The walk is quiet and a little lonely, even with Juli's company. Nonetheless, Ema has a warm glow in her chest. She makes it home just in time to field a call from her dad. Their conversation, already short, is occasionally interrupted by bursts of static.
"I haven't sent you anything from the Bahamas yet, have I? What sounds better, a mosaic from Nassau or a hand-carved jewelry box?"
Ema insists Rintarou buys himself something instead of using the money on her. He hums in thought and agrees before insisting on buying her a jewelry box anyway. Ema giggles at his stubborn insistence.
"You're so silly daddy! What do I need a jewelry box for when I don't wear jewelry?"
They keep talking at a more sedate pace as the enthusiasm from their debate settles. Ema yawns and Rintarou chuckles at her. The sound, warm and fatherly, echoes across the line. Ema can almost feel the gap, a distance made up of thousands of miles between them, closing.
She's used to calls at odd hours, both night and day, because Rintarou has a busy schedule and he doesn't always know if she's available to talk. The father-daughter pair have grown used to missed calls and making do with voicemails. But with the busy day she's already had, Ema is more exhausted than usual.
She imagines him sitting in her room, petting back her hair. Tucking her in at night. Dancing with her to awful music.
"Don't leave yet, we can still..." Another errant yawn. "...talk."
Even as Ema tries to bargain, her exhaustion causes her eyes to droop.
"Ok, I'll stay on the line. Put your head down and let me tell you a story. Now, this is a local legend, about..." The call fizzles out soon after, as Ema falls asleep to the sound of Rintarou's voice.
Her final, sleepy thought is that she forgot to tell her father about the Asahinas again.
super super short, but i just needed to write something. will try to post more regularly from today forward