Mayaka didn't notice him at first. She was too busy pressing out the wrinkle in her dress.
She dragged her hand across the bright blue fabric, hoping the wrinkles would magically go away. They did not. Sighing, she looked up from her dress and ran her fingers through her hair. As she did so, she met the eyes of a boy.
Shrieking, she threw her hands up in defense and dashed to the other side of the porch. The boy watched her, then threw his head back to let out a light-hearted laugh. Mayaka glared at him, placing her hands on her hips and taking note of his peculiar appearance.
He wore a big, black top hat. Tall rabbit ears poked through the top. He had on a suit, but it looked like it had been put on lazily; one sleeve was rolled up to the elbow, while the other wasn't cuffed quite right at the end. His dress pants were white and stopped an inch above his ankles. He wore no shoes, and his bare feet were painted over with mud. A golden pocket watch dangled from a chain around his neck.
"Where did you come from?" Mayaka hissed.
"A hole in the ground," he replied.
Later, she learned his name was Satoshi.
Satoshi visited - or, rather, materialized, quite often after that.
"What are you doing?" he whispered in her ear the first time. She threw the book she was reading to the ground. It landed on his feet. He frowned. "Ow."
"Reading a new book already? You're fast," he said the second time. She threw the book upward this time and it hit him in the face.
The third time, he'd already learned. He made his comment, then took a large step to the side. The book met its fate against the front door.
It had been five days since their first encounter, and it was nearly noon. Mayaka's eyes were glued to the words in her lap. She was sure he wouldn't show up this time, so naturally, he did.
"You're always wearing the same dress," he said casually.
"What even are you?" Mayaka cried out, slamming her book shut.
"Satoshi."
"I said what." She propped her elbow up on the armrest of the rocking chair and pressed her cheek to her fist. "Surely you're not from here."
Satoshi smiled.
He came again the day after, as expected. And the day after that, and the day after that. Quicker than Mayaka had anticipated, a whole two weeks had passed.
"Do you ever leave the porch?" Satoshi asked her, sitting on the floor beside the rocking chair. She had become used to his company by now, and even looked forward to it. But only a little.
"No," she answered hotly. "Do you ever use that pocket watch?"
Satoshi's rabbit ears twitched. Mayaka threw the book for the first time in a while.
Okay, maybe Mayaka was looking forward to his visits a lot.
There was no one else quite as interesting as he was in her town - although she had come to the conclusion he wasn't from her town a long time ago. She found herself holding her breath before looking up from her book, and even smiling a little on the inside when Satoshi was there.
Not that she'd ever admit it to him.
Stupid kid.
Conversation had started coming naturally to the two of them.
They talked about anything from the book Mayaka was reading to the origin of the rocking chair to Satoshi's lack of shoes.
Mayaka indulged in it. Since her parents were never home and she didn't go to school, the sound of someone else's voice was comforting. The sound of Satoshi's voice...
Huff.
"You're not even reading anymore," Satoshi realized mid-conversation one day, pointing at the book that laid open in her lap.
"No, I'm not," Mayaka replied.
No, she wasn't.
"Do you ever read?" Mayaka asked him later.
I bet he doesn't know how.
Stupid kid.
"That's your thing," he responded, resting his head against her shoulder.
Stupid, stupid kid.
It hit her like a train the day she thought of it.
"Where do you live?" It was the question she'd asked him upon meeting him, except rephrased. Mayaka had known him for more than a year now and had never bothered to ask.
"A hole in the ground," Satoshi replied, like before. Mayaka looked at him sideways. He frowned, then corrected himself.
"Wonderland."
Wonderland?
Mayaka felt sick.
Reading wasn't her thing anymore.
Satoshi was her thing.
She stood across from him, hands balled up into fists.
"Take me to Wonderland," she pleaded.
I love you.
"I'm sorry," he replied.
I know.