Only Elements Can Place Things
He knew what he felt. There was no denying it. Unless someone else suggested it; then there was no agreeing to it. Not that anyone questioned his affections. He was surely the least affectionate of the entire group around him.
After Sakura left to walk alone on the beach dressed in her summer dress and hat, he sneaked out to the balcony to watch her. He could see her walking aimlessly on the beach, walking in the foam-stained sand as her feet wrung the water out with every footstep. He could imagine the sand on her little toes. And the water that shied away underneath them. He could also imagine touching her soft hair in the wind and placing it behind her ear. She would smile up at him coyly and reach for his hand…
At least in his perfect world.
But whose world was really perfect? He looked away from her, and out to the sea. He felt the way the watery sand did. Trotted on, squeezed away, and ultimately forgotten along the beaten path.
But, was this the path that he chose? He did deny any fondness, and chose to undermine those he cared for; so, was it he who created this imperfect world himself? With these questions in mind, he gazed upon the shrinking image of Sakura again. She squatted and picked something up in the sand. A shell or a rock or something that looked pretty. Perhaps a gnarled piece of wood. But as soon as she had picked it up, she put it back down on the firm sand.
He allowed himself a chuckle, but quickly looked around to see if anyone heard. She always rested anything she found back where it was. Nobody else understood her silly ways, but she always said that unless the earth gave it to someone, then it belonged where it was with the elements. Only rarely would she take something from the beach; usually it was man-made.
Keroberos floated on out to the balcony and rested on the rail, eyeing Sakura. "Watching out for her again, huh?" His little lion-bear face looked back at Yue, unblinking. "Hey, give it up, she's not gonna get eaten. It's a different time from then. Nobody even knows she's got magic." The stuffed animal look-alike lounged on his stomach on the railing and sighed, "Ya know? This is the life. The beach, the sun, no rain… Why don't you enjoy it for once, bro?"
"What is there to enjoy when you can't feel it? Should I just pretend?"
"Cut the crap, Yue. You can feel it just as well as I can. And if you're man enough, you'd just accept it. You're practically human."
Yue didn't argue. Instead, he walked to the edge of the balcony and rested his hands on the cold stony rail. The cool wind blew his long tresses out of his face, and he embraced it. He managed a sigh, and looked down at Sakura again.
"See? It's not that bad, really," Kero chided, falling asleep, "You just gotta live it and love it."
Yue glanced at his snoozing brother in bewilderment.
Sakura, on the other hand was coming short on her walk along the beach. A rocky cliff broke the affair that the ocean had with the land, and she was homing in on it. The chilly waves flirted with her feet and she flirted right back, skipping and splashing them into the air. She paused as she spotted a sand dollar, a whole sand dollar and squatted to look more closely. The ridges were fine, but scratchy and the flower pattern in the middle was a softer texture than the rest. The wind blew her sun hat off her head left to hang around her neck. She looked up at the horizon and sighed. It was so beautiful.
The setting sun painted a myriad of colors across the horizon of the sky. It made the clouds become cherry blossom trees in full bloom and the sky a deep red wine. There were messy streaks of pink and red and scales of koi peeked from behind the clouds in this shifting picture.
She smoothed her hair and tucked it behind her ear as she stood to gaze at the sunset. It was so easy to admire. Ocean's mist fell across her sun-kissed face bringing out a smile. She began to walk back to the white beach house keeping an eye on the picture in the sky. Suddenly, a single little cherry blossom floated down in front of her face. She followed it, and held out her palms. It rested on the center of her palm, and she smiled. It was hers and she curled her fingers around it.
As though she felt a gaze, she looked up at the house. Yue was standing with both hands on the rail of the balcony watching her. She glanced down at the flower in her hand and back up at the silver-haired man. The wind licked at her dress in ruffles as she pulled her hat back into place. The cherry blossom found its way into a small pocket on the front of her dress. Her way back might be the longest walk on the beach, so she held her palm on her pocket to keep her cherry blossom from escaping.