All Chapters of Cosmonaut: Chapter 1 - Chapter 4

“Thanks for your work.” “See you tomorrow.” The hot suffocating wind of May caresses my cheek, almost making me wish I could stay a couple more hours at my job. Spending six hours inside the convenience store, with the air conditioner at max power and the calm of a Tuesday, clientless morning, made me forget we were in the middle of the summer. If you ask any young person, being free after 5:00 PM during a weekday would be glorious. It would mean they could spend the rest of the afternoon having fun; going shopping to the practically empty stores, enjoying a movie with the cinema almost to myself or having a drink with my friends at a bar. Sadly, I am not your average young person; I am a 25 year-old good-for-nothing single male, with no friends and no money. Being free so early means that I have to spend the rest of the day all by myself and I hate myself. “If I go home now, I will end up taking a nap and then I won’t be able to sleep at night.”

“Matsubara-san please, we need to talk about this first.” “We already talked on the phone. I need to be back before nine, to be honest I am already running late.” “But can’t you just…" Wearing a full suit, a man who looked my age poked his head from the other side of the door and stopped as soon as he noticed they were not alone. Somehow, his gentle face and pointy nose seems familiar. “Goodnight, you must be Akari-chan, nice to meet you. And you are…”  He looked directly at me for several minutes. “You live on the apartments above the candy store right. I knew your uniform seemed familiar, my name is Makiba Jouji, your landlord’s grandson.” He politely offered me his card as I avoided looking into his eyes, ashamed at the fact that I did not even remember my landlord’s name. Written with golden letters below his name you could read Guidance Center Special Consultant. “Nice to meet you, I am Taoyama Naruki.”