Birds of a Feather
Disappear…Everything will just disappear…
A senior sleeps peacefully on top of the white concrete roof of her school. The wind caresses the strands of her short hair, brushing against her cheek. Her eyelids cover green irises. Her soft, pink lips are slightly parted, breathing calmly and evenly.
Inside the building, students are busying themselves with their studies, notes, gossip, last minute prayers before big tests, stink bomb plans, detention, arguments with teachers, faltering attempts to stay awake during lectures, and many other things that the average high school student may do.
Inside her head, there is a large tree where she can sit in the shade. There is a blue lake that reflects the sunlight, making it shine, surrounded by tree-covered mountains. And an endless field of grass and flowers that stretches as far as the eye can see, underneath a sky that never darkens.
The whole world busies itself around her prone form. She is so still in the chaos that surrounds her, that no one ever sees her. Everyone is busy following their own dreams and aspirations. No one has time for the ones who have no ambition.
"Hitomi. Hitomi! Are you sleeping again?" Her friend, a perky redhead known as Yukari, chides the sleeping girl. Hitomi can feel herself drift away from the shade of the tree and into the harsh, blinding warmth of the sun. She sits up, a part of herself still sitting in the shade of the tree. "You slept through class again, Hitomi!"
"Sorry. I'm just tired." Hitomi tells her friend as she runs her fingers through chestnut hair.
"What's with you, Hitomi? You left the track team. You're sleeping through all your classes, which has to be killing your grades, and now I find this…" Yukari holds a pink envelope up to Hitomi's face, "…in my desk."
"Dear Yukari, I'm dying. Farewell. Your friend, Hitomi Kanzaki." She recites. "It's so poorly written. If you're going to off yourself, you should at least make a decent suicide note."
"I couldn't do it." Hitomi says turning her gaze towards the edge of the roof. "I'm a pathetic coward. I'll continue to live on and wither away as an old lady."
That is the goal of living isn't it? To survive to a ripe, old age and pass away peacefully in our sleep?
A scene like this, but with different dialogue and different actions, would repeat endlessly through the weeks, until this very day. The day when it wasn't her friend's voice to rouse her to a half-alert state, but her own inner clock that decided it was time to wake.
The body continues with the menial tasks while the mind wanders without care.
Half-lidded eyes notice a person in their peripheral vision. A person, a boy judging by his school uniform, with black hair as short as her own, yet thicker in appearance, leans over the short railing that guards the edges of the roof. His gaze seemingly aimed towards the setting sun that is painting the skies red. But, he could be watching the cars and people buzzing below for all she knows. She can't see his face in the back of his head.
Faces don't matter anyway. They'll just fade along with all the other faces in my memories.
She walks away, certain that the boy would not be there again. Hiding in the darkness of the stairwell is a familiar redhead. "Yukari?" Hitomi questions. The break in the daily pattern having brought herself to stronger awareness of the world around her.
"I didn't think you'd like to converse with others watching, so I just waited here for you to wake and to make sure that boy didn't do anything naughty. But…" Yukari's eyes narrow into a leer, "He's kind of cute, isn't he? I think a boyfriend is just what you need!"
Boyfriend. Girlfriend. Lover. Titles given to those who have passionate, possessive feelings towards an individual. Such passion can't exist within those who have no desires.
"How long have you waited, Yukari?" Hitomi asks the redhead. Yukari glances at her watch.
"A little over an hour." She says. Hitomi doesn't respond, doesn't look back at the boy, as she makes her way down the stairwell. "You should drop by practice tomorrow, Hitomi. I think the newbies would love to meet the school's fastest ever track athlete."
"No thanks. My leg hurts."
"Lame excuse."
"Yeah, I am lame."
That was a time when I thought I had ambition. A time when I had shined like other people do. But as the years passed, I knew I would not be able to keep up the charade. Each race, I could feel myself growing more and more tired.
"Race ya to the subway!" Hitomi says suddenly, smiling at Yukari as she dashes ahead.
"Hey, that's cheating!" The redhead cries out, taking off after her friend.
Something that should be as simple and normal as smiling is gradually becoming more and more strenuous. I wonder how long it'll be 'til I am unable to smile even for Yukari.
The next day, she wakes to find the boy leaning over the rail again. Yukari is once again hiding in the stairwell. The same thing happens the next day. And the day after. A new pattern makes itself apparent as does a new form within her dream.
There is a boy. He sits in the sun, facing the lake. She sits in the shade, facing the field. Neither speak.
He leans against the guard rail, looking over the city. She is lying on her back, eyes closed to the world.
The pattern doesn't break until the day Yukari doesn't show up in the stairwell. The day after Hitomi couldn't keep up her smiles and said hurtful things.
Those with ambition, shouldn't concern themselves with those who don't. Let them shine while people like me fade into the background.
It is a break easy to recover from. Without the need to play the part of the jovial friend, she arrives home sooner, falling into slumber. Her mind grows clouded with the sunshine blinding her inside her head. Her footsteps grow slower, so she arrives home later. She heads straight to bed. She wakes the next day, already having missed first period but goes to school anyway.
How many of these teacher's notes have I ripped up now? How many messages on the answering machine have I erased? My parents, spending so many hours at work, have never received a single message of my decline in school. They wouldn't notice if I were to disappear.
The pattern breaks again, about a month before the senior graduation she would not be attending. The boy has arrived before her. He arrived before she could sleep. He is not leaning against the rail either. He is sitting on it with his legs dangling mid-air and hands gripping firmly on the rail. All he had to do was bend over and let go.
"Are you going to let go?" She asks him, still not seeing his face.
"Yes." He says, without looking at her.
"Why?"
"Does it matter?"
"Maybe." There is silence between the two. A soft breeze blows as she walks over and leans against the railing as he had done many times before. "You always look towards the setting sun."
"You're always sleeping."
"My name is Hitomi Kanzaki."
"Van. Van Fanel."
"If you let go, you will die."
"I won't. I can fly."
"Fly?" She says with an inflection in her voice that she hasn't heard in months. "Where would you fly to?"
"Beyond the setting sun, to a place of eternal peace and beauty."
"That sounds nice. Hey," She turns and looks at him, seeing his face for the first time. "Can I go with you?" Brown eyes turn to lock with green ones.
"Why? Won't your family and friends miss you?"
"My family wouldn't miss me and I no longer have friends." She says evenly. He looks away and back towards the place where the sun would set in a few hours.
"I can't bring anyone with me. I'm a loner."
"So, am I." She places her hand on his shoulder. "I only ask to be by your side just as we have been doing this whole school year." She cradles his arm, placing her head against his shoulder. "Please let me stay with you."
In her head, she can see him standing up and looking at her with a smile. She walks over to him, leaving the shelter of the tree. She places her hand in his and they look up at the sky.
Van pulls his arm away from her, moving it to wrap around her waist. Her arms circle his waist as he pulls her to sit on the railing with him.
"Hold on tight." He whispers into her ear. She holds on. He lets go.
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Authoress Notes: That is the end. No continuation whatsoever. Anyways, this plot bunny got into my head a few days ago and I'd been depressed all day, so I figured now would be as good as time as any to write it. I feel so much better now. For emphasis, this fic was based on the ESCAFLOWNE MOVIE universe. I personally preferred the characters and story in the movie compared to the tv series. Too bad the animation was so wonky at times.