“Does this shrine sell traffic safety charms?”
It’s the day of my second high school entrance ceremony.
Hodaka Nanamura-kun came to the shrine and said that when he was about to head home.
That was unexpected. It’s a little confusing.
Just as I thought, Nanamura-kun’s conversation tempo and atmosphere are pretty different from all the boys I’ve spoken to so far.
“Yeah, it’s in the office over here.”
“Well, I’ll buy one then. Sorry for getting hit by a truck.”
“You don’t really need to buy one. If anything, I can give it to you for free. It’s from our shrine, anyway.”
“Really? But…”
“Don’t hold back. We aren’t friends.”
“No, won’t the charm be less effective when it’s given by someone who just chants ‘Namo Amitabha’ while worshiping?”
“Shut up! God isn’t that narrow-minded, I think. It’s all about compassion.”
“Compassion is also a Buddhist term...”
We chatted as I guided him to the shrine office next to the main hall. After that, Nanamura-kun picked up a traffic safety amulet and nodded to both the clerk and me.
“I was saved in a lot of ways today. Well, see you.”
He left after saying that.
I felt kind of lonely and wished he wasn’t in such a hurry. Embarrassment soon followed after such a thought appeared in my head.
I’m too conscious of Nanamura-kun being my lifesaver to the point where I can’t really grasp the distance between us.
I looked around the shrine in an attempt to cleanse myself of those thoughts. Then, I saw the charm that Nanamura-kun bought.
Wasn’t I the one who almost got run over by a truck? Shouldn’t I be the one who buys the amulet instead?
Guess I should get one, after all.
With that, I reached my hand toward the charm, yet I stopped before touching it.
Wait. Didn’t Nanamura-kun get the same amulet? That means he’ll probably carry this around too. There is only one type of traffic safety charm here. They have the same shape but different colors.
Doesn’t that mean we’ll be matching…?
I quickly withdrew my hand while sensing my flaring cheeks.
“N-No, no, no, no, …I’m thinking about this too much.”
I’m being too self-conscious.
Taking a deep breath, I managed to calm myself down.
Anyway, it’s more like why should I even care about this!? It’s Nanamura-kun’s fault.
“Excuse me. Can I have one of these?”
I called out to a clerk I know and picked up a pink charm.
Let’s just go home. Even though I wanted to do that, the word “matching pair” suddenly appeared in my mind again. I hastily tried to suppress it. What do you even mean by matching!? It makes sense for key holders, but I’ve never heard of it on amulets before.
You’re supposed to put your charms in your wallet, anyway. No one can tell from outside. Let’s just decide it’s not matching since no one can see it. Very well.
I went back to my house after ending the conference in my mind. The tiredness got to me once I was in my room.
“Sigh, I’m exhausted.”
I usually change out of my uniform as soon as possible. However, the tiredness made me just collapse into my bed today. The charm is in my wallet, by the way.
“Hodaka Nanamura-kun.”
I mumbled that name when I looked at the contact I had saved on my phone in bed.
…I wonder how I will spend my days with Nanamura-kun from now on?
Something seems to be drifting in my heart. I don’t know whether it’s anticipation or anxiety.
I still barely know anything about Nanamura-kun. What is his personality? His hobbies? What kind of friends does he have…?
Come to think of it, I remember him spending a lot of time alone in our last high school life. Did he even have friends? He should have at least one, right?
High school life lasts for 3 years.
Still, this is our second high school life. It’ll be easy to make friends if one feels like it. Even Nanamura-kun won’t decide to spend his time alone.
I closed my eyes, looking forward to the next 3 years.
*
I, Hodaka Nanamura, fell into bed as soon as I got home. However, I got up after a while.
Then, I took out the traffic safety charm I got from Hanamitsuji earlier from my wallet.
“...Does this count as a gift from a girl?”
After that, I spent more than 10 minutes thinking about how I should use this amulet.
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