Chapter 1:
Beginning of Summer- Introduction
They say that weird things happen in West Cigam.
We have a summer home in this part of town. Every year we stay here for a week. My parents usually go visit relatives while I stay in the house or explore the city. The house is no different than our regular one. It's huge and well decorated, yet… Empty. Because my Mom is a lawyer and my father is an architect, home isn't the place where they usually are.
I leaned against my window and gaze outside as I think, the bright sun shining through the window pane. I don't mind being alone. I keep myself busy, but I don't have many friends because I'm not really a people person.
I guess it's nice to come here during the summer. West Cigam is full of things that my hometown doesn't have. Each year I discover more things about this city, and little by little, it becomes a place in my heart.
But overtime… The trees grew taller; parks were destroyed and replaced by new buildings, Sometimes I feel like I don't recognize it at all. While my memory only preserves what I remember, it constantly changes.
Eventually I came to learn that people are like this too.
(Inside the School- Last day of Summer Vacation)
Today is my last day of summer vacation. The school is closed for summer, but some parts of the building are opened up to the public. I walked into the library, a plump, expressionless look on my face. But stopped suddenly in the doorway. I was face to face with a small boy, obviously about sixteen or seventeen, but his features, while curiously anxious, were childlike. He had curly brown hair and turquoise, bright blue eyes. He was taller than me, but I couldn't help but still classify as small. He was wearing glasses. Cute. The sweater he was wearing bore a medium sized gold badge. His jeans were tight, but casual. He stared at me in silence. But finally spoke.
"Huh?" He asked, and I frowned lightly. "What-! What are you doing here?" He asked me, and his eyes shifted a little around the room. Looks like he's worried about something.
"I was just looking around." I said with a smile. He stared at me and bit his lip nervously. "Oh…" He said, and after a few seconds, I talked.
"You go to this school, right?" I asked nicely. "Yeah, do you?" He asked.
"No, I live over in Reton." I said with a small smile.
"What, why are you here then?" He asked.
"Summer vacation. I do annual exploring around these parts during the summer." I said nicely.
"That's bizarre." He said.
"Is it?"
"I… I um. Don't you have somewhere to be?" He said, and I could already sense what he was doing. He was trying to make me go away. I wonder why.
"I should be at home, but there's not much to do there." I said.
"Don't make your parents worry." He said.
"It's okay. They don't know that I'm here." I said with a triumphant smile. What was it about his eyes? There so blue, it's like… Beautiful or something.
"Hm." He said.
He turned around and walked off. For a few seconds I watched him rummage around the room. I took a seat at a big and wide table and then looked around the decorated library. Right next to me, I find an old notebook wedged between the corner of a bookcase and a wall. I can't help but be curious, so I leaned out of my chair and dug it out. When I'm sitting back in a seat position, the anxious boy turns around. His eyes widened at me.
"That's-!"
"Is this what you were looking for?" I asked nicely. "Give it to me. Please." He added. My face softened as he blinked back the frightened tears threatening to burst out.
I immediately passed it to him, and he took it gratefully and gradually.
"Th-! Thanks." He said.
"Why is it so important to you?" I asked. To my surprise, when he went silent this time, his face burned as bright as a tomato. After a few seconds, he shut his eyes tightly, and breathed in.
"It's… It's my diary, okay?" He snapped at me.
"Huh?" I said, confused at his angry outburst.
"Go ahead. L-! Laugh at me, already." He snapped.
"W-! Wait. I wasn't-!"
"It's stupid. I know." He said with a frown. He stared at the ground, his cheeks still quickly reddening.
"It's not stupid." I said.
"Please don't say things you don't mean." He said.
"Do you think it's stupid?" I said nicely.
"Huh-! Huh?" He asked me, confused.
"You don't want other people to know about it, because you think they'll laugh at you… But I'm not laughing." I said. "In truth, you're the only one who thinks it's stupid. There is nothing stupid about the things that are important to you." I said truthfully. He stared at me for a few seconds. It was a long, silent pause. But it was more due to shock at what I had said.
"What's-! What's your name?" He asked. "It's Juliunna." I said, and he still had that cute blush on his face. "Juliunna." He sounded out, and then shut his eyes. He took a nice and long, deep breath. He didn't open his eyes until I said, "And yours?"
"Huh?"
"O-Oh! Haru."
"Weird things really do happen in West Cigam…" He said. "What?" I said, smiling a bit. He blushed deeply.
"I- I have to go!" He said. "Um, okay." I said with a small smile. He stared at me for a while. "Hey, Juliunna."
"Yeah?" I said.
"Thanks."
(One Hour Later)
I'm glad that this park is still around. Some of the other parks were torn down to make room for shops. Oh, there's someone here. I had currently been walking around the tree line, when he had walked around one of them and stopped in front of me. We stared at each other for a while. He was handsome. Wait, handsome isn't the right word for it. Rich in vanity. That's what I'll call it. He had a lot of floppy orange hair. He was wearing a redneck red and black checkered jacket, with a pair of jeans. The sun hat on top of his head just added to the casual and silliness of his aura.
"Um, hi." I said. And as if someone had flipped a switch, he smiled wide and bright. "Hey!" He said. Not knowing what to say, I stared awkwardly. But this guy, he liked to talk. And smile.
"You're not from around here, are you?" He asked.
"How did you know?" I said.
"Lucky guess. I've never seen you before!" He said, and then grinned again. He laughed merrily before he spoke.
"What's your name? I'm Daichi." He grinned.
"Juliunna…" I said, and he grinned hard.
"What? Is something funny?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips.
"Hm? Oh! I didn't mean to smile that much. It's just… too sunny." He chuckled.
"Eh?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Sunlight has vitamin D. It's the happy vitamin!" He laughed. "Doesn't it make you want to smile too?!" He laughed again.
"To be honest, it makes me want to go find shade." I said, and then cracked a smile of my own.
"Oh, want to borrow my hat?" He asked me with a large smile. "No, that's okay, I'm fine."
"Ha-ha. You sure?" He asked.
"Yes, I promise, I'm okay." I said.
"I guess you don't want to mess up your hair. Can't blame you, it looks nice." He smiled. I smirked. Actually I don't want to borrow hats from strangers and receive possible head lice, but I like the compliment. "I should let you go now; you probably have things to do." He said. "But, maybe I'll see you around?" He said with a grin. I frowned.
"… I'll be leaving tomorrow." I said after I pursed my lips.
"Huh?" He said, shocked.
"Yeah. Daichi, I'm just here on Summer Vacation." I said.
"Oh." He frowned.
"Well, goodbye I guess." I said, and then turned to leave.
"Wait." He said, and I stopped in my tracks. I turned around to face him fully again.
"I belong only to you. You'll meet me once, but never again in the same way. Relive life with me, dream about me, but when your time ends, so will mine. What am I?"
"… Wait… Huh?" I said, tilting my head to the side, confused.
"It's a riddle. Solve it."
"Um…"
"The next time we meet. Tell me the answer then." He said. I pursed my lips as I looked at him.
"But, I'm leaving-!"
"It's okay. I'll remember you. We'll meet again someday, somehow." He said with a wide smile. "They say that weird things happen in West Cigam." He said.
"Wow. Okay then." I said with a smile.
"See you around, Juliunna." He laughed.
(Two Hours Later)
Huh, this place wasn't here before. Guess it opened up recently. I'm kind of hungry, but I don't have any money on me. The tall enough to be a basketball player looks at me. Well kind of. His eyes are closed. Well, the one eye that I can see, because he has a long lion's mane all over his head! He's tall. Taller than both Haru and Daichi. He's also taller than anybody I've ever met! He has slightly dark skin, like the softest of caramel. I think he's got a soft tan. Yep. He has black hair, jetting in every direction. It's dipping to the left and dipping higher on the right. It's all over the place!
What is up with this guy's hair?
He opened his eyes and looked into mine. I quickly looked away. Awkward. We just made eye contact. Did I look away too early, or was that a long pause? I should just walk away before I embarrass myself.
"Do you… Want my sandwich?" He said, and I looked up into his eyes. I'm sorry, but who offers someone whom is a complete stranger, a sandwich?
A totally righteous person!
"Huh?"
"I was going to eat it, but I guess I'm not really hungry…"
"I'll take it." I said. Yay, free meal. But I shouldn't really take the sandwich. This guy's dark clothing, wild hair, and super gleeful attitude suggest pedophile. But hey, he looks to be about my age. So, YOLO right?
"Will you sit with me? I could use some company." He asked nicely, so I nodded.
"Sure, of course." I smiled. The both of us sat down at a lunch table, and started talking and connecting instantly.
"So, how are you?" He asked.
"Not bad, I guess."
"That's nice."
"How about you?"
"… Maybe I'm having kind of a bad day." He started. I frowned lightly. "Oh, I'm sorry."
"Don't be. It's just that my cousin went missing recently…" He drifted off. When he found his voice again, he took a deep breath. "He's older than me. I'm sure he's fine, but I can't help but be worried. Do you think that's weird?" He asked me.
"I think that's pretty normal." I said truthfully and quickly.
"You think so?"
"Well yeah. It's just natural to care about your family, right?" I asked with a smile.
"I suppose." He chuckled. "I'm Kai. What's your name?" He asked me.
"It's Juliunna."
"Well it's nice to meet you, Juliunna."
"You're not really… What I expected you to be." I said aloud.
"Huh? Is that a bad thing?" He said with a soft frown. I shook my head no.
"No sweetie, it's just your hair… and…" I drifted off, but he picked it up for me with a grateful smile.
"O-Oh! Yeah, it's pretty crazy looking, right?!" He laughed.
"Maybe a little bit, but…" I grimaced and shrugged a little.
"I think it's about time that I get it cut."
"Oh wait, I didn't mean it like that-!"
"N-No! I've been thinking about it for a while now. Getting a haircut might help me let go… My cousin was the last person to give me a haircut. He was pretty upset about it since he cut one side too short. He was determined to fix it… Like everything. So I've been growing it out for him…But nobody's perfect. We all make mistakes. He needs to accept that… And I have to accept that he's on his own now… I'm sorry; I'm talking way too much, aren't I?" He asked me, and then took a deep breath.
"Ha-ha! It's fine. It's not every day that you hear a guy ramble on about getting a haircut." I laughed.
"Well you know what they say… Weird things happen in West Cigam."
…
Wow.
"I should get going." I said with a deep, awkward breath.
"To where? Home?"
"Yeah. My parents will throw a fit if they find out that I've been leaving the house."
"Sounds rough." Kai said.
"Their kind of overprotective like that…" I said with a shrug.
"So I'll see you… Whenever I guess. If you ever see me again, don't hesitate to say hi. It's funny how time separates people and creates this invisible awkwardness. Don't let it get to you, okay?" He asked.
"Sure Kai." I smiled.
…
Today I made some good memories. Weird things really do happen in West Cigam.
…
A year after that summer, my dad's job forced him to transfer and us as a family to move. What seems too convenient was that we ended up moving to West Cigam. And I found myself back in that summer home…alone. But I brought my memories of the last summer with me! I wonder how much the people I met have changed since then.
…
I finally finished unpacking. Well, now I can actually go and take a look around town. The first day of school starts tomorrow. I should make the best of the rest of the day.
…
(Mid Afternoon at the Park)
"Juliunna!" I heard, and turned around to look in the direction that the voice had come from.
"What?"
"Juliunna! It's really you!"
"H-hi…" I said, realizing it was Kai. He stopped jogging and stood beside me, smiling brightly.
"Just where have you been all this time?" Kai asked a smirk on his face.
"Oh! I actually just moved here. I was here before on vacation."
"I see."
You look… Really different now." I said.
"Ah, that's right. I got my hair cut!" Kai said excitedly.
"Wait, I almost forgot! Sorry! I'd love to talk some more, but I have to go run some errands." He said. "I'll meet up with you later, okay?"
(30 Minutes Later at the Cinema)
"Juliunna!" Daichi said when I reached the ticket stand. I stood beside him and smiled. "Hey, what're you doing here?" He asked me.
"My family just moved here. Guess I'll be seeing you a lot more now." I smiled brightly.
"Really? Seriously? That's great! So you'll be going to school here too, right?" Daichi said with an enormous grin. He's a good kid.
"Yep."
"Awesome. Oh, sorry. I have to go. Talk to you later, all right?" He said a soft smile on his face.
"Sure."
"Hopefully I'll see you at school tomorrow!" He said, and he waved to me as he started to back up. He reached a small blonde girl, the top of her forehead reaching his nose. He held her hand, and I listened to the amused giggles emitting from the both of them.
Wait, who's that girl… Oh! I'm not that surprised. Of course he has a girlfriend. They look good together. I'm happy for that jolly kid. So with that, I turned around and strode on down the hall, towards the exit.
(Give or take a half hour at the mall)
I was walking around in the mall, clutching a chilly ice coffee tightly in one hand. In came as a huge surprise when I walked out of the compartment and almost ran smack dab into Haru!
"Huh…? Juliunna, is that you?" He said, his eyes widening. He had beautiful eyes.
"In the living flesh. It's been a while." I said.
"Are you visiting or something?" He asked me.
"I live around here now. My family just moved." I said, and the both of us started strolling slowly down the mall floor.
"R-Really!" He said excitedly.
"I don't have a lot of friends here obviously. Mind if I hang around you a lot?" I asked him, tilting my long black hair to the side as I smiled.
"Um, n-no! Not at all. It's fine." He stuttered, his face burning bright red.
"Th-Thanks."
"So… do you want to hang out or something?"
"Maybe later. I have to get ready for school tomorrow." I said truthfully.
"O-oh. Me too actually…"
"Guess I'll see you later then?" I said with a smile.
"Sure." He said, blushing slightly.
