The Fading Moon Chapter 3: The Promise of Tomorrow

Read chapter 3 of The Fading Moon by MananTayal on NovelPedia.

For the next few days, Mike convinced himself that Jessika would eventually disappear from his life. It was the logical conclusion. People met. People talked. People moved on. That was how the world worked. Especially in Tokyo. Millions of stories crossed each other every day before vanishing forever. Surely Jessika would become one of those stories. Unfortunately for Mike, logic had never met Jessika. Three days after their conversation in the park, he stepped out of a convenience store after work and immediately heard a familiar voice. "Found you." Mike froze. "No." Jessika stood near the entrance holding a canned drink. "Yes." "How?" "I saw you through the window." Mike looked toward the store. Then back at her. Then toward the sky as if asking the universe why this was happening. Jessika laughed. "You look disappointed." "I am disappointed." "You hurt my feelings." "You don't have feelings." "I do." "No." "Yes." "No." "Yes." Mike sighed heavily. Jessika smiled victoriously. Somehow she always treated conversations like competitions. And somehow she always won. "Why are you here?" Mike asked. Jessika took a sip from her drink. "Walking home." "This isn't your route." "How do you know?" Mike paused. Good question. How did he know? Because he had started noticing things about her. The way she talked. The places she appeared. The time school ended. The route she usually took. The realization immediately bothered him. Jessika noticed. Her smile widened. "Oh." "Oh what?" "You've been paying attention." "No." "You have." "No." "You know my route." Mike immediately began walking away. Jessika followed. "Mike." "No." "Mike." "No." "Mike." "What?" Jessika laughed. "Nothing." Mike regretted speaking. Again. At this point, regretting things had become a daily activity. They continued walking through the evening streets. Tokyo glowed around them. Bright signs illuminated restaurants. Music drifted from shops. People hurried past without noticing the strange pair. After several minutes Jessika suddenly pointed toward a small café. "I'm hungry." "That's unfortunate." "We should eat." "We?" "Yes." "No." "Why not?" "Because I'm going home." Jessika stared at him. Then at the café. Then back at him. For some reason, she looked genuinely sad. Mike frowned. "What?" "Nothing." The answer came too quickly. Too quietly. Something felt different. The playful energy she usually carried seemed weaker. Almost forced. For a moment, Mike considered ignoring it. Then he sighed. A long, defeated sigh. Jessika immediately smiled. "No way." "One coffee." "What?" "One coffee." Her eyes widened. "Really?" "Don't make me change my mind." Jessika practically ran toward the café. Mike followed slowly. Somewhere along the way, he had lost the ability to say no to her. And that fact worried him. A lot. The café was small and cozy. Warm yellow lights illuminated wooden tables. Soft music played in the background. The scent of coffee filled the air. Mike ordered black coffee. Jessika ordered the largest chocolate drink available. The waitress looked amused. Mike looked embarrassed. Jessika looked proud. They sat near a window overlooking the street. For a while they simply watched people passing outside. Then Jessika suddenly asked, "What was your dream?" Mike blinked. "What?" "When you were younger." The question surprised him. Nobody had asked that in years. He stared into his coffee. For several moments he remained silent. Then he answered. "Photography." Jessika leaned forward. "Really?" Mike nodded. "I wanted to travel." "Why didn't you?" The question hit harder than she intended. Mike smiled bitterly. "Life happened." Jessika looked confused. "What does that mean?" "It means dreams are expensive." The cheerful atmosphere faded slightly. Jessika stared at him carefully. Almost studying him. "You gave up." Mike looked away. "Maybe." "You shouldn't have." He laughed. "That's easy to say." "No." Her voice was unusually firm. "You shouldn't have." Mike noticed so