My name is Natalie Bennett. A few months ago I moved to Kyoto, Japan with my boyfriend Tom. He worked as a paramedic at the Kyoto Teishin Hospital, while I studied to become a veterinarian. Most people thought it was because I loved animals. But it was really because it was the only thing I could study that wouldn’t cause me brain damage.

In all honesty, I can’t say being in Japan was a breeze. I couldn’t speak Japanese to save my life, and I had zero friends. School was beyond stressful, Tom was drowning in work, and it would be years before I could go back to Idaho. The only thing that kept me sane was music. It was all I had besides Tom, who was usually working late and sleep-deprived. So more than half the time, I was alone in our two-bedroom apartment, filling my head with lyrics.

On one of my many lonely nights, I was prepping myself to go to bed. As usual, Tom wasn’t home and I was exhausted. I needed, more than anything, to close my eyes, go to sleep and prepare myself for another draining day. I was already covered up when I heard something outside my window. It was singing. It was one of my favorite songs, sung in the most beautiful voice I’d ever heard. I opened up my window and looked outside. At the far end of the lonely street, was the singing woman. I knew the song, I just...