Fiction
Roxting
Our relationship was a never-ending playlist
I called it “roxting” because we used song titles instead of phrases, verses instead of paragraphs, lyrics instead of messages. A crazy repertoire, but one with a unique voice.
It all began in my dorm days at Tokyo University. While browsing music videos on YouTube, I found the song “Is Anybody Out There?” by Pink Floyd. What caught my eye wasn’t the tune but the uploader, Aika — the name of my girlfriend until a year ago. Could it be her? Aika was an uncommon name.
My pulse quickening, I checked her YouTube channel but couldn’t find pictures of her or information in the “About” section. Next, I visited the comments section. Deserted. Half joking, half feeling pity for the girl, I posted a comment with a link to another Pink Floyd song.
“Nobody Home.”
From my 7-Eleven plastic bag, I fished out a Suntory beer and clicked it open. Had Aika seen my video? I hit refresh.
She’d replied with a song: “Who Are You?” by The Who. To follow her game — or rather, the game I’d started — I posted Adele’s “Someone Like You.”
I waited five minutes. Hit “Refresh.” Waited five minutes. Hit “Refresh.” I did that for almost an hour.
