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It was the same that day.
A day no different from any other, the same routine
It was a day like any other.
but,
Until the rain starts to fall.
- From the diary entry dated 20XX.06.13 -
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"Oh, what is it..."
That day, too, I was on my way home, following the same routine as always.
But, unlike usual, it suddenly started to rain heavily.
Was it really a coincidence that I had to rush into a small pavilion next to an old playground to take shelter from a sudden downpour?
It was there that I first saw the man.
I don't know how long he's been standing on that roadside, but as I sat in the pavilion and looked out at the road, I saw a man standing there.
For a day at the end of spring heading towards summer, when there was no news of rain at all, the man, dressed in a brown jacket, brown suit pants, a beige sweater, and a white turtleneck, was holding a black umbrella and looking at the rain as if it were a novelty.
No, maybe it wasn't the rain that he found so fascinating.
It was clearly something one would wear in early winter, but in that rainy situation, his appearance perfectly suited the atmosphere and came to me.
It was my first time seeing him, but perhaps it was because of his clothes that didn't match the season, or perhaps it was his bright silver hair, but his aura was so mysterious that I couldn't take my eyes off him for an incalculable amount of time.
Perhaps he was staring too intently, but he suddenly looked towards the old pavilion where I was sitting, and our eyes met.
I was startled and looked down for a moment, but when I raised my head again out of curiosity and looked in that direction,
He was gone.
As I looked around to find him, wondering where he had disappeared to in the meantime, the rain began to weaken and stop.
I definitely thought it was strange, but I hurried my steps home as the time passed, and the memories of that day slowly faded away in the midst of my busy yet repetitive daily life.
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Just when I had forgotten all about the strange experience of that day, I saw the man again.
That day too, there was a sudden rain shower.
Just like that day, I sat in the old pavilion without an umbrella.
As I sat in the pavilion, I could easily recall the man of that day.
As the thought came to mind, I looked at that place again, and as if it were a lie, the man was standing there again.
The clothes were the same as before, and the movements were the same as before, curiously searching for something, but one thing that was different was that he found me and walked towards me.
He approached me with the same mysterious aura as last time, or perhaps even more profound.
And then his mouth opened.
"Finally... we meet again."
The pleasant voice conveyed to me the sadness of meeting someone I hadn't seen in a long time.
Rather, I was the one who was embarrassed by his words.
Because the only memory I had of that man was when I saw him once during the last rain shower and our eyes met.
Perhaps it was because of my bewildered look at his words, but he opened his mouth again as if he had realized something.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I must have mistaken you for someone I know."
I couldn't say anything more as I just stared at him, seeing him speaking with an attitude that didn't seem at all mistaken.
Contrary to his words that he had misjudged the person, his expression, filled with great longing and joy, yet also sadness and sorrow, strangely brought out a welling up of emotion from a corner of my heart.
And then, the rain gradually stopped and he seemed to move away, and then he disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Again, it was the same as that day.
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(Continued from Part 2)
2021.05.13
Revised_May 23, 2021