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It was their first meeting after a long time. He could feel himself drown in her azure orbs like always, when they met. From atop the broad staircase, he could see her pressing down her hair with her hands, combing through the brown hair which once sparkled in the sunlight, but now dull and grey. He could feel something...a small hint of something.
Familiarity?
Brushing that odd feeling aside, he continued to look at her from head to toe. The years had not been kind.
Her once smooth stretchy skin was now rough and loose; he could see her blue and green veins under the surface. Her angelic face had lost its sharp edge but nevertheless, her heart warming smile made up for that. From his perch, Shinichi could see her shaking and he shifted uncomfortably in his suit. He tried to say something to destroy the tense atmosphere, but she beat him to it.
"It's nice to see you again."
Ran tried to smile but the edges of her mouth wouldn't allow it. She waited for his response.
"Same here."
His chest fluttered like it always did when he heard her voice, but it died when she didn't smile. Ran saw his face fall and she turned away, unable to meet his gaze. Whether it was guilt or shame, she didn't know.
"Ran."
His voice echoed in the stairwell.
"Look at me."
She slowly turned towards him and found herself staring at him. Apparently, the years were not kind towards him too.
His once raven-colored hair was overtaken by clumps of white and grey. His face; was like she remembered, but now it was disfigured by wrinkles of age. But what caught Ran's attention was the same as last time. His eyes. Orbs of Lapis lazuli returned her gaze, and she could see maturity, tiredness;
And sorrow.
There was a sudden thumping of footsteps which broke them out of their reverie, a middle-aged woman.
"Hondou-san!"
Shinichi gave her one last broken smile, and broke eye contact. Before he walked away, he burned the image of her face in his mind and threw a small, black velvet box in her direction. His shadow disappeared from her sight.
Bewildered, she slowly bent down to pick up the box, ignoring the ramble of her companion.
Ran lifted the lid...and gasped.
A ring. Not those fanciful rings with an embedded diamond, just a simple silver ring.
She fought not to shut the box and with shaking hands, plucked the ring from its prison.
There a beat before Ran dropped the box, tears spilling out of her eyes, clutching the ring so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
Carved onto the ring, were the words;
To My Angel – Kudo Shinichi
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SAD. Inspired by my friend in my extra curriculum class.