I wish that I could wake up with amnesia - Toji Fushiguro
One missed call Megumi Listen to voicemail? Yes / No
15 June
Hey. Uh… hey, Dad.
It’s… it’s Megumi. Yeah. Uh, I mean, you probably figured that. I just… yeah.
Happy Father's Day. I guess.
I, um… I haven't really said that in a while. Or… ever? Maybe once when I was a kid. I don’t remember.
Anyway… today was… well, I thought it was gonna be the same as usual. Y'know. Quiet. Kinda boring. I was just gonna stay in. Watch something dumb on TV. Nothing too loud.
Usually, Yuji or Nobara — they’re… they’re my friends — usually they’d drag me out, but they were doing stuff today. So.
Yeah.
I figured it’d just be another day. Nothing special.
But, uh… someone showed up. This… girl. Not—not like that, I mean… well. Sort of like that. I don’t know. She brought ramen. My favourite, actually. I didn’t even ask. She just… remembered, I guess.
I didn’t slam the door in her face, so that’s something.
We ate. Talked a bit. Nothing deep. Just… stuff.
But she said something. Kinda threw me off. She talked about her dads — she had, like… two. One was a mess. The other just sort of stood there and watched her try to figure everything out herself. And I don’t know, I… it made me think.
About you.
You're still around. I think. I hope. And you… you did stuff. Even when I was being difficult. Even when I was just… shutting everything out.
I know you’re still paying for school. I never said thanks for that. I should’ve.
She said father figures can’t fill the space of the real thing. I guess that kind of stuck.
And I remembered, when I was a kid, I… I wanted you to notice me. A lot. Probably too much. But you were tired. I get that now.
It’s not an excuse, but… it makes sense. Sort of. Life’s… exhausting.
And now I’ve got someone who—who sees all that, and doesn’t run.
Anyway.
I was just thinking about you. And mom. I don’t remember her, not really. But you did. And after she was gone, something changed.
You changed.
I didn’t understand it back then. I think I might be starting to now.
So…
Yeah. I miss you.
Happy Father’s Day. Again. Uh… if you’re still listening. Or… if you even get this.
Yeah. Okay.
End of voicemail.
Toji sat in the dark, phone clutched in one hand, thumb paused over the button like it had a pulse. He’d already played it—twelve, thirteen times now—but the words clung to him like smoke. Wouldn’t let him breathe.
He could still picture the sky from that day. Ugly purple clouds dragging their weight across the horizon, like someone had bruised the whole sky.
You’d stood in front of him with that look—the one that always came before something you didn’t want to say. And even now, all these years later, he could still hear it in your voice. The shake you tried to hide.
“Toji,” you said, and something inside him had buckled.
“I’m heading out for that Germany trip.”
You’d said it so quietly. Like if you kept your voice soft enough, it wouldn’t break his heart.
You left chasing a future. One where you got to be more than just his girl. A mother. A wife. Someone whole.
You never made it back.
Some days, Toji wished he could wake up and not remember any of it. Not the feel of your fingers curled against his chest. Not the sound of your laugh when he made some dumb joke. Not the way you used to look at him like he was worth saving.
He’s not fine. Hasn’t been in a long time.
Your pictures are still in his phone. He scrolls through them sometimes like he’s looking for proof. Some are printed, taped crookedly to the wall in his bedroom. He tells himself he likes having them there. But most days, they just make the room feel colder.
It’s hard to hear your name now. Harder to say it. Like if he says it too loud, the world might remember you and realize it’s made a mistake letting you go.
And Megumi…
He was the only thing that made you real again. Flesh and blood proof that you had once lived and loved and left pieces of yourself behind.
Now even Megumi’s gone. Not gone-gone, but distant. As he should be.
Toji had made you a promise once. Swore he’d take care of things. Take care of him.
He hasn’t. Not the way you deserved.
God, he should’ve tried harder. Should’ve been softer. Should’ve been better.
Instead, he’s just a man sitting alone in a dark room, playing a voicemail over and over again. Listening for something he’s afraid he’ll never hear again.
Ring… Ring… Ring…
Hey. Uh… hey, Megumi.
It’s… it’s me. Toji. Your, uh… yeah. Your dad.
Thanks for, uh… reaching out. That was… unexpected. In a good way.
Sorry I missed the call. I was… knocked out cold. Not like, knocked out, knocked out—just… asleep. Old bones, I guess. Not as sharp as I used to be.
Would’ve picked up if I could. Wouldn’t ignore you, not on purpose.
Yesterday kinda sucked, to be honest. Sat through some reruns. Don’t even remember what I watched. Something loud. Or maybe not. Anyway.
Glad to hear you’ve got… people. Friends. That’s good. Sounds like they look out for you. And you’re letting them, which… well, that’s not nothing.
Your friend, the ramen one… she sounds smart. Or nosy. Maybe both. But… yeah. If she’s helping you talk about this kind of stuff, she’s alright in my book. Wouldn’t mind meeting her. Once I… sort some things out. Get my act together.
And, uh… yeah. Of course you’re still my kid. You always were.
Megumi means “blessing,” you know. You probably looked that up already. I didn’t care what you were, just… that you made it. That you were here.
When your mom and I had you, I… we really wanted to do it right. Clean house, clean living. White picket fence, all that American TV crap. Didn’t really work out that way, huh?
After she died… it felt like the floor just gave out. I didn’t know how to stand up after that. Didn’t know how to be around people, especially not… small ones. Like you.
That wasn’t fair. I know. You didn’t ask for any of that.
You should, uh… visit her sometime. Bring flowers. She liked lilies. Or tulips? Crap. I should know that. I’ll go too. Been meaning to.
And uh… Happy Father’s Day, I guess. To you too. You made me one. I didn’t really think I’d ever get to be a dad. Let alone yours.
I know I messed up a lot of that. But if you’ll let me, maybe I can… I don’t know. Try again?
I’d like to be around. If you want that.
Anyway. That’s… yeah. That’s it. Call me sometime. Or don’t. But, uh… preferably call.
Also—small thing, but—I didn’t pay your tuition. Like, at all. You should probably check that. Might be a clerical error or like, embezzlement or something.
Alright. Yeah. Later, kid.
Bye.
End of call.
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