...when I was little...I was out riding my brand-new blue bicycle...when I decided to see how far I could keep going...without looking back even once. I could feel with my back how my neighborhood was receding...further and further away...but I kept pedaling with all my might, my mind almost going blank. All I could hear was the sound of my own heart...thumping wildly in my ears. Even now, I remember it sometimes. What exactly...was I trying to do that day? What was it...that I wanted to prove...? ...it's no good. My mind just keeps fogging over. I have this irritating sound stuck in my head. What is it? This sound... Ohh. I know what it is. This is... the sound of emptiness.

— Chica Umino

#empty #honey-and-clover #life #sadness #takemoto