Beginning

An unfamiliar ringing.

That thought drifted through my still fast asleep head. An alarm clock? But I​’m still sleepy. Last night, I ​had become so absorbed in my drawing that I ​didn’t end up going to bed

until dawn.

“... kun… Taki-kun.”

Now someone was calling my name. A girl’s voice… a girl?

“Taki-kun. Taki-kun.”

The voice was filled with a sharp sense of urgency, as if its owner were on the verge of

crying. The voice quivered, like the lonely twinkling of a faraway star.

“You don’t… remember me?” the voice asked uncertainly.

I don’t know you.

Suddenly, the train stopped and the doors opened. Oh, that’s right, I​’m riding a train.The

moment I remembered that, I

realized I

was standing in a train car packed full of people. In front

of my eyes were another pair, a girl’s, open wide, staring straight back at me. As passengers

exited the train, her school uniform figure started to get pushed farther and farther away from

me.

“My name… is Mitsuha!” screamed the girl, then she undid the string tying up her hair

and held it out to me. Instinctively, I

stretched out my hand. The band was a vivid orange, like the slender rays of the evening sun shining into the dim train car. I

****** my body into the crowd and firmly

grasped it.

And then, I woke up.

The echoes of the girl’s voice still faintly lingered in my eardrum.

… name… Mitsuha?

An unfamiliar name, and an unfamiliar girl wearing an unfamiliar school uniform. She

seemed so desperate. I ​remember the look in her eyes right before the tears started to fall from

them. It was a serious, solemn expression, as if she gripped the very fate of the universe in her

delicate hands.

But, well, it was just a dream. A meaningless dream. I

already can’t even remember

clearly what her face looked like. The echoes in my ears have disappeared too.

But still.

Still, my heart is beating unnaturally fast. My chest feels strangely heavy. My body is

covered in sweat. To start off, I

took a deep breath.

“...?”

Did I ​catch a cold? Something feels wrong with my nose and throat. My windpipe is a

little narrower than usual. My chest feels strangely heavy. Like, physically heavy. I glanced

down at my body and saw my cleavage. My cleavage​.

“...?”

The morning sun reflected off those bulges, causing the smooth white skin to shine. In

between the two breasts, a deep shadow had gathered, like a blue lake in the valley between

two mountains.

Well, I

guess I​’ll give them a feel, I

thought suddenly. The idea sprung up so naturally

and automatically, like how an apple falls to the ground under the force of gravity.

……

…

…?

…!

I was impressed. Oooh, I

thought. What is this? Taking it very seriously, I

continued to

fondle them. It was… how to put it… girls’ bodies are amazing…

“... onee-chan? (Onee-chan means an older sister with closeness and affection) What are you doing?”

Quickly turning towards the direction of the voice, I

saw a small girl standing next to the

opened sliding door. While still moving my hands about, I

offered my honest thoughts.

“Oh, you know, I

was just thinking how real this feels… eh?”

I looked at the girl again: a cheeky looking kid of about ten years old with twintails and

slanted eyes.

“... onee-chan?” I

asked the child, pointing to myself. That means… this girl is my little

sister?

“What are you doing? Get up! Hurry, it’s time to eat!” the girl said with a thoroughly

disgusted expression, then slammed the door shut.

While thinking she seemed like quite a violent child, I

got up out of the futon. Now that

the girl mentions breakfast, I

realize I​’m hungry. Suddenly, I

spotted a dresser in the corner of my eye. After walking a few steps on the tatami (In Japan 'Tatami' is similar to floor mat), I

stood in front of the mirror. I slipped the loose pajamas off my shoulders, leaving me *****, and began to stare intently at the body reflected in the mirror.

Long black hair like a current of water, with strands sticking up in various places from the

previous night’s sleep. On a small round face, large curious eyes and lips that looked somewhat cheerful. A thin neck and deep gaps above the collarbones. A healthy bulge at the chest. The

gentle curves of the stomach and hips, stretching down from below the shadow of the faintly

protruding ribcage.

I had never seen it in person before, but it was unmistakably a woman’s body.

A woman’s?

I am… a woman?

All of a sudden, the hazy drowsiness that had enveloped my body since waking up lifted

completely. In an instant, my head became clear, and, in the next, fell into confusion.

And then, not able to bear it any longer, I screamed.

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