Disclaimer: I own nothing and no places in this are actually real.
Train tracks
He was always there, just out of reach from the Himarashi school's playground, other children zooming straight by him swimming in ignorant bliss. Mother was always somewhat wary of him, despite being welcoming to any other friends or family that would visit our secluded country household. I suppose it was his unruly wheat blonde cow lick that frightened her off, or his endless sky blue eyes in stark contrast to his pale skin. Needless to say, I was always somewhat intrigued by him and decided to approach him, curiosity getting the better of me.
Walking up to the metal fence that guarded the playground from the worn and oddly placed train tracks, I tapped the criss crossed metal fence in hopes of getting the boy's attention. The rattling sound caused him to jump up from where he was sitting, contently watching ants march along, to stand, turn, and face me from the other side, flashing a bright smile upon seeing me, cerulean blues reflecting his true excitement.
"Hey there! My name's Alfred! Nice ta meetcha!" He exclaimed, grinning happily at me through the wire mesh.
"Oh u-um h-hello Arfred-kun." I replied, stammering in slight surprise of his enthusiasm, my accent catching me in my well versed English.
"So, are ya new 'round here?"
Time soon escaped us as we talked more and more, quickly finding ourselves good friends. Every day during lunch break I would approach him, and every school day we talked without fail. On one particular hot summer day with little breeze to cool us and the loud sounds of local bugs roaring around us, I found myself asking,
"Um, Alfred-kun?"
"What is it Kiku?" He responded happily, skipping out on any and all honorifics.
Blushing slightly from embarrassment, I leant back more against the metal wiring as it was too hot to stand, and continued,
"Why is it that you are arways behind the fence, and never in the playground?"
I distinctly remember him going far more quiet than I had ever seen him, and his eyes filled with a sadness that I never knew any young boy like Alfred could harbour. But before I could take back my question thinking it rude, he replied,
"Ma doesn't want me goin' near other kids." He responded, tone wavering slightly.
His voice was filled with so much pain and sorrow that I couldn't understand, causing me to decide it would be better to continue that topic when he wanted to talk about it. Days continued normally, and we chatted mindlessly about anything, like a bird in a tree simply singing to another for the sake of singing. Me and Alfred grew closer, and I found myself wanting to spend more time with him.
Believing that my parents wouldn't notice, I started sneaking out on weekends as well, still meeting up at the school regulated lunchtimes, causing Alfred great joy. Even if I did have to sneak around school a little, which was far from my usual self, seeing his pools of endless blue light up and know that he didn't have to return to an empty apartment as his parents were both working caused my stomach to flutter.
However, me in all my youthful foolishness had forgotten to close the door properly one rainy day as I was in a rush, allowing streams of water to pour in and for my parents to be beyond irritated at my 'foolish antics'.
"Honestly Kiku, it doesn't take much time to close a door!" My mother sighed exasperatedly as she mopped up the floor.
"What were you doing anyway?" A stern tone resounded through the hallways.
"Just seeing a friend, father." I replied calmly, pausing as I suddenly realised what would follow.
"Which friend?" They both enquired, stopping in both of their actions.
I swallowed, forcing down any anxiety that I held. These are your parents Kiku, they are reasonable and calm people, not blade wielding psychopaths.
"Alfred."
What followed was a fuzzy blur. I recall hearing my parents shouting, saying they knew he was bad luck, a bad influence. I did only what a normal person would do, I ran, ran away from the questions being prodded at me, at the doubt filling my mind. No, Alfred would never, could never be that. I ran until me breath came out in short ragged gasps, puffs of the white gently gliding up in the crisp autumn air. Rain battered down on my hair, plastering it to my forehead. Looking up, I stood still in my tracks, too stunned to move.
"Alfred." I gasped, speech slurring slightly on the 'L' but after talking with him so often, my English had greatly improved.
He stood there. Just stood in the rain in front of the gate per usual, but his normally cheery face was adorned with melancholy, his eyes weary and features drooping, rain soaking his simple clothes as if they sagged in sadness too. I made a move to comfort him, my arm reaching out but he simply took a step back and looked at me, eyes piercing to my very core.
"You know."
"Alfred-san, I-"
"You. Know."
He spat, glaring at me angrily, and if I didn't know better, tears were beginning to form in his eyes. We stayed like this for a while, just staring at each other as I tried to formulate words, apologies, but each one caught in my throat and I could only let out pathetic sounds at the attempts. Turning, he hobbled over the wet and jagged stones, getting closer to the train tracks with each step. I tried to yell, to shout at him to stop, but my throat wasn't listening, wouldn't work, so I could only use my limbs instead.
Clambering over the metal fence, I landed on the other side, out of the school playground and onto the rocky terrain, the rusty pieces of metal shimmering in the rain. At the sound of someone coming over, he paused yet again, but turned with a face full of shock. I took this as my opportunity and ran to greet him, to get him to come back, and that he did, but for a whole different reason.
"KIKU!"
His shout was quickly overpowered by that of a blaring horn, a white blinding light invading my peripheral vision. I grabbed out to his hand in fear, in desperation as a last resort, yet my hand only went straight through.
Two young boys clambered over the wired fence in a frenzied game of tag, so caught up in it that they had completely dismissed the deathly warning of a train approaching, the horn blaring as the chaser froze in his tracks, cerulean blues wide in shock.
"ALFRED!"
Looking up, time stilled around us and everything seemed to fall in slow motion. The train, the rain, everything faded into the background. My eyes focused onto the clear sky blue that had always been there, always enthralled me and was full of mystery. Yet those eyes only spoke one thing.
"I'm sorry."
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"Ma always said to stay away from other kids."