Kyo Matsumoto

Kyo Matsumoto, like most days, found himself walking to the beach. He liked to do this when he felt down, but today it was different. In reality, he ought to be leaving the town of Kuji. The whole region of Tohoku had just experienced a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, and his town was going to be hit by a tsunami. He knew all this, yet his feet carried him closer and closer to the water. He wanted to see the wave. He didn’t care how dangerous it was. In fact, he didn't really care that his life was in danger. He was 22 and going nowhere, so to speak. What was the use of going on, anyway? He worked at the grocery store as the supervisor of the seafood department, and didn’t have a girlfriend or any pets. He was a waste of oxygen, he thought. There

wasn’t anyone that would miss him if he disappeared, except maybe his father, but he hadn't heard from him for six years. The only communication they had was the birthday cards they sent each other every year and the occasional letter. The last time he saw him, he was leaving to work at the Fukushima Daichi Nuclear Power Station. He had worked there all of Kyo’s life, but that time was different. That time, he never came back. It was for the best, he figured. They hadn’t gotten along since his mother died back in 2005. He wondered how he was doing right now. He knew the station wasn’t doing well in all of this. He remembered his dad telling him about Murphy’s law; what can go wrong will go wrong, and things were going wrong. He saw on his twitter that there was an explosion in the 2nd reactor. His dad must be having about as bad a day as they come.
As the beach came into sight, he noticed that he wasn’t the only one who found themselves at the beach. There were a few other people watching for the wave. As he got closer, he spotted her right away; Tsukimi Uno, his childhood friend. She was leaning against a wall of sand bags, looking very intently towards the ocean. He wondered why she was here. It had been a while since he had last crossed paths with her, despite how small the town was. Tsukimi was always like a ray of sunshine; always bubbly and smiling. He and she were always inseparable as children, but when high school rolled around, they drifted apart. She was part of the student body, and he blended with the background. And after graduation, they saw each other every so often, but they didn’t really re-kindle their friendship. He remembered how she never liked the beach.
“I don’t like sand, I hate seaweed, and I can’t swim. Why would I ever want to go?” she would always say. So why would she be here when it was so dangerous? The look on her face was like he had never seen it; she looked melancholy.
“I thought you hated the beach,Tsukimi” he said as he approached her.
When she turned to face him, her face lit up. For a second, Kyo forgot just how depressed he was.
“Hey, Kyo!” she said, “long time no see. How have you been?”
Horrible. That’s what he wanted to say. He had forgotten how comforting her smile was.
“Fine,” he said casually, “but you looked a little sad just now. Anything wrong?”
“No, I’m fine,” is what she said, but he could tell that she was lying. As children, she would always push her hair behind her ear when she lied; a habit that carried into her adulthood, it would seem. They both stood there staring out at the ocean for a few minutes before Tsukimi spoke again.
“We should get out of here. It’s not safe,” she said.
It’s funny how he was so easily swayed by her words. Had anyone else said that to him, he would have wanted to stay anyway.
They followed the protocol for a tsunami and made their way to higher ground.

Living along the coast of Japan meant that they knew all they needed to know about Tsunamis: They were caused by the vertical displacement of water. A mega thrust earthquake like the one that had just happened would displace a massive amount of water. A tsunami could travel across the ocean at the same speed as an airplane. Though it’s tall, the wave’s length is staggering; they can move inland for 16km before receding back into the ocean. But the most dangerous part isn’t the water coming in, but all the debris that it carries with it. They knew full well that they couldn't out run the wave once it made landfall, and if they didn’t find a safe place that they would certainly

die.
The first few buildings they came across were closed up. They were both starting to get pretty desperate.
“How about up there?” said Tsukimi, pointing towards the roof of the grocery store. “You can get us up there, right?”
“Yeah!” he had the keys to the store.

He thought that maybe his job wasn’t such a dead end after all if it meant he could save at least one life. Although, he was pretty sure he was going to quit and reevaluate his life after this.

Though it was right on the main street and completely open to any possible damage from debris, it was high enough to shelter them temporarily. They were running out of time and out of places to choose from. They made their way up to the roof of the building just as the sirens started to go off. The sound was absolutely chilling.

“I think we’ll be ok up here,” said Tsukimi, “I just hope that it will be over soon.”

The wave was larger than any other they had ever seen. It looked to be about 20 feet high. It spilled over the walls meant to guard the town like they were nothing. Water rushed over the streets, carrying just about everything that crossed its path. It even washed up cars and sent them floating down the main street. There were even boats crashing into trees and buildings. Cars were starting to crash into their building as well. They started to surround the building, pushed up against it due to the current.

“Look over there,” said Tsukimi, “it’s gone…”

The wave had washed out her family’s restaurant. She had that same look on her face from when he first saw her

today.
“Tsukimi, why were you at the beach today?” he asked. “It’s just… It’s just not like you.”
She paused, watching the water run higher up the building.
“I wanted to be there when it happened. I wanted to see the thing that would destroy everything I’ve come to love. I didn’t want to run away like the rest of them… But now I kind of wish I had, seeing all of this…” she gestured at the still surging water. Then she turned to him and said, “Why did you go, or is that none of my business?”
To end it. He doesn't say it, but he wishes he could.
“I can’t say why, but I think life still holds some surprises for me.”
***
Eventually, after the water receded enough to come down from their perch, they began to take in the extent of the damage. About half of the buildings had been washed away, and the other half looked ready to crumble to the ground. The devastation was like something from a movie; it was surreal.
Tsukimi reached for Kyo’s hand and asked, “Will you walk with me?”
“I’d like nothing more.”
The wave that would've destroyed him, he thought, ended up saving him. Someday maybe, he would tell her that, but not now.