A Tale of Rings – Chapter 1 – Part C

Chapter 1 - Part B

Smiling, you sit down next to the young woman, and order a bowl of kitsune ramen.

Next to you, the girl puts the bowl of ramen back on the counter.

“I’m sorry about earlier today,” she says, breaking the silence. “The staring on the train, I mean. I know it was rude, but I couldn’t help myself. You…you reminded me of someone…”

You look over to see her eyes downcast, a red blush glowing upon her cheeks, and a faint smile upon her lips. It’s the same look she had on the train that morning. As you watch her, she looks up, meeting your gaze. Her eyes go wide with embarrassment, and she starts to sputter out another apology. You, in turn, attempt to do likewise, feeling awkward when she noticed you staring.

The scene is comical, and after a few seconds, you both stop, stare at one another once more, and burst out in laughter. The other customers stare at the two of you in puzzlement, but you don’t care. After the rough day you’ve had, the laughter feels good.

As the two of you relax, you decide to start over. You introduce yourself to the young woman, mentioning that you work in the office building down the street.

“My name is Rin,” she replies, “and I work at the Chinese restaurant down the other way.”

As the evening wears on, you continue to converse, laughing and enjoying yourselves. After the ramen, you catch one of the later trains home, together. At the first intersection outside the train station, you stop.

Rin indicates the road travelling in the opposite direction that you need to go to get home.

“I live down this way,” she tells you, “so, I guess this is where we part ways for the night.

“I had a really good evening, though,” she says, smiling warmly. “Maybe we can get together again, sometime.”

As she turns to walk down the road, you notice the smile fade and a wistful look cross her face. The snow crunches beneath her feet as she walks down the road. Abruptly, she stops, her back still turned to you.

Image from Gelbooru.