The sun was still up even though it was way past four in the evening of a beautiful November day. The streets near the canal were quiet, only the distant murmur of people and the whistle of the gentle breeze could be heard. Even the annoying seagulls were quiet at this time of the day.

Takehiko was standing by the edge of a small red bridge, leaning with his hands on the metal rails. He was panting, sweat dripping on his temples. His eyes were firmly closed. The mild fragrance of the young roses was tingling his senses as the air was softly swaying his ponytail.

It was almost three months since he had moved there, but he already knew he loved this city. The rare yet precious sunshine intervals from the constant darkness. The stillness in the streets. The chaos in the houses. The proximity to everything that was good. Or bad. In a good way. The people. The stray cats. Everything. He was looking forward to spending the next three years in this tiny paradise, full of potential and excitement.

Yet something about him was awfully off. As he was calmly breathing he couldn't help but notice a certain heaviness burdening him. The freezing cold that substituted the flame that once burnt proudly inside his chest. As the days went by, his unwillingness to leave the bed was gradually increasing. What was once enjoyable was becoming more and more detestable.

He had to force himself to wake up that day, a truly gorgeous Saturday, practice some pieces at the piano and go for a run. He had guilted himself into doing what he always used to look forward to, instead of sulking the day off under the covers. And it wasn’t just laziness. No. This was different.

His brain was numb. He wished he had a stick and poke it alive. It wasn’t the first time he was feeling like this. Back at high school, whenever he was bullied, either by having his head sunk into a toilet, robbed of his lunch or having his nose broken, he would go home all saturnine and moody. He wouldn’t talk to anyone but his sister and that only after her consistent pressure. And then he would suppress everything to the point he’d feel nothing so that his apparent sadness wouldn’t upset anyone. However, the whole shebang would disappear after a good week or two. Similarly, this burden should’ve gone by now.

He was where he was meant to be. Living with his beloved sister in such a beautiful city, learning about the most interesting things. He had everything. Yet the weight on his shoulders was heavier than ever.

He took a deep breath and opened his eyes as a tiny tear slid on his tan cheeks. He stared at his reflection on the water surface that was gently rippling by the cold air. The troubled sleepless nights had left multiple marks on his skin. The wrinkles between his thin eyebrows had deepened by his non-stop thoughts. The person staring back at him was someone Takehiko no longer recognised. The same hair, the same body. Yet the eyes seemed different. Soulless, deprived of light. A haze was covering the sparkle from those fudge brown irises.

Takehiko took yet another deep breath and sipped from his water bottle. He found a bench and sat on it. His whole body was aching. He got his phone out. Perhaps a different playlist would manage to cheer him up. He scrolled through his favourite albums when suddenly his phone began vibrating. Unsurprisingly, it was no message or call. It was nothing but his phone turning off due to extremely low battery. He cursed under his breath.

Disheartened, he put the phone back into his back pocket but kept his headphones on. He no longer wished to be part of reality, not its images nor sounds. He couldn’t wait to go back to the flat, get some more sleep and charge his stupid phone.

A heavy drop landed on his forehead. He paid no attention. He drank some more water and got up. Next stop: shower and bed. If only it was that easy. As he was passing through the narrowest imaginable side road, the one occasional drop became ten, soon thousands. As he was still quite far from the flat, he ran to find shelter. Short downpours like that one were not irregular there. He hurried under a shop’s tent and waited, shivering.

Ten minutes had passed before he decided it was a lost cause waiting for the rain to stop. He put his hood on to cover his hair and headphones and dashed into the streets.

Once he was back at the familiar complex, Takehiko stood right before the big white entrance door and searched his sodden jacket for his keys. Then his sweatpant’s pockets.

Then his jacket again.

No keys.

He searched again.

Several loud curses escaped his lips when he realised they were nowhere to be found. His sister was supposed to be away at that moment too. Despair overcame Takehiko as he went through everything once more in every single pocket. He cursed again. But nothing was lost yet as the miracle of the doorbell had already been discovered. If nothing else, he would at least have a cover from the bloody rain. He prepared himself. As he approached the list of names, the door suddenly opened, distracting Takehiko’s attention. A blond man, holding an umbrella and a black garbage bag had emerged.

“Ocean!” Takehiko cried with a weak voice, hoping this would be his salvation.

“Také, hey,” the tall blond waved. “What’s the story?”

“I uhh- I kinda lost my keys,” Takehiko muttered, desperately trying to hide his shame. “D-do you still have your copy?”

“Oh, that’s a bummer. Yes, I do. Give me a second, I’ll be right back,” said Ocean and disappeared into the back alley.

As promised, the man was shortly back, let Takehiko in and both went up the stairs, briefly chatting. Ocean uncovered his key to Ayaka's flat and, after presenting Takehiko with it, quickly disappeared back in his.

Takehiko, finally happy and relieved he could be under the covers once again, slowly got up the stairs with a wide smile in his face. Midway through, his smirk was replaced by an inquisitive frown. He could hear a strange sound coming from the flat. As he got closer, he placed his ear on the door and held his breath to listen clearly. Are we being robbed? he thought terrified. Soon, his cheeks flushed red once he realised what was actually happening at the other side of that door.

Not knowing what else to do he ran downstairs again and knocked on Ocean’s door. Ocean greeted him with an annoyed look on his face.

“What? Key’s not working?”

“I-uh, I don’t want to go inside.”

“Changed your mind?”

“My sister’s upstairs. With... someone. Doing… it.”

“Oh?” said Ocean and paused, his eyes wandering upwards. “Oh… I see. Respects her too much my arse. Right, so. I was about to head to a bar if you want to come along. You can leave your stuff at my place. I have some clothes you can change into.”

“This early? It’s not even five yet!”

“Got anything better to do?”

Takehiko hesitated for a second before shrugging in agreement and the two, after getting ready at Ocean’s flat, headed downstairs, got on their bikes and made for their alcoholic destination.

Even though the rain had ceased, it was still difficult for Takehiko to manoeuvre his second-hand bicycle. He was finally able to keep a straight line, and since it had been way too long since he had last ridden a bike, this was a huge achievement for him. He was still the laugh of the town though, as it seemed the only people walking or using the bus were either the elderly or clueless tourists. And god forbid someone other than children used a helmet or training wheels. He watched Ocean with great envy as he was not even touching the handlebar. Instead, the blond was casually lighting up his smoke, comfortably sitting on the worn-out saddle.

“Wanna race?” said the man with the cigarette between his lips.

“I don’t even know where we’re going! I’m still getting confused with all the roads around here!” Takehiko complained.

“Roads, Marty? Where we're going we don’t need any roads!” said Ocean gleefully with a forced American accent and laughed. “It’s not that far. Down the main street, left on the second turn then right. Ten minutes max.” He then paused briefly and looked at Takehiko struggling to keep up. “Maybe twenty with your speed.”

“Sorry, I’m slowing you down. Maybe you can go ahead and I’ll find my way-”

“No way! No man left behind,” Ocean said and grabbed the handle. “I’ve got all the night ahead of me to get drunk as a skunk!”