It was a Friday, so Tsukino Usagi knew coming home that she'd be pressed for time. She went through her homework as diligently as she could, noting with some satisfaction that she was finally getting used to her math assignments after years of struggle. It still took up the remains of her afternoon, and the sun had already set when she put the final touch on her last essay.
Usagi came down from her room to a delayed dinner and devoured it rapidly; ordinarily she loved the taste of her mom's tempura too much to rush through it in such a manner, but it was hard to enjoy her food while watching the clock on the kitchen wall the whole time. As soon as she was finished with dessert, she made an excuse to the rest of her family and hurried upstairs, closing the bedroom door behind her. After changing into her pajamas she turned the lights down, tuned the radio to the station she was looking for, plugged her headphones in and lay down on her bed. The Professor would be coming on soon, and she couldn't help but wonder which song he'd be opening with.
The DJ known as キューピッド教授—Professor Cupid—went on the air at eight o'clock every Tuesday and Friday night, playing a frankly astounding mix of classic songs. It wasn't uncommon for him to cover four decades of pop and rock in less than fifteen minutes. But it wasn't just for the music that Usagi listened to the Professor's show. The second hour of the evening, starting at nine p.m., was devoted to a corner called Professor Cupid's Connections; in between songs, the Professor would read letters submitted by listeners. Frustrated people needing to vent about their difficulties. Lovestruck people who could say in anonymous writing what they didn't have the courage to say in person. Solitary people looking for someone special.
It was endlessly fascinating. Usagi loved it, though it took her some effort to explain why. In fact, she had tried to explain it. And if she was lucky, the rest of the listening audience would hear her explanation eventually…
The station's news break wrapped up just before eight, with the announcer promising the Professor would be up next. The time signal played out—bip, bip, bip, beeee—and a young-sounding, sandpapery tenor voice, instantly recognizable to his listeners, spoke up: "It's eight o'clock in the evening of November 14th, and you're listening to Professor Cupid. Thanks for tuning in." Suddenly the sound of an electric guitar appeared out of nowhere, and the show was on.
Oh no, oh no / I think it's time for me to run / Well I've been working all the summer / Waiting for the winter to come / And if you feel like reminiscing walk on into the midnight sun
Usagi could name maybe half of the Professor's favorite bands by now, but this one was slipping her mind—the fact it was in English didn't help. She was getting quite the education in music from this show, it occurred to her; it turned out learning was incredibly easy when it was about something you actually liked.
For an hour, the DJ played an incredible stream of songs from around the world, and Usagi lay there with her eyes closed, lost in the music. Then, almost exactly at nine o'clock, the Professor declared it was time for the Connections corner. Usagi crossed her fingers and listened intently as his calm, reassuring voice read out the first letter of the evening.
Just after nine-thirty, what she was hoping for finally happened. The DJ announced: "Our next letter comes from a listener who signs himself or herself 'Rabbit'. And I think it's a herself, judging by the handwriting." Usagi couldn't help letting out a little squeal of excitement and sitting up in the bed. The Professor was about to read her submission. She had spent a week working on it, writing draft after draft until it said exactly what she wanted to say. It wasn't a long letter, but she'd done writing assignments for school that had felt less strenuous. "I was absolutely blown away when this letter came in," the host went on, "and you'll see why. Here's how she begins...
"Dear Professor: I want to start off by thanking you for giving people this outlet to express themselves to the world. All the people that I hear on your show are reaching out to one another, letting each other know that they're not alone, that somebody out there understands, that someone feels the same way they do. That's a valuable thing, and we owe it all to you. I actually owe a lot to you, because hearing these stories is part of what keeps me going.
"The job I do isn't easy, and when times get tough I can hardly remember why I do it. I have a whole circle of good friends to help me through it, but even then, sometimes I get so tired and I feel so alone, and it doesn't seem worth the pain anymore.
"But listening to your show, Professor, I've come to know better why I do what I do. I feel connected to everyone who writes in, looking for love or looking for a way to express what's in their hearts. And my own heart goes out to all those people out there in the night, because I know what it's like to be struggling, what it's like to be lonely, or to miss someone. Fortunately, my friends all seem to understand this… and I have one friend named V. who knows exactly what I mean.
"So I don't have a message for a specific person out there, but I have something to say to your whole audience: I wish that someday every one of you will find something you're looking for. I promise all of you that I will go on, in my own small way, fighting for the world's happiness. I swear that as long as there's breath left in my body, I will do all I can to protect your smiles.
"Because I love this world.
"Yours truly, Rabbit.
"P.S. Can you please play that Simon and Garfunkel thing from last week again? That was really beautiful."
"Well, what do you know, Rabbit-san? You're in luck," said the Professor as notes from an acoustic 12-string guitar chimed out softly. "I just so happened to have that exact thing cued up next—and we'll dedicate this to you, and your incredible, beautiful heart. Enjoy." And a double-tracked voice began to sing: What a dream I had, pressed in organdy / Clothed in crinoline of smoky burgundy / Softer than the rain …
Usagi lay back down, wrapped herself around a pillow, closed her eyes and sighed happily, letting the song wash over her. Even if she barely knew enough English to understand the lyrics, the music and the melody still moved her deeply. And now her message, her wish, her promise was out in the world for everyone to hear… She hoped it lifted someone's spirits out there. She also couldn't help wondering if anyone would ever connect it to Sailor Moon.
The end of the song faded into another acoustic piece—Usagi thought it might be something by Happy End, but she couldn't be sure. Suddenly a sound from outside her earphones began to intrude, and she took them off to discover her phone was ringing. Even though the ringer volume was set on low, the sound would be unmistakable from anywhere in the house; she sat up on the bed and hurriedly picked up the line before her parents could come and ask what was going on.
"Hello, Tsukino here."
"Hello, Rabbit," said a familiar voice, sounding very amused.
"Mamo-chan? You were listening?!"
"Never miss it."