Flame of Recca; When I First Met Him
Yanagi sighed as the woman's words hit her with the force of a speeding truck. "I'm sorry but her son died so she wasn't able to make your dress." The woman said, an apologetic expression on her face. "Oh, all right. Well, thank you for the information." Yanagi smiled sweetly and turned away. It would have been a whole lot satisfying to yell and complain but on the other hand, it would also be a waste of time and energy. How unlucky can her day be? Suddenly, the air-conditioned room felt even colder and as she stepped outside into the scorching heat, the air also felt hotter than before. What am I to do now? There was no choice but to take plan B.
"Oh my God, it doesn't fit." She turned round and around in front of the mirror, trying to fix her store-bought red and black dress. Black because I am definitely mourning. She gritted her teeth and tried to reach the crisscross strings behind her and succeeded only at tightening but not entirely fitting the strings. She sighed once more and flopped unto her bed to slip on her black heels. Her eyes drifted to the messy room and the empty beds of her roomates. She wondered where they were and why they weren't there to fulfill their promise of help. The thought only made her feel abandoned and even more unlucky. She bit her lower lip and tried to suppress her surmounting despair.
The rain fell in angry streaks against the glass windows, turning the dark night into a murky black. The sight only made her feel worser because it meant that it would be harder for her partner to arrive on time. She paced the tiled floors, eyeing the open doors that lead to the immaculately decorated convention hall.
"Get in now!" their teacher shouted, forcing the stranded students inside. "But our partners are not here yet!" someone explained. "Then, get new partners! We don't have all night for this!" their teacher retorted. Yanagi sighed at the sound of those words. She did not want to replace her partner even if he might be late and he made her wait for a span of an hour outside. "Where are you?" She laid a hand on the cold glass and got startled as an faint image of a person appeared on it. She turned round to see who caused the reflection, a boy, more or less older than her, wearing red and black holding a bouquet of flowers in his arms. She wondered for whom those flowers he held. For his girlfriend, I guess. Inwardly she smiled at how sweet the gesture was. So lucky.
"I'm sorry. I really am. But you were late and I was forced to pair with another." She said to the frowning person in front of her. It was time for dinner and all the students were lined at the buffet table. She, on the other hand, tried to pacify the rising tension between her original partner and the new person she was with. "I'm going to talk to him," her original partner said in a low tone. "Perhaps we can settle this. You are supposed to be my partner." He made a grab at her arm but Yanagi noticed what he was about to do and pulled her arm away before he can touch it. "I'll help you find another partner." she said, immediately regretting her words. "Um. . ." She tried to clear her fuzzy mind for better things to say. She did not mean that she disliked being his partner. She just wanted to help him. "No thanks." he replied curtly and turned to walk away, leaving her standing gaping at him.
There was laughter and music but it did nothing to ease the ache gnawing at Yanagi's heart. After dinner, she was once more left alone because her partner left to see his friends. She sighed her third sigh of the day and tried once more to suppress her surmounting despair. What bothered her even more was the fact that she had just hurt someone and she did not know what to do. Midway through her musings, she suddenly heard a familiar voice call out to her. "Let's dance!" Lili shouted. Yanagi felt a pull on her hands and before she can fully realize it, she was on the dance floor. For a moment, Yanagi just stared at her as though she could not believe someone wanted to be with her. Slowly, a smile appeared on her lips and for the first time, she felt a sense of happiness and her night, began to seem better and brighter.
It wasn't long before Lili noticed that Yanagi's partner was not with her and at once she inquired of him. Yanagi, who was idly looking at the dancers on the dance floor, abruptly turned to look at Lili almost causing her chair to get toppled off the floor. "My partner?" She stalled, trying to think of any easier thing to say. But her silence made Lili's partner curious and soon enough, he and his friend turned to listen too. How embarassing. Yanagi smiled awkwardly at them and began telling her story. "Should I. . .say sorry? What if he'll get mad at me?" She asked them. Lili shook her head. "No, I don't think so." "Go on, once you say sorry his anger will disappear." Lili's partner added. Yanagi grinned, quite relieved. "That's wonderful."
Yanagi crept behind his back and stood there, unseen and before she can change her mind, laid her arms on his shoulder to get his attention. He turned around and looked at her, his brows crossed in curiousity. For a moment, Yanagi did not know what to say but soon enough, a stream of words went out of her mouth. "You are mad at me, aren't you?" It wasn't quite the best opening line but it was the first thought on her mind at the moment. He smiled and shook his head indicating that he was not. Yanagi grinned, she couldn't help it, and as her eyes wandered around him, she spotted a flower on his breastpocket. "You have a flower there. . " she pointed. He took it off his pocket and handed it to her. "For you. ." It was white and a bit withered but it was a flower just the same and the sight of it made Yanagi feel giddy all over. "Thank you." her finger grasped the ragged stem. She smiled at him and wondered what she can do for him. All of the sudden, the thought of Lili and the jolly music of disco crossed her mind. "Let's dance!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the dance floor.
They discoed and slow-danced but afterwards, he left her with Lili and once more, went back to his own group of friends. Frankly, she was disappointed. She thought he would stay with her and talk a bit more. She sighed her fourth sigh, thinking that her partners kept on abandoning her. She sat back on her chair and once more resorted to watching the dancers left on the dance floor. She was sinking into the depths of boredom when suddenly she felt someone take a seat beside her. That was him! Her eyes widened in recognition and the memory of the person outside wearing red and black holding a bouquet of flowers crossed her mind.
"I want to dance." he said.
"Where's your partner then?" Lili asked. It seems Lili knew him and even more so, Lili's partner too.
"She's with her friends." He shrugged.
Yanagi knew they did not know each other but her curiousity got the best of her. "Why don't you go and ask her to dance?" She asked him. After all, she's Lili's companion, a bit of conversation wouldn't hurt.
"It's embarassing. They will all tease me. Look at them." He pointed at the group of girls and boys laughing loudly near the stage. He didn't seem to mind that she was a complete stranger asking him a question about his partner. Yanagi breathed a sigh of relief.
"His partner is Fukko, you know, our groupmate." Lili commented.
"Oh right." Yanagi muttered, remembering Fukko and her loud friends. Strangely, he intrigued her and perhaps the memory of the flowers he brought caused it. But nevertheless, she didn't let it bother her at all. People do get curious of one another more than once. It's normal, nothing to be ashamed of. "You really asked her to dance and all that?"
He looked at Yanagi and laughed. "No, she was sitting right in front of me in class and so I asked her and she agreed."
Then she's not his girlfriend but he gave her a bouquet of flowers! Yanagi stared at him.
And suddenly, it was as thought they were the only ones talking. He kept on talking to her and she, finding this a bit baffling but nice, replied and asked questions. Their conversation drifted to their courses, to music and then to their dormitories where they lived and it was only then did Yanagi knew his name.
"You know I have a twin in your dorm." He smiled.
"A twin?"
"Yes," he replied and at once laughed. "She's named Nikka. . .A classmate of mine. When the teacher called us, I stood up as well as her. ." He grinned. "Nikka and Recca sounds almost the same."
"That's funny." Oh, so his name is Recca. And he's wearing red and black just like me. "What a coincidence."
Lili's partner chided Yanagi for not paying attention and handed the slip of paper for proof of their attendance. Yanagi turned at his voice, a blank expression on her face and for a moment, was lost on what Lili's partner was talking about. "What did you say, Weller?" She asked. Weller shook his head, muttering about being too talkative and just placed the two slips of paper in front of her. Yanagi laughed. "Sorry Weller. Of course, thank you. I talked too much tonight." She laughed again. As she wrote her name, she felt Recca reach over for the other slip of paper on the table. Weller had chided him too and all Recca did was laugh. "I got talkative too. Sorry Weller. I'm paying attention now, see?"
Yanagi sighed her fifth sigh. Her unluckiness did not end on her partner's lateness but also included her phone. She forgot to charge it last night and she did not have time to charge it earlier during the day. She held it up and frowned, the darkened screen reflecting her saddened face. No life at all and it meant no taking of pictures too. It was one of the best nights of her life but she did not have any devices to preserve its memory! "Let's take a picture!" She heard Lili call out to them. It was still raining outside and some of the raindrops have strayed after the front doors and some even escaped to flood the corners of the hall downstairs. They walked across the tiled floors, careful not to get any of their clothes wet and positioned themselves against another glass wall. Weller held up his camera phone and took picture after picture. Yanagi felt relieved. At least, there are pictures for her to grab later. She wanted to take a picture of her and her original partner even though he was wearing blue and she, red. However, she could not see him anywhere. Perhaps, he's still upstairs? "Let's take a picture." Now, it wasn't Lili talking but the person who had been talking to her for the rest of the ball, Recca. He held up his camera phone and Yanagi at once posed beside him, quite unsure if it was proper or even legal to have a picture of them together. He turned the phone around for them to see the picture and at the sight of it, he laughed. Yanagi also smiled. She looked horrible! "Another!" she demanded. Well, if we're going to have a picture together. I might as well look pretty in it! Recca consented and took another picture. This time, Yanagi felt satisfied. The picture looked even better because they were both in red, as though they were the ones partners. She chuckled at the thought. What a coincidence. Her laughter turned to horror when she saw what Recca did to the picture. He wallpapered it! "No!" She protested but Recca just laughed and kept the phone out of her reach. She frowned.
"To the back . . .Sit at the back." The ball was officially over and they had to go home. In the van where they didn't have much of a choice, they all sat together. Yanagi kicked off her heels and folded her knees to relieve her aching foot. "So childish. ." Recca laughed once more at her. She turned to him, looking at him for a very long time. "Yes, perhaps I am." She smiled too. She decided not to mind what he did to their picture and at once they were talking again. The time came for them to separate, she waved goodbye. "We will never meet again!" She said, feeling no sadness or happiness that this might really be so. Little did she know, it was only the beginning.