Click.

Haruka flicked the switch once, twice. But there wasn't any response.

The room was not brighter.

She leaned his body in the direction of the window. Gray skies were what he could see, and no glimpse of sun like the previous day. White curtains usually caught the reflection of light, swaying quietly instead. She switched the button, hoping for a temporary failure. Still, no use. Dark.

What the hell?" she groaned, beginning to panic.

She opened her phone, turned on the small flashlight, and went into the payment app. Her eyes opened wide as she read the message: The electricity bill hadn't been paid. She looked down, her fingers trembling as she swiped the phone screen, trying to figure out how to pay through the city's local system. But the app was unfamiliar to her. The language of the system was also too formal.

"Seriously… I just moved in," she groaned. 

It appeared that everything was rejecting her once again.

Haruka huddled in the corner of the room, embracing her knees. A power outage was not a big deal for most people. But for someone who was used to living in fear, darkness was an old enemy that had returned. She hated the night. She hated the strange noises outside the window. And now, she hated the silence that enveloped her thin room.

This bleakness was somehow another form of loneliness.

She clenched her lips, holding back tears that started to surface. She was so ready to dial anyone, yet whom? Father? Never. Friends? No one knew she had left. The world was so distant once again, and she was lost in there.

The room was illuminated only by her cell phone. But the battery was only twenty percent. Haruka placed her cell phone aside and wrapped her arms around herself more tightly. She thought about leaving the room, but did not wish to have to explain to the neighbors about electricity and bills.

Then there was a ringing of the doorbell.

Ding-dong.

Haruka involuntarily turned her head. Who?

She stood frozen in place. Her heart was racing. Could it be a ghost?

Ding-dong.

Again.

Slowly, Haruka made her way to the door and peeked through the small hole.

The hallway was black, and there. Kaito. Wearing his signature jacket and holding a small flashlight. The flashlight was pointed downwards, not in the way, but lighting up enough.

"Your order," he chatted in a casual tone. "But I guess the power's out, huh?"

Haruka slowly opened the door. "Well. I forgot to pay. I have no idea how the system works here."

"It's okay," Kaito answered hastily, as if catching Haruka's embarrassment. "This city's not very enlightened. But neither is it completely dark."

He grasped the flashlight and put it on the floor, pointing at the wall. The dim light ceased to leave dark spaces behind. Then he handed Haruka the food bag.

"I figured you hadn't eaten, since you always order early," he said.

Haruka looked down. "I didn't pay it yet."

"Good thing I did," he said, chuckling. "Otherwise, I would not have known that I needed to provide you with emergency lighting."

The beam of the flashlight lit up their silhouettes on the wall. Haruka held the plastic food in both hands, then whispered, "Arigatou, okay…"

"Uh, yeah, here," Kaito replied, inserting something into the food bag. Sticky note. Another sticky note.

Haruka accepted it silently. Kaito said nothing, just smiled, then stepped away.

"Sayounara, Haruka-san."

And he left.

After closing the door, Haruka immediately sat down on the floor with the food on her lap. However, her eyes were not immediately focused on the food, but on the sticky note.

Handwriting again. However, this time it wasn’t a sentence.

The sticky note had a simple little sun on it, like a child’s drawing. Below it was written:

“Even in the darkness, you’re still here.”

Haruka stared at it for a long time.

There was something in the small sun that made her chest feel warm. Even when it was simply a thoughtless scribble. But precisely because of that—because it wasn't pretentious—the message felt real. Like Kaito wasn't even trying to try to make her feel better, but just. Remind her. That her being around counted, even if everything wasn't okay.

She stood up and posted the sticky notes on the wall by the window. Two now. The first, "Don't forget to eat." And the second, "Even in the dark, you're still here."

The little pieces of paper that made him feel. seen.

Haruka warmed up her food. Eating slowly. She didn't hug his knees this time or sit on the floor. She sat on an old folding chair that had not been used for years. The light from Kaito illuminated the room to the point where it was no longer scary.

And at night, Haruka still stared at the two sticky notes.

Today may be a day without light.

But then someone came, carrying his small light.