[Opening scene — Morning train]
The morning train always smelled like wet metal and burnt coffee.They say Tokyo wakes up early, but I don't think it ever really sleeps. The same people, the same tired eyes, and the same quiet sighs leaking through their masks.
I stood near the door, my sketchbook held tight against my chest — like I was protecting something fragile, or maybe just hiding it.
Every morning, I draw one stranger. Just one.Not because I'm good at it — I'm not — but because it helps me remember that people exist outside of my head.
Today's stranger was a woman in a gray coat. She was reading a book upside down.Maybe by mistake, maybe not. Tokyo is full of people like that — broken in tiny, beautiful ways.
When she looked up, our eyes met for a second.I panicked and flipped the page. My hand moved faster than my thoughts. Pencil to paper, noise to silence.
And when I looked down, I'd drawn her smiling.She hadn't smiled once.
[Scene 2 — Classroom, 2-A]
"Morning, Ito-kun! You look dead again," said Miyu Kisaragi, her voice bouncing like sunlight.
She always spoke to everyone, even the ones who didn't reply. That's how I ended up being her unofficial ghost-friend — a listener who never said much back.
"Did you do the math homework?" she asked.I nodded."Can I borrow it?"I nodded again.She grinned. "You're the best!"
As she turned away, her long ponytail brushed past my desk. It smelled like soap and rain. I tried not to notice, but it's impossible not to notice Miyu.
Some people shine because they're happy.Others shine because they don't know how else to survive.
[Inner narration]
People at school don't really see me. I'm not invisible — just forgettable.The kind of person whose name you mix up on attendance day.The kind who blends into the class photo even when you're standing in the middle.
But that's fine.When you expect nothing, even silence feels kind.
[Scene 3 — After school, art club room]
The art club was technically dead.Only three of us came anymore — me, Takumi Arai, and the advisor, a teacher who used the club as an excuse to nap after class.
Takumi wasn't painting. He was sitting on the desk, spinning a basketball in one hand."You still draw people, right?" he asked."Yeah," I said."You ever draw yourself?"
I hesitated. "No."He laughed softly. "Scared of what you'll see?"
Maybe.
He stood up, walked to the window, and looked out at the schoolyard where kids were laughing. "You know, I thought the hardest thing was losing a game," he said. "Turns out, the hardest thing is not knowing what game you're playing anymore."
I didn't answer. Sometimes silence is a better reply.
[Scene 4 — The blog]
That night, I found a blog post trending on a student forum.Title: "Why I Smile Even When I Want to Disappear."
It was written by someone anonymous.But as I read, it felt like someone had torn open my chest and written my thoughts in their handwriting.
"I keep telling people I'm fine because it's easier than explaining why I'm not.""Sometimes, I wish someone would just notice — even once — without me asking them to."
I stayed up rereading it three times.
Then, without really thinking, I opened my sketchbook and drew the person I imagined wrote that post.She looked… a lot like Miyu.
[Scene 5 — Next day, rooftop]
The next morning, Miyu was on the school rooftop eating strawberry bread.I didn't even know she could get up there; it's technically locked.
"You draw, right?" she said suddenly.I froze. "Who told you that?""Takumi. He said you draw people you see. That's kinda creepy, by the way.""…Sorry."She laughed. "Relax! I think it's cool. You're like one of those movie characters who notice the stuff everyone ignores."
Her eyes sparkled in the sunlight — not in the romantic anime way, but in that real human way where you can tell someone is alive.
Then she asked, "Can you draw me?"
I didn't expect that."Why?" I asked."Because maybe then I'll know what I really look like to someone else."
So I did.
For ten minutes, there was no noise. Just wind, pencils, and the sound of my heartbeat.
When I showed her the sketch, she stared at it.Then she whispered, "She looks sad.""That's… how you looked just now," I said quietly.
She smiled, but this time, it didn't reach her eyes."Then I guess your drawing's honest."
[Scene 6 — The lesson]
That night, I realized something.People don't want to be seen for who they are.They want to be seen and still be loved anyway.
I thought about the woman on the train, the upside-down book, Takumi's broken smile, and Miyu's half-fake laughter.
Maybe the world is full of people trying not to fall apart in public.Maybe drawing them isn't creepy.Maybe it's kindness.
I opened my sketchbook again and wrote on the first page:
"The moment you see someone for who they really are, you stop being invisible."
For the first time in years, I felt visible too.
[Ending scene — Classroom next day]
Miyu sat down beside me again."Hey, Ito-kun. You know that blog everyone's talking about?""Yeah."She smiled softly. "Don't tell anyone… but I wrote it."
And just like that, my world — quiet, colorless, safe — began to move again.