Till We Meet Again.
"Hiromi…" I whispered, tugging on the duffle bag that was slung across my shoulder. I knew she heard me—despite all the noise around the airport, where we were now standing—but she didn't look up from the floor. My heart started to feel heavy….the moment of goodbye. Every one of our other friends watched our little exchange in silence, never speaking. Her eyes lingered on the tiled floor, and she opened her mouth, as if to say something; nothing came out of her lips. It was weird, almost ironic. I wanted to say so much to her, but the words just won't come out. Were her reasons for not speaking, the same as mine?
"You're…" I trailed off.
You're what? I smiled to myself. She's everything I needed in a friend. She gave me so much that everything I would do to repay her would seem insufficient. It makes me smile, when I see her, because she makes me forget. And the summer that we'd spent together this year, was the best that I ever had. She knows everything thing about me, and yet she persists on staying with me. She understands what I'm going through when no-one else does and I'd give everything to have her close, where I could see her face and hear her voice everyday. She had no idea what she means to me. She has — and somehow, always will have— a special, quiet, little place in my heart…all to herself. And no-one in the world would replace it; there's no-one in the world like her to do so, anyway.
You, I continued in my mind as I opened my eyes to look at my ruby-eyed friend, are my inspiration. I hope to, someday, be what she was now; kind, loving, strong, independent, determined and resolute. Maybe even a little less reserved. She taught me so much, I can't even begin to tell the extent. I wish it was in my power that things stay the way they were just yesterday; I'd gladly let them. I'd let that summer last forever and ever and ever; and that'd still won't be enough. Sadly enough, it's wasn't our choice. We had our separate ways, and all –in the end—we can hope is for our paths to collide with one another, someday. All I can hope for is to someday, really be with her, and tell her all the things I never told anyone else. There's just so much that I couldn't say or show her but I'll try….
And thinking just that I would try, I took a step towards Hiromi's now-shaking figure. My arm went around her shoulder, pulling her against my side. I didn't know how to touch anyone like this, but it felt the right thing to do. It was merely an embrace, but it seemed to have held a secret meaning. To me, it was gratitude—a thank-you for always being there for me. I would find a way to thank her more someday, but for now, this should suffice— and to her, though, I wasn't sure what it meant. She buried her face into my shoulder-blade, and I could feel some wetness where her eyes touched my skin, through the fabric of my shirt.
Pain seared through me, pure and clear. Why did goodbyes have to be so hard? They never were before, so why now? Especially with Hiromi?
Memories of my time with her flashed through my mind; the whole summer together, every silent exchange, every meaningful look, every painful talk, every comforting word, every subtle little touch…the way she smiled at me underneath the bridge that night, the way we whispered alone outside the dojo in the dark of the night….All these memories burned in my throat, forcing me to say everything I felt, yet…
"I'll miss you, Hiromi."
That was all that came out, and I found myself pulling her more close to me. My lips touched her forehead, pressing themselves to her skin tightly, almost desperately. Another silent exchange; more painful, more evocative. But she seemed to understand me this time. Her arms went around my waist, deepening the small gesture of gratitude and that made me smile a little bit.
I hoped that it'd be nice, wherever she may be after I would leave. I could almost imagine us a few months later; I'd be staring at her pictures, looking over her messages. I imagined she'd forget me, I could almost feel it. It would never be the same after this goodbye. But, yet, I knew that I would pray that the sun would shine upon her face –her smiling face—and it'd be another beautiful day and she'd get to enjoy it without me there. I hoped that she'd be happy….till we meet again, someday.
XXXxxxXXXxxxXXX
Yeh! My fourth Kai-Hil one-shot! That was so angsty…O_o. Keep in mind, people, that this is a friendship-fic. Whatever the exchange is between Kai and Hillary in this fic, was just out of FRIENDSHIP and NOTHING ELSE! Okay? I know that's hard to believe, what with how I wrote it, but just pretend Kai and Hillary are just best-friends. Friends can whisper silently to each other in the dark of the nights, can't they? ;p
Oh, and I know people would ask this; Why is Kai leaving her? The answer is: Kai's going off to college in his country, and Hillary's staying in Japan to finish high-school. I couldn't find a place to fit it in, in the story, so that's why it wasn't mentioned. So, Kai's hoping that when he finishes college and if Hillary won't forget about him, then maybe they'd get to meet again. That's half of the story. The other half is; this was written for my friend, Kai-Hil-Lover. I keep saying I'll miss her, but you know, that's not enough for me. I'm NOT gonna JUST miss her. There's so much more to say!
I hope, KHL, that you understood what I'm feeling a little bit more through this fic; thought I'd let you know…:)
Review everyone!
