It Starts with an Ending
This is a classic story of boy meets girl, but not quite under the same circumstances you would normally expect. It all started with a cup of spilt coffee on a particularly grumpy young woman with raven black hair, one who was feeling very irritable because things were not going her way. The person she took her anger out on because of this incident, as well as the perpetrator of spilling the coffee, was a young man a year younger than her with a full head of bright orange hair (not dyed in any way, just so you know). And it was at 4.11 a.m. on a rickety train that things started to change for the both of them; two very different, extraordinary people who were both treading on their separate paths of thin ice.
This, as I said earlier, is a story of boy meets girl, and it starts with an ending. The girl was brooding over miserable and brood-worthy situations she was constantly in, and if she was sure of anything, it was that there are no miracles in the vicious cycle we are all trapped in, also known as "harsh reality". There's no such thing as a dream come true, and now, more than ever, was she assured of the fact that she would never truly be happy.
Now, dear reader, whatever you may feel about the mysteries of life, you should know that one thing is certain. A meeting between two people is never just a coincidence. They can leave each other having formed a bond of either friendship or something less friendly. Perhaps you may change your mind after some inexplicable change has occurred in your life, perhaps not. Now, we shall begin with our tale, starting with the two main characters: one was a tall, charismatic, orange haired man, and the other a refined, stoic young lady, both of whom shared the exact same sentiments at that ungodly hour in the morning: I'm tired and I want to go home.
Kuchiki Rukia sat with her eyes closed and her headphones plugged in, though there was no music coming out of them. She was simply using the soundproof quality of the headphones to drown out the incessant snoring of the man beside her, one with a large round belly and hairy feet exposed to the surrounding air after he had dumped his socks on the floor. It smelt like he had rubbed brine into his feet and the stench quickly permeated the air. Even through the insides of her eyelids, Rukia wrinkled her nose in disgust.
Despite the unearthly hour, Rukia didn't feel tired enough to doze off. She was used to being awake this late, and the situation was not foreign to her. She had grown accustomed to waking up drooling on her desk with an ache in her neck, one side of her cheek red from squashing it against the hard table for the three hours she had each night. Well, at least that had been the case until her brother-in-law decided to relocate her to one of his major companies in a bigger, industrialized city. Rukia had not been too happy about this decision, but once the words had been spoken, she knew there was no way she could worm herself out of it.
She was never one for big changes, and she needed stability in her life. Rukia had experienced too much at too young an age, and had carefully constructed a solid and impenetrable wall around her, and arranged everything sophistically and orderly on the inside. A tiny ripple through it caused severe tremors, and she was in constant fear that one day it might all come crashing down upon her. But most of all, she didn't want to work under the constant watch of her hawk-eyed brother-in-law, who unconsciously scared her out of her wits. He was a successful businessman with significant monetary resources, and her elder sister had done well in choosing him as her life partner. At least he could support her large hospital bills. Rukia's sister was terminally ill, and her word had become the law in the household. After all, it was never certain how long she was going to live for, and one had to strive to please her as much as possible. Once she had learned of Rukia's ridiculously stressful job, she had insisted her husband recruit Rukia into one of his companies and give her the necessary salary for her to get by. Of course, her husband had obliged, and that was the very reason Rukia was sitting on this train, on her way to the big city where her new life would begin. She would have to leave everything she had ever known behind, both unhappy memories and the rare happy one that she treasured most of all. Still, her colleagues would be happy the uptight, better-than-thou skank was finally leaving, and they were probably having a celebration party in her absence.
Despite the fact that her sister constantly worried about her love life, it had never struck Rukia to get married. Her sister, speaking from personal experience, felt that Rukia would feel better if she became financially dependent. Rukia had only rolled her eyes. Her elder sister had no idea how hard it was to find a wealthy man who had absolutely no eyes for anyone else. Rukia had made up an imaginary boyfriend to let her sister rest at ease. His name was Renji, and he was her childhood friend. He would be willing to help her out, even if they hadn't been in contact for a while. She could just bribe him with a hamburger and he'd be delighted to introduce himself as her future fiancé. It wasn't surprising that Rukia didn't have any prospects. She turned down so many invites to the speed-dating parties and social events she was invited to that her colleagues and friends no longer felt she was fit to attend them. If she had in fact attended, she would have worn a hoodie and some faded jeans, not bothered to adjust her impossible hair, and worn only a thin layer of lip gloss, which in her opinion, was presentable enough. Rukia was pretty, if she bothered to make an attempt to look good, but there was little benefit for her in that, or so she thought. Rukia didn't believe in true love, for the simple reason that it did not exist, a mentality instilled in her since the time she was six.
Rukia's parents had a messy divorce when she was a mere child, and the custody hearing had not gone well, leaving her mostly in the care of her elder sister, who grew very rebellious in a very short period of time. As such, Rukia had grown up having to fend for herself, and it hadn't been an easy task. She was more mature than anyone else her age, more responsible, more composed, and she could not laugh about some of the things others did, perhaps because she needed to be serious to get by. Although she knew it somewhere deep down, she didn't want to admit that all she really wanted was someone to rely on; someone the little girl inside her could count on and who would be there for her. But with time, this hope soon diminished as it became clear the world was a harsh and unforgiving place where one's dreams don't come true. Rukia sighed, folding her hands across her lap, her mind wandering over events that had transpired over the past few days. They were none too special, none too conspicuous, and none too happy. Sad to say, as you may have already realized, Rukia was not a very happy young lady, a state she would not be able to break out of easily, unless someone would be around to change her. Rukia squeezed her eyes shut even tighter. There was no one like that. Nobody who would bother about the pathetic and miserable person scrunching her eyes shut for any particular reason. The train jolted slightly and she heard someone swear next to her.
Suddenly, something very hot fell and scalded her hand. Her eyes flashed open as she blew frantically at the brown liquid pouring over her hand and onto her cotton jacket. She could already see the area on which the coffee had fallen turn slightly red, increasingly obvious against her pale skin.
"Damn it!" She looked up and glared at the perpetrator, a young man who couldn't have been much older than her. He was staring at her in shock with a cup of coffee in his hand, the other hand held up apologetically. "What the hell was that for?!" She demanded to know. If the coffee wouldn't spill all over her, she would have knocked it out of his hands by now.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" The orange haired man apologized frantically, digging his pocket for a packet of tissues. He retrieved one and started drying up the droplets of coffee not yet absorbed by the fabric. Rukia knocked his hand away and snatched the tissue paper out of his hands.
"Forget it, I can manage." She grumbled, stroking the tissue across her jacket in firm and steady motions. The man just watched on as she repeated the action. When she was done, he held out his hand, into which she shoved the used piece of tissue.
"Sorry, it's pretty dark in here and the train's shaking a lot. Can I make it up to you?" He asked politely. Rukia only glared at him.
"How exactly do you plan on doing that?" She snapped irritably, holding the jacket further away from her shirt to prevent it from getting wet as well.
"Uh, I'll buy you something to eat or drink, if you want." He suggested, gesturing towards the other cabin. Regardless of how moody she was feeling, Rukia decided to oblige. She was feeling like a wreck, and was obviously taking it out on this poor young soul who had accidentally spilled coffee on her. She got out of her seat slowly, stretching her sore and stiff limbs, wincing as she took a step forward and tripped over her bag. The man caught her and steadied her with a smile, ushering her towards the next cabin. The train was almost completely dark, and almost everyone was snuggled under the supplied itchy blanket, with their heads titled to one side.
"What are you doing up so late? Or did the coffee wake you up?" The man inquired.
"No, I was already awake. I was thinking." Rukia replied simply, and the man felt it rude to question any further. Feeling she should be a little nicer to him, she continued a bit awkwardly, "How about you?"
"I was thinking too. I had a rough few days, and I couldn't get to sleep. We're arriving in a few more hours, and I figured I might as well keep myself awake until then." They approached the counter.
"What would you like?" He asked, retrieving his wallet from his back pocket.
"Uh, a hot cappuccino, as long as you don't spill that on me as well," She joked with a straight face. The young man let out a throaty laugh.
"I'll try not to," He handed her the drink carefully. "Since we're both not going to be sleeping today, how would you like to have a little chat instead? I have an empty seat next to me."
"How's that possible? This train is completely full." She argued.
"I don't really like associating with people much, so I bought the seat next to me." Rukia accepted that reasoning, and wondered why she hadn't thought of that in the first place. Then she wouldn't have had to endure Mr. Smelly Feet for an interminable amount of time. Plus, if she took the seat next to berry head, she wouldn't have to smell the ungodly smell any longer.
"Sure," She replied, and the man led her back to his seat. She took the seat next to him, and sighed, resting her head against the cushion behind.
"Why are you here?" She asked. The man sighed, stretching his hands over his head and yawning.
"Stuff needed to be cleared up, that's all." He grunted slightly, sounding none too pleased. "I told you I had a couple of rough days, right? Some people aren't too happy with me. I'm doing too well at my job, and people who have been working there longer than I have been are not pleased. They've been blackmailing me with all the bullshit they can think up. That's just one of my problems." He put his arms on the hand rests, pushing the chair into a reclining position. Rukia looked down at his hand, surprised at how much larger and muscular it was in comparison to hers. Something silver glinted in the darkness on the man's fourth finger.
"You're married?" She asked, surprised. A half-smile flickered across the man's lips as he looked at her.
"Is it that surprising for a man of my age to be married?" He asked playfully. Rukia's face turned slightly red, but it wasn't a colour visible in the darkness of the cabin.
"Of course not, it was just… I don't know." She mumbled. He laughed again.
"How about you? Anyone special in your life worth mentioning?" He asked.
"No," She replied almost instantly, and then hesitated. "Well, I do have special people in my life, but none in the, uh, romantic aspect of it." She fumbled slightly. No one had asked her about her love life that she had not known, and she had never been good at dealing with situations with people she was unfamiliar with.
"Don't worry, you've still got time." He smirked.
"What is that supposed to mean? I'm pretty old, as it is. Love is a silly emotion, a needless and meaningless one." She stated firmly.
"What makes you so sure? I don't think love is a silly emotion." He replied, straightening his back slightly in his chair.
"My parents split up when I was really young, and I've been sure of what I feel about love ever since. Love is a messy and painful affair, a bitter one with an unhappy aftertaste. One does not benefit from love, only suffers, and that is the way it is meant to be." She replied.
"My parents no longer lived together when I was really young as well." The boy spoke quietly. Rukia's eyes widened as she examined the boy. They were both kind of similar in a strange sort of way. "But I still think love exists. Love comes in many forms. Love can be concern felt for a sibling, the longing for a friend who isn't there, the unsettling feeling you get when you are far away from home." Rukia's stomach did a little flip when he mentioned the word "home". She thought of the little apartment she had abandoned and had sold to a kindly old lady who was new to the neighborhood. "It's all different forms of love. Sometimes love can be hiding in the most unexpected of places, you just need to find it to know it's there." Rukia couldn't argue with that. She was already starting to miss home, and the things she loved along with it. She thought of her friends, her colleagues, and the people who had been in her life, and whom, like everyone else, eventually deserted her. Perhaps it was because of love that she felt so lonely all the time.
"You're lucky to be so optimistic about things. You seem like you've got everything under control." Rukia sounded impressed. She had already started to respect the boy seated beside her, someone she barely knew.
"I wouldn't say that. My life is kind of a mess now. You just have to look for the small things in it, and not just the whole picture. It's really the little things that count. Life is not an easy journey, and sometimes things are hard to bear, but you can only enjoy the process if you look for things you can hold precious, I suppose. I'm in no position to say this to you, but, that's just how I roll." He smiled reminiscently. "I know it's all probably cliché to you, but it really is the journey, not the prize at the end that's worth it."
He was right, Rukia had heard all of this, well, at least different forms of it, before. But what he was saying now impacted her more than anyone else did. Perhaps it was because he was a complete stranger, one who actually cared about her well-being not because of the obligation as a friend or family member. He was a living, breathing example of his philosophy, and that was perhaps why Rukia could believe him more easily.
"Your wife's a lucky one." She giggled. It was a good feeling, to be light hearted. The sun was beginning to rise, lighting up the cabin through the windows. The man opened his mouth to say something, but it was cut off by an announcement from the speaker stating that they would be arriving at their destination soon. She looked back at the man, who gave a small wave. Now that the sun was illuminating the place, she caught a full picture of the man who had kept her company. He was quite tall and muscular, with spiky orange hair, kind golden-brownish eyes and a smirk that lifted up one side of his mouth. He was quite good looking, as a matter of fact, and Rukia might almost find him interesting enough. But then she caught sight of the ring again, and then reprimanded herself internally for thinking anything remotely of the sort.
"Thanks," She finished the coffee, which had already gone cold.
"Sure, anytime," He grinned widely. He watched the girl leave her seat and head back to her own a couple of rows in front. She was a queer one, he gave her that. A wide eyed, pale skinned, messy haired, large eye bagged young woman who looked like she had been through too much for her time.
They exited the train together, and stopped at the exit, turning to face each other.
"Well, it was nice getting to know you." She said meekly. He just smiled and ruffled her hair. Rukia felt her heart skip a beat at the contact, but quickly shook her head of any thoughts.
"Yeah, see you around, maybe." He walked away. For a good minute, Rukia just stared after him, until his orange head disappeared into the crowd of people. The full weight of a sleepless night was starting to hit her, and she slumped off to the taxi stand, dragging her large suitcase behind her. The sun hit her full on in the face, and she squinted her way to the queue.
The man was probably right; she needed a more optimistic approach to things. With a start, she realized she hadn't asked for his name! It was quite a pity she would probably never get to see him again. Heck, she didn't even know what he was doing here. Then again, all things have to come to a close. It's how you start off again that counts, and he had given her a push in the right direction. She smiled inwardly.
Maybe she wasn't alone in the world after all.