She’d probably write something like that later today. At least within the pages of her diary, she could forget about this boring old reality for a little while.
This one’s fine for now, I guess…
Asumi settled on one of the few diaries displayed and picked it up. The price fit her budget, and it had a white cover with the word Diary printed on it. A plain, functional kind of design. Plain, boring, unremarkable—
“I see you’re interested in our Truthful Diaries,” came a voice from behind her.
Asumi flinched and spun around.
Standing there was a very suspicious-looking man. He was wearing a hat with a wide brim, even though it wasn’t sunny out. Even if it had been, they were indoors, and it wasn’t exactly bright in here, either. He also had a thick scarf wrapped around his neck. The two accessories cast shadows across his face, making it all but impossible to see what he looked like.
“Wh-what did you say? A…Truthful Diary?” Asumi asked, taking an involuntary step back.
The man’s hat bobbed up and down as he nodded. “Indeed. That book you have picked up is known as a Truthful Diary. As you might guess from the name, it is a diary that despises falsehoods.”
From the way the man was talking, it sounded like he must’ve worked there. How fitting. A weird store run by weird people and selling weird products to boot.
A diary that “despises falsehoods”? Really?
The words almost seemed like an attack on Asumi and her Liar’s Diary. She bristled at the thought.
“You mean it doesn’t like lies? So this is a diary you can only write the truth in?” she asked.
Of course, that’s exactly what you would normally use a diary for—to write down things that had actually happened. There were all kinds of diaries in the world, though, so it was reasonable to assume that some were intended to be used in different ways.
The man in the hat shook his head in response to Asumi’s question, though.
“No, not quite,” he told her. “If you write things as they really happened in this diary, it will have no effect at all.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“This is a diary for you to write what you want to happen in the future.”
“What…?” Asumi’s eyes widened in surprise.
“You see,” the man continued, “this diary despises falsehoods so much that it will make anything written in it become the truth.”
“Y-you mean…?”
“Indeed. Whatever you write in there will come true.”
Her heart was pounding in her chest. Looking at the “unremarkable” book in her hands, she saw it in a whole new light.
Whatever I write…will come true? Wow… It doesn’t look like anything special, but this might actually be exactly what I’m looking for.
Of course, she wasn’t about to believe this story without question. It was probably meant to be a mindfulness exercise or something. She wasn’t enough of a dreamer or a child to believe a simple notebook had the power to alter the world around her.
Even so, there was something about the idea that she found charming. It was kind of exciting.
I need to buy a new diary anyway, so I might as well go with this one instead of a regular one. Also…
When she’d first heard the name “Truthful Diary,” it had sounded totally at odds with her own writing habits. But now that she knew how it was supposed to be used, it seemed like a perfect fit for her.
Writing what I want to happen… That’s basically the same thing I do with my Liar’s Diary.
✦ ✦ ✦
And so Asumi bought a Truthful Diary and left the stationery store with a smile on her face. She had a feeling today was going to be a good day.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Okay, here goes…”
That night, Asumi sat down at her desk and placed the diary she’d bought in front of her.
“Hee-hee… Unlike with my regular diaries, I’ll be writing about the future this time. That’s something a little different, at least. This could be fun.”
She opened the diary to the first page and wrote the date. Usually, she’d be writing today’s date, but this diary was for events she wanted to happen in the future. Instead, she wrote down tomorrow’s date.
“Hmm… Now I just have to think of something to write.”
She pondered for a little while, and then, still excited by the novelty of the whole thing, penned her entry for tomorrow.
✦ ✦ ✦
October 15 (Tuesday)
I knew I had gym class today, so I was feeling a little gloomy all morning. We’re doing basketball right now, and I’m no good at ball games… But once we got started, it actually turned out to be a fun time! I ended up on the same team with a lot of my friends, so we were able to cut loose and really enjoy ourselves. It’s times like this when I really feel like I’m making the most of my youth!
✦ ✦ ✦
Morning arrived, and Asumi made her way to school, the excitement from last night still lingering in her mind. As for the entry that she’d written for this day, the first few sentences were already true. She did have gym class, and she knew they’d be playing basketball. And because she was so bad at ball games, she was feeling less than stellar about it.
But what about what came after that? What about the wish that she’d written for how she wanted the day to turn out? As far as Asumi was concerned, it would never come true because she didn’t have any friends in her class. That diary entry was something that simply couldn’t happen in reality…wasn’t it?
Gym class began, and the students were divided into teams. That’s when things started to change.
“Hey, looks like we’re on the same team, Asumi.”
“Let’s do our best, Asumi!”
“You’re not so great at basketball, right, Asumi? Don’t worry. We’ll cover for you, so just take it at your own pace.”
The girls on her team were talking to her.
Huh…? Where’s this coming from? What’s going on here?!
Asumi was completely flustered. This was the first time any of her classmates had spoken to her like this. It didn’t feel like they were just being nice to the class loner out of pity, either.
They’re talking like we’re friends… Like we always have been…
What had gotten into them? Were they setting her up for some kind of practical joke?
It didn’t seem like these girls were teasing her, though. They were so natural and at ease around her. When they passed the ball around before the start of the match, they included Asumi in the conversation like it was totally normal. Up until now, they’d shut her out completely and just talk among themselves and their clique.
Then the match began. As usual, Asumi fumbled the ball whenever it came near her. Typically, the other girls would berate her for her mistakes, putting a real damper on the mood.
But not today.
What’s happening now is… It really is…
The mood during the match wasn’t especially serious, but everyone was pretty amped up. Any time somebody scored a point, the team that had scored would cheer, and the other team would groan. And if someone dropped the ball, they’d just laugh it off, and everybody would laugh along with them.
Before she knew it, Asumi had gotten caught up in the mood and become just one of the group.
This is so much fun! It’s times like this when I really feel like I’m making the most of my youth…!
There in the gymnasium, surrounded by friends and laughter on every side, that was when she knew: It was all true.
It’s exactly like I wrote in my diary last night! That Truthful Diary really does make anything you write in it come true…!