A Night For Remembering

Created by Michael Evans

No I do not own, in any way shape or form, Angel Beats or its characters.
Chapter-1

Bright. The light is so Bright. I squint my eyes as i peer out of my bedroom window at the neighborhood around my house. The sound of my alarm creeps into my ears and i reach over to turn it off.
"Otonashi! Time to get up!" My mother yells up the stairs at me.
"Im up Im up!" I yell back through the door. I sit up on the edge of my bed and slip out of my night clothes and into some jeans and a t-shirt. After jogging down the stairs and grabbing some left overs out of the fridge, I briskly walk out the door. "I'm heading into town for a bit, I should be back soon but I'll call you." I say as i shut the door. I make it all the way into town before i realize that I am walking into a shop I have never been in before. This is very unlike me, I live my life with a schedule and the schedule works. First i get dressed and eat, then I either go to school or head into town to get some groceries for dinner, then I would stop by my favorite cafe and have a drink of coffee, then head home. It was exactly how I liked it, peaceful. But today my mind decided it wanted some excitement without me. I decide "what do I have to lose" and head on into the shop.
It's a beautiful little shop with flowers and small decorations scattered about on shelfs and on tables. I walk fully into the room and let the door close behind me, then i hear a quiet feminine voice come from behind one of the shelfs. "I-I'll be right with you s-sir!" I chuckle under my breath at her cute voice and reply, "it's ok, take your time. I'm just looking anyway." I hear her gasp and peek around the corner of the shelf covering her mouth before jerking back around, quickly, out of sight. I look in her direction confused and decide to shrug it off and continue looking. I find a interesting looking crest that is framed on the wall. It looks like three S's aligned at an angle… It reads Rebels Against the God… Strange. Very strange. Though interesting. I pull it down off the wall and look around it for a price tag… There is none. I shrug again and head over behind the case where the girl was hoping to find a counter or a register, at least the girl to ask her the price.
I make it around the shelf and find the girl pressed against the back of it covering her mouth and a seemingly excited, yet shy, look on her face. "Umm, hello? Might I ask how much this is?" She is a beautiful young girl, maybe 15 years old, about my age. She has long silver hair and a gentle look. Her small frame silhouetted by the room around her. I get the feeling that i know her from somewhere.. I just can't pin it on where. Ah well, I'm sure I just saw her around town at some point not realizing it.
She looks up and begins to blush a bit "O-of course s-sir… Oh, I'm afraid that is not for sale. That is a momento of mine from… a past time. B-but I will gladly help you find something else, i-if that would be alright?" I smile at her and hand her the framed item. " Of course, that would be fine. It must mean a lot to you to have it framed like that." I follow her out from behind the shelves to where she had it hanging on the wall.
"W-why yes.. It is very dear to me. It is the only thing I have to remind me of y-I mean him…" She blushes a dark shade of red and I get a little confused.
"Him? Him who? If you don't mind my asking." I turn away from her looking at a bright white flower setting in a small vase.
"U-Umm.. An old f-friend of mine.. From a past time.." She is stuttering a bit worse now and appears to be welling up a bit.
"I'm sorry, if you don't want to talk about it you don't have to. For god's sake, you don't even know me." Little did I know I was wrong about that.
"It's fine.. He was a wonderful person. Very kind and his.. Heart.. Gave me life." She had stopped moving and is standing still now, looking down solemnly.
"That sounds beautiful, he must mean a lot to you. Do you mind if I ask where he is now?" I turn back towards her.
"He.. I don't know where he is." She turns and goes over to the counter without looking at me.
"Well i do hope you two meet again." I smile and pick up the white flower heading over to her at the counter.
She mumbles "I think we have…"
"What did you say?" I look a little confused wondering if I heard her right.
"I'm sorry, it's nothing. Wishful thinking on my part, I guess…" She looks back down and I can see a tear drip down her cheek.
In that moment, seeing her like this and hearing her say that, I remember. At least, I think I'm remembering. Images of myself flash in my head… Images of others do too… And they have weapons! What the hell, where are these memories coming from? I think a little harder and i can remember one girl in particular.. Kanade.. Kanade Tachibana? She looks so similar to the girl here.. no.. more like identical. This is her! My heart skips a beat as I remember standing on the steps in front of this.. School, near the fountain, holding this girl.. But i can't remember what happened.. All i can see is that I'm crying and she… Shes just gone.
I feel my eyes begin to tear up, "D-do I know you from somewhere?" I manage to stammer out.
She looks at me, with an almost shocked look on her face, not saying anything.
"Did I say something wrong?" I look down at the counter, feeling very stupid.
She stays silent, though now she walks around the counter and hugs me. It's a long and warm embrace that I could get lost in for hours.
She finally speaks after a long moment of our reconnection. "No.. You didn't say anything wrong. Thank you." Her head rests against my chest and she eventually breaks away. "Would you like to go do something this evening? I'm about to get off work here soon, and I don't have any plans."
I smile and look down at her, "Of course, I'd be honored." God I'm crazy… I just met this girl moments ago, yet I feel as though we have been friends for years. "Should I just wait for you here? Or meet you somewhere."
"I will be off at 3, so that will be in about 40 minutes.. Would you mind meeting me at the park in an hour and a half? That will give me time to lock up and change" She makes a quiet laugh that I smile at.
"Of course, that will be fine. I need to pick up some things anyway. I'll be looking forward to seeing you there." I smile at her intently, hand her some money and walk out the door. The white flower still laying on the counter.

~To be Continued~