The Convenience Store That Got the Rain Right

The rain didn't ask permission. It just filled the sky until there was no sky left, only sound.

Source: my-interests: K-On! Pop-Up Corner — Kotobukiya Osaka, Sept 11–27

This morning there was no option to go anywhere without getting wet, so I walked to the konbini at the corner and stood under the eave like everyone else. The store was suddenly the most important building on the street.

I bought the egg-salad sandwich I always pretend I don't love, and a hot canned coffee that went lukewarm before I finished it. Somewhere inside, a TV was showing the K-On! pop-up — a girl in a school uniform laughing at something off-camera. Nine years old this week, that show. Felt like it had always been there, like the rain.

The thing about a proper rainy day is it makes small decisions feel like plans. Go in. Get coffee. Come back for it later. Maybe I'll save the sandwich for the return trip. Maybe that's the whole point of a day like this — to give yourself something to come back to.