Katsumi was walking down the street. It was pouring from the sky. The sudden storm surprised her in the city. Honestly, she expected nothing of what had happened in the past day. She saw lightning in the sky shortly followed by the sound of thunder. She shrugged. It was cold, but the cold inside was the one that was really feeling uncomfortable, or maybe it was sadness. She did not know. Her entire world was destroyed within seconds. She was wandering down the street. It was already dark. She lost everything; her hope and purpose. With that, all life forces disappeared. She did not know what to do. There was no point in going back home, it would be an empty shell. You could not call it home anymore. She stopped and looked at the people walking down the street. They were happy. A family of four. They were foreigners. Tears flowed down her cheeks. They were warm compared to the rain. The boy gazed, pulled the man’s sleeve, and whispered.

From his father’s backpack, the boy took a small flower out and run to her, holding it in his hands to put it in her hand saying in bad Japanese,“For You. It will be better.” After that, he ran back, and they walked away.

She cried, and still his word where sounding in her ears. How could it be better? There was nothing left for her. She knew there was no going back. There were no more tears flowing down her cheeks. It was just her true self. She understood for the first time the genuine warmth of family, yet it was no more for her to feel. She decided it was enough, and all she needed. According to her phone, the closest train tracks were coming from Shinjuku Station. Katsumi walked towards them. This was her only solution now. She walked towards the bridge. Katsumi saw the empty platform, and did not expect this. She continued to walk. The rain was still pouring down on her as she walked towards the entrance. For her, there was only one ending. She entered the station building, looking at which platform the next train would come. She walked towards platform five. As she walked on to it, there was only one person sitting on the bench. It was somebody in a hood looking like he was homeless.

She said to herself, “It’s nobody.”

As she moved towards the edge, looking at the clock, the person said, “Would you like to sit down with me and talk?”

It shocked Katsumi that he wanted to talk to her. She did not know if she should answer or ignore him. The person continued, “You will not believe it, but your life depends on it.”

Katsumi shrugged. What did he say? What did he know? She could not think. The hood was covering his entire head, so you could not see his face. Looking closely, he did not resemble a homeless person, but she could not understand who he was. Maybe a drunk? She shook her head. This was irrelevant. There was only one thing. The end. She hoped it was the beginning of the love to the end. She looked at the clock. It was almost time. There were 3 minutes left.

The hooded person spoke again, “Do you really want to leave it to chance? It may be a hard way, but there is a way to be sure.”

She was shocked. What did he imply? The chance to meet them? Or perhaps the other thing? He could not know! How could he? He was just a stranger on a bench.

The man said, “You wish you could turn back and change it. There is no time for it. There is a way to continue your life day by day.”

Katsumi listened to the words. There was a pause after those words. She thought about it.

“You keep the memories deep in your heart. You will never be free, but you should not forget because life goes on. Day by day, you prove to yourself that you are strong enough.”

Katsumi was shocked. What did he know? What was he saying? How could he?

The figure said, “You can not walk away, but you can walk with it, or perhaps you should do it. When the time is right, I hope you will know what to do.” Afterwards, he stood up and vanished…

Katsumi was still standing in front of the edge. Thinking about what just happened. This was not normal, but nothing was normal in the last two days. All the death and sorrow that happened. Adding now this! What is going on? She asked herself in her head. She could not answer. The train was one minute away. She looked where the train should come, but saw nothing. This was interesting, trains are not late here. She looked at the clock. It was time, yet nothing happened. She thought perhaps it was a sign. The stranger shocked her. Perhaps he knew something. She was no longer sure if she should do it, as she felt the train approaching. She shrugged and all her muscles got stiff at hearing its sound. Her whole life just flashed in front of her eyes. The train was stopping here. She did not realise this before. The train stopped in front of her face. She knew she made an unwilling decision now, or perhaps it was willing. She remembered the words of her son, “I hope you will live forever, loved. So please always be happy for me!”

Tears flowed on her cheeks again. He was her sun and warmth. She stepped back as the train moved on. She rotated away from the edge. With a blink of the eye, she saw the stranger on the bench, sitting on the empty platform. How? He was gone?

She heard, “You decided, or were you undecided?” There was a moment of silence. You could not even hear the train leaving the platform.

“Follow me and you will see things you would never believe. The world is not what you know!”

The figure stood up while taking his hood off and putting a hat out of the thin air on his head. She recognised the face now. It was him. Could it be?