Sayori AfterStory

It was uncomfortable, standing in the bustling streets full of people dressed far more fancy than he was. Leaning awkwardly underneath a shining streetlight, Anon checked his phone once again. Re-reading the conversation between him and “Mrs. President,” which his best friend Sayori playfully changed her name to ever since she became president of the Literature Club.

Anon: [6:45]: I'm here, Sayori!

Mrs. President: [6:49]: Almost there!!!
Anon: I'm right by the front doors. Under the streetlight.
Mrs. President: Okay :))

Anon: [6:55]: Are you almost here?

Mrs. President: [6:58]: Sorry! Just give me... Five more minutes!
Anon: Okay...

Mrs. President: [7:04]: I'm almost there!!!

Sheepish, Anon looked up and scanned the city streets for a sign of his friend. Among the bustling rows of restaurants, bars, dance clubs and decrepit kebab shops, Sayori was nowhere to be found. To his left, a beautiful girl with ribbons in her hair smiled at him before disappearing into the shadows.

Where on Earth could Sayori be?

He was just about to send another text message when two hands closed over his eyes from behind. “Guess who?” A sweet voice sing-songed into his ear.

“Sayori!” Anon whirled around, startled. “Where were you? I've been waiting for...” He almost had something biting to say, but as he turned around and saw his friend, the words died in his mouth.

He had never seen Sayori in a dress before. It was a vibrant blue, lit up beautifully from the streetlight which they stood under. The red ribbon in her hair was gone, replaced by three small, pink flowers. She beamed, arms behind her back, leaning to the side as she took in Anon's flustered surprise at seeing her dressed like this. It was a confidence that he hadn't seen in her for years. It was...

A painful flash of memory burned his mind. In the pose that Sayori struck in this moment, he realized...

She looked so much lik̴̪̽e̟̗̪͉̯̖̅́ M̴̖̺͛̑̚o̶̰̬͕̬̬̙̟ͦ̌̂̇̆̎̎͢n̶̝̞ͦ̓͂ͧ̀i̶̙͉͋͑ͯͥk̵̻͇͓̃̀̽̎̑͟a͚̳̯̮͍̔͒̆ͦ̎ͯͩ͌.

“Heheh...” Anon forced a laugh, strangely unsettled for a second. “Sayori, you look great!” Her smile deepened as he spoke. “I didn't even know you had a dress like that. I would have dressed up a little bit more if I knew...”

Reaching out again, Sayori put a finger over Anon's mouth. “Don't worry about it, silly! I wanted to wear this tonight. I might have had a bit of an epiphany today...”

Curious, Anon raised an eyebrow and waited for her to continue, but instead she blinked twice, seeming to snap out of her trance. Suddenly, she ran to Anon's side and wrapped her arms around his right forearm, attaching herself like a beautiful decoration. “Can we eat? Let's eat! I'm so hungry and it smells so good around here...”

That was the Sayori he knew. Smiling a bit, the two of them walked in tandem to the fancy restaurant. They were greeted by a friendly hostess who complimented Sayori's dress, leading them to their table in a corner of the room, lit romantically by a candle and a very dim light which hung from the roof above them. It flickered slightly, as if not too long from burning out. Slowly dying as it reached the end of its purpose.

“Um,” Sayori looked at the light above them, still smiling, but her expression had turned a bit weird.

“What is it?” Anon asked.

“Ah! It's... nothing. Ehehe,” Flashing a bright smile, the girl hurriedly picked up her menu and rifled through it. Her stomach growled as she saw the pictures of such delicious food plastered on every page. “This place looks so good already.” She said happily. “How did we not know about this place before today?”

“Now that you think of it... Have we ever even been to this part of the city?” He thought out loud.

“I think we haven't! It's like it just appeared out of nowhere or something. You know?” Peeking from above her menu, Sayori's eyes were cast my way as if looking for something from him. But all Anon saw was the way that the candlelight shone in her eyes. It made him feel weird, to be thinking that way towards someone he saw as a friend for almost his entire life. It was strange to notice her beauty for the very first time.

But Anon knew Sayori well enough to know that strange expression she had before. As he read through the menu, thinking, he realized with a jolt that... It was very possible that the hanging light above her head might have seemed like a metaphor. It might have... reminded her...

“Sayori, how have you been lately?” Anon asked.

“I've been amazing!” She replied at once. Sayori had her elbows out over the table. “Ever since we've, you know, started dating.” Sheepish, her two index fingers twiddled together. “Even as a boyfriend, you're still my best friend! It's really nice that we didn't lose that. And that I still get to hug you whenever I want!”

“You could always hug me whenever you wanted.” He smiled back, bashful. He reached his hand over and squeezed hers, holding it for a while. “Forgive me if I'm being weird, but... That's the first time you've called us that. I know you wanted to take things slow and,” Anon paused, considering. “Doing too much would have been bad, with how things were back then.” He finally said. “To hear you call our relationship that... that must mean that you're feeling better! I'm glad to hear that.”

Sayori smiled back, and this time it was real. It was deeper. Seeing his friend begin to show true happiness again made Anon glow inside his heart.

“I'm feeling a little better. But sometimes... Sometimes, it's still hard.” Sayori admits after a moment of silence. “I have a lot more responsibilities now that I'm club president, and that helps! I have more friends, since after the festival we got two new members of the club and they've been great!”

“Yeah, I remember how happy you were to meet them.” Anon gave a smile of his own. There had been three, but one of the new girls had only come to two meetings before she just stopped showing up at all.  Still, with two new club members it was more than enough to replace...another flash of blinding light hurt Anon's head.

M̽͂̑҉҉̨̜͎o̻͎̭̟̦͙̠̾ͨ̾̅̇̃͌̓͝ǹ̶͕͇͍̟̖͓̘̒͘i̭͓̺͉̳̼̺̖̘̇ͧ̉ͬ̋̆͡͡k̤͖̩̫̑á̦̗̗ͦ.

“Hey, Sayori,” He asked, rubbing the fading pain in the back of his eyes. “Do you ever still think about--”

“Alright, everyone!” A waitress sidled up to the table, smiling sweetly, hands folded behind her back. She had two gorgeous ribbons in the sides of her hair, leaning to the side to hear us over the din of conversation. “Are you guys ready to order your food?”

Politely, Anon asked for his meal without hesitation. It had not been a hard decision with all the delicious food ready for him. However, Sayori's expression was strangely frozen and, shockingly, anger was visible beyond her almost perfect mask of a friendly smile. Her careful mask remained frozen in place as she ordered her food as well.

Almost as if in defiance, the waitress flashed them a sweet, genuine smile in return as she took their menus and disappeared behind a corner.

“Sayori...” Anon began, “I know you too well. Can you please tell me what's bothering you?”

The girl turned her gaze back to Anon's, looking surprised at herself. “Oh. Yeah! It's really nothing. It's just that you were about to ask me if I remembered Monika, and,” She peered quizzically over the side of the table in the direction the waitress had come from. “She looked just like her...”

“Really?” Anon tried to bring an image to his mind to compare the two, but it was like trying to pull something out of quicksand. The more he tried, the more fuddled the image became.

“Yeah. That's what bothered me. Ehehe, I'm sorry if I'm worrying you. I just don't like remembering her. Not after she talked me into... you know.” With a pained expression, she smiled at Anon. “The only reason I didn't talk about this right away is because... I want tonight to be the two of us. A happy night where I can hold your hand the whole time, and where I can stuff myself with food and be glad to be alive!”

Anon squeezed her hand a little tighter. It was almost strange to see her talking like this. It was a mix of the happy and bubbly girl he knew, but underneath was the beginnings of something a bit more mature. She had changed recently, and while it was nice... He hoped he wasn't losing the girl he had grown up with. “Was this the epiphany you had today? To enjoy every day to the fullest?” He asked.

“Maybe.” She squeezed his hand back. “That's sort of it. Because if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be here to enjoy any of this... Ahem.” Sayori cleared her throat. “But the other half is way better! I'd rather talk about that.”

“Okay,” Anon said. “I'm listening.”

“Wellllllllll,” Sayori rummaged in her purse for a while, before pulling out a rose-colored pen. “This... is Monika's pen!”

“Eh?” Anon felt his heart lurch in his chest. “Where did you find that?”

“It was in the closet in the writing club.” She said, mischievous. “And this, is her notebook!” She pulled out a booklet, covered in cute doodles that only a skilled artist could do in a few seconds. The nam͍̓ͧ̑̋̏e̛͉̙ͣ ͕͔̜͕͈̩̓M͙͉͠ȍ̜̠̹̦̩̥̅̇̚͝n͔̮ͪ̓̈͆͗̇͘i̢̘͛̊̔̏͐̍ͧk̞͈̬̳̱̓͑͛a̞̲̫̓̓̄ was written on the cover, flickering delicately with each passing second.
͔̊͠
“Anon... I think this is what she used to modify the game.”

“Ehhh?” Anon scratched his eyes. Something about these items made him feel very weird. They seemed to shimmer in the dark, as if they could disappear from existence at any second. “The game? I sort of remember you saying something like that when you became club president...?”

“Yeah! I was too scared to touch it because I don't know how any of that stuff worked. I kind of sort of just... pretended it didn't exist. But I still see everything, and that sucked a little. I miss being surprised by what people say. Now I know what's going to happen before it happens and I have to pretend like it's new! It was cool for a while, but...”

At a loss for words, Anon remained silent, listening.

“But I never know what you're going to say! It's one of the reasons I like being with you so much, actually.” Sayori beamed at him. “I'm so used to knowing everything. That's actually why I was late today! Our date here... actually, this whole part of the city wasn't even in the script, so I had to figure it all out. Ehehe, it was amazing!”

Anon struggled to keep up. Honestly, this whole thing was a little overwhelming to him right now. “What does that have to do with--” He tried to say the name, but the word caught in his throat. “What does her notebook have to do with this?”

“Because...” Sayori gave him a huge smile. “Watch this!” The girl openedͮ͒́ͦ̇͡ ̡͔̱̳͙̈M̴͖̂̈̽̌̃͐̚o͓̤͙̙͉͙̖ͭ͝ṅ͍̼͈͇͕̓̈́̏i̵̺̠̙̘̦͑ͩ̌ͅk͇̺̟̹̗̗ͭͨ̀ͩ͐̕ä̷̻̦́̓̃ͪͨ̈́'̖͖̟ͣ͛̑ͪͫͯ͞s̢̝͊͒̓̔͐̒̔ ̝̮̤̺̝̦̈̾͌̀̽n̲ͯ͡o͍͂̐t̄̾̐ͩ̂͑̚҉̞̝͙̙͙͉e̡̱͇̦̣̤͗̊̍͗͗book and scribbled in a fe

T́hè w̷aítr̵ęss ͞c͝om͘e̡s̷ b̧a҉c͘k̡ ̧w̸i͠th̨ ͠m̛e̛ ̵an҉d ̧An̷on'̵s ͟fo̴od. It loo̢ks̛ s̴o ͜déli̕çi͠o̶us͞!͞ I rȩa̸llỳ ̴c͠a͠n't͟ ̷w̛a̵it ͢to ͢èat͢ it b͜u̢t͘ Í ḩave҉ ͝t͡o s̵h͡ow hi͘m̢ thi̶s thin̛g͢ t͟ha͝t'̢s̷ ̀s͏o͝, ͝so ̵amaźi͞ng!

“What was that?!” Anon cried. His food was now sitting on the table. He didn't even remember the waitress delivering it to them. It was made perfectly, as if straight out the picture on the menu. The smell is incredible. “Sayori! What did you just do?” Anon stammers.

“We're not in a game right now.” Sayori smiled brightly. “We're in a writing! And I know everything about that.”

“Wait...” Anon was beginning to understand, though thinking like this was nearly impossible. “We're in a story right now, and all you need to do is write something down and it happens in real life?”

“Yes!” She couldn't contain herself anymore. Sayori stood up from her seat and came to the other side of the table, practically throwing herself next to Anon, arms wrapped tight around him. “This story doesn't need to end when the words are over. The world doesn't have to be confined by what's written here!”

He still struggled to understand, but seeing Sayori so happy filled him with joy. He hugged her back, not caring about the looks they were drawing.

“That's why I was so depressed. Our lives could end at any second. The moment the writer decided to stop writing, we'd... Ehehe... We'd just stop existing. But we don't need to worry about that! We don't need to worry about anything anymore.”

Reaching over the table, Sayori pulled the pen and notebook back to her, politely sliding Anon's food out of the way. As she opened the notebook, she began to sing a quiet song.

“Every day, I imagine a future where I can be with you.” Sayori hummed. “In my hand, is a pen that will write a poem of me and you...”

She picked up the pen, and Anon can only watch as Sayori


The ͏w̶o̧rl͘d i͡s ̴a ̢brigh̛t, b͟ea̧ut͘if͢ul p҉lac͘e. ̶I c̶ǫul̀dn̡'̶t ͏be h̕a̧p͏p͢i͜er th̴a͏n wit͢h An̕on at̛ m̸y ́sidę. A̷ll ̸I ̵w̷ant i̵s ̶a͏ ́l̢ong ͘an͘d h̡ąp͏p̡y li̡f͝e̕.

N͢o̴ ̨ma͠t̨ter̡ h̢o̷w ̶mu͠ch͢ ͟t̶im͝e ́p͏as̷se̵s͜,̴ ͏o͏ùr s̵tor̀y wi̵ll͞ al̢wáy͜s b̡e ͘w̴r͟it͠t̵en i͞n ͘th͝i̕s b̡o̢ok̷, wr̕i̸t̸ten ̕by̶ ͞its͏elf,̧ ̸and̵ ͠it ̛w͠il̀l̨ ne͟ver̵ ͢rưn͝ oùt ́o͡f ̨pa͞g͜ęs as̸ ͠i͠t͘ t̷el͡ls̸ ̶th͏e̡ ̢sto̕r̨y of̸ ̶ou̕r̸ ̸pȩrf͜ec̕t̷ li̵ve̛s͏.

O҉h, ̶a͏n̸d͠ ̧a̡ls͞o!̨ I ̛su͘d͡de͢n̷l̀y̛ ̸c͞a̢n'͝t s̴ee͠ ̛the̢ ̀s̢c̷rípţ án͜y̢mor͡e. I͞'m͝ j̷u̷st̡ a̧ ͏n̸or̸m͜al p̕erso͠n҉ ̸lik̕e ́e̛veryǫne ͞els͢e.̛
̶
I͝ coùl͞d ͟wr̷it̕e down̶ ̀a̡nyth̸i̶ņg ̴I̧ ͟w̸ańt,͠ ̴ma͏ybe al̀l͡ the̴ m͠o͘n̸e̢y ̨i̧n҉ the͝ wo͝rl͢d̛ o̧r̀ ͜som̧e r̡eal̷ly ́c̛o̶o͏l ́su̢per ̡pow͜er.̴.͟. but I'm ̡h͢a͟pp͝y w̨i͘th̵ w͞h͏ąt̀ Ì h̴ave.
̶
͢In ͡t̕hi͘s̴ ̨mo͜m̨ent̡, al̴l I ̀ẃa̡nt ̛is ̶Anon.̵

͡Finally, I'͏m ͡triuly happ̶y̢.͝


With a deep sense of impact, it feels like the entire world has shifted a few degrees to the side. The world keeps moving on as if nothing has happened, but Anon can feel something deep within his soul. Without knowing what it had felt like before, he feels real. He feels alive.

And to his side is Sayori's beaming smile. She's holding her fork, shamelessly about to eat food from Anon's plate. The part of her expression that reminded him so much of Monika was gone now, and in its place was the person he had known for years and years.

“Wanna start our date now, Anon?” Sayori asked through a mouth full of food.

Laughing, he squeezes her a little closer to his side. He takes a fork and eats something from Sayori's plate instead.

“I would love to.”