Comet Rain

The next day, early in the morning. Kosoku's alarm clock goes off. She gets up and gets a jacket, and wears this over her pyjamas. She puts on her shoes and goes into the hallway, where she meets Hakai and Kenkou. Hakai is holding a pretty large case.

Hakai signals them to follow him, and they silently walk through the hallway, and go outside.

"So, where are we going?" Kosoku asks.

Kenkou replies "To the Tea Garden, where Sakushi often goes. I heard she likes gardening a lot."

"Why there?"

"It's very open, and most of the comets will be visible from that angle."

"And Teegarden too." Hakai says.

"Tea Garden?"

"Teegarden."

"We are already in the Tea Garden Hakai." Kenkou sounds confused.

"Oh, no I didn't mean it like that. Teegarden is a star. It's spelled T-E-E-Garden not T-E-A-Garden."

"Why must it have such a confusing name, why do you even know the name of that specific star? Why do they even give names to stars? Or is it something you came up with." Kenkou asks a lot of questions, but Kosoku interrupts her.

"If it has a name, it must be special in some way right? So Hakai, what's so special about Teegarden?" Kosoku asks this, and Kenkou is silent.

"Teegarden is a small star with two planets around it, and they are planets like ours. I've always been interested in those types of planets so it's amazing that one of them will also been seen after the comet rain." Hakai tells them.

The three of them sit down on a rug, and they all look up at the clear, starry sky. Hakai continues his story.

"Teegarden has a planet, Teegarden b. This planet is the most earth like planet we have ever seen, so I study it a lot. I also brought a super strong telescope with me in this case, so I hope I'll be able to see it."

"The planet?" Kosoku asks. "Planets don't give off light so how will you see it?"

Hakai smiles at Kosoku's interest.

"If a planet crosses the line between us and their host star, you can see the shadow. Teegarden is a Red Dwarf type star, so I have infrared sensors on my telescope to see the shadow."

"This is a bit too complex for me." Kenkou interrupts, and tries to joke about it.

"The sensor is basically a way to see light that isn't normally visible to the human eye." Hakai simplifies it a little.

"Ah that's easier to understand."

Kosoku notices a spark. The first comet passed Earth.

"Guys it's starting!"

They lay down on their backs and start looking up at the sky. The comets fly by one by one, and they track them with their eyes.

"We're lucky it isn't cloudy." Kosoku says calmly. "We wouldn't have been able to see this beautiful night."

Hakai sets up his telescope, and Kosoku and Kenkou are still looking at the comets.

"So, Kosoku…"

"Hmm?"

Kenkou hesitates before asking the question, but she asks it anyway.

"What do you think of Hakai now that you've met him?"

"He's nice, a bit on the silent side."

"Well you're not the most talkative either."

Kosoku grins. "I just don't like to talk to people a lot, I'm better off on my own most of the time."

"Don't say that. Everyone needs someone else at some point. Hakai basically has the same mind-set, so I maybe it's easier for you two to communicate."

Kosoku looks at Hakai, he is looking at his phone and through the telescope, alternating between them.

"You really think so?" Kosoku is unsure of what Kenkou said.

"Well you don't know if you don't try." Kenkou signals Kosoku to stand up and go to Hakai, but Kosoku hesitates. "Just go already." She pushes Kosoku off the rug. Kosoku stands up and walks to Hakai.

("But what if he doesn't like my company.") Kosoku thinks to herself. ("Even though I like space and stuff, he seems way more compassionate. I would just be in the way, and I wouldn't belong.")

Kosoku turns around, and Kenkou signals with her hands to continue walking.

"Hey, Kosoku…"

Kosoku is surprised by Hakai suddenly talking.

"Hmm? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah don't worry about it." Kosoku is slightly flustered.

"Okay then. Anyway I was wondering if you wanted to see the planet too. There should be enough time."

Kosoku nods. "Sure."

"Everything should be set up now, we just have to wait a few minutes before the planet passes Teegarden."

The waiting is in silence, and they both look at the last few comets passing by. Two of these comets get closer to each other, and they eventually collide in a small, but spectacular explosion. Kosoku is amazed, and Hakai smiles.

Hakai looks at his phone. "Only a few more seconds." He looks through the telescope.

Hakai and Kosoku wait in anticipation, while Kenkou is folding up the rug.

"There it is!" Hakai says happily. "Here! Look!" He pulls his head away from the telescope and signals Kosoku to come. She looks through the hole.

"You mean that black ball?"

"Of course! You should be more excited, you don't see planets very often that are 12 lightyears* away." Hakai sounds very energetic.

"I am excited about it, sorry for… not really showing it."

"Ah I interpreted that wrong then, and don't be sorry. I also have trouble showing interest sometimes." Hakai's voice tones down. He looks through the telescope again, and the shadow of Teegarden b is almost gone. "There it goes, see you in a few years."

"Years?" Kosoku is a bit shocked, and feels guilty because Hakai couldn't see it for the full duration.

"Yeah you can only see the planet every few years, but I don't really mind." He sees the guilty look on Kosoku's face. "As long as I can see it it's fine, and I'm really happy you were able to see it too!" Hakai smiles, and Kosoku cheers up.

"Looks like you are having fun." Kenkou walks up to them with a rolled up rug. "I haven't seen you smile in the 3 weeks that we've known each other." She looks at Hakai.

"It'll probably the last time we can smile, since we will soon be on the battlefield hoping we will survive." Hakai takes a final look at the stars, and they go inside.

"Don't say something like that." Kenkou says. "Because you know…"

Kosoku interrupts and finishes her sentence.

"The future has not happened yet."

Chapter 4

End

[*12 lightyears is roughly 7x10^13 miles or 1.1x10^14 kilometers.]