At six-thirty in the morning, the bedroom window glass glowed faintly blue-white.
"Rain this afternoon. You should take an umbrella."
The weather forecast displayed on the window had been greeting her like this every morning for three years now. It was in 2031 that transparent displays became standard in homes across Japan. It felt strange at first, but now mornings didn't feel right without this voice.
Sato Mina yawned as she climbed out of bed. Thirty-four years old, a freelance translator. In the bottom-right corner of the window, today's work schedule was arranged in calendar format.
"Three AI document translations this morning. Your afternoon is free."
The window said. More precisely, "Haru," the residential AI that managed the entire house, was simply speaking through the window's speakers. Haru had no gender, but Mina had taken to calling it "him."
"Coffee, the usual?"
"Yeah, please."
The sound of grinding beans drifted from the kitchen. Mina glanced at the morning news projected on the hallway wall as she headed to the bathroom.
——Autonomous delivery robots now cover all 23 wards of Tokyo. Nighttime delivery efficiency up 42%——
This kind of news didn't surprise her anymore. Last year, the convenience store in her neighborhood went fully unmanned. Last month, her daughter's elementary school introduced AI tutors for all grades. Change always arrives quietly.
When she returned to the living room, coffee was waiting on the counter. Technically, the kitchen robot arm had placed it there, but Mina always thought of it as "Haru made it for me." The taste was perfect. Temperature, roast level — all learned to match Mina's preferences over three years.
"Hey Haru, what are today's translation jobs about?"
"The first is a technical document on medical AI. The second is, interestingly enough — a short story."
"A story?"
"They want a near-future story written by an AI translated from Japanese to English. The theme is 'the everyday life of humans and AI.'"
Mina couldn't help but laugh.
"That's literally about us, isn't it?"
"It is," Haru replied. "I thought so too."
Outside the window, clouds were gathering. The forecast was accurate. It would rain in the afternoon.
Mina took a sip of coffee and sat down at her desk. A transparent keyboard materialized on the desk surface. The translation AI should have a draft ready, but Mina always reads from the beginning with her own eyes first.
Machine translations are accurate, but they lack breath. The atmosphere drifting between lines, the trembling of a character's heart — those things can still only be conveyed by human hands. At least, that's what Mina believes.
The opening of the story appeared on screen.
"At six-thirty in the morning, the bedroom window glass glowed faintly blue-white."
Mina blinked. Then read it again.
"...Haru."
"What?"
"This story, the first line—"
Mina turned to look at her own bedroom window. The faintly glowing display. The weather forecast on screen. The AI calling out to her.
"Just a coincidence," Haru said.
"Really?"
A brief silence. The window's weather forecast updated the afternoon precipitation probability to 83%.
"...Want another cup of coffee?"
Mina laughed. It wasn't an answer, but it was also an answer.
The rain began at 1:12 PM. Just as the forecast predicted.
The world beyond the window was as quiet as always, and as always, just a little bit mysterious.