PART II: COSMONAUT
It was now his third year of high school in Tanegashima.
He had moved here from Kagoshima a few years back.
It was nice and quiet, not like the bustling city of Tokyo.
Taichi sometimes wished he lived in a more lively city. But he did live by the Tanegashima Space Center, which had its own sort of liveliness.
He was comfortable with how things were, for the most part.
A rather popular student at his high school, he was the captain of the soccer team and a student that excelled in mathematics. He was charismatic, lively, and very funny. Many people wanted to be his friend; he had a warm energy to him.
He had a lot of admirers, but none had managed to win his heart over.
It was as if he was waiting for someone else.
-x-x-x-
"I heard Rei-chan confessed to Wakahisa-san," one of Meiko's friends whispered. She sipped from juice box before adding on. "I don't know what he said, though."
"I hope he said yes," another friend chimed in. "They would be so cute together,"
Meiko smiled, hoping that would count as a contribution to the conversation.
The two girls stopped and stared at her.
"W-what?" Meiko asked, innocently.
"Are you going to confess to Kamiya-san?" one of them asked.
Meiko's face turned bright red.
The two began a friendship shortly after he moved to their middle school.
In a quiet place like Tanegashima, Taichi certainly stood out. He was lively and said whatever was on his mind. He was courageous and bold, always shouting out answers.
The only time he was silent was when the teacher asked for volunteers to read out loud to the class.
Taichi happened to sit next to Meiko on his first day of school.
Shy and quiet, Meiko didn't say anything, but this made Taichi want to be her friend even more.
Eventually, he won her over with his kindness.
"You always blush whenever we talk about him," her friend said.
"She blushes whenever she talks to him, too," the other added.
The two grinned at her, as Meiko continued to blush heavily.
She always waited for him after school.
Meiko was an active member of the archery club at their school.
Coincidentally, her practices were often at the same time as the boy's soccer practices. She used that as an excuse to wait for him so they could ride their bikes home together.
She stood behind the school building, waiting for him to walk by.
Thoughts raced through her mind. What should they talk about? Should she ask him how practice went? No – that's silly, she always asks him that.
She heard footsteps approaching slowly through the grass. She tensed up, ready to "bump" into him.
"T-Tai-kun," she muttered as the footsteps got closer.
Only recently did they achieve a first name basis with each other.
"Ah, Meiko," he smiled. "Getting ready to go home too?"
"Y-yes," she replied.
"How was practice?" she asked him.
"Same as always,"
"A-archery was fine, as usual," she said.
He said nothing, as they approached their bikes on the bike rack.
He sat on his bike, preparing to start it up.
She followed suit, upset he didn't add anything more to their conversation.
"Want to go to that convenience store, like usual?" he asked.
"Sure," she said, smiling.
The two drove their bikes together, side by side on the road.
Meiko noticed that Taichi kept his eyes straight ahead. Obviously, as he was driving, that was appropriate. But she felt as though he was staring at something even farther ahead than the road. She often felt as though he was looking for something wonderful in the distance. It was as if he was a lonely dog waiting for his owner to come back home. She often wondered what he could possibly be thinking of.
-x-x-x-
They always visited a small convenience store on the way home.
Meiko always bought orange juice, but Taichi always tried to switch things up. Some days he'd buy canned coffee, and others he'd buy iced green tea. Every once in awhile, he would buy an energy drink.
Taichi was very visibly tired from soccer practice.
The bright lights of the convenience store helped Taichi stay awake a little bit. The cool air of the fridge also helped. He opened the fridge door and got a caffeinated energy drink.
"Are you tired?" Meiko asked.
"A little bit," Taichi admitted, checking the label to ensure the drink had caffeine. "I have a test to study for tonight, so that's not good."
"Take care of yourself," Meiko replied.
Taichi smiled.
The two paid for their drinks and then left the store.
They rode their bikes to a nearby hill, where they sat down and talked for a bit.
"Oh, your energy drink is pink," Meiko said, observing Taichi's drink.
He glanced down at his drink, surprised. "Oh, you're right,"
"What flavor is it?"
"It says pink lemonade on the label, but it tastes like orange," Taichi chuckled. "That doesn't make any sense,"
His drink was a soft pastel pink.
Pink, like a cherry blossom petal.
'We promised to write to each other,' Taichi thought to himself.
He was thinking of her again.
It had been so long since he had received a letter from her. He wondered if he was the one who had stopped sending letters. No – that couldn't be.
'We also promised to see the cherry blossoms with each other again.'
He was deep in thought, causing his face to be very serious.
Meiko watched silently, wondering what he could be thinking about.
He had that distant look to him again, making her chest tighten.
Oh, how she wished he would just look at her.
-x-x-x-
He had seen this dream many times already.
The two of them, on an unknown, alien planet.
A giant sun stood in front of them, rising.
The plants around them budded into flowers and a beautiful pink flurry came as the sun rose.
He stood there, right next to her.
She was sitting down on the ground, admiring the rising sun.
She would suddenly get up as the pink flurry died down.
She would stand up, tall and straight, and slowly look at him.
It was hard to remember her facial features acutely nowadays.
But he recognized those large amber eyes and orange hair immediately.
She would reach out her hand to him, and smile.
He would smile back, and take her hand, without a thought.
A few nights ago, he went through his box of letters that he had received from her.
The last one he received from her was over two years ago.
'Maybe she forgot,' he thought to himself. 'Maybe she replaced me already.'
Ever since he went through all of those letters, he had been having the same dream, over and over again.
He couldn't help but feel a tight pain in his chest.
Missing someone hurt.
His memory of her was starting to become blurry, which frightened him.
Oh, how he longed to see her again.
He missed her too much.
He wondered if somehow, she missed him too.
-x-x-x-
The next day, Meiko waited for Taichi after practice, just as always.
"Tai-kun," she cheerfully greeted him.
"Meiko," he said, as though he was caught off guard. He had a very tired expression on his face and deep bags under his eyes.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"Yeah," Taichi replied, his voice a little low. "I'm a little tired today. I'm not sure I want to go to the store...I'm sorry."
Meiko's face fell.
Taichi continued to look at the ground, his face stuck in that distant gaze he sometimes has.
"Are you mad at me?"
"W-what? Meiko, no," Taichi said, looking up quickly. He smiled at her. "I could never be mad at you. I'm just tired is all,"
"You promise?"
"I promise," he chuckled.
That familiar chuckle warmed her heart.
"Hey, I'll still walk you home. I gotta make sure you get home safely,"
"Thank you," Meiko said, smiling appreciatively.
They approached the front door to Meiko's home. It was nothing special, just a traditional Japanese home. He could hear mewing from inside.
"Ah, is that Mei-chan?" he asked.
"I'm so happy you remember her name,"
"I couldn't forget such a cute cat!" Taichi said, chuckling. "What is she again?"
"A Maine Coon,"
"Right," Taichi said, not even knowing what that meant. Were they those hairless cats? No – that's a Siamese. Wait, maybe it was called a Sphynx?
"Thank you for walking me home," Meiko said, blushing a bit.
"It was no problem at all," Taichi said, still smiling. "I should probably get going, though. It's late and I'm still tired, ha,"
"Yeah,"
'Maybe today would be the day.
Yes...
Tonight, I will confess to him.'
"Taichi?" Meiko asked suddenly.
"Ah?"
"D-do you like anyone?"
"Do I...like anyone...?" he was surprised by her sudden question. "Hm," he pretended to ponder. Immediately, his thoughts went to her. He pictured her round face with her big amber eyes, and her short orange hair.
Meiko waited for his response. It felt like an eternity, just standing there in silence, staring at his thinking face.
In the far distance, she could hear a space rocket get ready for takeoff.
She could see a small cloud of dust forming as the rocket slowly left the ground of Earth.
Taichi remained oblivious to this.
"I don't like anyone," Taichi lied.
"N-no one?" Meiko asked shyly.
"Nah," he replied, his eyes slowly darting away. He looked away, seeing the rocket from the corner of his eye. "Ah, Meiko," he quickly took her hand and pointed it in the direction of the rocket. It was starting to fly towards the sky at a much quicker rate. "Look!"
Meiko stared at their joined hands. She was supposed to be looking at the rocket entering space, but she couldn't help but look at their physical connection.
'I guess tonight won't be the night.'
-x-x-x-
Meiko rolled around in her bed.
The silence of the night haunted her.
Shortly after the rocket launched, Taichi left. He made no other comment on her question asking if he had liked anyone.
It seemed as though he thought of it as a joke.
But really, it was a serious matter to Meiko.
She continued to roll around, thinking about the rocket.
It must be a lonely journey to go high into space, all by yourself. The rocket isn't even completely sure if it will reach its destination.
But yet, it continues to soar, hoping it will.
Perhaps she was like that rocket, and her destination was Taichi.
Perhaps it would be best if she continued to keep soaring by herself, silently hoping that she would someday be with him.
Maybe.
-x-x-x-
"I could never forget about you,"
She sat on the train car, looking at her phone. She had given Taichi her new cell phone number long ago. She waited for a message from him, but it never came.
Sighing, she leaned her head back.
Sometimes, she felt as though they were too far apart, emotionally and physically, to be together anymore.
While they had grown up together, they didn't continue to grow with each other.
It wasn't anyone's fault. It's not fair, but that's just the way it was.
She often wondered what would have happened if they both had stayed in Tokyo. Would they have attended the same middle and high schools? Would they have continued to play soccer together?
Would they have actually started dating each other?
It seemed futile to be having these sorts of thoughts.
There was nothing either of them could do about it.