What Do You Fill Emptiness With?

by CCCooper

Three years have passed since the comet Tiamet fragmented and fell on Itomori. Fortunately, its residents survived, and one of them, Mitsuha Miyamizu, lives her dream life in Tokyo. However, a feeling of emptiness plagues her in the mornings, and she doesn't know why. In order to finally fill this hole, she does things she's never done, and things she thought she never would.

1. Prologue

Sometimes when I wake up, I find myself crying.

This has been going on for...What? Three years now? It started not long after the comet struck and wiped out Itomori. When waking up in the mornings, every now and then, the very first thing I'd feel would be emptiness. At first, I thought it was longing for my old hometown, like deep down I had loved it all along. But even after moving to Tokyo, where it's constant car noises and chatter, I didn't have the urge to unwind in the countryside. In fact, in a way I felt like I was returning to the home I'd belonged in all along. I did come here once, but I don't remember what I did or why I was here. So if anything, I'd say the opposite was true.

There's a lot I don't remember from that month leading up to the comet. I don't remember most months, but my sister and friends tell me I would sporadically act weird during that time. Not knowing basic facts, suddenly becoming good at drawing, confronting bullies, performing Smooth Criminal on the stairwell? Tesshi thinks I was possessed by a fox. I think they're making it up.

They're quite adamant, though, and I can't think up a good reason for why they would pull such a prank or why they'd all be in on it together. Maybe there's some truth to it? It could be—No, it has to be a misunderstanding. Tesshi said I made off with his bike the night of the comet's passing, and when I came back I told him that he was sorry about it. But—That doesn't make any sense...I mean...

Who's "he"?

It really bothers me how everybody around me remembers that time so clearly, yet it's hardly a blur for me. I can't help but think that this emptiness I wake up with is related to that time, but how? I've asked myself that question a thousand times and haven't received one answer. Nobody died. I'm glad my shrine maiden duties are a thing of the past. I was a bit upset that I lost all of my stuff, but if that was the price for saving the town, it was a bargain.

But I can't help but think, wonder, and ponder about how that had to be the most significant period of my life, and yet for the life of me I barely remember a thing. It's strange.