Blue Skies
By Urooj
"Why is the sky blue?"
I saw her for the first time.
Crimson eyes.
Brown Hair.
Pink lips.
"What makes it such a magnificent colour?" She asked with a small smile.
I shook my head.
"I don't know." I replied but she kept on smiling.
Why was the sky blue?
Why were her eyes so hypnotising?
I walk through a quiet path in life.
"Hey jackass, look! There's the school garbage!"
They laugh. They mock.
"Yeah, you're right! She looks like she came right out of a dumpster."
I run as quickly as possible.
Even though I walk quietly through life, my path is met by obstacles that my hushed steps cannot overcome.
"Did you copy down your chemistry notes?" Her eyes had a panic look in them.
"Yeah." Wordlessly I gave it to her.
She beamed.
"Thank you!"
She didn't make fun of me. She didn't do anything to degrade me.
There was also something contagious about that smile, it made me smile too.
My heart sped up.
"Do you know why the sky is blue?"
Her crimson eyes twinkled.
I shook my head, stunned by her cheerful demeanour.
No one had ever treated me in such a manner.
Why was the sky blue?
Why were her eyes so hypnotizing?
Why is my heart beating so fast?
They took her away from me actually. My father was long gone.
"Is that Kuga's daughter?"
My mother's in-laws were dreadful people. They made my mother's life miserable.
And the nurses pitied me.
"Yes, the poor girl. I wonder why she hasn't turned the switch off."
They couldn't sympathise.
What would they know?
Do they go to an empty home every day?
I look their way.
Their backs straighten and they turn around.
Embarrassed for being caught.
I turn back to the figure lying on the bed.
Okaa-san.
I'm all alone without you.
The truth is, they took her away from me and I was blamed for her attempt at suicide.
My sky had grey clouds in them.
"Don't you get tired of being alone?" She asked.
I thought I was the only one in the garden, where flowers had bloomed and rose petals flew in the sky.
"No." I replied but she kept smiling.
That lovely smile.
"Don't you ever get lonely?"
I was awed by the way the wind played with her brown hair.
Her crimson eyes twinkled.
I snapped out of my trance and looked to my side.
My cheeks warmed.
"I'd rather be alone, than with someone who isn't real."
Because loneliness is a true companion. It doesn't walk away nor does it judge.
But she kept on smiling.
My stomach somersaulted. I felt weak.
"I'm still waiting to know."
I looked at her, confused.
"Why is the sky blue?"
I looked at her incredulously.
She giggled softly before disappearing.
Yes.
Why was the sky blue?
Why were her eyes so mesmerising?
Why did her smile make me weak?
Why did I feel so light when she giggled ever so softly?
Who was she?
"Fujino, Shizuru at your service!"
She turned before I could tap her on the shoulder.
I stared.
She giggled and her twinkling eyes looked at me, expectantly.
"Can I copy down that diagram?"
I asked, embarrassed.
I didn't like asking for help. It made me feel weak.
The spark in her eyes slightly faded.
"I don't get to know the name of the lovely girl that sits behind me?"
I blushed and stuttered.
"K-Kuga, Natsuki."
A small blush appeared on her nose bridge.
"You're very cute!"
My cheeks warmed even more.
She grinned. She looked even more beautiful.
"Here you go!" She gave me her notes and I started copying.
I was floating.
"So why is the sky blue?"
I looked up and cocked my head, studying her eyes.
She knew.
Her eyes were twinkling differently.
She knew why the sky was blue.
I shook my head. Her smile only widened. Again, there was something contagious about that smile because I found myself smiling back.
But she didn't know the risks of getting involved with a person like me.
She didn't know she would get nothing from me.
She didn't know me.
Despite that,
I liked her.
My sky was blue.
I started noticing more about Shizuru as the days passed.
She was quite the popular lady who was kind to all.
Her kindness made me like her even more.
I was only in her chemistry class despite being a year younger, since I had completed my previous requirements.
She sat in front of me.
She smelt of lilacs.
We talked often in class and even passed notes during the lecture.
I smiled a lot.
She was attentive and had this authority -power over her matters.
She had authority over my heart.
Sometimes she would gaze out the window.
Then and there I would feel jealous.
She had that love struck look in her eyes.
I would be crushed.
Yet I still couldn't stop liking her.
Was this turning into something more?
"I like someone."
I snapped my head towards her direction.
"What?"
Had I heard correctly?
"I like someone." She said more quietly.
We were doing an acid-base titration.
I looked down.
This couldn't be happening to me. My heart refused to believe that she liked someone else.
I hadn't even seen her with anyone else.
"But I don't know if she likes me." Shizuru continued.
I perked up.
"You're into girls?"
She smiled slightly.
"Do I repulse you?"
No, on the contrary I feel like I'm falling.
"No. Never." I smiled back.
Deeper and deeper.
Falling for you.
Yet it hurt every time she gazed out the window.
Because I knew she was thinking about her.
And not me.
And that made my heart heavy and my mood sour.
It was hard to smile these days.
My blue sky turned gray.
"Are you ill, Natsuki?"
Was I that much of an open book?
I looked up at her.
"No."
And then looked back down and continued my work.
I felt horrible on the inside.
"You don't smile any more."
That's because there isn't a reason to smile anymore.
I didn't say anything until that persistent nagging presence of her eyes wouldn't leave my face.
"I-" The bell rang.
I smiled at her in relief only to catch a sad look pass through her eyes.
I cringed.
I didn't want to be the cause of her pain!
Lowering my eyes, I gather my things as quickly as possible.
"I'm sorry." I said as I ran out.
This was unbearable.
I didn't go to chemistry class after that.
I didn't go to school, period.
I had withdrawn from everything.
I spent my days lying on my bed, to weak to come out.
She had of course noticed my strange behaviour and attempted to contact me.
But all her efforts had failed as I had stubbornly refused to reciprocate.
I knew the truth.
My feelings were one sided. She would never return them.
Her heart belonged to another. And I couldn't change that.
Just the same unchangeable way, the sky was always blue.
I continued walking down the hall, towards my chemistry teacher's office. He gave me two days to decide if I wanted to continue chemistry.
There wasn't much choice in the matter. I would take it next year, when she wouldn't be around.
A shadow caught my eye. A figure sat on the ground near the office. Their shoulder was slumped, knees bent and arms hugging those knees close to their chest.
I recognized them.
"Shizuru?"
My voice was hoarse because I hadn't spoken in days.
I cleared my throat.
Shizuru lifted her head in acknowledgement, but I couldn't see her face hidden in the shadow.
And that disconcerted me.
I ran to her.
"Shizuru! What's wrong?" I asked.
She wouldn't look at me.
"Shizuru, please!" I shook her slightly. What was wrong with her?
"The sky..." She mumbled and I bent down to hear her clearly.
"My sky used to be blue."
I stared at her.
"It was blue because I was happy."
What had happened to it now?
"But it turned grey!" She shoved me away, angrily.
I couldn't think after seeing her teary eyes. My sky was grey too.
"It started to turn grey when the person I liked slowly started to walk away!"
Her fist clenched and unclenched. For some reason I could see light in my sky.
She continued to rage.
"It started to turn grey when the person I liked would not talk to me any more!"
She walked closer to me in an intimidating manner. I couldn't fathom why the greyness was disappearing.
Shizuru's eyes were angry.
"It turned grey when I realized I had loved that person and that person decided to disappear from my life!"
Tears rolled down her cheek. There was only a small amount of grey left in my sky.
Shizuru fell down onto her knees.
"Please don't turn my sky black, Natsuki! Don't you know? I can't see the blue in it without you!"
My sky had cleared.
Shizuru started to rub her eyes while crying. She looked so vulnerable and hurt.
I couldn't move.
I had turned her sky grey?
I was the one who had her heart all along?
Would I turn her sky black?
Never.
"Shizuru..."
Why was I so blind?
"Shizuru..."
I pulled her close to me and hugged her tightly.
"Never will I let your sky be anything but blue."
Her sobbing slowed.
"Never will I be the cause of your pain."
She stopped crying but her breathing was laboured.
"Never will I break your heart again."
Shizuru looked up and stared deeply in my eyes.
"Don't you know Shizuru?"
I let out a small smile.
"I've always loved you."
And gently kissed her soft lips.
We sat happily on the green grass and stared at the clear blue sky.
Our fingers were intertwined, our hearts one.
Shizuru leaned in and kissed my cheek, before whispering in my ears,
"So why do you think the sky is blue?" Her eyes twinkled mischievously.
I pecked her lips before I replied.
"Objects reflect certain light and that's how we see colour."
I knew she didn't want a scientific explanation.
Inching closer to her, I continued.
"The sky reflects the colour blue."
Despite that, she listened attentively. It was endearing and I was overwhelmed with the urge to kiss her.
"Perhaps the sky was always meant to be blue."
Gently I pulled her face closer to mine until I felt her breath on my lips.
Her eyes radiated warmth.
"Just as I, was meant to be with you."
I closed the gap between our lips.
Never will our skies be grey again.
And there you have it!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO J-KUN a.k.a *looks up her pen name*jquackers!
So that's why the sky was blue J-kun, I hope you liked it =)
The sky is metamorphically representing the conditions of Natsuki and Shizuru's hearts =)
Any questions anyone? Please feel free to ask. Though I might charge a service fee in cookies. =P