The Place Only We Know

by Shirai Hisaishi

There is a place where only the two of them know. One day, he left. She was left alone. When he came back, would they be able to go back to their old selves? One-shot.

The Place Only We Know.

Crackling twigs made her spun her head to where the noise came from. The notebook where she was writing was left on the small table as she made her way out of their little secret base. She knew it was him - her friend she met on that hideout last summer. The crackle was one after another, with murmurs of disgust - complaints about the undergrowth were audible. She perked her head from the wooden door, her bright azure eyes blinked against the lush foliage around the hut.

"I told you not to take that road, Len." She laughed and watched him as he struggled to untangle a twig from his trousers.

"Yes, but the other path was far from my place. I'd rather - uh! - take this one, it will not cost my time." The blond boy answered, breaking the twig into two then tossing it away. A wide grin lit his face as he dashed towards the little shack, a plastic bag was dangling from his grip.

"What do you have today, Len?"

"Cookies, Miku." He entered the hut and sat straight on the long wooden seat inside.

Miku found the hut two years ago. She was left by her brother amidst their wandering, thus she found herself missing in the forest. The girl walked through and through until she found a hut, it was almost night that time. Even afraid of the dark and possible snakes residing in the little hut, she entered and realized how the place was kept neat. Later in the evening, her parents retrieve her from the hut. Every time her brother refuses to play with her, Miku goes to the hut to play by herself, bringing the things she wanted to use. She kept a diary where she spilled her heart whenever she felt so lonely being alone in her secret base.

One day, when she arrived there was a boy inside the hut, reading her diary. His face was almost buried on her diary as he seemed to contemplate on everything written there. "Who are you?!" Her voice was high pitched and it startled the boy as he stood and hid the notebook behind him.

"What the-!" His bright round blue eyes shot her a glare, his lips pouting like a duck. "Who are you?" He asked back.

"My name's Miku and I found this place. Why are you reading my diary?"

"Your diary?" He panicked and dropped the notebook on the wooden seat. "I'm sorry. I didn't know that it was a present writing." He saw her frown and his mind felt like exploding. "...what I mean is, I thought... Ah, I ... Uh,"

"It's okay." Miku brought down her lunch box and smiled at him. "At least, someone knows how I feel. Say, what brought you here? How did you find this shack? What's your name?"

Miku and Len became friends. He came there as often as he could, during their free days, when they're free from school. Len told Miku that he found the place when he had an argument with his mother and he told her that he would never come back. So, the two of them became good friends. They considered the hut a place only for the two of them, a private little place to hide when they felt like they're missing their spot in this world.

"Whoa, Len. These cookies are delicious! Did you make them?" Miku chirped as she dug for another cookie from the plastic bag. A big smile was plastered on Len's face as he watched his friend to eat merrily.

"Mum did. She was right, you'd like it." Len sneered then sighed. His eyes raked against the shack, its wooden walls seemed to have faded already, unlike the time they'd seen it. The double-decker wooden bed on the side seemed so small now. They were growing older. They're approaching a major change in their lives.

"Miku," his voice was cold for summer, and yet, it made the girl stop eating. She looked anxiously at him, her eyes wished him to continue. "We will be high schoolers next semester." His stooped head didn't look at her. "My friends are taunting me for ignoring their invitations of football games on weekends. I think I'll attend them as well. Means, I won't be able to come here as often."

Silence felt so heavy. She stared at him with sadness, she couldn't believe that he had to leave soon. It was expected, though. But not so fast. Not like these. "It's okay," a smooth lie slipped through her lips. "I understand. Just don't forget that you can always turn to me when you need someone - a friend." Her smile assured him that it's fine, even though saying such words cut deep. Of course, nobody wanted to be alone. The blond stood and bowed his head with a brief 'thank you' as he ran out of the shock.

History repeats itself. So, here she is - alone in a place only she knows. The plastic bag was left on the other side of the wooden seat, a cookie or two were left untouched inside. Miku was lying on her stomach on the wooden bed, her elbows gave her support. She was writing down on her diary again, scribbling the most painful things of life.

History repeats itself. Once again, she was alone just like in her old days. Her brother ignored her. Kids rarely went out of their houses from the place where Miku lived. She was alone when she found the shack, and here she was, going back on the same state. Her tears never failed to cease as she moved to another page of her diary. She kept on emphasizing that she really didn't want to be left by Len. They had a good time for almost a year, it was depressing for her to watch his retreating back.

People come and go in our lives. Miku firmly believed that some will stay, and that decision relies on the person. Meeting Len was probably one of the most happiest thing to happen on her, but she couldn't ignore the fact that she wasn't holding his mind and heart, that she couldn't force him to stay with her in their base. It's just a year that they knew each other, but she knew him already as if they'd been together for all their lives. When Len chose to spend time with his friends, she knew that it meant his departure. Guys prioritize guys. That's a code for them, and they needed to comply. So, she needed to accept the fact that he wouldn't be the same boy he was. And for sure, as they get older, he'd be colder. It's a must that she has to accept that.

Tears fall like the rain as she abandoned the unfinished diary entry and the cookies inside the shack. Miku made her way to the clearing and ran her way back home. She would never go back there until she felt fine. And she wished that feeling fine wouldn't be so soon - if going back in the hut means being alone, she'd abandon it. She'd dare. Even her footsteps felt heavy and painful, she ran up the trek and reached home. She won't go back. Until she's fine.

The next summer came. The shack that lies in the forest between two villages was visited by a tall, lean blond boy. He got rid of the undergrowth and reached to the door of the hut. It wasn't closed at all, it was opened a little, you could see the wooden seat from there. Len entered, his eyes fixed on the opened diary lying on the bed. Someone had visited the place. His eyes looked around the shack that appeared smaller to him now, there was a plastic bag lying on the seat. It's been a year since his last visit in the base. He was enjoying his friend's company now, and he once told the guys that playing soccer and basketball weren't as boring as camping in a secret hideout. His days were spent cherishing his boyhood, but it was one of these days when he felt like something was wrong with him - like he was missing something. He asked his friends, but none took him seriously. Just then, he remembered someone from the past - not so far past. He remembered the girl who promised that he could turn to her when he needed someone.

Len took the seat and looked at the plastic bag, nothing was there just remnants of some fungus who propagated on a bread? His eyes narrowed on the thing inside the bag. Oh, shit. His mental cursing helped a lot. That was the cookies he brought a year ago. He maneuvered to the bed and read the diary, it was written a year and a month ago. Nobody had entered the shack for the whole year. His parted lips tuck together in a straight line as he read the words written down there, he would answer. He got the pen, hoping it still works, and he wrote a diary entry for that day.

The once lush foliage was now a dying scenery before her. It was amidst the fall season, the trees where lifeless as the clearing was surrounded by dried twigs and leaves. She carefully went down the steep and walked the path - the path she knew like the back of her hand. Her 16th birthday has passed and she remembered a place where she used to go, three summertime ago. It's been two years since she hadn't paid a visit to her base. She couldn't remember why she didn't go there all the while, but that wouldn't stop her from going now. Her long slender fingers pushed the shack's door open as the twilight light lit the insides of the humble place. A smile stretched her lips as she remembered how she used to confide in that place when she missed her reason of existing. A notebook laid peacefully atop the second deck of the bed - which was now on her eye level. Her eyes ran through the words she wrote there two years ago, she recalled what pushed her to stop hiding in her base.

Miku's smile saddened but she chortled and found it foolish. However, it was still precious. Her handwriting was worst during her middle school years, she sneered. But she was vulnerable that time, and was still. There was something in her that she didn't understand, the words were from her of the past. And whatever written there, it completely has nothing to do with her now. She flipped to the next page, a new yet refined handwriting bloomed on the pages. She read, taking a seat as she curiously read what was written. The skies were darkening and it wasn't safe to stay for a moment longer. The diary was closed and kept in the pocket of her jacket as she left the shack empty.

When Miku arrived, she laid her back on her bed and resumed reading the diary entry that she barely understood a while ago. She was rather confused as she went through the text, but deep inside her, she took in the longing with the author's words. In fact, she felt that before - the feeling like something was missing in you. Her eyes widen as she read the last part, the author hoped to see her again. Puzzled, her eyes landed on the bottom of the page where Len's name was scribbled.

Len, that name sounded foreign to her now. Her fingers flipped to the next pages. Len wrote there day after another, last summer, revealing his anxiety and aloofness despite the presence of his guys. The guys who he chose rather than her. Miku was angered on how these people he called friends couldn't even let him talk about his feelings. A sharp feeling of guilt stabbed her chest as she read through the diary entries. Day by day, he got fewer to say, until his last entry was, see you next summer - if we'll meet. Bye.

The end of the junior year came. It was Spring, the air was cold. Len, taller than he used to be, made his way to a place where he spends his day break. Last year, he spent his summer there. He kept on writing on her diary, with hopes that she'd go there. And if by chance she dropped by, she would know that he had been there. But when he visited last spring, the diary was left untouched. Len spent his day breaks there, not writing on the diary anymore since no one hears his cry through the notebook. Now, he came back to find his lost self again through the quietness of the little place he once owned.

The undergrowth didn't bother his trousers the way it used to be when he was younger. He easily stepped over those and the path he used to take felt so short now - maybe his strides had grown longer. He needed to stoop a head so he could enter through the shack's small door. It was now dusty and smelled like ancient stones. The dust covering the seat and the bed - both looked like a kid's thing for him - told him that no one had been in the hut. Hands kept in pocket, he shrugged and left the place. The diary was gone, maybe some random people took it away and made fun of the things he and she had written there.

Miku was lying if she said that she hadn't forgotten Len. It had been a year passed since she took the thing from the shack. The tealette was so shocked to see an old diary kept in her drawer, it was the diary she took from the shack. She held it in the air and stared at it, pondering whether she'd go and see if he was there or not. Miku groaned in exasperation, remembering that she didn't know his address, other than he's from the other village. She couldn't recall his surname as well, so she would just search him online - but, no. She's impossible. Suddenly, her phone rang and she remembered that she promised to go out with her best friend - Rin, today.

Her spring break was spent like this, hanging out with Rin. Surprisingly, Rin decided to go home earlier because of some urgency. Miku walked home alone and as she stood before the familiar path, she decided to look at the shack just this time. Taking chances like it was last, she reminded herself. Her boots tapped against the crackling wooden floor as she entered. The place was never dusty like that before, and it wasn't this small, the way she remembered it. She'd grown now - she laughed. "Never thought that things could really be outgrown, eh?" Her eyes stared amusingly on the finger prints on the second level of the double-decker as if someone had been there earlier. She looked around and saw the pack a chocolate bar on the seat, with a can of soda. Scowling, she threw them away and pulled out a sticky note and stuck it on the most visible part of the shack - the door, then left.

Please don't leave your trash here! This place is important to me!

- 39.

The first summer of senior high.

Len has been dumped by a girl today. It was his first time confessing, and yet...he knew this would come but...his friends just laughed at him. The girl laughed at him. Mad and downcast, Len made his way to the shack. He didn't care whether his new white jeans that he wore especially to look decent for the girl, would get stained. He just wanted a place where he could have a peace of mind. He jumped over the undergrowth that has grown fewer lately as he approached the shack. Maybe a trick of his eye, but there seemed to be this Tyndall effect around the shack. As he stood before the door, the door slammed against his face and the blond yelled his curses and complaint with how unlucky he was today. He stepped back, caressing his nose bridge as he glared towards the door.

Miku was dusting off the shack. Her hand on the handle tightened as she gawked at the person before her. The broom on her right hand fell, as they both gaped at each other. She felt so self-conscious in all of a sudden. Her cheeks reddened as she stood straight and pulled her summer dress up to cover her chest that maybe had showed him enough as she was bowing when she was dusting off the shack. Her long teal hair was lying at her back, some stuck on her forehead, but she didn't care. She released her grip on the handle - another way of saying to enter. Why can't I look at him? Miku groaned mentally.

"Miku," Len called, couldn't believe himself. It was really her, that gorgeous lady before him was the girl from his past. "Is that you?"

"I am." She answered flatly, head not turning to him. "Do I know you?" Miku bit her lip as she pretended to have not known him.

Len felt another breakdown inside his heart, the second for today, as he poked his head to see what she did inside the shack. The double-decker was gone and it was replaced by a wooden bed - he needed to think how she put that there. The wooden seat - which was too small for him - was now replaced by a longer couch. "I'm Len. We met before. Here." He watched her as she went inside the shack. Her toe-length summer dress circled her feet as she settled on the couch and drank her juice.

"Yeah, I think I remember." Azure eyes pierced through his soul, didn't he look forward to meeting her? Here she was and yet he was acting like a coward cat. She was stunning, he couldn't pry his eyes from her. She was like a barbie doll, adolescence had done so good on her. She was a woman in his eyes.

"Can I come in?" He asked, standing by the door. He fidgeted under her stare but when she sighed, Len relaxed. She lightly nodded and motioned him in. At first, he hesitated where to sit but settled on the bed so he could study her features more. "How are you?" He prompted but she shrugged. Shrugging and rolling eyes, that was really the Miku he knew in the past.

"How are you." Miku turned the table and stared boringly at him. She waited for his answer, arms crossed against her chest. She watched him sigh and look around before laughing nervously.

"I...am...not good." Len smiled. "The guys were not being serious with my feelings. They see my emotional side as girlish. I haven't been able to say much about what I truly feel for years."

"I know. I've read the diary." She took another glass and filled it with the same drink and offered him. He took it gratefully as he looked at her momentarily. It was uncomfortable, really. The fact that they were teens now made the setting too humid for Miku, and she was shy but she needed to cover up and pretend that she'd changed.

"You took the diary. I thought someone else took it." He laughed quietly. "Why didn't you come? No. Don't answer. Ah, yeah. So getting back to your question, just today, my friends helped me to confess to this girl I liked. She dumped me, I was down. My friends laughed."

"So you're here?" She asked. He nodded, avoiding her eyes.

"I always go here when I find myself out of place - which is so often - trying to find my place here. I remember you told me before I left, that you'll always be there as a friend. I also read your last diary entry. Sorry," he pouted and looked at her with guilt.

"It's fine," she said. "But things aren't the same anymore, I know you're aware of that. I'm not the same girl you knew before. I'm sure you're the same. Everything changes." Another lie sounded convincing from her. "I'm not comfortable with you anymore."

Blunt. She was too blunt for him. Sure, it was his fault when he chose his playmates than her. But is it really that easy to forget the past? "Yeah," he smiled weakly. "I understand. However, can I still go here?"

"Why not?" She stood and picked up her bag and things, and he stood, too, to pick the broom for her. She stood under his nose, the shack offered them little space unlike before. "Thanks," she snatched the broom and ran away. Len watched her leave as a sigh escaped his lips.

The bright noon sky sparkled in Len's eyes as he watched Miku's form went through the other side of the forest. This wouldn't be a goodbye, Len assured himself. There wasn't this dramatic feeling like he didn't want her to go. Instead, it was a relief to see her go. He still doesn't understand.

Len spent his afternoons in the shack. From his school, he drops at the shack for an hour before going home. By weekends, he spent almost whole day there, reading and doing his homework. Miku goes to the hut by weekends alone. Len did countless attempt to talk to her, but the lady insisted him to finish his work. So, their weekends were quiet.

"You know, I wanted to be friends with you. Again." Len told Miku the next Saturday they met. Her summer dress made her look more radiant that day. The light sneaked through the gaps of the walls and shone on Miku's hair. She stiffened on her seat as her grip on the book she was reading tighten. Slowly, she brought down the book to look at the quiet blond seated on the bed. He was staring at the wide opened door, watching the trees dancing with the wind. His serene expression reminded Miku the boy she used to play with, the boy who brought her cookies and cakes. Sadness clouded in Miku's chest as she decided to answer his implied question.

"I..." Her voice trailed off. "I wanted the same. But that's really impossible, I think. We're grownups, things aren't the same anymore." Miku resumed reading and ignored his presence. She was lying once again, tempting fate. She felt her stomach churning with her own lie. Of course, she wanted to be friends with him again - badly. But the truth is, things aren't the same.

"I don't know why are you saying that." Len brushed his fringe away from his eyes. He found the trees more interesting to stare at, rather than to look at her. He would feel intimidated and wouldn't be able to speak properly. "We can make things normal, you know."

"I have a boy friend," came her stern reply as the book was gently placed above her lap, "I'm sure he wouldn't like it if he learned that I was spending my weekend in a shack - together with a guy from my childhood." Her sad smile reached her eyes as a nervous laughter made its way.

"Oh," he glanced at her. Of course, she's beautiful. He began nibbling on his lower lip, a habit he does when panic stricken. "I'm sorry, yeah. I didn't think of that." Agitated, Len began to gather his notes. "I'll leave you here, I'm sorry."

Miku gaped as she watched him left in hurry - the same way he left five years ago. His blond hair shone momentarily when the sun struck it, then he was gone. She was left in silence. A pang made her wince - it was a stronger emotion, or hurt rather, stabbing her chest. This time, she pushed him away. Why am I such a liar? Barefooted, she rose from her seat. The book she was reading dropped on the ground as she ran out of the shack. She pulled her dress up and went through the path where Len used to go. Biting her lower lip as she followed him, his blond head almost disappeared from her sight.

"Len!" And though his name felt nostalgic from her tongue, she called him. Her voice echoed in that secluded place as she doubled her speed just to catch him. "Len!" Her bare feet were being tortured by the uneven forest ground as she saw him ascend to the rock stairs. She breathed deep and yelled once more, wishing deep in her heart that her voice may reach him. "Len!"

Len stopped walking when he heard his name being called by a familiar voice. He looked around and saw Miku panting, on the forest floor, staring up to him. His eyes widened when he saw her white feet against the soil. He descended to her, as she almost lost her balance. He caught her arm and pulled her to her feet. Her straight white teeth showed when she smiled goofily.

"What happened to you?" He was worried, obvious from his eyes. She just smiled at him as she held on his arm and took a step back.

"I was kidding when I told you we couldn't be friends." She looked down on her feet that hurt like heck. When she stopped running, that's the moment she felt the pain. "Sorry if I'm being stubborn to you."

"It's fine, you know. Is your boy friend a lie as well?" He half-hoped she'd say yes. But when she laughed and shook her head, he reminded himself again that she's beautiful and lovely. It's impossible for a guy not to fall for her.

"Do I look like I'm inventing stories? I really have a boy friend, Len." She loosened her grip on him. "Okay, I'll go back now-what!" She was pulled by Len, her arms on his shoulder as he slid an arm behind her knee. He carried her at his back.

"No, you ran enough. I'm taking you home so you can wash your feet and lend mom's shoes. She'll be glad to see you for the first time." Len walked to the stairs as Miku shifted at his back, adjusting herself with him. No girl would be that comfortable when your chest is pressed against a guy's back, right?

A nervous chuckle escaped her throat, "I'm fine, Len. I don't think that it's a good idea to bring me suddenly in your plac-" she stopped. This is her first time seeing where Len lives. It is a neat village, much like her own. The only difference is that, there are lots of children playing on the street. This is probably the thing she never had experienced in her youth. "With such amiable place, how can you trade your playmates just for a girl?"

They were quiet as they watched the children play. Len remained standing under a tree's shade, contemplating about what she said. He did trade his playmates just to spend time with her in the shack, for a year. You wonder why I was there for a year? The things he couldn't say will be spoken in his mind, until he was brave enough to voice them. Because I know you needed me. You're not happy by yourself, and my playmates were happy without me. That's why I chose you. If only they didn't taunt me, we might be the same good friends we used to be. He felt her relax behind him, her arms calmed as she brought her head to rest on his shoulder. Even they pretend to haven't known each other anymore, old habits remained. The she who loved to lean on his shoulder when tired or sad, was back again. A smile crept to his lips as he took her action as a signal to keep moving. The two moved on, leaving behind the childhood memories. Len decided to win her as a friend this time. Without relying on coincidences, without reading her diary.

When the sun was about to set, Len walked Miku home through the normal road. His hands were kept in his pockets as he walked silently blissful behind her. She was carrying a can of his mom's cookies - his mom and Miku got along really well. He watched her long teal hair to sway behind her as the orange light stained it. They didn't talk so much when they were in Len's house, though Len's mother asked her how did they reunite. Miku stopped and pointed her house, and invited him to visit her next weekend. With a nod, he agreed. His eyes were glued on her as she entered her residence. He now knew where she lives.

Wednesday afternoon, Len was tired from the practice for his school's intramurals. He was one of those chosen in his class to play football. Deciding that he would take a nap in the shack, he went through the same path. However, when he was near, he heard someone crying. Inside the hut. He sneaked quietly in the shack and saw Miku, still on her uniform - a school uniform that wasn't like his - curled on the bed. Her sobs were loud and hoarse. She was squalling while clenching a fist against her chest - where her heart was - as if she was trying to rip her heart away.

"Miku!" He sat by her side and pulled her hand away. Her cheeks were red and soaked with tears, eyes swollen. She rose and leaned her head against his chest and began to slam her fists against him weakly. "What happened! Tell me!" His voice was strong, as if to convince her that with him, she was safe. But she didn't answer. She kept on crying, her voice was trembling. Her neat hair was now disheveled. Annoyed, he wrapped his arms around her. He was tired. He didn't have the energy to force her to answer him, so to stop her, he hugged her - which was effective. She calmed down after half an hour, the rise and fall of her shoulders was back to normal. Though she could be heard sniffing, he knew she was better compared earlier.

"Why are you guys so alike?" Her voice was icy and serious, as her hand against his chest balled into fists, gripping his uniform. He felt her shake as she mocked a laughter, though what he heard was a bitter one. "Why do you love leaving girls like that? Am I really that easy to let go?" Her fists relaxed and dropped on his sides. He was keeping her in his arms all the time. Len was just looking up as he rested his back against the wall, thinking of the reason why is she talking like that. "My emotions don't matter to you, really? How can people play with my heart, tell me. Tell me... Tell," tears threatened to fall.

"What did your boy friend do to you?" His voice was deep and serious, but it didn't have an effect on her. She chuckled, again a bitter one. Her head remained against his chest as their breathing were synchronized. "What did he do to you." He said, more than asked, as his hand began to pat her back. "Didn't he know how precious you are? That leaving you is the most insolent choice he made in his entire life? Wasn't he aware what he did lose? He's a jerk. He's a stupid harebrained idiotic heartless guy. Tell me what do you want me to do to him. I'll crush him for making you cry," what he just said reflected back to him. Len was such a coward. "He forgot that you're amazing and a lovely lady. He's a jerk, I swear."

"I refused to kiss him last Friday," Miku said. She sounded like she's heading for another breakdown. "Today, before I went off, I saw him making out with the most popular girl in class. I saw how he...how...he's disgusting! I saw him as he caressed her like a hungry lion. Is that what he really wanted from me at the beginning? And now that I refused to give that, am I really easy to let go?" Miku was yanked to her feet as Len stood. He wiped away her tears and brushed her hair to make her look decent. He held her hand and stared at her, those blue eyes never looked dark.

"Tell me where he is," he ordered as he pulled her out of the shack. She tried pulling him back, but it wasn't that easy. He was a strong guy and she never knew that. His hand on her was gentle yet firm as they head to the path towards Miku's place. "I'll fix your issue, in a guy's way."

"No!" This time she took advantage of him as his foot was on the first stair, pulling him back. "No, let him be." She glared at him, and sighed. "We're never getting back together. He's not my loss."

"But you were crying! I don't want anyone to make you -"

"Because I was hurt!" She abrupted and held his hand tight. "I never thought it would hurt like that. Forget it, I want to rest. In the shack." She let his hand go and went back to the place only the two of them know. She was stubborn, he admitted and just followed her. Her steps were hurried as she left him trailing behind her.

When he reached the shack, he slumped on the wooden couch and stared at her as she sleep on the bed. He shrugged and laid on the couch, despite he was longer than the seat itself. He watched her sleep even he was half a meter away from her, he knew she was still pretty even asleep. Just like that, he was succumbed by his tired eyes.

Miku began spending her afternoons with Len. They started to know each other again, sharing idle talks. He asked how her life went all the years they haven't talked. She did the same as well. She learned that he had a favorite fruit now, that he liked football better than basketball. He found out that she liked wearing long dresses, just like her summer dresses. She also liked green and blue. She still liked cookies. They drew closer to each other again, they were ones apart, like a zipper. But now, they were back to their old selves. They never changed. The children in them were still the same, only their appearances changed. Sometimes, Miku wasn't comfortable when he was too close to her, she was saying it right away.

Len and Miku began spending their school breaks in the shack and Miku's house. The two would watch movies, play games and go out. One time, it was winter, Miku and Len saw Miku's ex-boyfriend with the girl he was making out before. Len watched Miku froze when the blue haired guy waved a hand to Miku. She didn't react, so Len waved a hand to the guy. Miku laughed at Len as she asked him to bring her to a coffee shop.

Miku introduced Len to her high school best friend, soon, she joined their movie nights in Miku's house. At first, it was fine for Miku to see Rin and Len became closer. Until she learned that Rin and Len were having private talks by themselves, some secrets were prohibited for her to know. She was disappointed to both of them, because even with the two, she felt alone. Miku began to distance herself from the two. She refused to go out with them and she declined their invitations for hanging out.

The graduation day came, Miku ignored Rin. The tealette rejected Len's calls and messages as she went home to change with a summer dress. Once done, she walked to the shack that she visited less lately. Maybe Rin knew the place from Len, and they made it their own place, as if they found the place first. "Yeah, the two of them were so close, why don't they marry already and disappear from here," she was jealous. Miku couldn't believe that Len would leave her again, and choose a friend of a best friend.

The mad tealette barged in the shack and saw the blond guy lying on her bed. He was writing on the old diary, but that annoyed her. Seeing him annoyed her. "Get out." Her voice was strong as she stood beside him and crossed her arms. She wanted to relax, which means he has to leave. He ignored her though, and continued writing. "I said out." She kicked the bed, he paused writing. The noon was high and as hot as Miku's head. Her blood felt like boiling as she grabbed his wrist and tried to pull him up. Much to her surprise, she was pulled down to him. She was seated, his head beside her lap.

"Just get out, Len!"

"Don't get jealous, Miku." He laughed and went back writing. Len was humming a tune as he continued his novel, she didn't care. "I was preparing for a college entrance exam. Rin was only helping me out, you know. Oh - I'll bury the diary under the bed, okay? You have to read this when I leave."

"Cut it out, Len."

Miku left the shack and never came back for five years. She studied overseas and became successful. She remained loveless for that's what she chose, and went back to their place after all the years. The shack was nothing more than a ruin. The place she only knew was weak and tattered. It was a wreck of her own memory. And their friendship was just like the shack, weak and tattered.

Oh right, I haven't seen Len in a while.

"Hey, Ring! Come on here! There was something buried here, look!" A dark blond boy dug deeper beside a dog house in the middle of the park. A silver-blue haired girl ran to the blond kid as she pulled a box covered with dirt.

"How did you find this, Lui?"

"I saw the dog digging here. I thought it was a treasure or what." The blond boy brought down the box from the girl and lifted the cover. There was a notebook inside, it was brittle and yellow. The kids opened and read what was written there, until they didn't notice that the sun was setting when they finished.

"This is sweet, Lui." Ring said, raising the notebook in the air. "It was written fifteen years ago."

"Are you really that bad in math, Ring? It's twenty years ago." The blond shrugged and stood. "It was a sad story, though. The girl didn't write after the letter."

"Yeah, okay. Twenty it is. And yes, sad. But still sweet. I wonder if the girl learned that her best friend had been in love with her all the time." The diary was kept in Ring's bag as she stood and stretched her arm. The sky was darkening and the wind was cold. The two left the central park and went home.

"See you tomorrow, Ring! Tell your Aunt that I'll be visiting tomorrow before you go back to the city." Lui waved a goodbye as Ring entered her aunt's house. The house was warm and welcoming as the untidy girl went her way to the kitchen. "Aunt Miku! Look at what Lui and I have seen in the park!"

"Darling, I'm busy!"

"But Aunt, it's really cool!" The girl whined and slumped on the ground, pouting like a duck.

"Fine, fine. Go to your Uncle Len first and ask him to wash you. He's stuck in front the TV again." The woman smiled at the little girl as the giddy kid ran to her uncle.

The end.