a 24 - hour laundromat, fluorescent lights humming above rows of idle machines.
˚₊·゜・． ⚘ IF I AM LOST, FIND ME & @becameyou
Above us no longer reigned the sweltering sun, but instead its artificial replacement; a good dozen fluorescent tubes drenched Kubitachi’s only, comparably antiquated laundromat in a wash of pale white light. I had always thought the differing effects between natural and fluorescent lighting a fascinating phenomenon, at least back when the interest in photography had still been a recurring itch at my fingertips — not too long ago, I realized with subdued resignation, would I have lingered here with quiet fascination by the shift in atmosphere the moment we had stepped through the creaking door.
Now, I hardly spared it a glance.
Too vivid, still, lingered the image of blood staining my fingers, irrationally compelling me to avoid looking at my hands despite knowing they had long since been scrubbed clean of crimson. My camera, I could hardly recall where I had last seen it — it was likely gathering dust in some forgotten corner of my room, one I had deliberately avoided ever since that night. Perhaps it would rot there forever, alongside the images captured on its film; just another ghost of the past that lingered to haunt the sleepless nights I spent pretending rest might eventually come.
I swallowed the thought despite its bitter taste as I turned toward ‘Hikaru’, only to find myself incapable of ignoring the bloodstained fabric we had brought with us. Fortunately, nobody else was around to spread whispers of this throughout the entirety of Kubitachi by tomorrow morning.
❝ ...Hope this’ll work, ❞ I murmured, almost more to myself; even my best efforts had not managed to wash the lingering stains out. ❝ Here, let’s try this one. ❞
