August 15th

How long has it been I wonder, since the day I first saw her die? We've gone through this cycle so many times now. I'm getting tired of watching her suffer. Will this tragedy ever have an ending, or are we going to be stuck for eternity? I've been looking, but try as I must I can't find a way out. We never should have met up on that day, on the August 15th that began everything.

The light shining through the window blinded my eyes as I struggled to get up. I glanced over at my clock. August 15th, 12:00 pm. Had I overslept? I drew the blinds open and looked outside. The sky was clear with clouds upon the blue sky, and there was a sweet scent of flowers. My phone had started to vibrate then, so I went over to grab it. There was a text message sent from my friend Hiyori. "Hey Hibiya, you busy? I'm bored so let's meet up at the park later, k?" Well, at least I had something to do today. Grabbing my jacket, I left the house and started heading to the park.

By the time I got there, she was already sitting on the swings cradling a black cat in her arms. She looked as lovely as ever, with her hair flowing behind her back and the black dress she always wore when we met up. I had met her back in Grade 6, accidentally bumping into her and spilling my papers. I quickly apologized and expected her to be mad, but she just giggled and helped me pick up my stuff. "My name's Hiyori. It's nice to meet you, though it was a bit sudden. What's your name?" "Hi-Hibi-biya. My name is Hibiya", I stammered. "Well it's nice to meet you Hibiya. I hope you take care of me in the future", and with these words she parted off. Since then, we've been very close and would hang out at least once every weekend. I've actually had a crush on her for a long time now, but I'm too embarrassed to tell her. Calling out my name, I turn and see her waving at me.

"So how's your summer so far?" she asked me. I told her that it was boring, and that I had done nothing special. In turn, I asked how her summer was. "It's fine, but you see I sort of hate the summer", she said. "Why is that?" I asked. "Well you see-", she said smiling, but just as she was about to finish the cat she was cradling jumped out of her hands. "Ah, come back here kitty", she yelled as she chased after it. Since she had gone looking for the cat, I decided that I might as well also help look. After an hour of searching I was about to give up on looking, but as I turned to cross the road I saw the cat sitting there right in the middle of the crosswalk. "There you are!" I heard someone say. I turned to see Hiyori, running across the crosswalk to pick up the cat just as the traffic light turned right. At the same time, a truck that had lost control was heading straight for her. "HIYORI!" I yelled as loud as I could.

There was a blood-curling scream that was cut off abruptly as the truck ran over my crush. Blood was spewing everywhere, and I choked on the smell of her scent mixed with it. The heat was getting to me, as if it were laughing at the situation like it was a joke. There was a boy standing to the side who looked exactly like me except entirely dressed in black. He snickered at me as I blacked out to the sounds of the crickets from within the park.

The light shining through the window blinds my eyes as I struggle to get up. I glance over at my clock. It was a little past midnight on August 15th. Going back to sleep, I wondered about the strange dream I had yesterday. Strangely enough, I get a text from Hiyori again around the same time as yesterday. "Hey Hibiya, you busy? I'm bored so let's meet up at the park later, k?" Fear came over me, did yesterday really happen? Concerned, I ran to the park as fast as I could. When I got to the park, Hiyori had just arrived and was making her way to the swings, with the same cat in her hands. She sees me and waves me over. I guess I looked sort of weird because she asked me if something was wrong. "It's nothing", I told her. "But, let's go hang out somewhere else today, k?" As we crossed the road, after looking both ways to make sure there were no trucks, I gave out a sigh of relief. Suddenly people were yelling with their mouths gaping wide open as they looked up to the top of a building. Hiyori pushed me aside, and as I turned to face her she smiled.

Three metal poles then skewered her from up top almost separating her into two. As she was pinned to the ground, she muttered something to me and smiled. Again, the smell of blood mixed with her scent had almost made me throw up. I thought I could save her from her fate if I took her away from the park, but I guess God won't allow it. "Don't worry your still alive." I turned around to face my alter ego, smiling at me. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT FROM ME?" I screamed at him. "What I want is for you to survive" he told me snickering with delight. All I wanted to do was kill him, make this all disappear. Clinging to these thoughts, the world started to darken and one again I blacked out.

It was the same story every single time. Usually told differently but it had the same beginning and end. Sometimes it was the truck, other times the pole, and she's even been shot by a crazy gunman once. I remember the craziest death was of her swinging on the swings, and as she swung up the chain had snapped. It wrapped around her neck, and she was dead within seconds hanging from the top. Even though I was running out of options, there was still one thing I could do. Yes, I will finally put an end to this cursed cycle of events.

The light shining through the window blinds my eyes as I struggle to get up. I don't even look at the clock. I know what day it is today. I head out to the park early and waited for her. When she arrived, I was already sitting on the swings waiting for her. I waved at her, and she waved back. We talked about our lives and how our summers were, reliving through the same answers I've heard so many times now. The cat jumped out of her lap, and headed towards the road. "Ah, come back here kitty" she yelled yet again chasing after it. I saw the truck approaching and this time I knew what I had to do. Before the truck could hit her, I dove into the street pushing her away from the danger that was about to befall upon me. Smiling, I looked up at her and was glad that she survived. Behind her was myself dressed in black. He was crying, and I heard him say "You were supposed to live!" There was a very sharp pain throughout my body, and then everything cut to black.

The light shining through the window blinds her eyes as she struggles to get up. She glances over at the clock. August 15th 12:00 pm. The girl starts crying as her pet cat jumps onto her lap. "Guess I failed to save him again" she mumbled. She reached over to her phone, and sent her text to Hibiya. "There's still one thing I can do to save him." And with that, the girl headed out to the park to wait for him to arrive.