled her phone out of her pocket, slowly unlocking it (after purposely failing enough times to get the warning message to pop up) and finding her contacts. Her finger hovered over Suisei’s name. The saliva in her mouth almost felt suffocating. She took a deep gulp, only briefly pausing to mentally comment on how cliché that was.

Anxiety was creeping up her spine with every second she waited. Hot anticipation boiled in her chest, combating the icy thorns snaking from her toes up to her neck. This was way different… she hadn’t called someone who wasn’t family in too many years to remember. She wasn’t used to this situation, and that terrified her. Her teeth chattered as the poisonous fear crawled further up her body, a nervous shiver racking her form. Just as she was about to lose her grip and abandon the call, her mind decided to flash a memory.

‘...I’ll be really angry with you-!’

She grimaced. Deep down, she knew she’d feel worse if the guilt ate away at her. Besides, didn’t she want this?! She wanted to make sure Suisei was doing okay, didn’t she? Why was she suddenly getting such cold feet about this? How stupid is she?!

With a grit of her teeth and a burst of anger at her own weakness, her finger came down on the phone icon next to Suisei’s number with about as much force as a non-athletic mid-twenties shrine maiden could offer. The dial tone sounded, signaling her sealed fate. She resigned herself to the call, pressing the speaker button and waiting for the comet to pick up.

Across the city, Anemachi looked at her sister from the kitchen of their small apartment. The bluenette was currently on the sofa of the living room, as she had been since she’d returned around 3. She’d been staring at her phone with a stupid smile on her face for the past hour, easily. Anemachi sighed.

‘I guess I won’t be told anything unless I’m nosy as usual. The things I do for my sister.’

“Sui-chan, whatcha lookin’ at? You’ve been smiling for a while.” Suisei glanced up, a twinkle in her starry eyes. Her smile could pierce the heavens with how bright it was. It was a look that hadn’t been on her face since she was a young girl…

“Oh! I gave Mikochi my number today. I told her to call me tonight after she was done working to make sure she copied the number down right.” Anemachi could only blink.

‘My little sis… how can someone so wonderfully brilliant in the most complicated of situations be so bafflingly stupid in the simplest situations?!’

“You could’ve just had her shoot you a text while you were there…” Suisei’s cheerful eyes snapped open, staring at the older comet with a clear look of shock. Her head turned down, an icy cold, dead expression coming over her.

“You’re right… if she copied it wrong, I won’t be able to know for three days…” Her voice rasped out the words. If Anemachi hadn’t been so concerned about her sister’s mental health, she’d have said it was a scene right out of a rom-com anime. She wasn’t paid enough for this!