First Return Date

Chapter 1

It was raining that day, the morning he stepped off the busy Tokyo street and into the cool, quiet lobby, folding shut and dropping his umbrella into the bin at the front door. The lobby attendant showed him to the lift which shot up smoothly, bell chiming and elevator doors opening to the 22nd floor. There he crossed through large glass doors, frosted letters reading "Jenkins Watkins & Bell PLLC" as the receptionist unlocked the door and waved him through.

"Good morning, how can I help you today?"

He supposed he shouldn't be surprised to see a non-Japanese face at an international law firm in downtown Tokyo, but it did surprise him to be addressed in English rather than in Japanese. The young woman at the receptionist desk had good instincts, however, as he was much more comfortable speaking in English even though he appeared Japanese himself.

"I've got a letter saying I should get legal advice." He pulled the item in question out of his inner jacket pocket, fingering the paper and wondering if he had to open it in front of her or how many details he would have to go into.

"Certainly, may I ask what type of matter it is?"

"I've.." He hesitated for only a moment. "Split up with my partner. Recently."

"I'm sorry to hear that." The receptionist was already nodding sympathetically, eyes roaming her computer screen. "But yes, family law, certainly we can assist you with that. Are there any children involved?"

He could have laughed at the thought. "Children? No."

She was clicking her mouse, pulling something up on her computer screen he could not see. "We have two lawyers who specialise in family law property matters, but it looks like Ms Yoshida is booked out settling court matters all next week and wouldn't be free for a consultation until next fortnight. Our other associate is Mr Gill Thompson. I might just call Mai up and see if she can meet you now. She's Mr Thompson's secretary, she can make the appointment and if you have any questions she should be able to answer them." She didn't wait for a reply from him before picking up the phone at her desk, speaking quickly and quietly. "Mai, are you free? Could you come up for a tic?"

With her attention diverted his eyes had wandered from the front desk to the décor of the room which was a contemporary—and yet very conservative—fusion of traditional Japanese and something which was somehow indescribably English. We are an English law firm with an office in Japan, the décor seemed to proclaim. He imagined that just as this office had an ikebana floral display on the table and a set of ukiyo-e woodblock prints on the wall, the firm's office in St Petersburg might be decorated with the exact same furniture only with matryoshka dolls on display and a prominent painting of the Kremlin.

"What's your surname?"

He turned his head back to her, she was typing something into the computer again.

"Davis."

"Are you an existing client of the firm?"

"No, I've never been here before, but my parents are clients in your London office."

"Oh, I see." She smiled, somewhat hesitant and embarrassed. "You're British? I thought I heard an accent, but I'm terrible at that sort of thing."

"Yeah." It was the simple answer, at least. "I take it not all your clients are British?"

"Oh, no, not at all. We've got an international team and have international clients. Once I mistook a New Zealand accent for Australia and a South African accent for New Zealand—" she broke off, blushing. "Now I never assume."

"Well, Kiwi and Aussie accents can sound quite similar," he offered. She still looked embarrassed, however, so he continued. "I certainly couldn't place regional American accents, apart from Boston and Texas."

Her face brightened at that but before she could respond a young woman came around the corner from the hall leading back into the office, a short brunette with short hair cropped just below her chin, wearing simple, everyday office work clothes: a white blouse, gray skirt, black stockings and black shoes. She was not particularly striking or out-of-the-ordinary beautiful, but something when he saw her made his breath hitch, the sight of her face catching him by surprise. It was highly unlikely they'd ever met her before and yet something about her was so familiar that he felt like he knew her. More than that something about seeing her put him instantly at ease.

"Mr Davis, this is Mai. Mai, this is Mr Davis. His parents are clients in our London office but this is his first time seeing us."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." She bowed first and then shook his hand, oblivious to his scrutiny as he tried to place her. "I understand you need an appointment regarding a family law matter?"

"Yes." He was still holding the letter and he fumbled slightly as he unfolded it, the prominent letterhead of the other firm above a long letter of small typed print. "My ex and I split up a couple months ago. I just got back from a long time away for work and received this."

Mai took a look at the paper and nodded. He was vaguely aware of the phone ringing and the receptionist speaking behind them, but his attention was held by the slight furrow of her brow as she considered it, the way she tucked her hair behind her ear and the hint of a sweet scent when she raised her wrist.

"This may seem a strange question, but may I ask if you're both resident of Japan?" She pursed her lips slightly. "It's just that they've addressed the letter to a London postal address..."

"Yeah, they ended up emailing it to me in the end. She doesn't have my current address here." He frowned. "We're both British citizens, if that's what you mean, but we're both on long-term work visas."

"I see." Mai nodded slowly. "I don't mean to sound like I'm prying—"

"No, no, that's quite all right," he interrupted.

"I just thought it'd be best to ascertain from the beginning whether they're aiming for a property settlement under Japanese or British law. This firm—Roberts Jones & Halloran—" she pointed to the letterhead. "As you may know it's another English firm. If you're both British they may be looking to split assets held in Japan and held in the UK..."

"For fuck's sake," he couldn't help but mutter under his breath, and instantly regretted his outburst as a flush of pink colored her cheeks. He hadn't spoken loud enough for the words to be audible, but she got the gist. "I'm sorry," he said, running a hand over his brow. "It's just the last thing I wanted."

"Of course. Although that may be a worst-case scenario, obviously I'm not aware of how amicable things are between you..."

He couldn't help the sardonic laugh. "Considering she's got a lawyer sending me this letter and I got a text saying she'll take me to court if I don't cooperate, I wouldn't say things are exactly amicable." He ran his hand through his hair, embarrassed. "This is the first I've heard she wants to split our assets though."

"I understand it's upsetting to receive a letter like this out of the blue," Mai said, and he was surprised to hear a voice without pity, but understanding and compassion. "Because of the firm involved and the date on the letter, it would be prudent to reply sooner rather than later," she said. "That particular firm has a reputation of commencing proceedings when an out of court settlement could be achieved. Mr Thompson's next available appointment is next Tuesday morning—would you free at 10:00?"

He pulled his mobile out of his pocket to check his calendar, thumb scrolling through the days. "Tuesday morning's fine. I'm going away Wednesday for a week for work, is that alright?"

"Of course. Mr Thompson will discuss everything with you during your appointment, but I don't imagine there would be any issue. In the meantime I'll just take down your phone number.." she reached for a pad and took it down as he recited it for her.

"What if they send me another letter while I'm away?"

"You can forward it to us." She had first scribbled the time on the pad before writing his appointment details down on a card in neat handwriting which she handed to him with both hands. "Mr Thompson's direct email address is on the back. Of course he'll will discuss this with you during your appointment, but the first thing we'll do is to let them know we're acting for you and ask them to direct any correspondence to our office. You shouldn't receive any further correspondence direct from them." She smiled up at him with a tilt of her head, the expression both genuine and gentle. "You travel a lot for work, then, don't you? Just around Japan or internationally as well?"

"A bit of both. Gotta go where the work is."

"What do you do?"

"I'm a psychic."

"Really?" She didn't seem as surprised as he would have thought, but the expression on her face was not the polite feigned interest he was used to encountering, either. "I've never met a professional psychic before."

"Just amateurs?"

"I suppose so." She laughed and handed him the appointment card. "We'll see you next Tuesday, Mr Davis."

"It's Eugene. Call me Gene."

"Gene." She smiled at him, eyes warm. "Nice to meet you."

He hadn't seen the receptionist leave her desk behind them, but as he realised it was empty and they were alone the words were out of his mouth before he had a chance to consider them. "This is going to sound cheesy, but have we met somewhere before? You seem really familiar. I swear I must know you."

"Is that just because you're psychic?" Mai asked with a grin.

"No, I'm being serious. Have we met before?"

She studied him for a moment and he thought, surely, she was going to say yes. As she paused he was able to take in her appearance and commit it to memory: her nut brown eyes were large and wide-set on her face which on first take gave her an appearance of child-like innocence, but her gaze was intense, thoughtful, mature. It was this intensity as she held his gaze that made him certain she felt the same way. But she averted her eyes and shook her head. "No, I don't think so."

He didn't know what compelled him to say what he did next. "Would it be too forward if I asked you out on a date?"

She laughed then, a rue smile finding its way onto her lips, but her gaze still evaded his. "Probably, yes."

"You're probably right." He slid the letter along with the appointment card back into his jacket pocket. "Until next Tuesday, then."

She bowed politely as he turned to leave, but he turned back, hand raised as the question came to him. "What's your surname, Mai?"

Her lips lifted in a small smile. "Taniyama."

"Taniyama.." he repeated, and shook his head. "No, I don't know it. But I'm sure we've met before. And I'm sure I'll remember by Tuesday!" With that he lifted a hand in parting, closing the office door behind him and stepping into the waiting lift.

When he reached the lower lobby he could see the the rain had stopped. Pulling his umbrella out of the bin, he couldn't stop the smile from spreading over his face as he stepped onto the street. It looked like it might turn into a sunny day after all.

…

Morning had long dragged into afternoon yet Mai's thoughts kept returning to the new client, recalling his dark eyes and his warm smile. She wondered if he truly believed they'd met before, as he'd insisted, and she racked her memory, trying to dredge up some prior meeting they might have had together but she came up with a blank. He was familiar, but only in the way that a handsome stranger who says they know you that you've never met before would seem familiar.

Mai sighed and pushed her hair back behind her ear, pencil hovering over the document she was working on. She really needed to put it aside and concentrate. And yet a part of her wanted to keep replaying that moment in her mind, the moment he smiled and tentatively asked her out. When was the last time someone had asked her out on a date?

"Stop it, Mai," she whispered under her breath. "Seriously. You're being silly. It's not like you can say yes, even if you wanted to. Besides, how would you tell—" She stopped herself as the door opened, not wanting to be caught talking to herself.

It was her boss. The office environment was casual by all standards and everyone called each other by their first name, which Mai still couldn't get used to. She had worked for Gill for just over three years now and they got along quite well. He confided in her the way all of the lawyers confided in their personal secretaries, and because of the age gap Mai felt sometimes he was like a father figure. He was a tall and lanky Englishman, middle aged and a small balding patch in his greying hair.

Now he was carrying a stack of files and he looked sheepish as he pushed the door open, glasses sliding down his nose with both hands committed and he couldn't push them back up. Mai usually took her work to him in his office rather than the other way around, so every time he came into the room she shared with one of the part-time secretaries he still looked a little embarrassed, as if he was intruding.

"Not trying to rush you, but have you finished with the Ikeda file?" He asked as he set the stack of files down. She winced inwardly at the sight, knowing the amount work that was contained in them. "Just thought I'd get a head start finalising the court documents while I've got the afternoon free."

"I was about to bring it down, I've just finishing the balance sheet. The financial statement and affidavit are already typed."

"Oh, thank you." He hovered for a moment as she collected the papers she was working on, paper clipping some and stapling others. "That'll be good. Do you have anything else you want to go through?"

"No, that's it," she said, passing him the file. It was all she'd worked on all afternoon.

"You got the memo about holiday leave? I'm taking Christmas to New Years off and you're welcome to as much time as you want. We're not as swamped as usual so it shouldn't be a problem. Hiromi just wants to have a few weeks notice before year end."

"I'll let you know by next week," Mai said. "What dates I want to take off."

"Oh, and I saw there was a new client in for next Tuesday. Did he call in?"

Mai nodded. "His ex-partner has engaged Robert Jones..." She let her voice trail off.

It was her boss's turn to wince and Mai nodded sympathetically. "Of all the firms.." he muttered disdainfully. Many of the lawyers among the different firms got along quite amicably outside of court, but Roberts Jones & Halloran—or Robert Jones as everyone referred to them—had a reputation of being difficult. "Pat said he was pretty young. I might just give him a ring and introduce myself, see what we've got ahead of us..."

Mai gave him a supportive smile and he nodded to himself as he left, but couldn't help rolling her eyes after the door had closed. Calling the new client was only Gill's way of procrastinating on the Ikeda case. That particular matter was in court in two weeks, but two weeks away was still two weeks away, no matter how many times the client called or how often she might press him to get it done. He preferred everything at the last minute but Mai hated it and the unnecessary stress it caused.

She glanced out of the corner of her eye at the office phone switchboard, seeing Gill's line light up. What would Gill say if he knew the new client had asked her out? She couldn't help but close her eyes and pray he would never find out.

She didn't have long to dwell on the fact when her phone buzzed on the desk in front of her and the blink of the light with a new message. She didn't have to pick it up to know it would be Keiko, who would have just gotten off of work herself.

We still on for tonight? Ya-yo 7~~~ Be there or be square xxx ~K

…

Keiko had been waiting in front of the bar Ya-yo for only five minutes when she saw her friend come around the corner. "Mai~!" she squealed, hurrying forward and putting her arm through hers, pulling her forward. "It's Friday night! Are you ready to start the weekend off right?"

"You've been waiting for this all week, haven't you?"

"You know it," Keiko said with a laugh, smiling at the host as they entered the bar and following him down a narrow, dimly lit hall to a private room where they sat down at a low table. Keiko turned to the host as Mai took off her coat. "I've got a bottle of shochu at the bar, under Iwasaki Keiko," she told him, who nodded and left them with a short bow. She turned back to her friend, eyebrow raised. "Don't try to tell me you haven't been looking forward to this too."

"Of course I have," Mai laughed, but she ran her hands through her hair and rested her elbows against the table. "It's just.. just been a really long week."

"They work you too hard there," Keiko frowned, taking off her coat and putting it aside. "You've never been stressed out before the way you are now. It's too much work."

"There's a lot of work," Mai conceded, and they both turned as a young man rapped on the door before sliding it open, Keiko's bottle of shochu liquor, two glasses and a bowl of ice on a tray. "The problem is it's just Shiho and me. They need another part-time secretary who can help us." She rubbed her temples. "Or maybe a full-time secretary."

Keiko nodded as she unscrewed the top of the bottle, pouring into the glasses. "Something to worry about on Monday, right? Right now it's time to drink and relax and unwind," she proclaimed, lifting her glass and clinking it against Mai's own proffered glass. "Cheers!"

"Cheers," Mai laughed, and they both drank. "So how's Taku?" she asked, and Keiko grinned at the chance to talk about her own life. Mai had always been the best listener out of all her friends, one of the only ones who seemed genuinely interested with the mundane goings-on.

"What about you? Anything of interest happen this week?" Keiko asked, deciding she had monopolized the conversation long enough and topped up Mai's glass and then smiling as her friend re-filled her own.

"Well..." Mai hesitated and Keiko could see she wasn't sure if she wanted to share, but after nudging her foot Mai laughed and gave in. "I had a new client ask me out on a date today," she admitted, looking sheepish and covering her smile with her hands.

"What?" A moment sooner and Keiko would have spat out her drink. "No way! What happened?"

"Well," Mai took a sip of her drink, "New new client. He came in for the first time today. He said I looked familiar and swore he knew me from somewhere before, but before he left he asked me out. Well—sorta," she backtracked. "To be more accurate, I guess you could say he asked if he could ask me out."

"You don't think you might've known him, right? Sounds like a lame pick up line."

"Yeah, maybe."

"Are you gonna tell your online boyfriend?"

"What? No," Mai said quickly, blushing. "Even if he were my boyfriend, I wouldn't tell him. Especially if he was my boyfriend. He'd just get jealous—"

"And, what, maybe get on a plane and actually visit you?" Keiko rolled her eyes. "Where's he live again? Ireland?"

"England," Mai supplied firmly. Keiko knew she was awful at remembering details and Mai had to remind her every time the subject came up.

"I don't know why I always think he lives in Ireland," Keiko muttered. "Besides the point. You've known him how long now?"

Mai took a drink. "About five years."

"Five years and he hasn't made an indication—"

"Keiko, it's not like that—" Mai interrupted.

"What I'm trying to say," Keiko held up a hand to shush her friend. "Boyfriend or not, maybe you should give this guy a shot! I'm not saying you have to settle down and marry him, just go on a date or two! Was he good looking?"

"He was devastatingly good looking," Mai groaned, covering her face in her hands. "And he was friendly, and seemed to have a good sense of humor, and had an interesting job.."

"Oh? What does he do?"

Mai hid even deeper into her hands. "...you'll laugh."

"No I won't!" Keiko pressed, then prodded her again with her fingers against her arm. "Please? Tell me?"

"...he said he's a psychic."

"He's perfect for you!" Keiko crowed, jabbing her friend beneath the ribs so that Mai had to drop her hands away from her face as she squirmed. "What's the problem? Next time you see him just smile coquettishly and say you've changed your mind." She held her hands up beneath her chin in pantomime, fingers cupping into a heart. "Love at first sight on both ends of the spectrum my friend. You can't pass this up."

"It's not love at first sight!" Mai protested. "Besides, I can't, he's a client," she groaned. "Maybe it'd be different if I had a different boss and did Estates or something—"

"What, and hook up with bereaved clients who have just lost their loved ones? That's creepy, Mai."

"—Okay, bad example. But it's family law," Mai all but ignored the interruption, picking up her drink again. "Even when it's amicable it's messy, Keiko. It's always complicated. And I'll know way too much about him. Not to mention it's completely unprofessional. I could probably get fired."

"Well, what if after everything's all done and dusted and tidied up?" She made a shooing motion with her hands. "How long does it usually take for couples to come to agreement, anyway? Date him when he's no longer a client."

"That depends on whether they commence proceedings," Mai groaned. She sighed as she set down her drink, the glass empty but for a couple ice cubes at the bottom and reached for the bottle they were sharing to refill Keiko's glass. "But I can't. I just can't."

"Fine, fine." Keiko sighed in resignation. Even if she wanted to press the subject she would have to let it go for now. As Mai set the bottle down Keiko picked it up, refilling the other glass in turn. "On to important stuff, apart from your love life. It's nearly the end of November and we haven't made any plans for our annual February onsen trip."

"We need to make our booking!" Mai straightened, counting on her fingers. "February's less than three months away. Where do you want to go?"

"I saw a documentary on a onsen in Nagano Prefecture which might be perfect." Keiko pulled her mobile out of her pocket, thumbs scrolling to her email. She'd sent herself the link as a reminder. "I'll send you the page, if you're happy with it I'll reserve a room this weekend."

"Probably the end of February will be better for my work. I decided I'm going to try to take a couple extra days off at New Years."

"Oh, are you doing something special?" Keiko raised her eyebrows over her glass. "You never take extra time off for New Years. Usually you're straight back to work after your first shrine visit."

Mai blushed and swirled the ice cube in her glass. "I haven't decided yet. I thought I might take an overseas trip."

Keiko gasped and clutched Mai's hand. "To Ireland—England!" she corrected, eyes wide. "Right?"

"I haven't asked him about it yet," Mai said quickly. "I thought it might be fun to meet. It was just—just an idea I had. I've always wanted to go to England."

"Mai – that's a great idea!" Keiko squealed, clapping her hands in excitement. "I can just see it now—"

"Calm down, he may not even want to meet me—"

"He is an absolute dolt if he doesn't want to see you."

"Keiko, just why are you so set on finding me a boyfriend?" Mai interrupted sternly. "My life doesn't revolve around having a significant other. I already have such good friends—"

"Yes, yes, but, I just want you to be happy." Keiko pouted and threw her arm around her friend. "What'll you do if I die in a tragic accident? Who will take care of you?" She didn't wait for an answer. "And I'm staying, by the way. I'll keep an eye on you from the other side. Not to mention I'm gonna haunt that ass that kills me."

"You will," Mai laughed, leaning her head into her shoulder. "I know you will."

…

Kicking off her shoes as she entered her apartment, Mai dropped her purse on the kitchen table and made her way into her bedroom, flopping face first onto the futon left out on the floor. It had been a long week and it was probably a bad idea to have stayed out so late with Keiko, but they always had fun when they got together. Even though Keiko had a much higher tolerance than she and Mai always thought she drank too much when they were together.

Her mobile buzzed and she pulled it out of her pocket and toward her face, blinking at the screen without moving her head.

Current case. Thought you might like to see this.

The text accompanied a photo taken of a computer monitor and Mai squinted, trying to make it out. She knew it was a graph of readings or something, but she couldn't decipher what it actually was. "Naru, I can't bloody see it," she muttered, lifting her hand and keying in a one word reply. Explain?

To her surprise the phone rang in her hand. "I'm surprised you're still awake," the voice said on the other end of the line as she answered.

"Barely," she replied, rolling over onto her back and stifling a yawn. "Keiko and I went out. I just got home."

"Oh. Fun night of karaoke?" He spoke the words somewhat stiffly, Mai knew because he had certainly never done a night of karaoke in his life and found it difficult to comprehend when she told him she did things like that.

"Keiko just wanted to get together and blow off some steam." Mai yawned again. "Tell me about your case? What's that photo?"

She could hear his hesitation. "It's nothing pressing, I'll email you about it later. You should go to sleep."

"You rang me, didn't you? It's gotta be good." She closed her eyes and dropped her arm over her face, blocking the weak light from the lamp. "I just can't see what it is very well, I can't read the words on the graph and the lines are too small."

"It's a chart showing the temperatures gauges from the past week. Every night at precisely 8:00pm the temperature begins to dip. It levels out around 10 degrees by 9:00 and holds steady until 12:00am every night, at which time the temperature begins to rise. Obviously, not much, as it's the middle of the night, but eventually the indoor heating system catches up."

"Wow—every night?"

"It is surprisingly regular with no variation. Over the past few days we've had some warmer and some cooler days, but it's interesting to note the temperature falls to the same degree and at the same rate, no matter what the starting temperature of the room is. I'm hoping data from a case like this can prove a causal relationship between supernatural activity and drops in temperature. We've got some good footage already."

"Any poltergeisting?"

"Rapping, knocking and moving furniture."

"Sounds like you have your hands full."

"It's a full on case," he agreed. "But apart from the regularity of the data, nothing out of the ordinary."

"Do you know what's causing it yet? Or who?"

"I have a pretty good idea. Tomorrow I should be able to confirm it."

"And you won't tell me?" She stuck her lips out in a pout, knowing full well he couldn't see her. "Tell me, please? It might help you think it out to explain it out loud," she reasoned.

"No, I'm still missing a crucial piece." He said firmly, but gently. "It wouldn't make any sense if I tried to explain it now. I can't risk clouding my own judgement by getting too set on this hypothesis. I could be completely wrong." Sensing her coming protest, he continued. "How about I call you tomorrow afternoon. By then I'll know if I was right or not. I'll tell you then."

"Deal. No takebacks." Mai rolled over onto her side, pulling the duvet over her body. "I'm sure you're right, anyway. Are you ever wrong?"

"Sometimes." She thought she could hear him smile. "Not often." She could hear the typing or clicking of a computer and as she lay there, eyes closed, she tried to imagine the life of a paranormal researcher, something she'd heard so much about throughout their five years of correspondence but still found difficult to understand.

"I wish I could see you at work. What it really means to be on one of your cases."

"It's a lot less glamorous than people usually assume." The clicking stopped. "Your talents would be wasted on something like this, anyway."

"I'd still like to see."

"Someday."

Mai opened her eyes again and took a deep breath, gathering her courage. She hadn't planned on asking him like this, she'd wanted to choose her words and plan what to say, not just impulsively throwing it out there. But he'd said 'someday' and the word spurred her on. "Say, Naru? I was thinking.. I mean, I have to put in my leave request for New Years soon, and I've always wanted to travel so I thought… I was thinking maybe I'd go to England, and if you're free you can show me around?" She held her breath, anxious for his response.

It was a long pause before he spoke. "I don't know if that will work." Her stomach dropped at the instant rejection and she lay very still, eyes wide and tears forming against her will. She wiped them away with the back of her hand, trying to breathe evenly.

"I-I mean," she tried to laugh but the sound was forced. "You don't have to show me around, I just thought we could meet up—"

"I've already made plans to come to Japan for New Years."

Mai was struck dumb and she rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling, not comprehending. "You're… coming to Japan?"

"I was going to ask you tonight, actually, if you wanted to meet. I don't have a set itinerary yet. I don't know how many days I would be in Tokyo. If you have time, maybe you could come with me to Mount Koya. I would like to go for the New Year's ritual."

"Ab-absolutely!" Mai wiped at her eyes again which were threatening to spill onto her cheeks. "I told you I have a friend from Mount Koya, right? Tell me what days you're going to be here and I'll be free anytime!"

He laughed lightly. "Go to sleep, Mai. I'll email you dates tomorrow."

"I'm holding you to it. If you delay I'm going to harass you until you don't want to come anymore," she warned, but her voice came out more like a plea.

"I'll send my flight details with a pdf of the data. That way you don't have to try to see it in that terrible photo." He laughed again, the sound filling her entire body with a relaxed warmth. It was only recently that she'd heard him laugh when they spoke together, even though they'd started talking on the phone about a year ago. "Good night, Mai. I'll call you tomorrow."

"Good night, Naru." Mai whispered. She held the phone against her body, the timbre of his voice still filling her ears after the line had disconnected.

She was going to see him next month. A smile spread involuntarily over her lips at the thought. Next month—four weeks to meet the man she was in love with. She knew it was crazy, absurd. To be in love with someone whose face she'd never seen, to love someone when she had no idea what he thought about her. But their friendship had come a long way from the internet message boards where she'd first met him, from emails to texting to regular phone calls.

Mai closed her eyes, pulling the duvet over her head, smiling to herself in the darkness, all other thoughts from the day gone. All she thought of was him. Remembering his voice. His laugh. The sound of his smile.

She knew it was absurd to think, but she thought he must love her too.

…

Happy (belated, belated) birthday Meepyonnee~~~~~ you probably didn't ask for a romcom but a romcom is what you get. It's not much but I hope you enjoy!