The air became ripe, the mornings grew an airier blue every morning. The green leaves of spring had bloomed, and Gumi once again was able to see her favorite sightーthe way the daytime sunlight looked as it shone through gaps in the leafy trees.
Megumi, nicknamed Gumi by everyone, never had very many friends. Though sometimes she felt lonely, nature and her art were always there to keep her company.
She loved taking photographs of vivid rustic autumn leaves, or writing a lighthearted poem about the snowflakes that flittered and dallied through the winter air. She'd do art pieces based on the long, nostalgic summers she spent by herself and with her close family. But most of all, Gumi's all-time favorite season was spring.
Spring, it was when the world came to life, Gumi thought. From the birds that sang their wonderful melodies, to the crystal dewdrops she found inside an unsuspecting bloomed flower, Gumi simply adored everything about her beloved springtime.
On a spring day in Soyokaze high school, lonely Gumi felt her spirit being lifted, as if by the wind or the early-rising sun. She wore her favorite flowing green-and-white dress that made her almost feel like a forest princess out of a fantasy book.
She was especially happy this moment, as she was sitting in her favorite classーart class.
She chose a nice, calming shaded spot all alone, away from all the other loud kids in the class. Gumi was solitary and secluded, like the one shy flower that bloomed far away from the rest of the patch, waiting for the other flowers to bloom around it. It was only the second week of school, and Gumi hadn't talked to anybody else once, besides the teacher who always marveled Gumi's art skills.
"If only she realized that they developed because of my years of loneliness." Gumi thought and sighed, as she realized her lack of friends drove her to seek company and comfort in art.
Her somber sigh escaped into the air and eventually was taken away by the elated winds, making Gumi feel as if nature didn't want her to see her so sad. That alone made her smile.
Her assignment was to choose a spot outside on the school yard and to sketch the most beautiful thing that caught her eye.
This was both an easy and hard task for Gumi.
Easy because Gumi was a beholder of beauty, and with an open eye, there wasn't a single thing about the vast spring meadow that wasn't just simply gorgeous. It was also a hard assignment, because Gumi was quite indecisive and she had way too many beautiful sights to pick from. Too many angles and too many ways to draw them too, she thought.
Whoosh... a tender sweet breeze rustled her grass-green hair as she held on tight to the hem of her dress. Gumi felt like the wind.
She closed her eyes and took the soothing air in.
When she opened her eyes again, a large white cumulus cloud had drifted over the sun, covering the scape in a cool shade.
Standing underneath the beautiful tall green tree was a small girl from her class, with short yellow hair like a dandelion. Gumi caught sight of her and admiringly stared. The scene would already be picturesque without her standing in it, but with her added, it was almost like a classical painting.
The girl had her back turned so that she couldn't see her face, yet Gumi noticed many other things, like how her soft blond hair shone brightly even in the shade, how it moved ever so softly and lightly in the gentle spring air. How she held one hand behind her back as she strolled lightly and slowly along. Her clothes too, a long yellow-orange dress like the petals of a healthy sunflower.
Gumi realized how long she had been staring at the girl, but she simply couldn't shift her eyes away. She was beautiful, just like the springtime.
In the midst of Gumi's long, musing stare, the large cloud moved out of the way of the sun, letting the it's light shine again behind the leafy green branches of the wide tree.
Gumi was left breathless. The area around became bathed in soft golden patches of dappled sunlight, and the girl she watched, still with her back turned, was shining in the light amidst the tree's shade as if she were a fairy.
Right before the girl walked away, she turned around and gave a smile to the air, and Gumi finally saw her face.
She had the brightest, sunniest smile Gumi had ever seen in her life.
The awestruck girl with her heart pounding bashfully picked up her pencil, pointing the charcoal tip of it softly to her sketchbook.
With her green eyes growing large and her rosy cheeks turning even redder, the inspired artist began to sketch.
"Class is over, did you have a good time? Before you leave, I want for you to share your sketch to a classmate. Tell them what inspired it."
"Yes, Sakine-sensei!" the art class called out in unison.
Gumi's heart was pounding in her chest, but she couldn't wipe the elated smile off her face. Her drawing had turned out great, as usual. But this time, it was more than just great. It was so sublime that every time she gazed at the drawing after she had finished, she was thrown back into those stunning, delightful moments of euphoria that she was surely going to remember for the rest of her life.
"The Girl Under the Dappled Sunlight", she called it ever since the vision had entered her mind.
Gumi simply didn't want to show anybody. She was far too shy and already feeling self-conscious about the fact she thought that a girl in her class was beautiful enough to be the subject of her art.
Everyone was already going around showing everybody their artworks. Gumi was too shy to even budge. Her knees began to shake, and before she knew it, she was covering her face with the hand that wasn't gripping her folded-up drawing paper.
She stood still and hidden like a closed up bud.
A light tap on her shoulder though, was what it took for her to slightly open up.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
A sweet voice sailed into her ear.
Gumi nervously lifted her hand off her face and turned around. Her green eyes widened as soon as she saw the familiar face.
It was the girl. The Girl Under the Dappled Sunlight. Only she wasn't a drawing, or a photograph. She was standing right behind Gumi with a consoling expression on her face and sunlight reflecting in her sea-blue eyes.
"I... um..." Gumi was speechless.
"I've seen you draw before." the girl said kindly to Gumi. Even her voice was sunny and filled with life.
"You're really good at drawing, and every time I saw a picture that you drew for class, it took my breath away. I've always wanted to talk to you..."
Gumi watched as the girl's cheeks began to become a rose shade of pink, like the roses in her backyard.
"I've always imagined you being just as kind and beautiful as your artwork, Megumi. I mean it..." the blonde gave another smile, just like the first one. So bright and cheerful that it took Gumi's breath away.
"Thank..." Gumi's lips slowly and tensely moved. "Thank you..."
And soon enough, the shy green-haired girl was smiling back.
"Thank you so much. It means... a lot to me. Nobody ever notices me, because I'm too shy to stand out. But you... thank you..."
The girl with golden hair gave another smile.
"I'm Rin." she said softly. "Please call me Rin."
"And I'm... Megumi." Gumi said back, feeling grateful and touched. "But please call me Gumi."
"Okay, Gumi." Rin gave the sweetest of small giggles. "You're really sweet."
Gumi, clutching the hand holding her paper tightly to her chest, began to blush a little.
"Gumi!" Rin gasped. Gumi was left startled for a second.
"Oh, why would you fold up your precious art like that? Without even showing anyone? Do you think it's that bad?"
Gumi suddenly remembered. Her artwork. She immediately turned red again.
"Um... n-no... I'm just... really embarrassed about it." she stuttered out in a small voice.
Rin comfortingly patted her shoulder with her small tender hand. "I bet it isn't. I bet it's as bright and beautiful as you are."
Gumi began to clutch the paper even more tightly. She felt tears wanting to come into her eyes. She was always sensitive, and now many emotions were filling her all at once. Bewilderment and embarrassment. Bliss and poignancy. Nervousness and excitement.
With a single sigh, Gumi bravely gave in and unfolded the paper, showing Rin the very drawing of her.
She gasped. "Oh my... my goodness! It's absolutely wonderful! It's probably the best sketch you've ever done... even the best sketch ANYONE's ever done, maybe!"
Gumi shakily nodded. "Th-thank you..."
"But..." Rin took her finger and pointed at the portrait of herself. "This girl... who's the girl?" she asked.
Gumi took in a deep breath, locked her fingers together, and bravely looked Rin straight in her aquamarine eyes.
"It's you."
And for a few seconds, the entire world stood still.
"It's... me?" Rin squeaked.
Gumi nodded humbly. "Yes... because while I was sketching, I... I saw you standing under the tree, right when the sun shone through the branches and left the dappled sunlight... and you glowed under it. You looked so beautiful, so bright and sunny just like the surroundings. You blended in in perfect harmony... I just had to draw you!"
Rin's eyes grew enchantingly wide as she looked right at Gumi, her heart pounding inside her own chest.
Gumi's heart pounded in the exact same moments, as if their two hearts were beating in unison. She was unsure of how the blonde was going to react. She suddenly felt as if she made her uncomfortable... but right before she had the chance to feel devastated...
"That... had to be the sweetest thing... anyone in school had said to me." Rin said softly, snapping Gumi out of her nervous trance.
Before she knew it, the blond girl's body was moving on her own. With her heart beating even faster, she leaned her light body up to Gumi and gave her an affectionate sweet hug.
Gumi stood there awestruck and simply warmed through and through. It was as if the sunlight was hugging her, shrouding her in its delicate warm touch.
After standing there wide-eyed, Gumi returned the hug and wrapped her shaking arms around Rin.
After they parted, the two girls stood at each other, smiling.
"Alright class, time to go back inside!" Miss Sakine called out to them.
"Okay!"
"Walk with me Gumi, we're friends, right?" Rin said as she merrily skipped back towards the school building with the rest of the class.
"Friends..."
Gumi was frozen for a while.
"Friends."
She let the word sink in and warm her heart. It have her such a warm fuzzy feeling inside... and finally, she was no longer alone.
"Okay, Rin! Of course we're friends!"
Gumi smiled wide and ran to her friend, her green hair trailing behind her.
Standing side-by-side with grins on their faces, two new friends were sharing a treasured moment while surrounded by joy.
Gumi was now friends with The Girl Under the Dappled Sunlight.
Endnote: I feel like I may extend this oneshot and make it into a collection. I also have the idea that Gumi is afraid of thunder and Rin calms her during a storm. I just love wiring little stories about the little things in life, it's just bliss. I know this story is very overly saccharine, kind of corny, and for now they're just friends. Well, regardless, I still hope you enjoyed reading~