this one is for the great people out there who have filled my head with wonderful stories...

How It All Started

a soft humming emanating behind that oak door. amidst the stillness her voice lingered around the room. if one hadn't listened carefully, one could've mistaken it as the sound of the rain spatter on the roof. the wind picked up speed and whirled all the sounds in one swift chilly sound. but the humming didn't stop. an almost forgotten song her mother used to sing to her when she was a child. She couldn't remember the words that came with it but Sachiko knew the tune by heart. It was for nights haunted by nightmares that her mother would sing her to sleep.

inside the room a silhouette of a lady seating across a sleeping...lump. the light was dim just enough to reveal a faint outline of her profile. she only lit the lampshade at the far corner of the room where beside it stood their filing cabinet, so as not to wake the lump in a deep slumber across her. she stared intently at the lump in deep slumber wondering what could be so compelling about this particular lump breathing deeply almost in accord with her own breathing. yumi. that name always stir her emotions and cause havoc in her thoughts. and of all the craziness this two opposite worlds collide and there they stood silently side by side.must not have been that crazy after all.

Sachiko glanced outside the window.it was getting darker each passing minute. the sky was blurred by the water sliding down the window but indeed it was getting darker outside and yet she didn't mind. being here alone with yumi sheltered from the passing rain; she couldn't ask for anything more. being inside a deemly lit room while being surrounded by the soft pound of the rain sounded romantic. oh, it's late; she didn't even think of the possibility of being scolded for getting home this late, its not that anybody would mind when she gets home but the thought of being scolded for coming home late gave her a vague sense of normalcy. isn't that what parents usually do to their children when they do things...that their not suppose to?

Not Sachiko, she would actually be glad to come home and find one parent, just one waiting for her; late or not. a sigh escaped her lips and proceeded to hum again. she stared at the lump across her...its brown hair now being illuminated by that tiny light in the corner. she watched as its breathing became deeper and a small purr-like sound came beneath those hair. this made sachiko smile and her eyes soften with affection...her voice much sweeter. she cautiously leaned forward and extended her hand careful as not to wake up...yumi she thought. gingerly she stroked the lum-girl's hair and continued humming traces of her childhood memories.

the window sparkled as the street lamps lined in the school's pathway lit up almost simultaneously, except one which flickered for a while as if struggling to shine brighter.

contentment.happiness.yumi...lo- she suddenly stopped stroking yumi's hair when she felt her stir beneath her palms...yes love...a gust of wind blew across the room sending a chill up her spine which she barely felt. fingers delicately placed on her lips and a revelation grace across her face. it can't be she thought, yes i do but not that way.do I? a tiny spark which lit up a room. yes a tiny spark.

her head seemed clearer now but once again blurred by doubt. denial. fear.

yes she loves her seour but being "in" love with her seems rather absurd. or it's just a small voice at the back of her head telling her that. it actually explains a lot of things. i mean really...things are actually quite simple, but her head tries to make it all hard and complicated. but things aren't always what they seem. precisely.

stop denying and just embrace the fact that you've f a

l l

en in love with yumi...

is that even possible? why not?

her heart raced at the thought of this sudden revelation. her stomach turning into knots letting out tiny fluttering butterflies. maybe its just cause of something i ate or maybe the weather, it's been raining almost the whole day. yes, it must be the weather.

convincing yourself with something like the weather will not work my dear. why do you fear this feeling so much? cause it's wrong! and inappropriate... how could this happen? when did this happen? how did it start? oh come on sachiko there are a lot of things that we are oblivious to, even for someone like you. what do you mean by someone like me?

Sachiko closed her eyes and tried to compose anything left of herself. myself. i keep surprising myself. a smile broke upon her lips. she sighed at the person causing her all this...trouble? not really...it is rather amusing if you look into it in a far luckily-I'm-not-involved sort of way. but she is involved. and so is her dear yumi. what would yumi say if she found out i want her...want.need her because, i lo- sachiko strangled a string of laughter about to climb up her throat. oh my god! what am i thinking?

How could you say. how could anyone say they're in lov- how do you know? then she remembered someone from not too long ago. but it felt so different with kashiwagi. which is real? she reached out and put a hand on yumi's head. "this is real." she said in a low voice. It's becoming a cold and rainy night but sachiko didn't feel a chill for something or rather someone's keeping her warm.

"Onee-sama?" said a sweet voice in front of her. stopping her from continuing her futile struggle with herself. Sachiko hadn't noticed that yumi had awoken and was now staring at her bewildered pretty face.

"yumi" she paused and stared at yumi's searching eyes...more like worried actually.
"I'm sorry I made you wait this long." "no problem." the girl burst almost immediately. yumi gave a sheepish smile which sachiko returned with gratitude. at least i know why it's you yumi...

"we should get going now, it's getting late." she said flatly while standing up, her eyes glued to the melancholic scenery encased by the window. yumi remained seated clearly in awe of the figure in front of her. breathtaking. yumi always felt somewhat like the moon revolving around her earth, sachiko. always from afar never an arm's length. a single touch could send her crashing into her earth. crash and burn. but little did she know that she was a star and sachiko the endless sky encompassing her, always and forever around her.

"yes." the girl stammered but try as she might, her behind seemed to be glued to her seat. ashamed that she was caught staring at her onee-sama. yet again, yumi caught staring or more like gawking at the tall girl. this put a smile on sachiko's pretty features; which in the girl's advantage was hidden by the shadows playing on her face. yumi's brain have now gone in overdrive to find an excuse for her behavior. as to not add insult to injury yumi quickly tore her eyes of the girl and glued it on her shoes instead. Sachiko still stood in front of yumi actually unsure of what to do. these awkward moments between them have become rather common these days.

"come now." her voice was low and surprisingly alluring. which of course made yumi's heart leap up her throat and with a yelp so did her body causing her to clumsily bump the table and scatter a pile of paper neatly stacked at the edge of the table. yumi looked in horror at what used to be piled neatly now falling down to the floor making rustling sounds. and as the last piece of paper made its graceful landing on the awaiting floor yumi quickly without thinking pounced at the messy pile on the floor.

"I'm sorry onee-sama i-" she was cut-off when she heard footsteps walk towards her and a slight touch on her shoulder, as ladylike as possible sachiko kneel-ed beside yumi to help her gather the pieces of paper scattered across the floor and some found under the table. she slowly looked up and in the corner of her eye she found sachiko just inches away from her. this proximity almost made her crumple the piece of paper she was holding and eat it. another moment of awkward silence, just the rustling sounds of paper and skirts being acquainted with the nicely polished floor. yumi swallowed the lump building up in her throat. stillness consumed the almost empty room. Sachiko carefully shifted, not really to have a better position to reach a stubborn paper but to close the gap between her and yumi. why did yumi always smell like...this? her scent always made sachiko nostalgic. she fondly remembered memories of her grandmother, or just the pleasant feeling of passing by a bakeshop that had just baked a fresh batch of cookies. sachiko breathe in another lungful of yumi's scent, just to make sure this pleasant feeling will not leave her soon. but being with yumi was always pleasant utmost wonderful.

yumi fidgeted with the last piece of paper that sachiko handed, for a second their fingers touched. she tried not to stop and stare at her onee-sama again but her attempt ended in vain for when she proceeded to stand as she looked up, guess who's face was only an eyelash away from her now blushing swooning face? one...two...three... in three seconds yumi have already scanned sachiko's deep blue eyes trailing further down and hesitantly stopped at her lips which for yumi seemed to be enticing her lips to move in closer to at last fill in the gap between them. at the thought of kissing sachiko, yumi almost backed up hurriedly towards the end of the room but she wouldn't do that of course. yumi settled her eyes at anything but her sachiko.

"ummm...onee-sama, thank you and sorry for the mess" was all she could say in one hurried breathe to ease the tension. only a trained eye could notice the faint frown forming in sachiko's slightly trembling lips. "it's okay yumi, we should get going it's getting late." sachiko blinked and slowly stood up. a yes formed in yumi's mouth but nothing came out, she had to clear her mind and cough to clear her throat.

"y-yes." sachiko straightened her back and walked calmly towards the door. always seemingly calm and collected. little did the other girl know she could have jumped straight out the window for all the giddiness she felt.
"yumi?" her voice was faint showing that she was unsure.
"yes onee-sama"
"nothing..." she needed time to get her head out of the gutter. how can one moment leave you out of breathe?

at the entrance of the rose mansion two figures stood. one staring at the rain, the other sneaking glances at her companion. the rain weakened enough for them to walk in but the wind still hasn't slowed down. the air was crisp, ripples of light from the street lamps reflected in the puddles laying idly at the pavement. only the rain and a gentle buzzing from a street lamp could be heard.

"oh, i seem to have forgotten my umbrella at home." sachiko said with nonchalance. as if by coincidence or sheer luck a window of opportunity nonetheless.
"we can share mine." yumi offered. she handed sachiko the umbrella, obviously the taller one was the one to hold the umbrella unless one didn't mind one's head getting poked every step they took. sachiko smiled and opened yumi's favorite lucky umbrella. sachiko turned her head to face yumi and said "stay close, i don't want you to get wet." yumi happily obliged and held onto sachiko's arm. the wind blew harder but none of them seem to mind for it gave both an excuse to press closer to each other.

from the rose mansion to the school gate, sachiko couldn't count how many times she stole glances at yumi. she felt each time the younger girl held her tighter when a gust of wind attempted to lift them of the ground. i should thank the wind later she thought quietly with amusement. only now that she noticed how yumi have grown so much...like a rose almost in full bloom. maybe i should give us some time. yes, take things slowly, then maybe everything will work out fine. thinking only made things harder. maybe its time to just let go... a smile slowly played on her lips.

"onee-sama what's the matter"
she paused, looked at the lights then at a distant horizon and then back to yumi. sachiko leaned closer as she wondered how all this would turn out. yumi held her breathe unsure of what might happen. but whatever it was, yumi was okay with it as long as sachiko would be there with her. another knot forming in her stomach then suddenly sachiko paused and looked at yumi with a seriousness or something, she cannot fully comprehend. yumi vaguely sighed with relief or was it something else? disappointment maybe.
"yumi, how do you think it all started"
yumi stared blankly and almost choked not noticing that she held her breathe just moments ago when she was expecting something other than this to happen.
"how would what start?"was all she could manage to say.

"this." and with that sachiko leaned over and found yumi's soft lips.

the end

hey there! thank you for reading and if your still up for it kindly tell me what you think and drop me a comment which will be greatly appreciated. once again thank you...

a/n: I got the idea of this story from a song that's stuck in my head hence the title...

I feel the ending is a bit lacking...what do you think?