Ano_ko_no_kawari

I was ano_ko_no kawari — the substitute. The stand-in. The spare umbrella they grabbed only when the rain started.

Would you like a shorter version (e.g., a tweet) or one with a different emotional tone (angry, bittersweet, hopeful)? ano_ko_no_kawari

I was never the first choice. Not the one they looked for in a crowded room. Not the name that slipped out when they were half-asleep and honest. I was ano_ko_no kawari — the substitute

And yet — I stayed. Because even being "instead of her" meant being somewhere . Even a shadow has a shape. ano_ko_no_kawari