Where is he? She thought. He was supposed to be here half an hour ago.
She was sitting on a bench at a park, waiting for her boyfriend, who was supposed to appear half an hour ago but until that moment, he was still nowhere to be seen. Was he standing her up? Was he doing something else? Did he wake up late?
If he was, he’s so going to get it, she thought. That is, if he comes.
She continued sitting on the bench, waiting for him. She was bored. So, so bored. They hadn’t been on a date for a long time. What’s more, it was their first anniversary and it was her birthday. Surely he didn’t forget about that? She sighed. How long more was she going to wait for him? She’d called him but he didn’t answer his handphone.
She sighed. She looked around her. There were many couples there. Holding hands, smiling at each other. She smiled. She remembered what happened exactly a year before in that spot. She had found a note that asked her to go to that certain park on that certain bench from her locker. It had been signed anonymous. She had wondered what it was all about and to make things easier to understand, she went to the park.
Then, out of nowhere, her crush appeared. She looked at him and he looked at her. Before she could say a single word, he hugged her and confessed. She had been so happy. From then on, they always went out together frequently. But lately, they hardly even saw each other except in school.
Suddenly, she spied someone who looked extremely familiar, sitting on a bench somewhere far off. She squinted. Who was it? She thought. Then, her eyes detected a hairstyle that she would recognize anywhere. Dai-chan! She thought. So he had arrived. Just that he was waiting at the wrong bench. She smiled. He wasn’t late at all.
She stood up and started to walk towards him. Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks, her eyes wide in shock. It can’t be, she thought. What did she see but her boyfriend cheat on her. There she was, about to go to her boyfriend. To say hi, to be playful and pretend to punish him for being late, to hug him, to be close to him. They had always been like that. Why then, why did he want to stop all that? And what’s more, he was cheating on her with her best friend. How could he?
Her eyes were soon filled with tears, threatening to flow out. She stood there staring at both her best friend and boy..,no, ex-boyfriend sit together. They smiled happily. They chatted like they had been an item for quite a long time. Did that mean he had been cheating on her for a long time? It can’t be, it can’t be...
Without waiting any longer, she turned and ran away. How could he? She thought. They had been so happy together. Did he really not care about their past memories together? Did he really like someone else? Did he... did he stop loving her?
~~~~~
Nanako lied on her bed, her mind full of thoughts, her eyes full of tears. She reminisced the times when she and her boyfriend went out together and had so much fun. When she had tripped over a stone, he held her in his arms. When her beloved pet passed away, he hugged her and consoled her. When she was injured, he cleaned her wound for her. For the whole year before, he had taken such good care of her. He had promised her to always be with her and her only.
Then why? Why did he cheat on her?
Ding!
Her handphone rang. She just received a message. She took it and saw ‘Sender: Dai-chan’. It was him, she thought. What did he want? Did he at last realized that they were supposed to meet up?
‘Meet me at the bench now.’
The message was short. He had never sent her such short messages except to say he missed her or little wishes. Did he want to break up? She thought. Was he going to tell her that he liked her best friend instead of her? Was he going to say that had a change of heart? Was he going to say he cheated on her? Was he?
She wiped her tears. She was going to end the relationship. She did not want him to do it. She didn’t know why. Maybe she wanted to do it so that she could feel better about it. So that she wouldn’t think too much about it. Yes, she decided. She will end it.
~~~~~
“You came,” he said.
She was silent. She didn’t know what to say. She looked away.
“Happy birthday, Nana-chan. Sorry I couldn’t meet up with you just now. I was busy and totally forgot the time. I...”
“Enough.”
“What?”
“Enough! I’ve had enough of your lies. How long more do you intend to deceive me? You weren’t busy. You met up with my best friend for a date. At the time we were supposed to be together. You think I was blind? You think you could go on deceiving me like this and I’ll never find out? Well, too bad for you, I have.”
A silent moment.
“Why, Dai-chan? Why?” Tears welled up in her eyes. “How long have you been going out together?”
“We never did,” he replied.
“Don’t lie! I saw both of you together. I...”
“Yeah, you saw us. But did you see us hold hands? Did you see us hug? Did you? No, you didn’t. That’s because it was all a lie.”
“A.. lie?”
“Yeah, a lie. Both of us made a plan. That is, to make you sad and then happy, on your birthday and our anniversary.”
“That’s right!” her best friend popped out from behind a bush. “And they’re all in the plan.” A few more of her friends popped out beside her.
“But...but...”
“You don’t have to say anything,” Dai-chan said as he pulled her into an embrace. “Just remember, I’ll never leave you. Happy birthday and happy first anniversary, Nana-chan,” he said and kissed her.
-brenda-
Monday, June 29, 2009
Yuto X Etsuko
“Don’t cry. I’m sure he doesn’t want to see you like this. Cheer up, okay?”
“But.. but.. I.. can’t.”
“It’s okay. Calm down. I’m sure he wants you to be happy. Do you want to stay with him for a while longer?”
“Yes. Thank.. you..”
From afar she saw a woman walking off, leaving the other woman whom she had been consoling. It was kind of obvious that her beloved had passed away, though due to an unknown tragedy. How would she know? She was just an outsider, a passer-by, a third party whose existence no one
acknowledged.
She sighed. It seemed that the place she was at was getting more and more visitors. Why? She wondered. What was making it so popular? And why that certain date? Or maybe it wasn’t just that certain date. Maybe it was equally crowded everyday, just that she didn’t know. She had been too caught up with her feelings that she didn’t really bother about her surroundings. And it was not as if she came to that place everyday anyway.
“I’m going now. Bye. I’ll come to visit you the next time I have time,” she said, facing the grave.
She smiled and walked off.
Yes, she was at a graveyard.
~~~~~
“So, who wants to go for karaoke later?”
“Me!”
“Meee!”
“ME!”
“What about you, Kou-chan?”
She looked up. Karaoke? She didn’t feel like it. “No, thanks.”
“Aw.. Come on. We’ll be having sushi later. And we know it’s your favourite,” he friend said.
Sushi? She did like sushi. So what should she do? Yes? No?
“Why not?” she smiled. “But I’ll have to leave earlier than you guys. I’ve got something important to do.”
“What’s so important that you can bear to leave us halfway?”
“There’s just something I need to do. Something private.”
“Well, okay. If you say so..”
~~~~~
She walked at her own pace. Everyone seemed in a hurry. What was there to rush for?
She continued in her pace towards her destination. She was going to the graveyard once more. She had promised. So she had to keep it. Although she had constantly been going there, she felt it was somewhat different that day. It was like something was going to be unraveled or happen. Something was pulling her to that place, but she was a little afraid of it. Why was she?
As she walked, she saw many people passing her with saddened faces. Why be so glum? She thought. It’ll only make your loved ones who are gone more sad. She looked around. There were even some crying and sobbing. Death was something sad, something unpredictable and something inevitable. She had learned that when she became alone in the world.
She stopped in her tracks. Who was that? She thought. She saw someone standing in front of the grave that she had always been visiting. No one had ever visited it other than her. So why was it different this time?
She walked towards the grave, keeping her eye on that unknown visitor. “Who are you?”
The visitor turned with a look of surprise.
Why is he here? she thought. No one knew about her family. And what’s more, no one ever asked about her family. So how did this person here know? And also, he was her classmate.
“Hi,” he said.
“Yuto, what are you doing here?”
“Well, I found out you always came here and..”
“You followed me?”
“No, no. I always walk home this way and I happen to always see you coming here.”
She was silent. She thought no one she knew knew that she was always there. And of all people, it had to be the person she liked? Why? Why was God playing with her?
“So.. I realized that you’ve lost someone dear to you. Like me.”
She looked at his face. He looked serious. He lost someone dear to him too, she thought. Like me.
“My brother had an accident last year. Since then, he could not move his legs. He became depressed and paranoid. He kept thinking that people looked down on him for his disability. He would talk to no one except me. He would constantly blame himself for the accident and the loss of his girlfriend. While they were sent to the hospital, she died on the way. Until a few days ago, I’ve never known the real truth behind the accident. Etsuko, his girlfriend was your sister, Haruna.”
She was dumbstruck. How could it be? She knew her sister had a boyfriend. She knew her boyfriend. But how.. why.. what... She couldn’t think properly. She couldn’t even think about what questions to ask. She was confused. Too confused.
“How?” she finally asked.
“A few days ago, he committed suicide by stabbing himself with a knife. When we found out, it was all too late. Beside him, we found a letter addressed to me. On the envelope was written this,” Yuto took out an envelope from his pocket and gave it to Etsuko.
‘This letter is only meant for Yuto. No one else is to read it.’
She looked at him.
“Open it,” he said.
She opened the envelope and took out the paper in it. She read.
Yuto,
I’m sure you’ve always wondered about the mystery behind the accident. I’ve always blamed myself about it. No matter what people said. Because only I knew the whole story. Now, I’m finally able to tell you about it.
As you know, Haruna was in the car with me. She had told me not to drive along that road. She said she had a dream that we’ll encounter an accident along the way. She said her sister was also in the car in her dream, but she managed to make her sister stay at home for safety. I did not heed her advice eventhough she told me her dreams were very accurate. I made fun of her on the way. To show her that she was just thinking too much, I drove through that road. And sure enough, as predicted in her dream, a lorry appeared in front of us and then it was all blank.
When I awoke, you told me that she was gone and I could not use my legs ever again. Everyone tried to hide the fact from me, except you. That is why only you are fit to read this letter. Before I leave, I’d like you to find Haruna’ sister. When you find her, please tell her I’m sorry and I regret my actions. I do not hope for her forgiveness. Haruna was her only family and because of me she is now alone. I only hope that my going away will make it better for everyone, especially Haruna’s sister, Yamada Etsuko.
Your brother.
Etsuko could not believe her eyes. She couldn’t trust herself to believe the story. Was what was written in the letter true? Or was it just a prank? But who would want to go to such lengths just to play a prank on her?
And suddenly, she remembered.
~~~~~
“Etsuko-chan, you must stay at home. For my sake okay?”
“Demo, nee-chan. Nande?”
“Just follow what I say. It’s for your own safety.”
“Hai.. hai...”
~~~~~
Now she knew. Now she knew why her sister had made her stay at home. She had wanted to save her from the tragedy she knew was coming. Since young, her dreams about bad accidents always came true. She had ESP. But no one believed her no matter what she did to prove it. Because no one believed her, she didn’t even bother explaining it to her why she had wanted her to stay home so badly. Even her boyfriend did not believe her. What could she have done to prevent all that had happened.
Tears slid down Etsuko’s face. Why? Why did it have to happen to her? Was she meant to be alone and depressed her whole life?
“I know how you feel,” Yuto said quietly.
“How would you know?! It’s not your sister who died to save others. It’s not you life that was torned into pieces because of that accident. It’s not...”
“But it was my brother who made the accident come true. It was my brother who lost your sister. It was my brother who loved your sister so much that he was willing to commit suicide to atone for his sins. How do you think I feel?!”
Etsuko could not control her feelings. She broke down. Soon it began to rain. They both became drenched. “Let’s go somewhere dry,” Yuto said.
“No. I’m staying here.”
“Let’s go somewhere dry,” he repeated.
“No.”
Yuto took her hands and pulled her up. Etsuko pulled away from him but he didn’t let go. “Let me go!”
“No.”
“Let me go! What do you want? Just leave me be! How do you think I feel when I think about all these? I need to be alone!” She shouted at Yuto’s face.
“What about me? How do you think I feel when I know it was my brother’s fault? When it was you that he meant by Haruna’s sister?” Yuto shouted at her.
“What.. do you mean?”
“Etsuko, I like you. Ever since we’ve been in the same class. I saw how you suddenly pulled yourself away from the others. How your expressions became fake. How sad you’ve become. When I found out it was your sister whose death was caused by my brother, how do you think it feels?”
Etsuko was silent. Millions of things went through her head. But nothing was making sense. Soon, she felt faint and blacked out.
~~~~~
Etsuko opened her eyes. Where was she? The room she was in was fully furnished with the touch of calmness from the wall colour. The arrangement of furniture made her feel at peace. She looked around and saw Yuto sleeping by the window.
She looked at how perfect his face was. How nice he had been in school. Then, she remembered. It was his brother. His brother was the cause to her sister’s death. But wait, was it totally his fault? He was not the first one to not believe her. She had not too. She looked at Yuto once more and suddenly what her decision was became all clear.
Yuto suddenly woke up. He saw Etsuko staring at him. “What?” he said.
She shook her head.
“How are you feeling?” he asked. He was a little surprised by her sudden change of attitude. Just that evening she had been screaming at him and now it was nighttime and she looked all peaceful and decided.
“I’m fine.”
“Have you decided something? ‘Cause you look kind of.. different.”
“Yeah. I’ve decided to move on. I’ll not visit Haruna that often. I’m sure she’s sad that I spend more time with the dead than the living. I’m not going to blame your brother or anyone. Afterall, it was not easy to believe something so bizarre like ESP.”
“Wow. You’ve got it all sort out. I’m impressed,” Yuto smiled.
Etsuko smiled.
“You... just smiled,” Yuto said. “A real smile.”
“Am I really that transparent? You seem to be able to see through me so easily. Although I think that you’re the only one.”
“Well, I don’t know why but it’s pretty easy to look through your expressions.”
Silence.
“By the way, when you said you like me.... Did you.. mean it?” Etsuko looked away.
“Of course. I don’t say things that I don’t mean. I really like you, Etsuko. I...”
“I like you too.”
“You.. you do?” Yuto was surprised.
“I though you said I’m pretty easy to be seen through. Guess it’s not easy afterall,” Etsuko giggled.
“Maybe not this time. But at least I could see your sadness. Then you can share with me. By the way, I’m still not sure about something.”
“What?”
“Will you be my girlfriend?”
Etsuko looked into Yuto’s eyes. She smiled and nodded. Yuto went over to her and hugged her.
“You know, I think my sister’s an angel.”
“Why?”
“First, she saves me. And now, she linked me with the one I liked.”
Was this all predestined? Or was it some game that Fate played?
-brenda-
“But.. but.. I.. can’t.”
“It’s okay. Calm down. I’m sure he wants you to be happy. Do you want to stay with him for a while longer?”
“Yes. Thank.. you..”
From afar she saw a woman walking off, leaving the other woman whom she had been consoling. It was kind of obvious that her beloved had passed away, though due to an unknown tragedy. How would she know? She was just an outsider, a passer-by, a third party whose existence no one
acknowledged.
She sighed. It seemed that the place she was at was getting more and more visitors. Why? She wondered. What was making it so popular? And why that certain date? Or maybe it wasn’t just that certain date. Maybe it was equally crowded everyday, just that she didn’t know. She had been too caught up with her feelings that she didn’t really bother about her surroundings. And it was not as if she came to that place everyday anyway.
“I’m going now. Bye. I’ll come to visit you the next time I have time,” she said, facing the grave.
She smiled and walked off.
Yes, she was at a graveyard.
~~~~~
“So, who wants to go for karaoke later?”
“Me!”
“Meee!”
“ME!”
“What about you, Kou-chan?”
She looked up. Karaoke? She didn’t feel like it. “No, thanks.”
“Aw.. Come on. We’ll be having sushi later. And we know it’s your favourite,” he friend said.
Sushi? She did like sushi. So what should she do? Yes? No?
“Why not?” she smiled. “But I’ll have to leave earlier than you guys. I’ve got something important to do.”
“What’s so important that you can bear to leave us halfway?”
“There’s just something I need to do. Something private.”
“Well, okay. If you say so..”
~~~~~
She walked at her own pace. Everyone seemed in a hurry. What was there to rush for?
She continued in her pace towards her destination. She was going to the graveyard once more. She had promised. So she had to keep it. Although she had constantly been going there, she felt it was somewhat different that day. It was like something was going to be unraveled or happen. Something was pulling her to that place, but she was a little afraid of it. Why was she?
As she walked, she saw many people passing her with saddened faces. Why be so glum? She thought. It’ll only make your loved ones who are gone more sad. She looked around. There were even some crying and sobbing. Death was something sad, something unpredictable and something inevitable. She had learned that when she became alone in the world.
She stopped in her tracks. Who was that? She thought. She saw someone standing in front of the grave that she had always been visiting. No one had ever visited it other than her. So why was it different this time?
She walked towards the grave, keeping her eye on that unknown visitor. “Who are you?”
The visitor turned with a look of surprise.
Why is he here? she thought. No one knew about her family. And what’s more, no one ever asked about her family. So how did this person here know? And also, he was her classmate.
“Hi,” he said.
“Yuto, what are you doing here?”
“Well, I found out you always came here and..”
“You followed me?”
“No, no. I always walk home this way and I happen to always see you coming here.”
She was silent. She thought no one she knew knew that she was always there. And of all people, it had to be the person she liked? Why? Why was God playing with her?
“So.. I realized that you’ve lost someone dear to you. Like me.”
She looked at his face. He looked serious. He lost someone dear to him too, she thought. Like me.
“My brother had an accident last year. Since then, he could not move his legs. He became depressed and paranoid. He kept thinking that people looked down on him for his disability. He would talk to no one except me. He would constantly blame himself for the accident and the loss of his girlfriend. While they were sent to the hospital, she died on the way. Until a few days ago, I’ve never known the real truth behind the accident. Etsuko, his girlfriend was your sister, Haruna.”
She was dumbstruck. How could it be? She knew her sister had a boyfriend. She knew her boyfriend. But how.. why.. what... She couldn’t think properly. She couldn’t even think about what questions to ask. She was confused. Too confused.
“How?” she finally asked.
“A few days ago, he committed suicide by stabbing himself with a knife. When we found out, it was all too late. Beside him, we found a letter addressed to me. On the envelope was written this,” Yuto took out an envelope from his pocket and gave it to Etsuko.
‘This letter is only meant for Yuto. No one else is to read it.’
She looked at him.
“Open it,” he said.
She opened the envelope and took out the paper in it. She read.
Yuto,
I’m sure you’ve always wondered about the mystery behind the accident. I’ve always blamed myself about it. No matter what people said. Because only I knew the whole story. Now, I’m finally able to tell you about it.
As you know, Haruna was in the car with me. She had told me not to drive along that road. She said she had a dream that we’ll encounter an accident along the way. She said her sister was also in the car in her dream, but she managed to make her sister stay at home for safety. I did not heed her advice eventhough she told me her dreams were very accurate. I made fun of her on the way. To show her that she was just thinking too much, I drove through that road. And sure enough, as predicted in her dream, a lorry appeared in front of us and then it was all blank.
When I awoke, you told me that she was gone and I could not use my legs ever again. Everyone tried to hide the fact from me, except you. That is why only you are fit to read this letter. Before I leave, I’d like you to find Haruna’ sister. When you find her, please tell her I’m sorry and I regret my actions. I do not hope for her forgiveness. Haruna was her only family and because of me she is now alone. I only hope that my going away will make it better for everyone, especially Haruna’s sister, Yamada Etsuko.
Your brother.
Etsuko could not believe her eyes. She couldn’t trust herself to believe the story. Was what was written in the letter true? Or was it just a prank? But who would want to go to such lengths just to play a prank on her?
And suddenly, she remembered.
~~~~~
“Etsuko-chan, you must stay at home. For my sake okay?”
“Demo, nee-chan. Nande?”
“Just follow what I say. It’s for your own safety.”
“Hai.. hai...”
~~~~~
Now she knew. Now she knew why her sister had made her stay at home. She had wanted to save her from the tragedy she knew was coming. Since young, her dreams about bad accidents always came true. She had ESP. But no one believed her no matter what she did to prove it. Because no one believed her, she didn’t even bother explaining it to her why she had wanted her to stay home so badly. Even her boyfriend did not believe her. What could she have done to prevent all that had happened.
Tears slid down Etsuko’s face. Why? Why did it have to happen to her? Was she meant to be alone and depressed her whole life?
“I know how you feel,” Yuto said quietly.
“How would you know?! It’s not your sister who died to save others. It’s not you life that was torned into pieces because of that accident. It’s not...”
“But it was my brother who made the accident come true. It was my brother who lost your sister. It was my brother who loved your sister so much that he was willing to commit suicide to atone for his sins. How do you think I feel?!”
Etsuko could not control her feelings. She broke down. Soon it began to rain. They both became drenched. “Let’s go somewhere dry,” Yuto said.
“No. I’m staying here.”
“Let’s go somewhere dry,” he repeated.
“No.”
Yuto took her hands and pulled her up. Etsuko pulled away from him but he didn’t let go. “Let me go!”
“No.”
“Let me go! What do you want? Just leave me be! How do you think I feel when I think about all these? I need to be alone!” She shouted at Yuto’s face.
“What about me? How do you think I feel when I know it was my brother’s fault? When it was you that he meant by Haruna’s sister?” Yuto shouted at her.
“What.. do you mean?”
“Etsuko, I like you. Ever since we’ve been in the same class. I saw how you suddenly pulled yourself away from the others. How your expressions became fake. How sad you’ve become. When I found out it was your sister whose death was caused by my brother, how do you think it feels?”
Etsuko was silent. Millions of things went through her head. But nothing was making sense. Soon, she felt faint and blacked out.
~~~~~
Etsuko opened her eyes. Where was she? The room she was in was fully furnished with the touch of calmness from the wall colour. The arrangement of furniture made her feel at peace. She looked around and saw Yuto sleeping by the window.
She looked at how perfect his face was. How nice he had been in school. Then, she remembered. It was his brother. His brother was the cause to her sister’s death. But wait, was it totally his fault? He was not the first one to not believe her. She had not too. She looked at Yuto once more and suddenly what her decision was became all clear.
Yuto suddenly woke up. He saw Etsuko staring at him. “What?” he said.
She shook her head.
“How are you feeling?” he asked. He was a little surprised by her sudden change of attitude. Just that evening she had been screaming at him and now it was nighttime and she looked all peaceful and decided.
“I’m fine.”
“Have you decided something? ‘Cause you look kind of.. different.”
“Yeah. I’ve decided to move on. I’ll not visit Haruna that often. I’m sure she’s sad that I spend more time with the dead than the living. I’m not going to blame your brother or anyone. Afterall, it was not easy to believe something so bizarre like ESP.”
“Wow. You’ve got it all sort out. I’m impressed,” Yuto smiled.
Etsuko smiled.
“You... just smiled,” Yuto said. “A real smile.”
“Am I really that transparent? You seem to be able to see through me so easily. Although I think that you’re the only one.”
“Well, I don’t know why but it’s pretty easy to look through your expressions.”
Silence.
“By the way, when you said you like me.... Did you.. mean it?” Etsuko looked away.
“Of course. I don’t say things that I don’t mean. I really like you, Etsuko. I...”
“I like you too.”
“You.. you do?” Yuto was surprised.
“I though you said I’m pretty easy to be seen through. Guess it’s not easy afterall,” Etsuko giggled.
“Maybe not this time. But at least I could see your sadness. Then you can share with me. By the way, I’m still not sure about something.”
“What?”
“Will you be my girlfriend?”
Etsuko looked into Yuto’s eyes. She smiled and nodded. Yuto went over to her and hugged her.
“You know, I think my sister’s an angel.”
“Why?”
“First, she saves me. And now, she linked me with the one I liked.”
Was this all predestined? Or was it some game that Fate played?
-brenda-
Chinen X Chukari
Chukari fanned herself wildly. She had just been running from her annoying enemy. He wasn’t really a fast runner, so he wasn’t a match for her. She wasn’t that good a runner herself but she was fast enough to get away from him. She looked around. He was not in sight. She gave a sigh of relief.
She panted. She had been running for quite a while. She didn’t know why she was running. All her enemy had told her was that he wanted to tell her something and gave her such a look with his eyes that she just had to say, “Catch me first. If you do, I’ll listen to what you have to say.”
And then she just sped off, leaving him standing still and staring at her shadow which soon disappeared from his sight. So there she was, running, although she just stopped to rest. Thinking about it again, she realized she was silly for running away. She had been surprised to find herself running here and there and everywhere. What exactly made her do it, she didn’t know. All she knew was that the moment she saw that unusual look in his eyes, she had to get away from him. It was like the look was some kind of an indicator for running away.
Now, she stood up straight and looked around once more. He was still not in sight. She sighed in relief again. He sure run slow, she thought.
Then, Hang on! She thought. He doesn’t run this slow. She knew he was slow but not that slow. She had been there for maybe about ten minutes? So how come he still hadn’t arrived there panting or something? Something was out of place. She knew. But what?
Suddenly, a pair of hands covered her eyes. She screamed. “Who’s that?”
She heard a laugh and immediately knew who it was.
She removed his hands and glared at him. “What’s so funny?” she half shouted.
“You,” he laughed.
She clenched her fists. He was not her enemy for nothing. She was just about to shout at him when she realized he was smiling at her with that weird look he gave earlier.
“What?” she asked, getting nervous for goodness knows what reason.
“You said if I caught you, you’ll listen to me, right?” he said.
Before replying, she realized he looked kind of nervous and his voice had a little quiver that could have gone unnoticed if the surroundings were a little noisier. “Yeah. So spill it. What do you want to tell me? If you’re going to brag about how you caught me then think again. I was resting here.....”
For the next word that was coming out of her mouth, he leaned forward and muffled it. She opened her eyes wide and tried to push him away but he put his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. He may be a slow runner but he was a boy and was definitely stronger than her.
She tried to open her mouth to say something but he wouldn’t give her the chance. After a while, he broke the kiss. She looked at him. Her seeing his red cheeks made her blush too. Her heart started to go all fluttery like it wanted to fly and started to beat faster than it usually did. She wanted to clutch it but was afraid that he would see it and ask her. She quickly looked down.
“I...” he started.
She looked up, her face still burning.
“I...” he repeated.
She looked at him intently. She knew what he was going to say but she wanted to hear it.
“I...” he said once more.
She was getting a little annoyed. She wanted to hear the words come out of his mouth. But he couldn’t seem to say it. He already took her first kiss, what more did he want, make her wait to hear his confession?
“I...” again he said.
And she got fed up.
“Look, Chinen Yuri. If you like me why don’t you just say so instead of just saying ‘I’. In the past, you could just talk back to me and argue whenever you felt like it. So what’s wrong now? Are you waiting for me to say it instead? Fine! Chinen Yuri, I like you!”
She paused, her face burning more than ever. She wanted to run away but her feet were rooted to the spot. She wanted to know what he thought. She wanted to know. She just did.
Then she felt her body being pulled into an embrace.
“I like you too,” he whispered into her ear.
She raised her arms to put them around his waist. He pulled off a little and kissed her gently on the lips again as a little teardrop of happiness slid down her cheek.
-brenda-
She panted. She had been running for quite a while. She didn’t know why she was running. All her enemy had told her was that he wanted to tell her something and gave her such a look with his eyes that she just had to say, “Catch me first. If you do, I’ll listen to what you have to say.”
And then she just sped off, leaving him standing still and staring at her shadow which soon disappeared from his sight. So there she was, running, although she just stopped to rest. Thinking about it again, she realized she was silly for running away. She had been surprised to find herself running here and there and everywhere. What exactly made her do it, she didn’t know. All she knew was that the moment she saw that unusual look in his eyes, she had to get away from him. It was like the look was some kind of an indicator for running away.
Now, she stood up straight and looked around once more. He was still not in sight. She sighed in relief again. He sure run slow, she thought.
Then, Hang on! She thought. He doesn’t run this slow. She knew he was slow but not that slow. She had been there for maybe about ten minutes? So how come he still hadn’t arrived there panting or something? Something was out of place. She knew. But what?
Suddenly, a pair of hands covered her eyes. She screamed. “Who’s that?”
She heard a laugh and immediately knew who it was.
She removed his hands and glared at him. “What’s so funny?” she half shouted.
“You,” he laughed.
She clenched her fists. He was not her enemy for nothing. She was just about to shout at him when she realized he was smiling at her with that weird look he gave earlier.
“What?” she asked, getting nervous for goodness knows what reason.
“You said if I caught you, you’ll listen to me, right?” he said.
Before replying, she realized he looked kind of nervous and his voice had a little quiver that could have gone unnoticed if the surroundings were a little noisier. “Yeah. So spill it. What do you want to tell me? If you’re going to brag about how you caught me then think again. I was resting here.....”
For the next word that was coming out of her mouth, he leaned forward and muffled it. She opened her eyes wide and tried to push him away but he put his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. He may be a slow runner but he was a boy and was definitely stronger than her.
She tried to open her mouth to say something but he wouldn’t give her the chance. After a while, he broke the kiss. She looked at him. Her seeing his red cheeks made her blush too. Her heart started to go all fluttery like it wanted to fly and started to beat faster than it usually did. She wanted to clutch it but was afraid that he would see it and ask her. She quickly looked down.
“I...” he started.
She looked up, her face still burning.
“I...” he repeated.
She looked at him intently. She knew what he was going to say but she wanted to hear it.
“I...” he said once more.
She was getting a little annoyed. She wanted to hear the words come out of his mouth. But he couldn’t seem to say it. He already took her first kiss, what more did he want, make her wait to hear his confession?
“I...” again he said.
And she got fed up.
“Look, Chinen Yuri. If you like me why don’t you just say so instead of just saying ‘I’. In the past, you could just talk back to me and argue whenever you felt like it. So what’s wrong now? Are you waiting for me to say it instead? Fine! Chinen Yuri, I like you!”
She paused, her face burning more than ever. She wanted to run away but her feet were rooted to the spot. She wanted to know what he thought. She wanted to know. She just did.
Then she felt her body being pulled into an embrace.
“I like you too,” he whispered into her ear.
She raised her arms to put them around his waist. He pulled off a little and kissed her gently on the lips again as a little teardrop of happiness slid down her cheek.
-brenda-
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