Betobeto-san
Here's what's up: my friends and I decided to give each other a theme to write about and a genre to write in . My friend gave me the them of betobeto-san, an invisible spirit that follows people, making footsteps. Despite my horrible writing skills, I hope the story can still be interesting, especially since it's supposed to be a comedy, and I'm going to suck at this. :) Really, there's no comedy in the whole story. The slightest bit of comedy only comes from describing someone, so... please don't expect to read this to get a good laugh.
Betobeto-san
Slowly the clouds of the night sky began to cover the face of the moon in the center of the sky. Because of this, an eerie darkness began to creep over the empty streets as Takeru, a homeless man, walked drunkenly on the sidewalk, stumbling every now and again onto the street. Takeru was a failure of a salaryman. His life used to be the usual, but one he was fired due to his constant mistakes in the office, he became an alcoholic. Soon, his wife left him, he was evected from his house, and he began to abuse alcohol. He became a conman and thief just to receive the money to buy his pleasures. However, the next series of events that were to take place in his life would change the very world that he lived in forever.
Takeru finally reached the park where he spends his endless nights. His usually bed was a bench in the middle of the park. As he walked towards the bench, though, he swore he heard footsteps behind him. He was too drunk to be concerned though, and didn't think much of it. Tripping over tree roots and dead, fallen leaves, he finally made his way to the bench. He sat himself down and began to reminisce about his life before. Why had he made the mistakes that he did? He received good pay at his work, his wife was very loyal and loving to him, and he lived in a nice house. However, everything has taken a complete 180, and now every night, he sleeps on the bench at a park.
The results of the alcohol began to take their toll on Takeru as he soon grew sleepy. He stretched his body out on the bench, staring up at the treetops foregrounding the moonless sky. In a few minutes, his eyelids closed. As soon as he fell asleep, he began to dream.
At first, Takeru was alone in the darkness. Looking around, there was nothing but infinite darkness surrounding him. It was impossible to tell if he was even standing on ground, or if he was floating in the air. "This must be the inside of my heart. It's cold, dark, and lonely," he said to himself. One foot in front of the other, he began to walk into the darkness, not knowing where it would lead him. As he walked, he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around quickly, but there was no one there. The sound had also ceased. "Maybe it's the echo of my shoes," he thought.
He began to walk again, but just as soon as he started to walk, he heard the footsteps again. They were definitely not echos. The sounds were full and did not have that empty feeling like many echoes do. They were not his own footsteps for they were not in sync with his. They were definitely the footsteps of someone else. Takeru began to speed up his pace, and just as soon as he started to walk faster, so did the footsteps. HIs speed-walking soon turned into a full-fledged sprint. The footsteps began to sprint as well. He then came to a halt. For a few seconds, he heard the footsteps still sprinting, but then they stopped.
Takeru was breathing heavily now. He was not in the same shape that he used to be, so the sprinting wore him out. When he was done resting, Takeru looked up to see that he had found some light in the darkness. He took a few steps to the light, expecting to hear the footsteps follow him. When he did not hear them, he began to walk normally towards the light, but as soon as that happened, he began to hear the footsteps again. This time, he ignored the sound and went straight for the light, thinking that once in the light, he will know who his pursuer was.
Finally reaching the light, he stepped into the middle, taking a few seconds to bask in it as if he had just found the sun itself. Realising the footsteps had stopped though, he quickly turned around, but saw no one. Nothing. Just his shadow on the ground; proof that he was indeed standing in light. If nothing was behind him though, how did he hear these footsteps? Was he going insane in his own dream?
He quickly spun around to check all angles, but there was no trance of any living thing. Suddenly, the light began to flicker. Afraid that he would lose it again, he looked behind him to make sure that the light wasn't moving, but as soon as he did that, he came face to face with a pair of tired, bloodshot eyes on a wrinkled face with messy hair. He was looking at the reflection of himself. In a mirror. That appeared from no where but what seemd like oblivion.
His reflection was a mess. Was this how he really looked like? The image that he saw was not encouraging. He was an eyesore. And obvious wreck and failure. Tears began to form in his eyes, and he could no longer see clearly. He took his sleeve and wiped away his tears. As soon as he looked up again into the mirror, there was another image. It was still the image of himself, but somehow he had changed. It was clean and full of pride. And there was something on his face that he didn't see often in those days: a smile. He was smiling. "Is this the image of myself from before? ...No. No, it can't be. I look older, and more mature. As if this would be me if I wasn't such a mess-up."
Raising his dirty-stained hand, he reached forward to the self that he was not. As soon as he touched the mirror, however, it cracked. Surprised by the sudden crackage of the mirror, he took a step back, but the crack grew bigger. Realising that the mirror was about to shatter, he held up his arms to cover his head. Pieces of mirror flew everywhere, but not one shard hit Takeru. When he felt safe to look up again, he saw that a peculiar door had taken the place of the mirror. The door had four pannels, each with its own intricate design. One particular panel caught the attention of Takeru, however. It was a footprint with different scenes printed inside. Scenes such as a man on a lonely street, and a man sitting on a park bench alone at night.
Observing the door more, he found that there was no knob. "What is the point of a door with no knob? If a door is meant to be opened, how can it be opened with no knob!??" At that moment though, the door suddenly creaked opened.
Startled, Takeru took several steps back. The door was opened, but does he dare to venture inside? "If you can take a few steps forwards, all of your dreams can come true," breathed a voice that sounded as if it was coming from behind the door.
"Is this for real? Would my dreams really come true if I step through this door?"
"Well, that's for you to find out. All you need is the courage to step through the door to realise your dreams."
Unconvinced, Takeru pondered for a minute. Then, he walked forward and reached for the door. "Thata boy..." the satisfied voice said.
Takeru pushed the door opened, and was suddenly blinded by a light. It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust from the darkness to the bright light of the sun, and when he realised where he was, he could not believe it. He was in his hometown. The town where he and his ex-wife grew up together and fell in love. The spot he was standing in brought tears back to his eyes. He was standing on the bridge at the edge of town, the same place where he proposed to his ex-wife when they were still young.
"Unbelievable," he murmured to himself.
Takeru then heard footsteps behind him. The same footsteps that were following him. He turned his neck to look behind him and saw an odd-looking young man. His hair was as black as the darkness that he had just stepped out of, and unruly for that matter. It was everywhere. His face looked like it was frozen in an eternal smile, and he had a beauty mark under his left eye. He wore strange make-up, including purple eyeshadow, and glittery lipstick. His clothes were another thing that added to his odd look. Actually, his clothes are probably what made him really odd. They were unnatural. No human in their right mind would wear clothes such as his: a bright yellow, polka dotted suit, with a giant, bright rainbow-coloured tie. He wore high-watered pants, a good seven centimetres less than how they should be. HIs socks were rainbow striped toe socks (the socks with individual holes for the toes,) and he wore metalic-gold sandles.
Takeru stared at him intently, trying to take all of his insanity in. "Who are you?" he asked, in a raspy voice.
"My name is Betobeto-san," said he smiling. "I do not exist in the real world, but I help people to realise their dreams. I help them find purpose in life, even after they have lost it many times."
"And so now you are paying me a visit in my dreams?"
"Yes."
"And why have you brought me to this place? It doesn't make me realise my dreams. It only brings back horribly sweet memories of my past."
"I haven't brought you here. You're the one who chose to come here."
"Chose to come here?"
"Well, it is your dream, after all. Only you can control what happens in them."
"Why this place..."
"Look over there."
Betobeto-san pointed over to the edge of the bridge farthest from town. Takeru looked and what he saw almost made him cry aloud. He saw himself. And his ex-wife. He suddenly knew what it was. This was the only memory that ever gave him true joy: the day when he and his ex-wife, Kana, left their hometown to find their fortune in the city. This was also the day where he proposed to Kana. And the day she accepted that proposal.
"Kana-chan," he could hear his younger self say, "from this day forward, our lives will be filled with nothing but happy memories. I'll work hard to give you the largest mansion in Tokyo."
"Nothing in this world would make me happier than to just be with Takeru," her reply was.
"Kana-chan, would you stay with me forever? Until the day we die?"
"Takeru, could this be... do you mean...?"
"Yes, Kana. I want to marry you, and be with you forever. I want you to always be by my side, and I want you to always be by mine. Even if our start from today is rough, and even if those days become rougher, as long as we're together, everything will be fine. That's what I think. Because our bond is stronger than any obstacle that fate can throw at us."
Takeru watched his younger self with Kana, as the tears began to fall from her eyes, glistening like diamonds. As she said yes. As they embraced. He could tell that deep in Kana's heart, these were words that she always wanted to hear from him. Watching this scene as an outsider made Takeru's heart ache. He put his hands over his heart, and turned his back on the couple. Tears started to flow from his eyes. From the day he proposed to Kana, or even before that, she always belived in him. Every word that he said. But through the years, he fell back on his words and forgotten a promise that he had made to her.
"Betobeto-san," Takeru started, but he couldn't bring the words out. The pain was too much for him to endure, and he fell to the ground. Thoughts of regret and sorrowfulness filled his head. He had forgotten anything that he wanted to say.
"Have you realised your dream?" Betobeto-san asked.
"Y-y-yes," Takeru managed to sputter out. He gained his composure and stood up again, facing Betobeto-san. "I know now, my dream. I thought before, that my dreams have all been shattered like that mirror from before, and that I could never rebuild what I once had. But now I know that my dream was never shattered. That I was only blinded like a fool from my true dreams. I wish I could start over, but how can I? Kana will never forgive me for being a jerk."
Betobeto-san didn't say anything for a minute, but then he opened his mouth and said, "That may be what you think, but didn't you see how the tears from Kana's eyes when you proposed shined? No tears of sadness and pain could ever shine like that. Those tears were like the jewels of hear heart because she cried for the most precious person to her. Without you, to her, there is no meaning in life. To be able to cry these tears for you means that no matter what, she will love you."
Takeru looked up at Betobeto-san. What he said was true. Kana did love him, and even though he made several bad mistakes in his life, he knew that Kana would always be willing to forgive him. He knew that at that moment even, Kana would be sitting at the window of her house, staring out into the same moonless sky that he stared into, wondering what has become of him. Worrying like she always did... of him.
And just as quickly as the dream had come, the dream had gone. In a flash of white light. He had woken up. He was once again on the bench at the park. The sun was starting to rise up and everything was bright. HIs head slightly hurt, but he didn't care. The dream that he had with the insane footsteps and strange man whose name was an onomatopoeiatic for the sound of footsteps knocked sense into him. This was no way that he should be living his life.
Takeru stood up from the bench, brushed the leaves that had fallen on him that night off, and took his first step through a new door that had just opened on its own.
おわり
Betobeto-san
Slowly the clouds of the night sky began to cover the face of the moon in the center of the sky. Because of this, an eerie darkness began to creep over the empty streets as Takeru, a homeless man, walked drunkenly on the sidewalk, stumbling every now and again onto the street. Takeru was a failure of a salaryman. His life used to be the usual, but one he was fired due to his constant mistakes in the office, he became an alcoholic. Soon, his wife left him, he was evected from his house, and he began to abuse alcohol. He became a conman and thief just to receive the money to buy his pleasures. However, the next series of events that were to take place in his life would change the very world that he lived in forever.
Takeru finally reached the park where he spends his endless nights. His usually bed was a bench in the middle of the park. As he walked towards the bench, though, he swore he heard footsteps behind him. He was too drunk to be concerned though, and didn't think much of it. Tripping over tree roots and dead, fallen leaves, he finally made his way to the bench. He sat himself down and began to reminisce about his life before. Why had he made the mistakes that he did? He received good pay at his work, his wife was very loyal and loving to him, and he lived in a nice house. However, everything has taken a complete 180, and now every night, he sleeps on the bench at a park.
The results of the alcohol began to take their toll on Takeru as he soon grew sleepy. He stretched his body out on the bench, staring up at the treetops foregrounding the moonless sky. In a few minutes, his eyelids closed. As soon as he fell asleep, he began to dream.
At first, Takeru was alone in the darkness. Looking around, there was nothing but infinite darkness surrounding him. It was impossible to tell if he was even standing on ground, or if he was floating in the air. "This must be the inside of my heart. It's cold, dark, and lonely," he said to himself. One foot in front of the other, he began to walk into the darkness, not knowing where it would lead him. As he walked, he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around quickly, but there was no one there. The sound had also ceased. "Maybe it's the echo of my shoes," he thought.
He began to walk again, but just as soon as he started to walk, he heard the footsteps again. They were definitely not echos. The sounds were full and did not have that empty feeling like many echoes do. They were not his own footsteps for they were not in sync with his. They were definitely the footsteps of someone else. Takeru began to speed up his pace, and just as soon as he started to walk faster, so did the footsteps. HIs speed-walking soon turned into a full-fledged sprint. The footsteps began to sprint as well. He then came to a halt. For a few seconds, he heard the footsteps still sprinting, but then they stopped.
Takeru was breathing heavily now. He was not in the same shape that he used to be, so the sprinting wore him out. When he was done resting, Takeru looked up to see that he had found some light in the darkness. He took a few steps to the light, expecting to hear the footsteps follow him. When he did not hear them, he began to walk normally towards the light, but as soon as that happened, he began to hear the footsteps again. This time, he ignored the sound and went straight for the light, thinking that once in the light, he will know who his pursuer was.
Finally reaching the light, he stepped into the middle, taking a few seconds to bask in it as if he had just found the sun itself. Realising the footsteps had stopped though, he quickly turned around, but saw no one. Nothing. Just his shadow on the ground; proof that he was indeed standing in light. If nothing was behind him though, how did he hear these footsteps? Was he going insane in his own dream?
He quickly spun around to check all angles, but there was no trance of any living thing. Suddenly, the light began to flicker. Afraid that he would lose it again, he looked behind him to make sure that the light wasn't moving, but as soon as he did that, he came face to face with a pair of tired, bloodshot eyes on a wrinkled face with messy hair. He was looking at the reflection of himself. In a mirror. That appeared from no where but what seemd like oblivion.
His reflection was a mess. Was this how he really looked like? The image that he saw was not encouraging. He was an eyesore. And obvious wreck and failure. Tears began to form in his eyes, and he could no longer see clearly. He took his sleeve and wiped away his tears. As soon as he looked up again into the mirror, there was another image. It was still the image of himself, but somehow he had changed. It was clean and full of pride. And there was something on his face that he didn't see often in those days: a smile. He was smiling. "Is this the image of myself from before? ...No. No, it can't be. I look older, and more mature. As if this would be me if I wasn't such a mess-up."
Raising his dirty-stained hand, he reached forward to the self that he was not. As soon as he touched the mirror, however, it cracked. Surprised by the sudden crackage of the mirror, he took a step back, but the crack grew bigger. Realising that the mirror was about to shatter, he held up his arms to cover his head. Pieces of mirror flew everywhere, but not one shard hit Takeru. When he felt safe to look up again, he saw that a peculiar door had taken the place of the mirror. The door had four pannels, each with its own intricate design. One particular panel caught the attention of Takeru, however. It was a footprint with different scenes printed inside. Scenes such as a man on a lonely street, and a man sitting on a park bench alone at night.
Observing the door more, he found that there was no knob. "What is the point of a door with no knob? If a door is meant to be opened, how can it be opened with no knob!??" At that moment though, the door suddenly creaked opened.
Startled, Takeru took several steps back. The door was opened, but does he dare to venture inside? "If you can take a few steps forwards, all of your dreams can come true," breathed a voice that sounded as if it was coming from behind the door.
"Is this for real? Would my dreams really come true if I step through this door?"
"Well, that's for you to find out. All you need is the courage to step through the door to realise your dreams."
Unconvinced, Takeru pondered for a minute. Then, he walked forward and reached for the door. "Thata boy..." the satisfied voice said.
Takeru pushed the door opened, and was suddenly blinded by a light. It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust from the darkness to the bright light of the sun, and when he realised where he was, he could not believe it. He was in his hometown. The town where he and his ex-wife grew up together and fell in love. The spot he was standing in brought tears back to his eyes. He was standing on the bridge at the edge of town, the same place where he proposed to his ex-wife when they were still young.
"Unbelievable," he murmured to himself.
Takeru then heard footsteps behind him. The same footsteps that were following him. He turned his neck to look behind him and saw an odd-looking young man. His hair was as black as the darkness that he had just stepped out of, and unruly for that matter. It was everywhere. His face looked like it was frozen in an eternal smile, and he had a beauty mark under his left eye. He wore strange make-up, including purple eyeshadow, and glittery lipstick. His clothes were another thing that added to his odd look. Actually, his clothes are probably what made him really odd. They were unnatural. No human in their right mind would wear clothes such as his: a bright yellow, polka dotted suit, with a giant, bright rainbow-coloured tie. He wore high-watered pants, a good seven centimetres less than how they should be. HIs socks were rainbow striped toe socks (the socks with individual holes for the toes,) and he wore metalic-gold sandles.
Takeru stared at him intently, trying to take all of his insanity in. "Who are you?" he asked, in a raspy voice.
"My name is Betobeto-san," said he smiling. "I do not exist in the real world, but I help people to realise their dreams. I help them find purpose in life, even after they have lost it many times."
"And so now you are paying me a visit in my dreams?"
"Yes."
"And why have you brought me to this place? It doesn't make me realise my dreams. It only brings back horribly sweet memories of my past."
"I haven't brought you here. You're the one who chose to come here."
"Chose to come here?"
"Well, it is your dream, after all. Only you can control what happens in them."
"Why this place..."
"Look over there."
Betobeto-san pointed over to the edge of the bridge farthest from town. Takeru looked and what he saw almost made him cry aloud. He saw himself. And his ex-wife. He suddenly knew what it was. This was the only memory that ever gave him true joy: the day when he and his ex-wife, Kana, left their hometown to find their fortune in the city. This was also the day where he proposed to Kana. And the day she accepted that proposal.
"Kana-chan," he could hear his younger self say, "from this day forward, our lives will be filled with nothing but happy memories. I'll work hard to give you the largest mansion in Tokyo."
"Nothing in this world would make me happier than to just be with Takeru," her reply was.
"Kana-chan, would you stay with me forever? Until the day we die?"
"Takeru, could this be... do you mean...?"
"Yes, Kana. I want to marry you, and be with you forever. I want you to always be by my side, and I want you to always be by mine. Even if our start from today is rough, and even if those days become rougher, as long as we're together, everything will be fine. That's what I think. Because our bond is stronger than any obstacle that fate can throw at us."
Takeru watched his younger self with Kana, as the tears began to fall from her eyes, glistening like diamonds. As she said yes. As they embraced. He could tell that deep in Kana's heart, these were words that she always wanted to hear from him. Watching this scene as an outsider made Takeru's heart ache. He put his hands over his heart, and turned his back on the couple. Tears started to flow from his eyes. From the day he proposed to Kana, or even before that, she always belived in him. Every word that he said. But through the years, he fell back on his words and forgotten a promise that he had made to her.
"Betobeto-san," Takeru started, but he couldn't bring the words out. The pain was too much for him to endure, and he fell to the ground. Thoughts of regret and sorrowfulness filled his head. He had forgotten anything that he wanted to say.
"Have you realised your dream?" Betobeto-san asked.
"Y-y-yes," Takeru managed to sputter out. He gained his composure and stood up again, facing Betobeto-san. "I know now, my dream. I thought before, that my dreams have all been shattered like that mirror from before, and that I could never rebuild what I once had. But now I know that my dream was never shattered. That I was only blinded like a fool from my true dreams. I wish I could start over, but how can I? Kana will never forgive me for being a jerk."
Betobeto-san didn't say anything for a minute, but then he opened his mouth and said, "That may be what you think, but didn't you see how the tears from Kana's eyes when you proposed shined? No tears of sadness and pain could ever shine like that. Those tears were like the jewels of hear heart because she cried for the most precious person to her. Without you, to her, there is no meaning in life. To be able to cry these tears for you means that no matter what, she will love you."
Takeru looked up at Betobeto-san. What he said was true. Kana did love him, and even though he made several bad mistakes in his life, he knew that Kana would always be willing to forgive him. He knew that at that moment even, Kana would be sitting at the window of her house, staring out into the same moonless sky that he stared into, wondering what has become of him. Worrying like she always did... of him.
And just as quickly as the dream had come, the dream had gone. In a flash of white light. He had woken up. He was once again on the bench at the park. The sun was starting to rise up and everything was bright. HIs head slightly hurt, but he didn't care. The dream that he had with the insane footsteps and strange man whose name was an onomatopoeiatic for the sound of footsteps knocked sense into him. This was no way that he should be living his life.
Takeru stood up from the bench, brushed the leaves that had fallen on him that night off, and took his first step through a new door that had just opened on its own.
おわり