Kitchen

Satsuki relates how she met Hitoshi while on a field trip in their sophomore year. They liked one another instantly, and were in love for a period of four years. Because of their different class schedules, however, the only time they had alone was on the bullet train. During one of these moments, Satsuki gave Hitoshi a bell that once belonged to her cat. Hitoshi loved the gift and kept it on him all the time. The bell came to symbolize their relationship, so much so that Satsuki could hear the bell even when Hitoshi was not around. Satsuki also mentions that, though they were very much in love, Hitoshi always had an ephemeral quality about him, as though he were drifting away or not of this world. In hindsight, Satsuki wonders if this attribute foreshadowed his death: Hitoshi died from a car accident one night when he was twenty, leaving her alone and grief-stricken.

Satsuki attempts to find some solace in life, but realizes that Hitoshi was her life. She tries to busy herself with friends and schoolwork, but the minute these things end, she is back in her depression and wishing more than anything just to get a glimpse of Hitoshi again. When her depression becomes too much, she suddenly begins to jog. Satsuki finds that jogging to the bridge where Hitoshi died, then having tea from a thermos while there, helps her to deal with the tragedy a little better. She jogs to the bridge where he died every morning.

One day, Satsuki is lost in her sadness while drinking tea at the bridge. She is startled by a woman’s voice from behind her, and drops her thermos into the river. The woman apologizes, and promises to buy Satsuki another thermos. She introduces herself as Urara. Satsuki wonders at this bold, strange woman, but offers her what is left of her tea. She still has the lid/cup, and shares this tea with Urara. As they talk, Urara reveals that something special always happens on the very spot they are standing on. It is an event that only happens every hundred years. Though Urara cannot go into detail about it yet, she says that she will later, as Satsuki has been kind to her and shared her tea. Satsuki finally says goodbye, and as she leaves, wonders about the strange woman. When she looks back, she is taken aback by the amount of sadness she glimpses on Urara’s face. Urara sees her, however, and her face changes back to the cheerful expression she had had earlier.

Satsuki goes to meet with Hitoshi’s younger brother, Hiiragi, a young man who is soon to turn eighteen. Satsuki is taken aback when Hiiragi enters the coffee shop, as he is wearing a girl’s uniform in a sailor-style pattern. He does not seem concerned with the scene he is making, and she remembers how Hitoshi always said that his brother was like a person from another planet. Then she remembers: Hiiragi not only lost his brother on that fateful day, he also lost his girlfriend, Yumiko. The sailor-style school uniform must have belonged to his girlfriend. Hitoshi was giving Yumiko a ride home when they were both killed. Hiiragi reveals that he is not ashamed of wearing the uniform. He receives a lot of attention from the girls at school. He wears the uniform because it makes him feel better. Satsuki finally understands that the uniform is to Hiiragi what jogging is to her—a coping mechanism.

The two go to eat, and Satsuki tells Hiiragi about her meeting with Urara. Their walk brings them to the intersection where Hitoshi and Yumiko died, and Satsuki is overcome with grief. She wonders about Hitoshi’s death, and if he thought about her when he died. At the eatery, they are both overcome with despair, and Satsuki wonders if she will ever be able to break out of her sadness. Yet she wants Hiiragi to find happiness again, to be his old self.

Satsuki comes down with a cold one day and, while in bed, receives a call from Urara. Urara wants to buy a new thermos for Satsuki and asks her to meet at a store. Satsuki wonders how Urara obtained her number, and Urara says that it just came to her. Though sick, Satsuki meets with Urara. The two then go and have tea together, and Urara gives Satsuki some tea as well. Still baffled, Satsuki asks Urara again how she found her number. Urara says she was telling the truth earlier. She “sensed” Satsuki’s number and just began dialing. Urara then implores Satsuki to get better by the day after next, for this is when the special something on the bridge will occur.

Satsuki thinks back to a memorable time with Hitoshi on the bridge. She recalls his jacket, and the bell. She recalls this scene often in her sadness, and dreams about it often as well. In her dreams, she cries out to him and begs him not to leave, and Hitoshi says that he did not really die, because Satsuki saved him. Despite the strangeness of Urara and the senselessness of her wish, Satsuki wishes deep down that the special something on the bridge will involve seeing Hitoshi again. She knows this is a stretch, and that just being there with Urara will also be cathartic. When Satsuki leaves for the station, she sees Hiiragi. He is dressed in regular clothes. She wonders at his change in clothing, but decides against calling out to him due to a deep-seated unease.

Satsuki’s cold causes her to have a feverish dream about Hitoshi. When she wakes up, she is too sick and weak to run, so she makes some tea and stews in her loneliness. Interestingly, she sees Urara walking home. Urara gives her some medicinal candy and they talk for a while before Urara leaves. Satsuki is relieved that Urara happened to be there and could help her in her loneliness. She falls asleep again, and, on waking, wonders if Urara really came or if it had been a dream. Hiiragi arrives later in the evening and brings Satsuki a present: he brings her Kentucky Fried Chicken, and tells her it is a get-well present, as he hates to see her so down.

Though still sick, Satsuki goes for a run the next day before dawn. She sees Urara at the bridge, and is told that the moment of the special event is almost upon them. Urara tells Satsuki that, no matter what, she cannot say anything, and she must not try and cross the bridge. When dawn breaks, Urara disappears, though she had just been standing next to Satsuki. Suddenly, Satsuki hears the bell she gave to Hitoshi. When she looks across the river, she sees Hitoshi standing there. Then he begins to disappear. She panics, not wanting him to leave, and when he sees this, he smiles at her and waves. She waves back, overcome by emotion. Hitoshi finally disappears altogether, and Urara reappears.

When the two are seated, Urara tells Satsuki that she, too, had lost her loved one due to an untimely death. She had also come to say goodbye. She then explains the special event to Satsuki, saying that it only happens every hundred years and is called “The Weaver Festival Phenomenon.” Before parting, Urara tells Satsuki that they will see each other again.

Satsuki gives Hiiragi a birthday present two days later. He informs her that on the same day she saw Hitoshi, he saw Yumiko. She came into his room and took the sailor school outfit, then waved and left. Though he thought the entire ordeal a dream, the outfit had disappeared. Satsuki wonders if Hiiragi experienced the same event, and how he managed to bring the event to him as opposed to experiencing it at the river. Hiiragi feels like he is losing his mind. Satsuki jokes that when she feels like she is losing her mind she goes for a jog. The narrative ends with Satsuki thanking Hitoshi for waving goodbye to her.