Lovers

Author: Kaori Kikuno
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: In the following week, we visited each other's homes back and forth. We also wrote letters, handing them over when we met. We often called each other during the day. To stay in touch even when I was at work, Shintaro even bought me a mobile phone. After another week, I moved to Shintaro's place. By the way, when we first met, Shintaro had a girlfriend. He didn’t hide it and mentioned it when he came to my place for the second time. But for both of us, it was no different from Shintaro accidentally falling into the sea and injuring his knee as a child—it was just a fragment of memory. So when Shintaro talked about his ex-girlfriend, he did so with nostalgia, as if recalling something from long ago. I didn’t have anything that could be called luggage. After meeting Shintaro, I had only Shintaro. And I myself had also become an unknown, brand-new person. Our second sexual encounter happened some time later. Because, as Shintaro said, “As long as we’re together, we’re so happy we can’t even think about sex.” And I said, “Talking, eating, watching TV—anything with Shintaro is the same as sex.” But one Sunday evening, for some reason, we suddenly did it. irst, we embraced each other in our clothes on the bed, then slowly let go of each other’s arms and began kissing. We had done this before, but it always ended with us laughing—it was because we were so happy. But for some reason that day, neither of us stopped. We laughed and embraced and kissed, trying to take off each other’s clothes while also taking off our own—quite chaotic and greedy. I said I wanted to kiss every strand of Shintaro’s hair, and Shintaro said he wanted to caress my heart and liver. The situation was no longer controllable. We panted, occasionally breaking into laughter. We twisted and turned, panting and crying, yet we kept laughing. We continued endlessly. Shintaro entered me in such a seamless way that it surprised us. We were like two universes that had been alone for billions of years, finally crossing all the voids to embrace one another one day. Even with the air conditioner on, we were both drenched in sweat under the setting sun. I thought we looked less like humans and more like we would melt if this continued—if someone found us, there might only be a pool of water left on the bed. “I love you so much,” Shintaro said many times. I remained silent, but my body conveyed the same message to him. For Shintaro, I did everything perfectly—cooking, cleaning, laundry—all things I was good at. Doing these things for Shintaro was like having sex with him, a joy that pierced through my entire body. I always felt this way. Shintaro cut my hair and nails, and I cut his. We went everywhere together, except for work—we were never apart. P006-007