Lucky
~They say that if you shout your wish toward the ocean, it'll come true~
That was where I was––the ocean, the salty breeze kissing my cheeks and playing with my locks of brown hair. Seagulls cawed and flew through the sky, meeting the horizon. I leaned against the railing of the boardwalk that was over looking the beach as the setting sun met the ocean water. The sun cased colors of bright yellow, warm orange, and deep red all throughout the sky.
I looked into the sunset with such a sorrowful feeling in my heart. I felt so empty inside––like a basketball without a net, or like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich without the peanut butter. I was missing someone in my life. Someone I knew since junior high. Someone I lived with in junior high.
I was now a college graduate with a degree in chemistry and mathematics with no job––other than my lineage of being the caretaker of my family's temple.
I sighed. My future wasn't a bright as the sun. It actually looked pretty bleak. Kanata Saionji: a lonely bachelor with no life except for the occasional night out with his best friend and his best friend's movie star girlfriend. Some future.
I really wished that she was here right now. She would give me some excitement in my life. Either from her klutziness or my constant teasing her, I would be happy. No one truly knows how depressed I felt when she left.
God, how many years ago was it? Oh that's right––seven years, four months, and three days. I chuckled to myself, thinking how pathetic it was for me to know that.
I remembered that day so vividly. When I suddenly woke up, sensing that something was terrible wrong. When I found that letter, feeling that heart-wrenching feeling. When I rushed to the airport, hoping with my whole heart. When I looked to see no blonde teenager with emerald-colored eyes. When I felt the hurt that was tearing me inside.
Suddenly, I remembered that old legend my father told me when I was young. He told me that when the villagers would get sad or depressed, they would shout their wish into the ocean and it would come true. He also said that sometimes when they would want to deliver a message to someone, they would shout it into the oceans. And it somehow worked––according to my father that is.
I smirked, breathing out a chuckle, as I debated within myself if I should try it or not. I looked around me. There was no one around; I was completely alone. I faced the ocean and, as I took a deep breath, cupped my hands over my mouth. Then I shouted, hoping that she would somehow hear me––even though she was halfway across the world. "I LOVE YOU, MIYU!"
~They say that a dream is a wish your heart makes~
The salty breeze blew through my locks of blonde hair, whipping it across my face. "I love you, Miyu," the breeze seemed to say. My heart skipped a beat as I turned around, putting my hand on the back of my head to hold onto my white, wide-rimmed hat; the breeze also playing the blue skirts of my blue sundress around my legs; the foam from an incoming wave bubbling as it touched my feet.
I looked to see someone––anyone actually––but there was no one. Not a soul in sight. I was alone. My face dropped and so did my heart. I could have sworn that voice––that that voice––was the man who broke my heart: Kanata Saionji.
I looked around disappointed, listening to the roar of the waves and the cawing from the seagulls behind me. Suddenly the sounds of the seagulls and waves was drowned out by a beeping noise––an annoying beeping noise.
That was when I awoke, looking at the blaring alarm clock on my nightstand. I hit the button on my alarm, turning it off. I relaxed a bit in bed as I looked to the left of my clock, looking at a picture frame with a picture of a young teenaged couple with a cat-like-dog thing and a little baby boy with locks of sunshine blonde hair. Yes, it was a picture of myself, the man who broke my heart––Kanata––and the two aliens who lived with us––Wanya and baby Ruu.
It had been so many years since that day: seven years, four months, and three days to be exact. Please, do not ask why I'm counting. I guess I'm just that pathetic.
I pouted thinking about that day. The day when Ruu and Wanya left earth to go back to their home, planet Otto, and the day I also moved out of the Saionji residence to live with my parents in Florida in the States.
I had left early, hoping not to meet him––but also hoping that he was notice my letter and hunt me down, telling me not to go. Well, I was one hundred percent wrong. He never came. How could I've been such an idiot to think that I would get a fairytale ending?
I sighed, turning on my other side so that I wouldn't have to face the picture any longer. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes.
Suddenly, my phone rang. I sat up and picked up my cell-phone that was next to my clock. "Hello? Miyu speaking."
"Miyu, you'll never guess what!" Aya's––my best friend from Japan––voice squealed into the phone.
"What?" I asked excitedly.
"Christine and Nozumo are getting hitched! As in married hitched!"
I couldn't believe what my ears had just heard. Christine Hanakomachi––the same girl who was so much in love with Mr. Popular (a.k.a. Kanata Saionji). "Really? Are we talking about the same Christine Hanakomachi?" I asked, just to make sure.
"Of course, dummy! Who else do we know with a name like Christine?"
She did have a point. "Wow! I can't believe it! When's the wedding?"
"Well, you see," Aya started with a nervous tone that scared me, "it's in three weeks."
What?! Three weeks? You've got to be kidding me! "Three weeks?"
"Yeah, Christine said that she couldn't wait to be married, and you know those rich people. They can pull off anything." Aya was right on that. "So, do you think you can come?" She asked me. "Christine said that she'll pay for the plane ticket if you can't pay for it. She really wants you to come."
Wow, that was nice of her, but it wasn't really money that I had a problem with. My job as an artist and a writer gave me a pretty, big chunk of money. The real problem was: would I be able to face Kanata Saionji?
"Please, Miyu," Aya's begging voice came over the receiver, as she didn't hear me reply immediately.
I guess it'll be okay. "Um, yeah, sure I'll come! And there's no need for Christine to pay. I'll be there hopefully in a few weeks. Um, what day is the wedding?"
"Yay!" Aya squealed over the phone. "The wedding is July 11. I'm so glad you're coming, Miyu!"
"All right, I'll see if I could come on the 10th or something. I'll call you on further details, 'Kay?" I can't believe I'm agreeing to this.
"Okay, I'll see you then! Bye, Miyu!"
"Bye," I told her, then turned off the phone with a sigh.
I was going to see him. I had always wanted to see him. I really did.
~They say that true love takes awhile to be realized~
They told me that this was a reunion for all of us. So why did I have to be all dressed up formally? Oh, that's right––it was being held at a fancy restaurant. I tugged at the cuffs of my black suit and fixed my tie as I stood awkwardly in the lobby of the restaurant with some sort of fancy French name that probably meant something like wine or frog or something.
I looked around for someone I knew, but saw nobody. It seemed like I was the only one from our party here. Santa and his girlfriend (the two who had forced me to go and had brought me here) had to go back to her studio because of some sort of mixed-up schedule with her manager.
A waiter dressed in a black and white butler outfit came up to me. "Saionji?" He asked me.
"Yes?"
"Would you like to sit down at you're table?"
I thought I was early, but it could be that I was late and that the others had already been seated. "Yes, please." I told him. Then I followed him into the dinning room filled with romantic––candle-lit––elegant tables. He led me over to a table where a woman with long, blonde hair––pulled back into a ponytail––sat by herself. She stood up suddenly and turned around. I looked into her emerald eyes. Those eyes that held so much wonder and surprise. "Miyu?"
~They say that true love takes awhile to be realized~
I arrived in Japan on the tenth of July. Aya, Nanami, and Christine were so happy to see me. I was happy too––really I was. I had not even been in Japan for five minutes before they pulled me to Christine's house explaining that they were going out to dinner with the guys. The next thing I knew was that I had a twilight blue dress on with sparkles, my make-up had been done with perfection, a silver necklace of a crescent moon hung around my neck, and my hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Then they dragged me to a fancy French restaurant (with a fancy French name) and seated me at a table.
They were up to something. I knew it. Once they had left one-by-one, coming with excuses like "Oh, my grandmother needs me to come home for a few minutes," and "oh, Nozumo is calling me. I'll be right back." But Aya's statement really killed me. It was "Uh, I need to go to the restroom." All of those girls have taken over twenty minutes. Come on, does it really take twenty minutes to go to the bathroom?
I stood up. I couldn't take this any longer. I turned to see the waiter and an admittedly handsome young man in his early twenties. His brown locks of hair and honey-brown eyes looked so familiar. "Miyu?" The handsome man questioned me.
~They say that true love takes awhile to be realized~
"Kanata?" Miyu asked, feeling a bit nervous.
The waiter pulled out the only other chair, which was across from Miyu, as he motioned for Kanata to sit down.
Kanata only looked at her with such surprise. It was really Miyu. He could hardly believe it. She had matured so much in beauty and figure, but her eyes were still the same: gems of emerald that sparkled with life.
Miyu looked away from him, down at the floor, and took a step forward to leave. But Kanata stopped her. She looked up and met his eyes once again. "Please stay," he told her questioningly.
She sighed and sat back down in her seat and he sat across from her as the waiter finally left them. A silence fell between the two as Miyu looked down at her place setting and Kanata could only look at her. "Are you going tomorrow?" Miyu finally asked.
"Where?" Kanata asked, confused.
She snapped her head up. "To Christine and Nozumo's wedding, of course!" She explained.
He laughed a bit. "Where did you get that idea?" He asked, giving her an odd look.
"Aya told me." Miyu explained.
He rolled his eyes. "So I guess this isn't a reunion after all." He mumbled to himself. They both looked into each other's eyes and burst out into laughter.
"We've been played!" They both said.
After Miyu and Kanata had a lovely dinner together, they took a moonlit walk through the park.
"So," Kanata began as the moon and stars sparkled down upon them, "how long will you be here in Heiomachi?"
"Only until tomorrow night. I was supposed to leave after the 'wedding.'" She explained and chuckled a bit at the thought of the fake wedding.
The two of them stopped walking and sat on a bench, looking up at the moon. "We used to do this a lot. Didn't we?" He asked.
"Did what?" She looked over at him, puzzled.
"Stargazing. We used to do that a lot when we were in middle school." He explained, putting his arm around the back of the bench.
"Oh, that's right." Miyu remembered. Her face dropped as she said, "I really miss those days."
"Me too." He told her nostalgically. It became quiet between the two for a while as they looked up into the sky. Kanata looked down at her and bit his lip gently, debating within himself about something. Miyu on the other hand, didn't even notice him staring down at her. "Miyu," he spoke nervously.
She turned her head and looked up at him. "Yeah?"
It all happened it an instant. Kanata suddenly drew his head toward Miyu's head, cupping her cheek with his hand. He kissed her sweetly and then pulled back. "I never got a chance to tell you, Miyu. I've always loved you."
Miyu could hardly breath. The love-of-her-life was confessing to her! She looked down at her legs as she remembered the day she was last in Heiomachi. "If you loved me, why didn't you stop me that day?"
"First of all, you didn't think logically! You just left me a letter. If I had slept in, I would have missed the flight and you all together."
"If you had slept in?" She asked, giving him a baffled look.
"Yeah, if. I miraculously woke up and found your letter. But when I reached the airport, you had already boarded the plane." He explained. Then he looked down at the ground. "I had missed you only by a minute. The doorkeeper told me that you had waited until you were the last person to board the plane, and that you had boarded only a minute ago.
"When I looked outside the window, I saw your plane as it pulled away from us and made its way to the runway."
She felt her heart flutter in her chest as she listened to him. He actually tried to stop her! Tears of joy welled in her eyes. She hugged him with all her might. "I love you too, Kanata!"
He, a little startled, smiled a bit and hugged her back as happy as he could be.
~They say that absence make the heart grow fonder~
I watched you as you tried to hold back your tears. We paid no attention to the hundreds of people around us. You hugged me again, saying how much you were going to miss me. I rubbed your back, telling you that I was going to miss you too.
Your flight number was called over the loudspeaker and it said that the plane was ready to be boarded.
We pulled apart once again. I told you to have a safe trip. You only sniffled and put on a smile for me. I knew it was a fake. Don't you realize that I know you better than that?
You picked up your carry-on bag and told me goodbye. I returned your farewell greeting. You turned around and began to walk toward your flight. Pain struck my heart as I watched you grow farther and farther away from me. Each step you took made you feel millions and millions of kilometers farther away from me. I couldn't stand it anymore. I rushed over to you and hugged you from behind.
You, a bit startled, turned into me and told me once again that you loved me. God, how good it felt to hear you stay that! I then captured your lips in a passionate kiss. We parted out of breath. "I love you and I promise to wait for you until we meet again," I swore to you.
You giggled a bit and told me that you will wait for me too. I kissed your forehead and you walked toward the entrance of the plane. I watched you as you gave your ticket to the male flight attendant at the door and walked through the entrance. You turned and waved to me goodbye. I waved back as we both shared a smile. Then you disappeared from my sight.
~They say that patience is all it takes~
A month has passed since my fateful flight to Japan. Now, I'm home again to only wish that I were back there; back with him.
Right now, my parents have taken me to some fancy restaurant to tell me something important. Oh, they haven't told me that they had to tell me something, but I know their ways. Every time they had something important to tell me, we were eating some type of meal.
"Miyu," my mom began, "we have something to tell you."
How'd I guess? "What is it?" I asked, eating a forkful of salad.
"Well, your mother has always wanted to go visit Hawaii," my father pointed out.
"So we're going to go there next week for vacation!" My mother proclaimed all to joyfully.
They're leaving me again. "Oh, okay. Do you want me to look after the house while you're gone?" I asked, taking a sip of water from my glass.
"Miyu, you're coming with us!" My mother explained.
"Really?"
"Yeah," my father agreed, "you've been drowning yourself in your work recently and your mother and I think you need a break."
He was right. Ever since I've come back from Japan, I've been doing nothing but work. But it was only because I didn't want to think about him too much. If I did, I was sure to jump on the next plane and run crying into his arms. There was no way that I could do that. I still have many things to do in the States before I move back to Japan.
"So, what do you say, Miyu?" My mother asked.
I smiled. "When are we leaving?"
~They say that patience is all it takes~
I smiled as I looked at the two plane tickets in my hand. My father was nuts, I tell you, nuts. But it's times like these that I love my dad. He really does try to do what is best for me.
The two of us were sitting in the airport, waiting for our flight to board. My dad looked over at me and questioned my unusual smiling face. I told him thanks for what seemed the millionth time and looked back down at the plane tickets.
~They say that a little luck and good friends is all you need~
I took a step out of the airport and felt the warmth of the sun on my skin. A Hawaiian lady placed lei on my neck, greeting me to Hawaii. I thanked her for it and followed my parents to the limo that they had prepared. I had a feeling that this vacation was going to be the best vacation ever.
The hotel was only twenty minutes away from the airport. It was a beautiful little hotel right on the beach. My parents and I checked in at the hotel. It wasn't even ten minutes later that my parents went off on some romance time. Meanwhile I went for a walk on the beach.
Everything looked like it was taken out of a romantic gateway magazine. The whole place seemed to say "romance" and "tropical fun." I sighed, wishing that Kanata were with me. I looked out at the ocean as the salty breeze kissed my cheeks.
Then I heard my name. I turned around and looked to see someone. And that someone wasn't just anyone. It was….
~They say that a little luck and good friends is all you need~
"Kanata?"
He smiled. "Hello, Miyu."
Miyu ran to him and hugged him tightly. "I missed you so much!"
He chuckled into her neck as he hugged her back. "We were only away from each other for a month. But, for the record, yes, I missed you too."
She held him as she breathed in his scent of cinnamon and lilies. She pulled back a bit and kissed him full on the mouth. He smiled and kissed her back. When the two drew back, they looked into each other's eyes. He laced his fingers with hers and the two of them walked down the beach together, letting the incoming waves kiss their feet.
"So what are you doing here?" Miyu asked as they walked hand-in-hand.
"Shouldn't I be asking the same?" He asked in a mischievous manner.
She laughed. "Come on, just tell me."
He smiled as he looked up ahead of them at the coast, the trees, the water, and the rocks, just the whole scenery in general. "My father talked to you're parents and they arranged the whole thing."
Miyu chuckled. "I should have known. Our parents are pretty crazy, aren't they?"
"No, they're definitely crazy. I mean, who lets their fourteen-year-old children live together? Alone nonetheless."
"You're right," she agreed, "they are totally nuts."
"But," Kanata started, matter-of-factly, "it was thanks to them that we are together, even right now."
Miyu smiled. "Yeah, you're right." She leaned her head against his arm as they walked.
They stopped walking and sat on the sand, looking out at the water. Miyu had her head rested on his shoulder and he had his arm wrapped around her waist. Then, he reached over to a tropical bush and plucked a flower from it. He slipped it behind her ear and kissed her cheek. She blushed and smiled sheepishly. She rested her head back on his shoulder and he pulled her close.
~They say that a little luck and good friends is all you need~
It's been three days since our Hawaii vacation had began. Tonight was our last night. Kanata had told me that he wanted to talk with me after dinner. It was now after dinner. I waited for him in lobby of our hotel. He met me with a smile and the two of us walked to the beach hand-in-hand.
It was dark out. The moon shone down upon us and the stars twinkled like Christmas tree lights. There was even a chilly breeze, but the humidity of the balmy island kept us warm. However, I still snuggled up to him as we walked.
He led me to a bench that over looked the ocean. We sat down together and watched the stars. "Remember when we used to do this in Japan?" He asked me.
"Yes, I remember. We had many good memories like this." I said as I nuzzled my head on his shoulder, cuddling up next to him.
"Miyu," he began after a moment of silence. His voice was gentle and I sensed that he was a bit nervous. "Do you think that you would return to Japan anytime soon? You know to live there again?"
I looked up at him as he searched for something in my eyes. "Yes, of course, I was thinking about it. There's just the matter of housing and moving my things."
"You can live with me." He offered quickly.
I chuckled. "But it's different from when we were younger. We're adults now and we're dating, it's not proper…" I couldn't even finish my reasoning for he interrupted me.
"What if we were to get married?" He asked so sincerely, so suddenly, as he looked into my eyes.
~They say that true love conquers all~
"What if we were to get married?" The words slipped from my mouth as I looked into your eyes, searching for your answer. I saw the shock and excitement in them.
"Married?" You repeated as almost as if it was a foreign word.
My heart leapt into my throat. I swallowed, hoping it would go back down. It didn't. "Do you not want to get married?" I asked painfully.
You shook your head wildly at me. "No! No, I do. It's just…" you paused and looked at the ground. My heart raced as I waited for you to speak again. "You didn't even ask me properly."
Kanata, you are such an idiot! "Oh, yes, you're right." I stood up and walked before you. "How could I have forgotten?" I dug in my pocket and pulled out the small box. I knelt down and opened the box before you. "Miyu, this is a little embarrassing to say this, but you are the love of my life. You're my best friend and the most important woman in my life." I watched your eyes water with excitement and I swallowed. "Miyu, will you marry me?"
A tear rolled down your cheek and another. You nodded, mouthing the word "yes." You took in a breath, nodded again, and spoke clearly, "Yes, yes."
"May I?" I asked, taking the ring out from the box, as you sniffled and nodded some more. I gently held your hand and slipped the ring on your finger. I clasped both of my hands around your hand and smiled up at you.
You wiped some tears away from your face. I stood up and we pulled each other in closely. "Kanata, I love you." You spoke into my chest.
I kissed the top of your head. "I love you, Miyu." I whispered to you, remembering the day at the beach and the legend that my dad had once told me.
~They say that if you shout your wish toward the ocean, it'll come true~
The End