Tag: music

Kyoho: A short story

Here’s a short story I wrote based on the song “Lost Umbrella” by Inabakumori!

Mayumi held her hands over her head, a makeshift umbrella, as she bobbed and weaved through the throngs of shoppers, her gaze solely on the small black cat in front of her- Kyoho, as she had dubbed it. The cat glanced back, as if to check she was still following, then plodded on determinedly. Mayumi’s breath caught as Kyoho disappeared from her gaze, eyes narrowing as she searched the crowd, before it reappeared, letting out a plaintive mewl. Mayumi exhaled, relieved, increasing her speed. 

Kyoho had appeared right when she had lost her umbrella, the wind sweeping away the bright yellow parasol. Mayumi had stared after it despondently, hand reaching out in a futile attempt to grab it. It had been yet another unlucky event on top of a slew of bad days. Just when she was about to step into the protection of an awning and wonder if she should just go home, the sensation of something winding between her legs caught her attention. She had looked down, startled, to see Kyoho, the small creature looking up at her innocently. As she bent to scoop it up, it had taken off, with the occasional backwards glance to see if she was following.

She was. She didn’t know why she was, but she trusted the cat. Call it a soft spot, call it idiocy…but still. Kyoho seemed like a friend. A feline friend who couldn’t quite talk, sure, but a friend all the same. 

Kyoho rounded a corner, and Mayumi, nearly out of breath, did the same moments later- only to come face to face with the umbrella, tangled in the branches of a tree. Mayumi sucked in a breath, staring wonderously at the cat, back to winding around her feet. She cautiously made her way over to the tree, reaching up on her tiptoes to try and nudge it back to the ground. It fluttered down, along with a few ginkgo leaves, a young, bright green, hopeful, determined. As if to symbolize that it wasn’t all lost. That there was still hope. Mayumi picked up the umbrella, turning to thank Kyoho, to express some form of gratitude to the cat, but when she turned back…it was gone. Vanished into the sea of people, off to perhaps save another lost soul. 

Mayumi took a deep breath, hefted the umbrella back over her shoulder, and set back off on her journey. 

I hope you enjoyed!

A Mitski Concert

Recently, as a gift for my birthday, I got to go to a concert for my favorite artist- Mitski. I’ve loved her music for a little over a year now and her music still means a lot to me. Being able to see her live was a wonder and I was so thankful for the opportunity to go.

I’d been preparing for her tour as soon as tickets dropped- finding the setlist, listening to it on repeat, educating my parents on her music, you name it. I was so incredibly excited to see her live.

The day of the concert was slightly worrisome, as there were threats of a storm and I was concerned that rain would become a problem. Luckily, the weather remained clear (the storm missed us entirely) and the threat of the concert rescheduling, or worse, cancelling entirely, was alleviated.

We arrived pretty early, taking our time to find our seats and look around. I had known multiple people from my school who would be going and I used this time to try and spot them (in the end, I unfortunately only ended up meeting one).

The opening act was Arlo Parks, a musician whose music I had only somewhat listened to. Listening to her in real life, though, was spell bounding. Her music was gorgeous and her voice was beautiful. I loved hearing her songs in person and many of them are already on my playlist.

After another 30 minutes of waiting, it was Mitski’s time to shine. Her songs were so beautiful and I loved her choreography and lighting, both of which were incredibly unique. For example, in one of her songs, she slow-dances with a beam of light and in another, she is trapped in a cage of light. Being able to see all of these songs which I loved live was amazing and I could tell the whole crowd was enjoying it too.

As the show came to a close, we were one of the first ones out, meaning that we were able to stand in the merch (short for merchandise) line before it grew too long and I walked away with a T-shirt which I really love.

This concert has been one of my favorite experiences and I’m so grateful and happy that I was able to go. Have you ever been to a concert?