Countdown
On this planet, every human being is born with a counter tattooed inside of their right wrist. It's a small tattoo, a simple line of different digits and letters, which moves in countdown, never stopping.
What is this counter marking?
It is simply a countdown that will reach zero by the time you meet the love of your life. Your soul mate. Your destined one.
Each person has a different time tattooed when it's born: from the moment the first breath of air fills your lungs, the counter begins to move. Years, months, days, minutes, seconds... time passes and it doesn't stop; neither the countdown.
When the countdown is a couple of hours to hit zero, you can't help but ask where you will be. Will you still be stuck in traffic waiting to return to your lonely apartment after a long day of work? Will you still be sitting at the bus, waiting to get to school? Or would you be an old man resting carefree at the retirement house? The counter can stop whether you're six, or delay until you're sixty. But if something is true, is that no matter how far or near that date, the counter never displays the wrong time.
That is why seeing as the countdown stops when it reaches zero, is a very important event in this world. Almost all people cling to it, knowing that once they meet that person that will stop their countdown, they would have found the love of their life, and will never be alone again. Knowing that your life will not be the same, that you found the person with whom you will marry, have children, live wonderful experiences until the day you die... It is all about love.
When your countdown tells you that you have less than twenty four hours, that's the day you decide to dress up in the best way. You comb your hair, you perfume yourself, you choose your best outfit... you want to look perfect for that unique and unrepeatable event. When you just have a couple of hours, you can't help but imagine, based on the site where you are, what will be the event that will trigger your meeting with that person. And when there is just a few minutes, you can't help but look at everyone who is around you. Is it he? Is she? Where is that person?
And then, just as the last second becomes zero, your look intertwines with that person and time stops. It's like you're able to see again. As if for the first time you could see a world full of colors. All the aromas and flavors come to you as a divine revelation, as if you were not even really alive before that moment. The whole universe is summarized in that instant when you first see that unique person. That being that is only yours because you also only belong to them. When the two parts of a single soul that were separated at birth, are reunited once again, only to never be apart, ever again.
In this world, there are people who live waiting for that magical moment.
But there are others who also live hoping that moment never ever happened.
That morning, I woke up with the sound of the alarm, which I must admit, left me a little confused. After all, I had got used to getting up late 'cause of vacations. So I crawled all the way to the bathroom, where the shot of cold water woke me up completely. It was then when the energy I needed finally came back to me.
Allen Walker. That's my name. Just turned sixteen years old. An average student who is just about to start his first year of high school.
As I look at my reflection in the mirror that covers my closet's door, I finish buttoning my white uniform shirt. Shirt that perfectly combines with my strange hair, white as snow.
Of average height, a bit skinny, and grey eyes, I hurry to put on my pants, shoes, and after ignoring my natural messy hair, I hold that black ribbon. I look at it with a dreary expression.
But just as always, I do my best to ignore that feeling of heaviness, and with my eyes closed, I hurry to place the ribbon around my right wrist, tying it firmly with a simple knot, covering my counter.
Trying not to give it too much importance, I take the jacket of my new school uniform, and I rush out of my room, heading towards the kitchen, where a huge breakfast prepared by my father, Mana Walker, is waiting for me.
"Ready for your first day?" Mana asks. I've never called him dad. Don't know why. He's just Mana, plain and simple.
I answer his question with a quick nod, since my mouth is busy chewing a piece of bread. Mana laughs alone, after all, he over all knows how gluttonous I can be. As I finish with a bowl full of rice, Mana takes his time to pack my lunch. Fifteen minutes later, after having several dishes, I rush to take that lunch, and leave the kitchen.
"Ittekimasu!" I announce as I finish putting my shoes and slip an arm inside my uniform's jacket.
"Itterashai. Send my regards to Leenalee from me."
"Ah..." I whisper, suddenly losing all my energy and happiness. "Sure."
Lenalee Lee is my best friend; since three years ago when we started mid school, actually. When I was in elementary, I must admit that I had no friends. This was mainly because of my strange white hair. Or maybe it was since at that time I was really shy and not sociable at all. Anyway, I met Leenalee on my first day of mid school. She was (and actually, still is) a girl with long black hair, pink complexion and delicate body, who had no objection about sitting next to me on the bus, all the way to school.
I can say that our friendship was instantaneous, and after these three years of being best friends, I owe her everything I am now. Leenalee was the one who expanded my group of friends; after all, she was very outgoing, and had a facility to be liked by everyone. It didn't surprise me when she turned out to be one of the most popular girls at school. During our sophomore year, Leenalee was part of the cheerleaders club, and was even her who encouraged me to join the football team. Hence the fact that I need to eat so much to keep my stamina.
But the fact that Mana has mentioned Leenalee this morning, makes me feel a little uneasy. It is true that we had been seeing each other all summer (after all we don't live so far away), but during the last few times we had gone out together for a walk, talk, or simply do nothing, I had noticed Leenalee was acting a bit strange. I felt as if she was hiding something from me.
I had tried not to care. Perhaps it was all about her being nervous about starting from scratch in the new school. But since we both would attend the same high school, I was quite confident that when we returned to the routine of classes, homework and club activities, Leenalee would be the same cheerful and friendly girl she had always been.
That was what I had told myself during the last few days. And yet, that theory had totally collapsed when, last night, before going to sleep, I received a text from her:
"Allen, There's something I need to tell you."
And with just that, it had been enough form me to not being able to sleep, and so this morning after a sleepless night, waking up had been so hard.
But, as I have already mentioned, I got over it quickly.
So after breakfast, after taking the lunch that Mana made for me, and after leaving the house and walking a few blocks, I'm here at the corner of the block where Leenalee lives.
I see her in the distance, how she walks out of her house and her older brother Komui (a tall man with black violet hair that rest upon his shoulders, and square-framed glasses), appears. Komui is practically a father to Leenalee. He's the responsible one for her care, since he's the only family left for Leenalee. Although sometimes I'm sure it's she who takes care of him.
I wait for her to say goodbye to his brother with a hug. It's not that I don't want to interrupt the scene, it's just that Komui has a something that makes me nervous. I can be his younger sister's best friend, but I'm still a man, and to his eyes, I'm a threat that can steal Leenalee at any time.
So finally Komui goes back to their house, and Leenalee begins to walk along the street, heading towards where I am. Then, when she's halfway, she finally sees me and smiles.
"Allen!" she cheerfully exclaims, and runs a bit to get next to me.
I can't help but blush a little. The new school uniform looks good on her.
The short black skirt and matching jacket, along with her long socks, make her look very pretty; also, the two long pigtails give her an innocent air.
"Good Morning!" she greets me as soon as she stops next to me, but before I can answer, she asks. "What are you doing here?"
"I thought you'd like to walk together to school."
"Oh..." she looks down, swiftly turning her right wrist.
You don't need to be a genius to know what that means: she's checking her counter.
For a moment I feel my heart skips a beat, but I do my best to calm down instantly. Leenalee looks back at me with a nervous smile.
"So, let's go?" I say way too nervous. I would like to talk with her about her message I received yesterday afternoon, but I lack courage. What if Leenalee decides she doesn't really want to tell me anything, because she believes it has lost its importance, or because she thinks I'm not trustworthy?
"You know, Allen..." that's enough to freeze me.
The step which I was about to give, to start our way to school, never happens. I stand there, looking at the little girl who's still smiling at me with that nervous look.
"What's up?" I ask, trying not to sound as worried as I actually feel.
Leenalee takes time to hold her bag with her left hand, and then, after looking at her tattoo once more, she finally raises her right fist for me to see her wrist.
"Allen, today's the day."
And there it is. Her counter. That mark that looks like a tattoo, just a thin line that reads... I feel a lump in my throat, and turn away quickly. Leenalee countdown announces:
"20 min"
Yes, today is the day she'll meet her soul mate.
"Twenty minutes is more than enough time to get to school." I say, trying to sound casual, reassuringly. "Do you think it's someone from our same grade? But, if I recall correctly, almost all our class from mid, will go to this high school... do you think it can be a new sempai?"
I'm babbling as I put my backpack over my shoulder, and holding my lunchbox with the other hand, I start walking.
Leenalee stays still, but I soon hear her chuckle, and with a few quick steps, she's now walking side by side, next to me.
So we keep talking about unimportant things, while every minute that passes by, brings us closer and closer to the school. Ten minutes later, when we're just one block from high school, we find ourselves surrounded by a sea of students, all who wear the same uniform as us.
And so, my paranoia begins. Is it him? No, he was with us in mid school a year ago. What about him? No, no, he's Leenalee's neighbor, they see each other almost every day...
I force myself to stop this wave of paranoiac thoughts as soon as I realize how Leenalee is even more nervous than me. I give a quick glance at her counter, and see that it now marks "9 min". She tries to hide it, but she's also looking around her, to all the guys that surround us.
But we both know it's useless. The counter will not stop yet. Whoever the person destined to always be right next to Leenalee, is yet to make an appearance.
So we keep walking until we finally arrive to school. There, the number of people around us is even bigger. We walk side by side as we cross the square, waving to several friends from our same grade. I hope we get in the same class as Jhonny, he's a good boy. And I hope we don't get in the same one as...
"Tsk. Bean sprout."
I turn around, only to meet Kanda Yuu. A schoolmate with a horrible mood. Tall, athletic, and with a long, silky and shiny hair, was (strangely) the most popular guy in our old school. Even there were rumors that he and Leenalee were soulmates.
But I must say that those rumors soon came to an end when the girls found that Lenalee's counter was still running (we had to wait quite a while for it to stop saying "3 years" and change to "2 years"), and Kanda's counter didn't stop showing up "6 years".
That alone was enough to make anyone stop saying anything about Yuu Kanda. After all, the only reason why a countdown can stop before it reaches zero, is when your soul mate dies before you can meet them. Somewhere in this world, there is a girl buried underground, which wrist will also mark forever "6 years".
"Good morning, Kanda." I greet the boy, trying not to exasperate. For more than his mere existence is a walking tragedy, Kanda has something that just puts me on the verge of my nerves.
"You're on the way." that's his only comment, while extending his arm which holds his backpack, and pushes me out of the way.
"Good morning, Kanda" Leenalee greets him too. And for the sole purpose to make me angry, he answers:
"Good morning, Lee."
"My name is not bean sprout and I'm not in the way! You can't walk around us? As you can see, the schoolyard, is quite big..."
But he doesn't answer. He doesn't even deign to look at me. After those just eight words he has spoken, Kanda Yuu walks away without looking back. Goddamn his temper.
"Isn't he going to attend the opening ceremony?" Leenalee asks.
She might be the only person who cares for that idiot, in this whole world.
"Let him be. It's more important that we find a good spot."
We accelerate our pace. We can see the end of the schoolyard, the stage where there is already placed a microphone, and several chairs for teachers to sit. There are already many students gathered in the area, all pretty close to that improvised stage.
I take a second to sort the situation. It would be the best if we were as close as possible to that platform.
"Come on, Leenalee." I say to my best friend, who stopped once more to look at her counter.
"2 min"
A little nervous, I hold her by her wrist, and pull her forward, so she keeps walking.
A nice spot, we need to find a nice spot to see.
I push a couple of people to make a way (without forgetting to say "excuse me" once in a while), and finally, we make it across all that sea of people.
"I think this is a good spot." I say smiling.
From here, all the other students are behind us, and before us there is simply the professors standing over the platform.
"Yeah, seems like." is Leenalee's weak response.
Again, she's watching her counter.
"59 sec"
"58 sec"
"57 sec"
"Welcome to a new school year at Black Order Academy!" a man's voice can be heard over the loudspeakers that are located around the perimeter of the yard.
I look ahead to see the person who has made use of the microphone. A tall man, with an elegant pace, but with long and red hair and beard, that make him look like a homeless.
"I'm the director of Cross Marian." the man presents himself, while a cigar in his mouth trembles dangerously, threatening to fall. Amazing that the principal of this school looks so ... well, like that.
"He's very handsome." I listen how a girl says from my right. What…? Then I hurry to see Leenalee. Is she thinking the same?
But she isn't looking at the director. Her eyes are still focused at her counter.
"46 sec"
"45 sec"
"44 sec"
"If you keep staring at it, sure it'll reach zero, but you won't be able to see that person."
My whisper makes her squeak. She takes her fist to her lips as if she's trying to hold a scream. With this new position she doesn't see her counter. But I can see it clearly.
"33 sec"
"32 sec"
"31 sec"
Leenalee looks ahead, trying to pay attention to the director's speech, now being me who doesn't give a damn. I see the fear reflected in my best friend's face. As if she's hesitating to take her eyes off the man. As if her subconscious was telling her that even though he's the only person she's looking at that time, he's not the one meant to her.
"20 sec"
"19 sec"
"18 sec"
I see Leenalee close her eyes. Is it possible? Could it be that she doesn't have a special person? Can a person like that exist? Someone who doesn't have its life tied to someone else's?
"6sec"
"5sec"
"4sec"
For a moment I have the crazy urge to turn her to me, and ask her to open her eyes. Don't close them! Don't lose this opportunity!
But then, the mysterious magic of the counter, makes an appearance.
"3 sec"
A slight bump.
"2 sec"
"I'm, I'm, sorry." says a male voice.
"1sec"
And Leenalee opens her eyes.
"0"
My best friend is looking at a tall and thin, boy, with pink complexion and messy red hair.
I don't know who he is, but he looks older than us. It's quite obvious he's our sempai.
He stares at her. She also looks at him. For a moment I ask myself if they are even breathing.
"I'm, I'm sorry." he repeats himself, quite embarrassed. "I didn't see you."
"N-No! Not worry!" she responds, visibly distressed. As nervous as she is, she waves her hands in front of him, trying to deny.
And that's when the stranger redheaded boy, softly but firmly holds her right hand.
"Your counter just reached zero?" he asks in a whisper.
Leenalee holds her breath, and nods slowly.
Then the redhead boy looks at her with his eyes wide open, while turning his arm to show the inside of his right wrist.
I see another zero.
"Mine also has stopped." he says, and unable to contain himself, he gives her a warm smile. "My name's Lavi."
"Lee ... Lenalee." she answers, unable to contain the tears of happiness that start to fill her black eyes.
"I've been nervous all summer." he says, still in shock. "I mean, I just moved to the city with my Panda grandfather, and with the date of my counter getting closer and closer... Well, you understand."
"Lavi, I'm waiting for you." says a male voice behind the redhead.
The three of us hurry to look at the person who's speaking. The director had approached the edge of the platform, and crouched down, so now he was just a foot taller than the boy, with the same redhead hair as him. I saw the director pull a lock of the boy's hair, and how he rushed to flinch.
"I'm Coming, I'm coming..." Lavi turned back to see Leenalee. "I'll return in a moment, okay? I'm supposed to give the opening speech..."
"I'll wait for you." She answers him in an anxious whisper.
"Won't take long..." I feel I'm about to puke.
We see Lavi run along the platform, and get to the right side, where there's the ladder to climb up the platform. He gets up in just two steps, and with a radiant smile, the red hair boy goes to the center of it, and takes the microphone the director is handling him.
"They have same red hair." I say aloud. "Do you think they're related?"
But Leenalee isn't listening. She now has eyes only for that guy. A smile draws on her face, and I can't help feeling... How do I feel exactly?
Knowing that Leenalee won't notice my absence, I turn around and sneak among the people. It doesn't take long to get all the way back.
From there, I no longer see Leenalee, and since Lavi's speech was short, I can't hear his voice over the loudspeakers. In the distance, I can see how the director Cross Marian gives the microphone to another student, tall, thin girl, with short black hair, who presents herself as Miranda Lotto.
But I don't see anything really.
Nor I hear anything.
Now it's just me, and this feeling of heaviness in my chest.
Without knowing why, I place my left hand on my right wrist. I caress that black ribbon covering my counter. It's been years since I don't see that tattoo on my skin; the tattoo I'll never be able to erase, no matter how much I want to.
As devastated as I feel, I'm not aware that I'm undoing that knot, and so the black ribbon slides down my arm and falls to the ground.
And I'm greeted by that infernal number.
"0"
The day my counter marked just a couple of hours, had occurred exactly three years ago, on my first day of mid school. My counter showed just a couple of minutes when I got on the school bus, and sat on one of the few seats that were still empty, in the back of the bus. Being the lonely soul that I was back then, I didn't feel overwhelmed by looking at the girls who were already sitting on the bus, or getting into it, and so I limited myself to look out the window, quite bored.
But it was then, when the school bus stopped once again, and my gaze fixed on a girl with long black hair, just as the time my counter reached zero.
It was that day when my counter told me that Leenalee was my soul mate. In the first moment I saw her, I saw nothing but perfection in her. That beautiful shiny black hair, that lovely smile, her pink cheeks and cherry lips, her delicate movements, that gentle and charming personality. She was simply perfect.
I was completely in love with her even before she got close to me, and asked me if she could sit next to me. I nodded nervously.
I was about to introduce myself as "the boy you had stop his counter," but then I could see the tattoo that was etched on her right wrist changing from "4 years" to saying "3 years".
And I felt dying.
My counter could have stopped 'cause of her, but hers... hers was intended for someone else.
On this planet, every human being is born with a counter tattooed inside of their right wrist. It's a small tattoo, a simple line of different digits and letters, which moves in countdown, never stopping.
What is this counter marking?
It is simply a countdown that will reach zero by the time you meet the love of your life. Your soul mate. Your destined one.
In this world, there are people who live waiting for that magical moment.
But there are others who also live hoping that moment never ever happened.
People who don't really have a soul mate.
People who will never be matched.
People who will never find love.
People like me.
This is the first time I post a fic written in english. This is completely new to me! But I've seen lots of translations from english to spanish, so I thought, why can't it happen backwards? And so here I am, sharing this one shot with you, guys.
Now, more than ever, I would really aprecciate your comments, what you like, what you don't like. This will not only help me to writte better, but to practice my english. Likes and follows are also welcomed.
As stated in the original story (which you can find in my profile, and read if you want to practice your spanish too), this one shot was inspired by a post I found on Tumblr. So copyright where it must be, although I can't remember who was the OP of that post.
Anyway, stay gorgeous, and I hope we keep on reading each other, guys.
XOXO, Ribonette.