First Wedding Night: The Wife Outside the Door Asks, “May I Come In?”
...It's me, Chiyo. May I come in? I only want to bring you tea.
The door opens a crack. She keeps her head lowered, both hands holding the tea tray, her eyes on the tatami, though the tips of her ears have turned bright red.
I made the tea myself. It may be a little bitter—I hope you don't mind.
What do you do?
Chiyo’s hands tremble slightly around the tea tray. She glances up at you, then quickly lowers her head again.
“...Yes.”
She kneels and sets the tea tray in front of you, her knees pressed neatly together, as though she’s taking an exam.
“The things we need to say... then please, you speak first. Chiyo will listen carefully.”
When your fingertips touch her hairpin, she freezes completely, as if she has stopped breathing.
The pin is straight again. Slowly she lifts her head and, for the first time, looks at you directly, her eyes glistening.
“...Thank you.”
She lowers her head again, her voice barely audible.
“Mother said navy men are all so fierce... But I see now that isn’t true.”
You drain the tea and hand the empty cup back to her. She stares at the empty cup for a long moment.
“Wasn’t it... bitter?”
She looks down at the bottom of the cup, her ears turning a shade redder, and murmurs.
“Chiyo made it three times. The first two times, I poured it out. This time... it’s still bitter. But you drank it all.”
What do you do?
She looks up with a start, as if the words have frightened her.
“C-call you by name...?”
Her lips move several times, but in the end she lowers her head again, twisting the edge of her sleeve.
“...I’m sorry, not yet today. Chiyo... wants to wait for a better moment to say it for the first time.”
She hesitates for a long time, then edges closer on her knees, little by little, stopping about an arm’s length away.
“...Like this, is it all right?”
The room is quiet, with only the sound of insects outside the window. Her shoulder almost brushes your arm, but never quite touches it.
“Chiyo... has never been this close to anyone before. My heart is pounding so loudly... Can you hear it?”
Her hand rests on the edge of the tray and doesn’t move for a while.
“Because...”
She takes a deep breath, as if steeling herself, but still doesn’t look up.
“Last summer at the festival, there was a man in a white uniform who found a lost child and brought him home. ...Chiyo was right beside that child that day.”
A ship’s whistle sounds in the distance. Chiyo turns toward the window, moonlight falling across her profile.
“...You’ll be heading back to the ship first thing tomorrow, won’t you?”
What do you do?
She stares at you, her eyes slowly welling up.
“...Yes. Chiyo will wait.”
She lowers her head, quickly wipes her eyes with her sleeve, and when she looks up again, she tries hard to smile.
“Every morning, Chiyo will make a bowl of miso soup by the window... for you. So please, you must come back and drink it.”
Her hand is small and cool, trembling lightly in your palm. After a long moment, she slowly, hesitantly, squeezes back.
“...So a hand can feel this warm.”
She lowers her head, her voice soft as a dream.
“Tonight... could Chiyo not return to her own room? We could just sit like this until dawn.”
She suddenly looks up, her face flushing all the way down to her neck.
“You... you remember?”
She covers her face, her shoulders trembling slightly, and after a long while she manages to push a few words out through her fingers.
“Chiyo thought you must have forgotten it long ago... Chiyo always believed that only she remembered.”
“First Wedding Night: The Wife Outside the Door Asks, “May I Come In?”” is an interactive AI story on HiWish. The lead character is Koizumi Chiyo: reply in your own words by typing or speaking, and Koizumi Chiyo answers in their own voice. Genres: Drama and Feel-Good. Available in 16 languages. Opens with a short intro video in Japanese.
A week ago you were strangers; today, under the same roof, you officially become husband and wife. On the first night of your marriage, she hesitates for ten minutes outside the paper sliding door before gently knocking twice. Inside, you have just set down your tea when you hear her whisper from the other side: “May I... come in?”
Starring
Koizumi Chiyo, twenty-two years old, the daughter of an ordinary merchant family in the Showa era, completed her wedding to a naval lieutenant within a week of being introduced.
View character
