Hello, all. It's been a while, hasn't it? My apologies to all who were reading "Don't Stop Believing." It got too big for me to continue and I wasn't as committed to it as I should have been. Anyway, I'm back with a new story. I'm going to do something I never have before; a one-shot. You may not know it, but I am the ultimate hater of one-shots, so this is uncharted territory for me. I hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or any of its characters.
The Sound of the Rain
It was somber on that cold, rainy day. A torrential downpour was coming down outside. The rain drops pounded down upon all the land, unrelenting. All the people in the city ran about in the streets, their umbrellas extended above them in a vain attempt to keep the rain off themselves. Cars passed by, their tires throwing water as they moved down the streets. The many passersby breathed steam on this cold, dreary day. It was even more dreary for one certain person. He was a young lad of about 21 years. He had tall, brown hair that formed spikes. His name was Tai. His face was usually bright and full of life, but right now, it was emotionless and held no radiance whatsoever. He lie on the couch in his apartment, motionless, save for the occasional shuffle to get more comfortable. Tai stared up at the window, out at the rain. How fitting for it to be raining right now. Rain on such a sad day... Tai almost wanted to shed a tear. The sound of the rain used to be a soothing sound to him, but it held no such thing to him right now. It only embodied grief and sadness. Tai looked away from the window. He tried not to let his mind wander, but he was unsuccessful. His thoughts were chaotic and rampant. How he wished for all of this to just go away, but alas, it never would. In all his life, Tai had never thought this would happen. Sure, the thought had crossed his mind maybe once or twice, but it seemed like such a farfetched idea. The thought that his mother would pass away... it was just too much for him to bear. Tears fell like rain from his eyes. As tough as he tried to act around his friends, Tai was a mama's boy. His mother meant a lot to him. And now, she was gone. Taken from him, and for nothing! Tai sobbed as he cried his heart out. It hit him hard when the news was broken to him. Ever since then, he had locked himself in his apartment, shutting out the world. He had not gone out one time, nor had he spoken to anyone. He had been so secluded for three days now. It was beginning to show. His eyes were bloodshot, and big, black circles had taken place around his eyes. His hair, which was normally a mess anyway, even messier than normal.
Tai finally sat up. He wiped his eyes, but it did no good. More tears took the place of the ones he had just wiped away. He was upset over all the words unsaid. There were a great many things he wished he could tell Mrs. Kamiya right now. Tai felt guilty. He and his mother were not on good terms when all this happened. Mrs. Kamiya was angry with Tai's little sister, Kari, who had moved in with her boyfriend, Tk. Mrs. Kamiya was not happy with her daughter for what she had done. She was not very pleased when Tai stood up for Kari's actions. "It's her life," Tai said. "I think she has a right to live it the way she wants." Needless to say, this didn't go over well. The two had not spoken to each other for several days when the incident happened. Now, Tai would never get the chance to apologize to her. It grieved him so badly. He and his mother were so close.
The day passed by slowly. It seemed as though the rain was coming down even harder now. Tai had somehow found the strength to get up and walk. He went into the kitchen to find something to eat. He hadn't eaten since the day his mother died and was starving. He dug something out of the refrigerator and put it in the microwave. While he was waiting for his meal to finish cooking, his phone rang. It had been ringing off the wall for the last three days. Tai's family and friends had been trying to reach him, but Tai refused to pick up the phone. He didn't want to talk to anybody. He didn't want any empty "I'm sorry for you loss" talk. To him, it was all just lip service. Just a way of pretending to care. This was Tai's mother. She meant a lot to him, damn it! He wanted more than a generic "I'm sorry." The phone continued to ring, and Tai continued to ignore it. Finally, the answering machine picked up. 'Tai, it's Kari...' Her voice was somber and crackly. 'Look, I know you want to be alone right now... but today is the funeral. Everyone is going to be there. Please, if not for me, then for mom, come to the funeral.' The machine beeped, indicating Kari had hung up. Tai heaved a heavy sigh. He wanted to just stay there, but the funeral was his last chance to achieve some kind of peace with his mother. Reluctantly, Tai woofed down his meal. He went to his bedroom and dug out his best dress clothes. The crowd would be surprised. Tai always dressed like a dirty teenager. Those attending the funeral would be taken aback at the sight of him in a pair of black dress pants and shoes, a crisp white shirt, and black dress coat. Tai even went to the mirror to try and make his hair look presentable. For the first time in his life, Tai was all dressed up.
Tai grabbed all of his stuff that he kept in his pockets and his umbrella and started making his way toward the door. He started to reach out for the doorknob, but stopped right before he wrapped his hand around it. He was about to go out into the world again for the first time in three days. He was hesitant about doing this. He actually thought about not going. Tai sighed and opened the door. This was his mother's funeral, it was more important than what he wanted. Unfortunately, Kari had failed to mention where the funeral was being held in her message. But Tai had a good hunch about where it was. There was this little church right in the middle of the city that Mrs. Kamiya always admired. Tai just knew that's where the service was being held.
Tai quickly ran through the downpour. He, like many others, was making a vain attempt to use his umbrella to keep dry. As Tai ran through the streets, he passed a news paper dispenser. He stopped and looked inside. His mother's name was listed in the obituaries. Seeing this filled Tai with both anger and sadness. He looked away and continued on for the church. It was a long way in the cold pouring rain. Finally, Tai found the church. He was relieved when he saw a bunch of cars in the parking lot. He had been right about where the funeral was. Tai quickly ran inside and tried to make sure his clothes weren't dirty. Tai looked around the foyer of the church. It was very beautiful. There were many pictures of angels on the walls. A crowd of people stood around talking to one another. Tai was glad. The funeral had not started yet. Tai walked up to the entrance to the auditorium. There was an usher standing next to the entrance. "Sign in, please," said the usher pointing to a small podium with a book on it. Tai signed his name in the book and walked inside the auditorium. At the end of the rows of pews, there stood the casket with Mrs. Kamiya's body in it. Tk and Kari stood next to the casket. They looked up and saw Tai approaching.
"...You came..." Kari said.
Tai's only response was a simple nod. He looked over at his mother's lifeless body lying in the casket. It was like a dream. As he looked on, Tai kept thinking that his mother would leap up out of that thing. Alas, that was not going to happen.
"To think, I caused all of this," Kari said, on the verge of tears. "If I hadn't forced the issue about me moving in with Tk..."
"Calm down, it's not your fault," Tk said as he put his arm around Kari.
"I just wish there were something I could have done differently..." One small tear made its way down Kari's face.
Something that could have been done differently... I know that feeling... Tai thought.
"Come on, the service is about to start," Tk said and led Kari away.
Tai stayed behind a few seconds more and looked down upon his mother. Finally, he turned and walked away. The rest of the people who came to attend the funeral started making their way into the auditorium. In amongst the crowd was a certain red-haired woman. She was Tai's high school sweetheart, Sora. Tai didn't know why, but seeing her here made him feel some kind of comfort. He made his way through the crowd over to her. "Tai..." Sora said when she saw him. "I'm so sorry..." There this tone of sincerity in her voice. Tai knew that Sora really meant what she said. It wasn't one of those generic condolences.
"...I'm glad you came..." Tai said lowly. It was the first time he had talked since that horrid day.
"Your mother was the sweetest person. Why, of all people, did she have to die? She didn't deserve it." Sora's eyes got a little watery.
"I know what you mean..."
Sora went to find a seat. She was closely followed by Tai. The two of them sat down together. "How will I go on without her...?" Tai said.
"It's okay. She's with God now." When Sora said that, it made Tai start to cry. She put her hand on his shoulder. Seeing Tai in such a state made Sora start to cry as well.
Tk and Kari walked up and sat down next to them. Tai instantly threw his arms around Kari. "I miss her too, big brother," Kari said through her tears.
At last, all the people found a place to sit. The reverend entered the room and made his way down the aisle and up to the pulpit. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to pay a our respects to our dearly departed."
As the reverend spoke, Tai reminisced all of his memories of his mother. One memory in particular stood out to him.
It was Tai's sophomore year of high school. He had just come home from school. He was acting strangely. His mother took notice of this. While Tai was playing around on his computer, she walked in to talk to him. "Tai, honey, is there something wrong?"
Tai turned to face his mother. "No, why?" Tai said quickly and defensively.
"It's just, you've been acting strange ever since you came home from school."
"It's nothing, mom. Really." Tai flashed one of his trademark cheesy grins. Mrs. Kamiya saw straight through it.
"I think I know you well enough to know when there is something bothering you. Now, what is it?"
Tai sighed. His mother was the one person he could not fool. "Well, there's this... girl... that I like at my school..." Tai some what struggled to say 'girl.'
"Yes," Kamiya said.
"Well, you see... that is... I uh..."
"You want to tell her how you feel, don't you?"
"How did you know?"
"Oh, Tai, you forget, I was once a teenager, too."
"Well, it's not only that. My friends found out, and now they're making fun of me about it."
"Well, that's not very nice, is it?"
"No..."
"So, who is this girl?"
"You know my friend Sora?"
"Of course, isn't she one of your best friends?"
"Yeah. That means I can't like her if she is one of my best friends, right?"
"Whatever gave you that idea?"
"I just assumed."
"Well, you put those thoughts out of your head."
"Really?"
"Yes. Tomorrow, you find Sora and you tell her how you feel about her."
"But mom, I'll get all embarrassed and I'll stutter and..."
"Just talk to her like you normally do, and you will be fine."
Tai scratched the back of his head. "...Okay... I'll try.
That was when Tai and Sora became high school sweethearts. And it was all thanks to his mother. Now, she was gone. Tai never got to thank her for giving him that advice. The reverend had just finished delivering the eulogy. The organist started playing a song. The people got up and walked in a line past the casket to look upon Mrs. Kamiya one last time. Tai waited for everyone else to go by and then got up to go see his mother's body for the last time. He was followed by Tk, Kari and Sora. Tai got up next to the casket and looked down at her. He took her cold hand in his.
"...I'm sorry... for everything. I never should have fought with you. I'm gonna miss you, mama." Tai shed a tear that landed on his mother's body. He slowly walked away, leaving Sora, Tk and Kari to pay their last respects. Tai walked outside the church and stood underneath the awning at the entrance. The others soon came outside with him. Tai stood there, his hands in his pockets, just staring out at the rain.
"That was so hard..." Kari said. "I can't believe she's gone."
Tk wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead. "Everything is going to be alright."
Kari noticed Tai staring into the abyss. "Tai...?" she said.
"I'm... okay..." Tai quietly said. "I made peace with her. Everything's good."
"Are you sure?"
"...Yeah... I made peace with her." Tai listened to the sound of the pouring rain. Unlike before when it made him feel sadder, it soothed him, just like it used to.
"This should serve as a lesson to us. We need to treat each and every day as if it's our last on earth," Sora said. "We aren't guaranteed a tomorrow."
"Yeah..." Tai said. "Kari, I want you to know that I love you. I will always love you."
"I love you too, Tai," Kari said.
"Come on, we need to get out of this weather," Tk said. Kari followed her beloved boyfriend closely, leaving Tai and Sora behind alone.
"This has been the worst three days of my life," Tai said. "I haven't been out of my apartment since I got the news of her passing. I bet I don't have a job anymore..."
"Just tell them what happened, and I'm sure they will understand," Sora replied.
"I hope so..." The two of them just stood there for a moment. An uncomfortable silence fell between them. "So, this is how it is? My mother is dead, we take 30 minutes to pay respects to her, and the world goes on like nothing ever happened, end of story? What kind of crap is that!"
"Life isn't fair sometimes."
Tai sighed. "She was such a good person. She deserves more than this..."
"I'm sorry. I wish there was something I could do."
Tai started pacing. "I don't know what I'm gonna do. I feel so... so..."
"Alone?"
"...Yeah..."
"Well, if you need some company..."
Tai looked over at Sora. "I don't want to unload my baggage on you."
"That's what friends are for..."
"But, I thought we were done." Tai said. He was alluding to the fact that he and Sora pursued not but a few months ago, but broke up.
"Just because we aren't together anymore doesn't mean that we aren't friends anymore and that I can't help you during a hard time."
"I-I... I don't know what to say."
Tai followed Sora to her car, and they went to his apartment. Tai let Sora in and they sat down across from each other at his dining table. Tai cupped his hand in his face and started sobbing. "What's wrong?" Sora asked.
Tai wiped his eyes and looked up at Sora. "Remember when Kari moved in with Tk?" Sora nodded her head yes. "Mom wanted to disown Kari for that. I stood up for Kari. She and I got into a big argument. Then she died. I never got to make it up to her."
"Oh, Tai..." Hearing Tai say that broke Sora's heart.
"It just backs up what you said at the church; what if today was your last day? Now I have all these things I want to say to her, and I can't now. I just wanna crawl up into the fetal position and cry..."
Sora didn't know what to say. Acting on impulse, she got up from her seat and walked over to Tai and threw her arms around him. "You know I'm here for you, right?"
Tai looked Sora in the eye, his eyes bloodshot from crying. "Thanks, Sora. I don't know what I would do without you."
Tai got up and walked over to the sliding glass doors that led to his apartment balcony. He walked out and just looked out at the darkening evening sky. Sora soon followed suit and stood next to him out on the balcony. The sky was a bluish-gray color. It was getting to be late in the afternoon, and the sun was going down, causing it to be rather dark. Something between the rain and the color of the sky held a strange beauty to Tai. He then looked over at Sora standing next to him. It wasn't until just then that he took the time to appreciate just how pretty her hair really was. "You're so beautiful..." Tai said, not realizing it.
Sora jerked her head over to look at Tai. "What did you say?"
Tai suddenly snapped back to reality. "I-I... I'm sorry. I... That was totally inappropriate, what, with all that's happened today, and in the last couple of days. I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry."
Sora had a puzzled look on her face. "Where did that come from?"
"I don't know. I wasn't thinking."
"So, you don't think I'm beautiful?"
"I didn't say that, I..."
"So you do think I'm beautiful?"
"I... hey, stop messing with my head!"
"But it's so much fun!" Sora laughed.
Tai was hurt that Sora was laughing at him at first, since he had just been to his own mother's funeral, but suddenly, he found himself laughing, too. It was the first time he had laughed in what seemed like a lifetime. It felt so good to laugh again. Tai started to feel like himself again. It was a welcome change to all that doom and gloom that he had been feeling the last three days. And, for this first time since he had heard the terrible news, Tai had some kind of hope that everything was going to be okay. "You're so much fun, Sora. I love you."
"Oh, first I'm beautiful, now you love me?"
Tai blushed when he realized what he had said. He wanted to say something, but decided not to since he would probably make a bigger fool of himself if he said anything. So, he turned and faced back out at the sky.
"What, where's the patented 'Tai comeback joke?'"
"Not in the mood. Not today, anyway."
"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to-"
"You didn't do anything, don't apologize."
An uncomfortable silence feel between the two. "You know," Tai said. "Sometimes, I regret that we ever broke off our relationship."
Sora didn't say anything at first. "Really?" she finally said after a few seconds.
"There are days when I wanna pick up the phone and call you and see if you want to try it again." Sora didn't reply this time. "I take it you don't want to then?"
"It's not that, it's just..."
"It's just what?"
"I don't know."
Tai scratched the back of his head. "Why did we even break up in the first place? If I remember right, we were both happy while we were together."
"Don't you remember?"
"No."
"We got into this long, heated discussion about the future."
"Oh, now I remember."
"I wanted to stay here in Odaiba, and you wanted go off some place."
"And we decided we were better off as friends..." Tai put one arm on top of the other on the rail of the balcony and rested his head on top of them. "Biggest mistake I ever made."
"Huh?"
"I was an idiot to break up with you over something stupid like that. I don't know what I was thinking. Move away from Odaiba. Ha! I've lived here my whole life. I don't know why I would ever want to leave."
"You know, I feel the same way. I wished we had stayed together then. Things just haven't been the same since we've been apart."
"So, you wish that we hadn't broken it off. I wish that we hadn't broken it off."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying, we should get back together."
"But... everything is different now!"
"How is it different?"
"I don't know. I'm just making excuses.
"Then why are we apart?"
"We're not anymore."
Tai looked deeply into Sora's eyes. He threw his arms around her and started kissing her passionately. The kiss lasted a long time, and both of them were gasping for breath when it ended. "I love you..."
"I love you, too."
"Let's never fight like that again."
"Okay. I promise."
The two of them stood there holding each other for a long time. Tai had his mother to thank for he and Sora getting together in the first place, now he had her to thank for the two of them falling in love. The sound of the rain would always hold a special meaning to Tai because of that moment.
I hope you enjoyed my first one-shot. Thanks for reading!