Deep Skin, Deep Skin
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The start of the world comes when the sun bursts on her skin.
It's a school day – Monday, or Tuesday, Wednesday perhaps but it doesn't really matter, now does it? – and the world is crooked. The teachers are babbling, the students aren't listening, and everything is uneven. Yusuke is mad at her for god knows why, her Trigonometry grade is now a B, and she actually doesn't understand a word of what anyone is saying. But it's alright, she guesses. It's alright – because . . . in some ways, everything has never been so perfect.
Before that day, she never realized before how beautiful the sky was, how rich and how deep it sunk into the earth. She never realized the beauty in the world, never took notice, never really bothered to care.
But he found her one day. He found her and told her that she should take notice. That she should realize how damn breathtaking everything (she) really is because everyone, even he, knows how utterly clueless she is to things outside of her own territory of books and pens and papers.
And, surprisingly, she listened to him. She looked and noticed for the first time. It was beautiful. Everything was beautiful. It (He) was beautiful.
Koenma left before she could say anything but his words resided in her body, sinking deeper and deeper into her hard, soft skin.
There is beauty in everything. Beauty in words, actions, moments and events.
The start of the world comes when the sun bursts on her skin. She's ignoring reality and taking a step into wonderland; is it good or bad? Right or wrong? To leave the duties of work and life and friends only for a daydream . . . she doesn't really know the answer to that question (yet).
Keiko stares down at her paper, realizing she's just drawn hearts all over the margin.