Hey, minna-san. Sorry, been hectic! First off, I'm losing my sanity because I gave up reading FanFiction for lent (it's intruding on how much time I actually spend studying...). There are so many stories I wanna read, and I can't, not till Easter! ~ Then, my red moleskine of power (which I write all my fanfics in), got lost. Turns out I left it in a taxi the other day, but it had my mobile number in, so the nice man at the taxi office phoned me up today to tell me they had it. Crisis averted. Anyways...enjoy the story. You know the drill: Read, Enjoy, Review!
Chapter 10:
Realising that, without Shō, she was going nowhere Arrietty sat down where she was. The ground was hard and felt cold on her hands. It smelt man-made, like the foundations of Sadako's house. Around her, the noises of Amusement Park had faded and were merely whispers instead of the screams and chattering they were. It was as if she was back in the woods again, where the noises of life happening around her were almost silent.
She tried to remember what it would have been like to be lost if she was a borrower again, with her sight restored. Her kaa-san would be yelling out of the window for her to come to supper, as she would probably have been exploring the forest. Every day she found some new corner or secret space to have her adventures. Soon she would have to move out and find her own home - her own place to start borrowing. She couldn't decide whether she would be an inside borrower like her mother, or an outside borrower like her father. It was easier to live in a house and borrow from the humans, but it was more thrilling living out in the wild where danger was at every turn and you had to go out and search for food. It would be adventure every time for her. Her kaa-san couldn't keep her in the house now that they lived in the forest, let alone when they were in Sadako's house.
"Arrietty? Arrietty! ARIETTY!"
It started off quietly, but got progressively louder with each shout. The voice was unmistakeable. It was Shō.
"Arrietty. Where have you been?" He sounded so worried.
He pulled her up and into such a tight hug that Arrietty thought he wouldn't ever let go. He did, eventually, but only to hold her at arm's length as if to look her in the eye.
"Where have you been?" He repeated, "I was so worried when I came back and you weren't there on the bench. I had to ask around and see if anyone had seen you go. Why did you run off like that?"
Arrietty looked down, embarrassed.
"I heard a crow, it scared and my instincts kicked in. I ran until I couldn't hear it, and by then I was lost." She realised how silly she sounded the minute the words came out of her mouth.
"Well, I'm just happy I found you. Did you know you're sitting behind all the shops? I hate to think how you got here, it'll take us at least 20 minutes to get to the big wheel now…."
He trailed off, and then took hold of her hand and started walking in the direction of what she presumed was the big wheel. There was a silence between them which verged on the awkward, but the buzz of noise, from everyone else in the park, filled the gap as they walked.
Soon, they had reached the queue for the big wheel. The queue didn't seem to be too long, but to Arrietty it sounded like it was mostly couples, or small groups of girls that populated the line. She could hear the gossiping and giggling between the groups, the shy conversations between the couples, and the silence between her and Shō. It was a little unsettling now, it was like he'd disappeared into the edges of the darkness she couldn't see, but he still held onto her hand reassuringly, it was her lifeline.
He gently pulled her along as the queue moved, and soon enough, into the carriage for the big wheel.
"Watch out, Arrietty. There's a step here to get into the carriage."
His voice sounded odd after not speaking for ages, a little husky from the lack of use.
They both settled onto the little plastic seats at the edge of the carriage, one either side, and Arrietty felt them set off. It was quite a slow, jolty motion, stopping every few minutes for new people to get on. She wondered what the world would look like from up here. The only views she'd had were as a borrower and from the time she'd climbed the roof on Shō's house. The world had looked so small that time, much like she would look if humans had seen her. Would it still be so small?
"Shō?" She wondered if he was still there, if he was looking at the slowly shrinking landscape.
"Yeah, Arrietty?"
"What does it look like down there? What does the world look like from up here?"
"What? Oh…right." He sounded distracted, as if he had forgotten he was supposed to be talking to her. "Well, let me see."
She didn't see him wince slightly at his unfortunate choice of words.
"At the moment, I can just see the Amusement Park. There are big groups of people heading for the exit now because it's getting late - they don't look like people anymore, they look like huge groups of ants. I can see further out as well. There are small patches of green and trees where the parks and gardens are. There aren't that many anymore, it's such a shame. I guess you guys make good use of those, huh?"
Arrietty nodded.
"Oh, I can see more of the city now, there are loads of skyscrapers. Those are the tall buildings with loads of windows, the sun's reflecting off all the windows which are making it light up like a torch. It's quite pretty, but it's blinding. The city just seems to keep on going for miles, I guess it does, but it looks like it'll never end! I can see all the cars and trains making their way around the city. There are so many cars; they look like beetles scurrying about in the undergrowth. The trains all look like worms snaking through the buildings; I bet they're all crammed with people like when we were on the train this morning."
He laughed, as she winced at the thought of being crammed into a train again.
"The sun's just setting now, and its light is hitting everything. It's so orange that all the buildings look like they're on fire! You know, it makes your hair look flames now. It's beautiful."
Shō murmured the last bit, but Arrietty just about managed to hear it. She lifted her hand and, following the sound of Shō's voice, cupped his cheek softly. He leaned into it a little and she felt her heart jump.
"I'm really glad you became human, Arrietty, even if it's only for a week. It means I can show you my world….well, tell you about my world. It's not as scary as it is when you're small, especially when you've got me and Niya to look after you."
"I couldn't ask for better guides," She said, smiling, "I'm glad I managed to come as well, Shō. I've only been here for a day, but I've already learnt so much, about the world, about being a human, about you. I'll be so sad when I have to go home. I'll miss you, Shō." She said, sadly.
Arrietty looked down, sadly, and took her hand away from Shō's cheek. She sat fiddling with her hands in her lap.
"Arrietty?"
Shō's voice broke the quiet.
"Don't worry about it for now, we'll enjoy the time we have together now. Ok?"
"How? The thought of going home now, it just makes me too sad to enjoy anything."
"I have a few ideas…." Shō whispered this part.
He leant in slowly and brushed Arrietty's lips ever so lightly with his before pulling her to him in a hug. Arrietty barely felt the kiss, but she knew what had happened. She was still in shock when the carriage jolted to a halt at the bottom of the ride and Shō helped her out. She was still in shock as they walked out of the Amusement Park. Still in shock as they were crammed onto a busy train, and Shō had to hold onto her so that they didn't get separated, and, as she sat in bed that night, her hand brushed over her lips. The realisation hit her. He'd actually kissed her.
Yeah, I make no apologies for it being fluffy :P So no complaints...
Plus, I promised I'd put in the thanks to all my contributors: Sentinel07, Dithinus, Ablissa, Violet-Taco, dustkeeper, Darkness Shade and Amethyst Jewels.
I am indebted to you guys, and everyone who reviews the story. It makes me so happy getting those reviews in my Inbox :) :) Keep going guys! Arigatou!