That Day The Snow Turned To Rain

Picture Origin - Shenmue - Sega Dreamcast

524 words

The large and small hand simultaneously struck three on Ryo's Timex as the sky darkened. The white texture of snow falling from the sky could be seen soaking into the plants outside the Aida Flower Shop. Ryo was waiting for his friend Nozomi because they had plans to grab a pizza at Bob's Pizzeria - however she was already twenty minutes late. He decided to walk the streets of Dobuita to ask if anyone had seen her. 

As Ryo passed The Global Travel Agency, he could hear hip-hop dance music blasting out of a boombox. It was his American friend Tom who owned a hot dog stand. 

'Hi Tom, have you seen Nozomi today?'

'Hello Ryo, it's so good to see you man. I have not seen her, is she in some kind of trouble?'

'I'm not sure. It's ten-past three now and I still haven't heard from her. I'm worried.' 

'Oh my god, that is the time? I need to go man.' 

'I see,' replied Ryo. 

Tom started to close his stall down in a hurried fashion. This was unusual as he never closes early. Ryo decided to jot down in his brown leather-bound journal - 'Tom is acting strange.' 

Ryo headed to Bob's Pizzeria - maybe Nozomi had thought that they were meant to meet there. As he approached the shop, he noticed it wasn't open until five o'clock. 

'That's odd. Why would Nozomi ask to go for a pizza if it's not even open,' he stated to himself.  

The snow started to fall down heavy as umbrellas popped up. There was something nerving Ryo - as if there was a sinister reason why Nozomi hadn't shown. His worry soon turned into panic and he began to rush home; he was hoping his father could help.  

When Ryo reached the Hazuki residence, he couldn't help but get a strange sense of danger; everything seemed a bit too quiet. Ryo was headed towards his front door when lightning struck near his family Dojo. The snow started to thin into speeding droplets of rain.

As Ryo drew closer to the dojo, the doors busted open and he was left shocked to see his family and friends scream out -

'Surprise.' 

Nozomi, Tom, Fuku-san, Ine-san and his father Iwao were all there smiling holding presents and cake. 

'Nozomi... Tom... you two were in on this?' asked Ryo. 

'Son, don't be mad at your friends for keeping your birthday party a surprise. Remember... keep friends, those you love close to you. Next year, when you turn eighteen, we shall all go on a trip together to celebrate.'

'And this awful weather won't be here to ruin our trip,' added Nozomi. 

Ryo celebrated turning seventeen that year in the company of loved ones - but unfortunately unaware that this would be the last time he would ever celebrate his birthday again. 

You see, Nozomi and Ryo's father were wrong on both accounts; the weather wouldn’t be any better next year, and the trip wouldn’t go ahead due to an unexpected visit from a man in a deep green Chinese coat driven by a black car.

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