Cherry blossom's petals fluttered along the wind blows. The same deserted yard was soon filled with pinkish colors, leaving the trees naked. The birds were chirping, along with the warm sun ray that sneaked between the boughs.
My hair swayed freely as I stepped to the center of the yard. I wondered. Had the time changed everything I used to experience? Had the memories flown away to nothingness? I breathed as deep as I could. The scent was still the same. The scent of leaves, dirt, and the wind. The sun was unchanging too.
I closed my eyes. The breeze washed through me. It was still the same sensation. Nothing had changed. Nothing had really changed.
Secretly, I smiled.
Slowly, I opened my eyes. In front of me was the scenery I used to see years ago. The gigantic building that I used to call school was still standing there. The white paint had faded slightly. I wondered when was the last time they repainted it? There were cracks, which seemed to have grown even longer on the brick wall. It would break down eventually, hopefully not anytime soon. Even so, the shabby building was still my old high school.
Again, I smiled.
It was time for me to move. Was it still there? I wondered.
I felt my feet moving, forming short, light steps, which ultimately turned to long, eager strides. I was getting close. Excitement rushed through my veins.
Laughter bubbled up in my throat and my lips went apart, letting out joyous feeling.
I'd missed this so badly.
That fine warm evening, I was forced to take myself to the old building of my school. I normally wouldn't as much as take a single step towards that ratty old construction. The sole reason why I had to spend my precious evening in that mossy wooden building was because my one and only dearest homeroom teacher gave me an unreasonable task of summarizing an astronomy literature. As to why I got punished, well, the sight of me falling asleep in class (and snoring while mumbling my crush's name) was not really her good idea of a joke.
I let out an exasperated sigh.
Sooner or later, I was standing in front of 3-stories classical styled wooden building. To call it a 'building' was actually too exaggerated. The size was not as colossal as our newer building, but it was bulky to say the least. The problem was, even naked eyes could see how rotten the building was. The water pipes had sprung a leak and that added the building's rottenness. The structure was crumbling that I was pretty sure it would collapse in a matter of minutes after someone took a step inside. Wonder why it was still standing there (not so) gloriously. Anyway, it was time for me to enter. Hope nothing bad would happen to me. At least not when I was in there.
The corridor was quiet. Quiet to the point that I could feel a chill. Rumors said that this corridor had so many ghosts roaming around, I hoped I didn't meet any. If I did, someone please tell my mother I loved her. I rarely passed this corridor. I never go through it actually. This corridor led to a certain room which I had always avoided. A room filled with dust and insects, oops no, I mean, literature and books. Yeah, it was the library. It was not like there was no library in the new building but, to my displeasure, it got no literature about astronomy.
Again, I sighed. This week would be rough, and boring. Why did it have to be astronomy, anyway? She didn't teach astronomy, for god's sake. We didn't have any astronomy class, either. She was just trolling as always. Yeah, yeah, my trolling homeroom teacher.
The smell of old papers welcomed me as I opened the wooden door. It was mixed with dust and whatever insects that lived beneath it. As expected from an old building. The library was empty besides the librarian who was sitting on her desk. I guess most of the students didn't like being in this dump of a space.
I walked past the front desk to the row of shelves. The librarian didn't react as I walked passed her. Maybe she was too absorbed in her book. But the silence gave me the creeps. I hoped she had said something at least. A little welcome or a stupid warning? No? Okay, let's proceed to the whatnot section called astronomy.
The shelves didn't smell any better. I nearly choked as I randomly opened one of the books, dust was floating everywhere. I hastily put back the book back on its shelves. I coughed several times to clear my throat. It was disgusting. How was I supposed to find any astronomy book in this sea of books?
"Are you okay?"
A timid voice behind me almost got me jumped out of surprise. The librarian somehow had noticed my existence. Took her rather long, eh?
"Yeah, I'm fine."
I rubbed my left arm, something I did whenever I felt nervous. Wait, why should I get nervous?
"Anything I can help you with?" She asked, finally.
"I need to find an astronomy literature, anything about constellations and whatever."
It took a few seconds before she answered, "Oh, this way." She looked irritated. I felt sorry that I didn't care even if she did.
Anyway, she showed me the way to the furthest shelves. No wonder I couldn't find the book.
"You can find astronomy literature here. Well, we don't have much in collection." She sighed in annoyance. It was not surprising, we didn't have astronomy class.
"Can you recommend a book I should read? Anything easy to read." I added hastily.
"This one." She took a book. A big thick book with black navy cover that I was sure no one had read for years, judging from how dusty the book looked. That was… out of my expectation.
She passed me the book. I needed to use an extra amount of strength to lift the book. How could someone write a book this thick?
"Err, do you have another recommendation?"
She raised one of her eyebrows; she didn't like my request, absolutely not.
"Ah, no, it's fine with this book." I corrected, "Can I take the book home with me?"
Her eyes investigated me from head to toe. It made me shrink, to be watched that way. She looked at me as if I was an extraterrestrial being.
"You can't, unless you have registered yourself. And I don't think you have." She said concedingly and gave me another shot of suspecting look.
"Then, could I make it right now so that I can take it home with me?" holding my annoyance, I requested one more time.
"Well it takes a few days to finish your registration, besides, you can't bring this book home, it's a restricted book."
My mood shrunk to the lowest level. Indeed, this girl got into my nerves
"Nevermind. I'll just read it here."
Grumpily, I stomped my way to the nearest table. I saw the librarian walking back to her 'throne' from the corner of my eyes. She didn't make it easier. Sigh.
Anyway, let's get over with it.
The book, I could barely read the title, it was 'Astronomy and something'. I couldn't care less.
I opened the cover while praying that I wouldn't get choked by the amount of dust lying inside. No such luck. I coughed as soon as the brownish-paper got into view.
Screw this!
I flipped the pages rashly. If only I could, I'd be using this book for a better purpose. For killing cockroaches, perhaps?
For another minute I spent my time flipping through the pages to find anything that would be easiest for me to read.
I ended up slamming the book closed out of frustration. I didn't understand anything on it at all.
I felt a chill on my back. Guess the librarian girl was glaring at me with hatred. Not that I care.
I rested my head on the table. I hate reading. Moreover to read a worn out book which topic was totally out of my league.
"Fuh…" I blew the pages lazily, dust was flying everywhere. I coughed once more. Stupid.
As I stopped coughing, I noticed a piece of paper that I failed to see at first. I picked it up and to my surprise; it didn't look as old as the other papers. It actually smelled nice. Strawberry scent; the smell of a girl.
I flipped open the paper.
"Do you like this book?"
The paper said.
Magically, my bad mood dispersed and disappeared to somewhere in the eternity.
I took a pencil from my pencil case and wrote a reply.
"I like it" which was not a total lie. I like it a bit after I found the paper. It was interesting to know who wrote the note. Well, it didn't add my curiosity to what the book about.
I slipped the paper back to the book. A smile rose on my mouth. Maybe the assignment was not as bad as I thought.
Soon, I put the book back on the shelves before walking to the librarian desk.
"Hey, I want to register myself for the library membership."
The girl looked up from her book. She didn't seem to be happy, even though she was about to get a new member.
"Fine, can you give me your student card?" she asked me, hand holding a pen while the other was opened to receive my card.
Gladly, I didn't forget to bring my card (which I usually did, it was troublesome to bring unnecessary things).
"Please come back in two days from now to pick up your card, Matsui Jurina-san." She gave me a piece of paper, it was my temporary card, I guess.
"Thank you."
I left the library, smile still plastered on my face. I wondered what would come up next.
"Omoshiroi ne—Interesting."
I totally forgot about my assignment.
"Nice to hear that. Which part do you like about the book?"
"Mmm. I like to learn the name of constellations. It's interesting to know the story behind each one"
"I see. I like it too. Do you like to stargaze?"
"Sadly, I never do any stargazing activities. I'm new to this kind of thing."
"Ah, what a waste. Next time, we should try it."
It was another warm evening. It was the same shabby library (and the same librarian). A week had passed since my teacher gave me that unreasonable assignment. I'd safely turned it to her, but even though I have no further business with the astronomy book, I kept coming to the library. The sole reason was the message I accidentally found in the book. I didn't expect for a reply and yet I got it anyway. It made me wonder even more.
"I would love to. Should we meet up?"
I wrote the last sentence with the hope I could finally see who this girl was. Ah, I was convinced it was a girl from the way she wrote, and I was pretty sure no boys would write on a strawberry scented paper.
"Matsui-san, I'm sorry but I'm going to close the library. Could you please leave?"
I jumped out of my chair. Thanks to my good reflex, I didn't end up lying on the floor butt first. The librarian girl never failed to give me a heart attack.
"Ah… uh. Yes. I'm sorry." I scratched my head as I collected my things. The girl kept staring at me while I did it. Resulting in me being nervous more than ever. She was really creepy.
"See you tomorrow." She gave me a warm smile before I passed the door. I halted for a second. She NEVER smiled. Especially not to me. For some reason I had a feeling she didn't like me.
"Ah, uh, s-see you."
Again, I scratched my head. I saw her giggling as I left the place. Weird.
"I'm sorry, it won't be possible for the mean time. But I would love to meet you."
"I see. Well, at least, could you tell me your name? Ah don't bother if you don't want to. .."
"Watanabe Mayu. You could call me Mayuyu if you want. People used to call me that way. Don't worry, of course it's not a bother.J"
"Mayu-san then. A beautiful name eh? I'm Matsui Jurina. Nice to know you. XD. "
I closed the note book where I collect the messages. I had been reading it over and over again. Some other time my friends called me crazy for smiling over one same book. Well, not that I care. It was our diary, our secret diary.
"Jurina! Dinner is ready."
My mother called me from downstairs. I failed to notice, the sky had turned dark. It was so much fun reading the message. Time passed faster when I did. I wished I could meet up with her.
"Jurina-chan!" My mom shouted once more, this time with a bit of irritation.
"Coming!"
"Nice to know you too, Jurina. :D."
"Nee, Mayu-san, which class are you in? I never saw you in school."
"I'm in 3B. And you are?"
"Ah, you're a senior. I'm in 2A. I guess that's why I never saw you. The seniors study in the old building, right?"
"I guess so. Hey, Jurina, do you like reading? I mean, besides this book."
"Not really. Actually I read this book for an assignment. I didn't like it at first but ended up reading it. LOL."
"I see, it was a good thing then, that you were given that assignment."
"Yeah. I got to know you, so it's fine with me."
"What are you writing?"
Curses to the god of seven seas! The librarian girl was an expert on making people die from heart attack. I wondered whether she was actually a ninja.
"I hope you didn't scribble on the book. I will charge you if you do."
I closed my eyes and let out a deep breath.
"No, I was not. I was writing on my book." I showed her my note book, flashed it actually, I didn't want her to read the messages, "can you please stop showing up behind me soundlessly like that?"
"Well, I'm sorry. I'm just wondering since you are always silently writing on the corner."
"I'm reading and taking notes. What's wrong with that?" I shot her a deadly glare. It seemed to shock her a bit.
"Nothing. Well, it's just that… the first time you came here you looked angry and you seemed to hate books. You're the last people I expect to come here. But then, you keep coming, and diligently read the book." She explained with somehow irritating look. It was cute but it was annoying.
"None of your business."
Case closed. She looked hurt when I said that. She then nodded her head weakly and left me alone.
Now I felt guilty.
The next day, as usual, I came to the library. It was empty as always. It was only me, the books, and the librarian girl.
I walked to the shelves and picked the same astronomy book I had been reading for months. Then, I walked to my favorite spot.
My eyes met with the girl's eyes as I walked. But she averted her gaze as she realized I saw her. It made me felt even guiltier. I didn't mean to insult her.
"Fuh…"
I gulped. The message could wait.
Slowly, I approached her. She looked troubled as she saw me approaching.
"Hey."
It took a few seconds for her to look at me.
"Hey. I'm sorry about yesterday. I, uh, was surprised to see you sneaking behind me so, uh."
"It's okay. It was my fault too." She returned me a smile. I felt relieved. I didn't like it when people got hurt because of me.
"Then, uh, I'm going to read."
I nervously walked away from her. She didn't push further so I guess, it was the end.
The girl continued reading her book; it was the same book she had been reading since the first time I came here. I wondered why she kept reading one same book.
Nevertheless, I forgot all the things about her as I found another message in the book.
"I'm glad. Tell me, what you usually do after school? What's your hobby?"
Unconsciously, I grinned. It was not my intention but the neat writing on the scrap of paper never failed to bring a smile onto my face.
"I'm in track and field club. So, you could say my hobby is to run. I love sports in general though."
As usual I put it back in the book, put the book in its shelves, and left. I glanced at the librarian as I walk, she was still reading. Still the same book. Didn't she have another book to read?
"Track and field club? You must be… fast. LOL. Well, I'm bad with sports. Not very fond of it. I like to read more. Anything that doesn't need muscle movement would be fine though. We're quite the opposite, aren't we? XD"
"Well, yeah. XD. But it makes us more interesting, right? But anyway, if I didn't find this note I wouldn't continue reading. So it's thanks to you. ;)"
"Really? I just put it randomly in random book, you know. LOL. Well, I do like astronomy though."
"Let's call it fate then. XD. Nee, Mayu-san, seriously, I want to meet up with you. Is there a reason which makes you couldn't?"
"Well, it's not that I can't. But it's—"
"What are you doing?"
The stature in front of me got stiff all of the sudden. She didn't expect me to be here, not this early in the morning. I forgot to bring back my umbrella, that's why I ended up coming to the old library in an unusual hour.
The girl was unmoving. I would be convinced that she was a statue if I didn't hear her breath.
"Hey, are you…okay?" I became worried.
I stepped closer to her, trying to shake her to make sure she was still alive (of course she did, you idiot).
"Don't come closer!"
I shrugged. I wasn't expecting that. For her to shout, I mean.
"H-hey, I was just wondering, I didn't mean to offend you."
She stayed still. Seriously, what's wrong with this girl?
A piece of paper flew to my leg out of a sudden.
I picked it up and the so familiar paper—and neat writing—widened my eyes.
"This is…" one more thing I didn't expect, "are you peeping at the papers in this book?"
I heard her gasping before she turned around facing me, cheeks bright red.
"You idiot!"
Eh, what?
What was that all of the sudden? She was usually quiet and I couldn't imagine her speak nonetheless shouting. She could speak loudly when she needed to, I guess. Eh, why was I being shouted, again?
"I won't waste my time peeping on your private things. I'm Watanabe Mayu, you stupid fool!"
'Eeeee?' was my only reaction (aside of widened eyes and gaping mouth).
"You didn't even bother to ask my name, that's why you keep wondering who Watanabe Mayu is." She blew her cheeks, which I found quite funny.
Uh, it was true. I didn't bother to talk to her. I thought she was just a typical model-student girl who didn't like to speak with a troublemaker like me. Put it that way, the Mayu in our exchanging messages was not the brightest girl I would find in the school. You wouldn't spend your time writing in a library if you were one, would you?
"W-well. I… was not expecting that."
In any case, I totally had no idea. Not a slightest hint. Or it was only my denial?
That's why my friend often called me as a dumb. Duh.
"A-anyway…" I brought my right hands in front of her, "I'm Matsui Jurina, nice to meet you."
She stared at my hand, longer than I expected. So instead, I went ahead and grabbed her hand, shaking it heartily. She looked surprised for a second, but then a small smile rose up her face.
"I'm… Watanabe Mayu. Nice to meet you, Jurina."
As I thought, her smile was nice.
Our secret diary turned into 'not so secret' meetings.
It was fun to know her through this kind of secrecy.
Whereas we proceed to be a good friend.
And we then live happily ever after…
OF COURSE NOT!
From that day on, my frequency of taking a stroll around that rotten shack increased abruptly. The library was our meeting place. She was always there when I came.
It was fun. Mayu was a good accompany to have with. She sulked way too often though.
"Yo!"
The girl, who was currently assembling a telescope, turned her head and flashed me a smile.
"Yo. You're late, Jurina." Look, she was sulking again. I was only late for a few sec—minutes.
"Well, you were the one who asked for coke. You know yourself there is no vending machine in this building so I had to go to a convenience store."
She crossed her arms as the reply. Our usual Mayu.
"Yeah yeah, here take your coke." I threw her the coke she requested. Little did she know, I had shaken the coke brutally outside. As the result…
"Wahahahaha!" Tears formed in the corner of my eyes as I burst out laughing. She was soaked. And she didn't look happy. Uh-oh.
"Ju. Ri. Na." I shivered. As soon as her 'full of killing intention' smile appeared, it seemed that the room temperature dropped by 20 degrees.
Splash!
It was sweet. The coke was sweet. But it was not the best idea to have it sprayed all over your body.
"Wait, wait, stop it, Mayuyu!"
"You should taste your own medicine!" She laughed as if she was a demon king. Ah, it should be a demon princess.
In the end, we forgot our main intention and spent almost an hour running around the library, spraying colas everywhere. Note to self, we better wipe the floor before morning.
"Okay… it's enough." Mayu stuttered as she tried to catch her breath.
"Yeah, let's stop," I took the telescope she placed on the table. It was an old telescope of hers, actually it seemed older than I thought, yet it was still functioning as good as new. She must have taken care of it dearly. "Nee, Mayu, how old is this telescope?"
"I don't know. It belonged to my father. Around 20-30 years, maybe." She replied as she approached me. "C'mon. Let's go out, the stars are going to disappear, if we keep fooling around."
She offered me a hand with my favorite bright smile on her face.
"Un."
That night was one of the happiest nights I ever experienced. We sneaked into the school in the middle of the night just to stargaze. It was my first time spending the night in the school. I lied to my parents that I was going to sleep over at a friend's. Well, I did go with a friend.
Mayu showed me a perfect place to stargaze. There were stairs that leads to the roof of the building. The entrance was behind a book shelf. It was a path used for maintaining the roof, it wasn't used anymore. Mayu told me before.
"Be careful, the steps are—"
"Woah!"
So much for being bad at sport, Mayu would kiss the floor if only I didn't catch her in time.
"It was you who need to be careful! Geez, Mayu!"
She let out a nervous laugh.
"C'mon, it's near."
She proceeded to ascend. Mayu sure had some guts.
"Kirei na—It's beautiful."
"You can see the stars with naked eyes. Isn't beautiful?"
It was.
The sky was clear without clouds that kept the stars hidden. The moon was full so I felt like transforming into a werewolf—eh no—I mean, it felt like I could catch the moon with my hands.
"So where is Orion? Sirius?" I asked energetically. She laughed.
"Calm down, Jurina. It won't appear even though you keep jumping."
She pulled my jeans, brought me back sitting on the clay roofs.
"Well, in this season you barely could see any though." She explained. Her eyes fixed on the sky. Telescope in both hands.
"Looking at them like this is good enough for me." It was, indeed. As long as I was with her everything was okay.
I rest my head on her shoulder. It was hard, her shoulder. Yet it felt so peaceful.
"Maybe we should go to an observatory some other time. What do you think?"
For a moment I thought I saw a slight hint of sadness flashed in her eyes. I was wondering whether I said something wrong. But in the end she nodded weakly, so I didn't think about it anymore. Instead, I followed her gaze towards the sky.
"Don't you dare fall asleep."
Her voice shocked me. Indeed, after a few minutes of silence I had fallen into a deep slumber.
"Uh, I-I'm not sleeping."
"You are, Jurina."
She pinched my cheeks and laughed at my face. Her laugh didn't stop even after she released me. Seriously, Mayu?
"Mayu~ Stop laughing. You're going to fall." I pouted as she laughed. It made her laugh even more. What's so funny?
She didn't stop laughing. It was as if the god of laughter had fallen upon her.
"Mayu~"
I decided to follow her. I tickled her here and there. If she wanted to laugh, then I gave her a reason to.
"Stop! Stop it, Jurina!" She begged between her laughter.
"No way! You're the one who started this."
For around 5 minutes, we continued wrestling. Thank God, none of us fell onto the ground.
"S-stop it, Jurina." Mayu's laugh dispersed into nothingness. Her cheeks were flushed after the session.
I, too, stopped moving, leaving us in a 'promising' position. I was, uh, on top of her, both hands were on the sides of her body. Her face looked shining from this position. Thanks to the moonlit.
Our breath was still ragged, yet both of our eyes locked to each other. I didn't know how long we stayed unmoving. I didn't know and I didn't care.
Slowly, my head moved itself, closer onto hers. She closed her eyes as our lips were about to touch. I, too, forgot about the world, the stars, and the entire existence, it was only me and her.
But, those lips of ours never met.
It was too sudden. The wind blew furiously. The trees were shaking uncontrollably. The ground was cracking. The earthquake came uninvited.
That was when it happened. It was so fast that my reflex couldn't catch up. As I thought, staying on a roof without any safety measure was never a good idea.
She was falling down. It was bad enough for us to be so high above the ground, the tremor made it 10 times worse. The second I turned my head, her hands were reaching for something to hold onto. Unfortunately, there was nothing.
I didn't know what I was thinking. The only thing I remembered was that I needed to reach her, take her in my embrace, and keep her save. Then, everything turned black.
"Jurina, wake up! Jurina! Jurina!"
It was so bright. Even though my eyes were closed, I could see the light seeping through my eyelid.
The scent was much worse. The scent of disinfectant I hate the most.
"Jurina!"
I felt a tug on my arm, followed with a warm hand on my forehead. I knew this calloused hand.
My eyelids fluttered open. The light was blinding and everything around me was blurry.
"Jurina, thank God!"
This voice… I know this voice more than anything
"Mom…"
My mother was standing beside me, crouching down. I could see wrinkles on her face from this distance.
"What happened?" I asked her.
I began to take notice of my surrounding. As I thought, I was in a hospital.
"We found you unconscious on the ground in front of the school building." It was a different voice near the door. The voice I would rather not hear.
"Seriously, Jurina. What were you doing in the school in the middle of the night? I thought you were in your friend's house." She stomped her way closer until her face were only 30 cm from mine. Too close.
"Maa, maa. Calm down, Rena. She must have her own reason."
Thanks mom, for backing me up from my furious sister. She didn't look happy though.
"You don't know how worried I was when I couldn't reach your cellphone! Thanks to the security in your school that you could be found…with broken leg. " She explained, her face was red, even her ears too. She must be really…angry. And uh, yeah, I didn't realize it at first. My left leg was at least 3 times bigger. And it felt itchy. I really did break my leg.
"What were you doing in the school, Jurina? You know I don't tolerate lying." My mom's eyes pierced through mine. I gulped. What trouble had I got myself into?
That was when a certain librarian's face popped out in my mind.
"Where is she?" I muttered.
"Pardon me?" Both of my sister and mom looked confused.
"A girl, she was with me all the time yesterday. She fell first, then, uh, I sorta followed her. She should be with me when I fell."
My statement seemed to confuse them even more.
"There is no one else, Jurina. You were found lying on the ground alone."
I looked at my sister strangely. Mayu should be there.
"Impossible. Mayu was there with me. She must be badly hurt considering I broke my leg."
"If there was anyone, they should have been found right now. The school was scanned for any further casualties since the old building of your school collapsed."
"The old building? The library is now gone?"
My heart sank. That place had memories I held dear. To know that it was gone didn't feel right.
My question though, made my sister frown even more.
"Library? There is no library in there. There was long ago, but it was burnt down in a fire 8 years ago when I was still a student."
I furrowed my eyebrows. No library?
"No way! I have been visiting it for a few months now. I was in the library yesterday. I even did my assignment there."
My sister looked at me with horror. She thought I damaged my brain when I fell, perhaps.
"No. I am sure since I was there myself there was no longer a library there."
That must be a mistake. That should be a mistake. There was no way the hours that I spent there was not real.
"Wait, what's the name of the girl that was with you?" My sister asked.
"Mayu. Watanabe Mayu. Do you know her?"
With that, she gasped.
"What's wrong?" I said, half-muttering. Somehow I knew it was coming.
"There was a girl who died on the fire. She was the librarian and she was unlucky to be trapped inside when it happened. Her name was… Watanabe Mayu."
It was as if my soul separated with body. The not so cold room felt chilly all of the sudden.
"No…way."
I didn't believe her. I didn't want to believe her.
"No way! She was with me! We were stargazing on the roof! We're together all the time! No way! That must be a mistake!"
That MUST be a lie. That must be my sister's prank. She must be kidding. No way, that was not true. All the time we spent together was real. I even had a notebook to prove it. Notebook! That diary!
"There is a book. I posted my messages with her there. It's in my bag."
My sister didn't believe me. And yet, she took my bag from the chair. It was so dirty, it must have fallen along with me.
"This one?"
I breathed in relief. The book was still there, that neatly covered book.
"But it's empty, Jurina."
Again, my heart sank, lower and lower.
I snatched the book from my sister's hand. She was right, it was empty. There was not even a scribble.
I flipped the pages furiously, it should be there. The messages, mine and hers.
"Jurina, stop. Jurina!"
My sister held my hands, preventing me from ripping the book.
I screamed. Despite the fact I was in a hospital, I screamed.
It was too crazy for me. It was all fakes. The time I spent in there was fake. The diary was a fake. Mayu was a fake. None of those moments was true. It was all one big illusion.
The ruins remained.
Poor school was poor.
Even after I left high-school 7 years ago, there had been no attempt to rebuild the old building. The ruins were still there. The building was not that badly destroyed, at least the classes were still there. But the library part had burnt down to ashes.
In front of me were blocks of wood. Most of them were scorched. I didn't notice before but indeed, there must have been a great fire here. Most of the wood had blackish color, and it turned into ashes when I stepped on it.
I continued to stroll around the ruins. Strange. Even though the place was stinky and dirty, I felt comfortable being there. It gave me a sense of nostalgia.
I had no courage to visit this place after the accident. If I happened to go around the place, I walked as fast as I could. Even after I graduated, I never once visited it.
I breathed deeply.
Strange enough, strawberry scent tickled my nose.
Mmm… I knew this. It was so familiar.
I opened my eyes.
Huh?
My feet moved. I tried to move casually but to walk on the ruin wasn't the easiest thing to do. In fact, I stumbled several times before reaching flat clean ground.
In that moment there was a light. A light that formed a shape of a girl. That silhouette I knew way too well.
"Wait…" I whispered.
It was moving away from me.
By the time I caught up with it, I was in somewhere unfamiliar. I was in the back of the old building. It was a garden with various type of flower growing in there. Pretty sure, no one took care of them, yet they grew wildly beautiful. The birds' were chirping from above the trees. The breeze felt nice. For 3 years of my high-school life, I never stepped on the garden, nor did I know it was actually exist.
I was looking around for the silhouette. It was standing not so far away from me, just under the shade of a cherry blossom tree. I could see it clearly now. Clearly, but as soon as moved closer, it disappeared. The only thing I caught was a smile I missed so much.
There was a book, right where it disappeared. I didn't know how it could end up there. I gasped as I noticed the black navy cover that was slightly burnt. It shocked me more when I read the title of the book. My eyes widened when I opened it. It was the same book I used to read when that craziness was still real.
A slip of paper fell when I flipped the pages.
My heart beat faster.
As soon as I took it, strawberry scent overwhelmed my senses.
My hands started trembling.
There were words written on it. A neat writing I loved.
"Jurina, it has been a long time, hasn't it? After all this time, has anything changed? I hope you live to your fullest as usual. Don't worry. Everything would be okay.
I really enjoyed the time I spent with you.
I love you.
Mayu."
Tears were falling down, it wetted the paper. The words ran off a bit. It was not my habit to be sentimental, and yet I was there, kneeling down, crying my heart out. It was such a short message, yet I felt my heart was crushed. Couldn't she at least say something more? I laughed between sobs, dry laugh. That was our usual Mayu. She didn't change. I was glad for it.
I didn't know how the message could appear out of nowhere. I wondered whether it was someone's prank. I hoped it was not though. I sincerely hoped it was really hers. I was glad. I felt the burden I carried all these years crumbled.
I missed her.
I love her. Too much.
Once again, I closed my eyes and held the paper close to my heart.
"Thank you, Mayu. I love you too." I whispered. Leaving the words seeped into me. And let the memories fade away.
"Ano…"
A voice, a whisper, brought me back onto my feet. I wiped my eyes as fast as I could. To be caught crying alone was… pathetic.
"Excuse me, ma'am. I'm lost. I'm going to the administration office of this school. Could you possibly show me the way?" The voice asked.
"Ah, yes, of cour—"
In front of me was a girl. Judging from her uniform, she was a freshman of this high school of mine. Her back-length jet black hair was in twin tail with a bear pin on each. Her black orbs were staring at me with curiosity. Her lips formed a gentle smile. She was a familiarly beautiful being.
"Erm… excuse me?"
The girl was staring at me, wondering whether I was still there listening to her. Indeed, I was lost for a second.
"Ah… Of course, follow me."
I flashed her a smile and with a nod she followed me.
'Omoshiroi ne.'