Chapter 3:
From then onwards, I grew accustomed to Laura's presence. It almost felt natural to be with her, but our special encounter was kept to ourselves – in front of others, I remained as silent and impassive as before, and Laura, as cheerful as she was. However, I often found myself gazing absent-mindedly towards her general direction in class. She would notice from time to time and smile back, and I would clench my jaw and look away in hurried embarrassment. I even began to face my defeat to her with a mild sense of humor.
There were things that I could mask with my usual stern façade – my affinity with Laura was not one of them. I often trudged about the campus, immersed in my musing. Perhaps my friends were the first to notice, for I no longer lashed out at them when they sneered playfully at my defeat. I wouldn't even reply; I would just walk on, gaping a little and thinking.
"Summers, aren't you going to say anything?" one of them insisted one day. As usual, I remained wordless and trudged on.
"I say he's got something – or someone on his mind," another observed shrewdly, my ears perked up at the implication. I halted in my aimless path.
"You mean he's found himself a chick? No way man, he's dead serious and quiet!"
"Heh, you never know. Women can do strange things."
"I wonder how far he's gotten on that…"
"None of your business." I snapped, whipping my head around and putting on a vicious glare to mask my growing embarrassment and consternation. The small decided not to try my biting temperament any further.
And continue I would, walking with gentle eyes peering off into something that seemed to exist beyond the mortal realms; and then before my eyes I would see her, smiling, and a debilitating surge of warmth would wash over me. Walking home all alone in the deep drifts of leaves every chilly afternoon, I thought of her. Yet, something kept a distance between us – a hidden coldness on her part; a wordless boundary. Laura seemed almost unapproachable at times, occasionally retreating into a somber muteness, and looking down at the ground with a solemn loneliness that so perplexed me. I wondered on about her mind's enigmatic preoccupations, and so I contrived to just wait for things to take their place naturally…
And one day, she did approach me again, on her own accord.
It was a lengthy holiday, I remember – a time when everyone rejoiced in the warmth of company and relished the bliss of relaxation, and I, atrophying in the tattered house that my parents had bequeathed to me, sat alone in my room. Solitude seemed to swell around me, the staleness in the air slowly and silently suffocating me. Lying lazily in my bed, I peered out of the window and into the dismal skies. It was raining, and a dampness tainted the streets and all that surrounded me with a grim darkness. The lightness of autumn was all but absent, and the stench of dank, decaying leaves signaled the departure of fall. Heavy drops of rain tapped incessantly at the rooftops, trickling from the drooping oyster-colored clouds, and there, the colorful town of Crimson Falls was painted over in a dull monochrome.
At length, I peered up into the boundless gray of the heavy clouds, absently juggling the weekend options in my mind while I lay in bed. Then, a few faint noises caught my attention. I strained my ears to listen to the light splashes drawing towards the doorsteps, and a few gentle taps on the creaking wooden door ensued.
"Coming," I groaned, my face still propped against the sagging pillow.
Slowly, I gathered some motivation to crawl up from bed and dragged my feet to the door. I covered a yawn as I turned the rusty knob.
"Hey, Summers," a jubilant voice greeted me, and there, Laura stood before me, thoroughly drenched, but still grinning with her white fangs bared.
I stood, gaping. Why would Laura visit me? I was caught totally unprepared. She continued before I could speak.
"Um… my relatives left for the war. I was thinking if I could stay – for now, at least?"
"…What?"
"Will that bother you?"
"N-No, I mean… give me a second, ok?"
With that, I dashed off to my bedroom and carelessly jammed all the scattered articles into the closet. The room was in utter filth and mess. How can I allow Laura to see that? And most of all, what should I do? I wasn't all that "experienced" after all. My heart raced wildly.
"No need to clean up for me," she called from the corridor.
"I'll be done in a sec," I hollered back.
When the room looked presentable enough, I breathed deeply to muster enough composure to meet Laura, then bid her to come in. Her wet feet tapped lightly on the creaking wooden floorboards as she walked, shivering in the cold. It must have been dreadfully cold for her, I observed; it was November, after all. Soon, it would begin snowing.
"You better get changed into something dry," I suggested in concern.
"Would you mind?"
"No, err… I mean, you can wear my stuff if you want."
"That'll be great," Laura said warmly, smiling.
She followed me to my bedroom, arms wrapped around herself to fend off the damp chilliness. A few wet bangs of hair draped over her eyes as she looked around, studying the furniture and quickly evaluating my room as I sifted through my closet for appropriate clothing. One thing, I noticed, caught her fancy. She walked to my bedside and bent down to study a framed photograph that I had placed there – one of father clad in his complete military uniform, with a hand laid upon my shoulder as I grinned broadly at the photographer. It was taken at the academy spaceport some time ago.
"Aww… how cute. Who is this?" she remarked, picking up the picture for a closer look.
"That's me, the kid you see there," I answered in a falsely calm tone, still facing the closet to hide a faint blush. I didn't know how to reply, and I didn't know what to give her to wear.
Her eyes dwelled on the photograph, perhaps realizing that it was my father in the background; he was famous in the Lylat System, after all. But she made no notion to bring up the topic; instead, she shifted her attention to the long sword lying above my cabinet and studied it further, the dangerous gleam of silver dancing across her bright, fascinated eyes.
"Um… the shower's upstairs. Just go up, turn a left, and you're there," I said as I tossed her a shirt and a pair of jeans.
"Thank you so much, Summers," she smiled broadly.
"No problem."
With that, she pranced off gleefully, leaving me behind to ponder the next move. What should I do? I thought, and where would she sleep? My room?
"No," I muttered to myself, shaking off the notion as the blush returned.
But what, and where? I screamed inside as I started to panic. I'm not all that at ease around women, after all. I could hear streams of water begin to tap on the shower floor, and I caught dank whiffs of fog as I sniffed the air. For a while, I just sat dumbly at the bedside, uncomfortable with the whole situation.
I will spare you the explicit details, and the uncomfortable moments of her visit, but things went smoothly. Perhaps I'm a natural. Laura and I didn't do much in particular, as the gloomy weather confined us to the house for most of the holiday, but at length, we conversed about our pasts and our thoughts. I was surprised that I could talk that much, and as I had observed, so was she. Perhaps it was a sign that we were, indeed, meant for each other.
As she unraveled her enigmatic musing before me, I learned, from our conversation, that a looming grief hung about her. Laura seemed a willful, resilient pilot, bearing her misfortunes with great equanimity. In truth, she felt alone, alienated, and most of all, she longed for Katina – the desolated, barren desert planet to the strangers, but home in her eyes. How she went on about her childhood in the Katina base, and how her eyes gleamed sadly at the mention of the planet, I cannot exactly delineate with words. But she was mostly interested in listening to me; it never failed to fascinate her. It was our compatibility, perhaps.
Perhaps…
I would have wished to prolong that period of mutual sharing and enjoyment. We did other things besides talking, of course, but that I shall not share yet. It was as if we existed within each other, and the absence of one would mean the deprivation of life in another.
I would have wished that to last longer, but the seasons would not wait…
Soon, I was transferred to the infantry division, where the Cornerian Federation deemed me more helpful to the country. Autumn fleeted from my grasp as quickly as it came…
-----------------------------------------
Follow link to an illustration of Summers and Laura in the upcoming chapters:
http://images.deviantart.com/large/indyart/anime/Neo_July_Day.jpg
*This illustration was the featured "Daily Deviation" and "Daily Favorite" for May 3rd on DeviantArt.com! ^_^
From then onwards, I grew accustomed to Laura's presence. It almost felt natural to be with her, but our special encounter was kept to ourselves – in front of others, I remained as silent and impassive as before, and Laura, as cheerful as she was. However, I often found myself gazing absent-mindedly towards her general direction in class. She would notice from time to time and smile back, and I would clench my jaw and look away in hurried embarrassment. I even began to face my defeat to her with a mild sense of humor.
There were things that I could mask with my usual stern façade – my affinity with Laura was not one of them. I often trudged about the campus, immersed in my musing. Perhaps my friends were the first to notice, for I no longer lashed out at them when they sneered playfully at my defeat. I wouldn't even reply; I would just walk on, gaping a little and thinking.
"Summers, aren't you going to say anything?" one of them insisted one day. As usual, I remained wordless and trudged on.
"I say he's got something – or someone on his mind," another observed shrewdly, my ears perked up at the implication. I halted in my aimless path.
"You mean he's found himself a chick? No way man, he's dead serious and quiet!"
"Heh, you never know. Women can do strange things."
"I wonder how far he's gotten on that…"
"None of your business." I snapped, whipping my head around and putting on a vicious glare to mask my growing embarrassment and consternation. The small decided not to try my biting temperament any further.
And continue I would, walking with gentle eyes peering off into something that seemed to exist beyond the mortal realms; and then before my eyes I would see her, smiling, and a debilitating surge of warmth would wash over me. Walking home all alone in the deep drifts of leaves every chilly afternoon, I thought of her. Yet, something kept a distance between us – a hidden coldness on her part; a wordless boundary. Laura seemed almost unapproachable at times, occasionally retreating into a somber muteness, and looking down at the ground with a solemn loneliness that so perplexed me. I wondered on about her mind's enigmatic preoccupations, and so I contrived to just wait for things to take their place naturally…
And one day, she did approach me again, on her own accord.
It was a lengthy holiday, I remember – a time when everyone rejoiced in the warmth of company and relished the bliss of relaxation, and I, atrophying in the tattered house that my parents had bequeathed to me, sat alone in my room. Solitude seemed to swell around me, the staleness in the air slowly and silently suffocating me. Lying lazily in my bed, I peered out of the window and into the dismal skies. It was raining, and a dampness tainted the streets and all that surrounded me with a grim darkness. The lightness of autumn was all but absent, and the stench of dank, decaying leaves signaled the departure of fall. Heavy drops of rain tapped incessantly at the rooftops, trickling from the drooping oyster-colored clouds, and there, the colorful town of Crimson Falls was painted over in a dull monochrome.
At length, I peered up into the boundless gray of the heavy clouds, absently juggling the weekend options in my mind while I lay in bed. Then, a few faint noises caught my attention. I strained my ears to listen to the light splashes drawing towards the doorsteps, and a few gentle taps on the creaking wooden door ensued.
"Coming," I groaned, my face still propped against the sagging pillow.
Slowly, I gathered some motivation to crawl up from bed and dragged my feet to the door. I covered a yawn as I turned the rusty knob.
"Hey, Summers," a jubilant voice greeted me, and there, Laura stood before me, thoroughly drenched, but still grinning with her white fangs bared.
I stood, gaping. Why would Laura visit me? I was caught totally unprepared. She continued before I could speak.
"Um… my relatives left for the war. I was thinking if I could stay – for now, at least?"
"…What?"
"Will that bother you?"
"N-No, I mean… give me a second, ok?"
With that, I dashed off to my bedroom and carelessly jammed all the scattered articles into the closet. The room was in utter filth and mess. How can I allow Laura to see that? And most of all, what should I do? I wasn't all that "experienced" after all. My heart raced wildly.
"No need to clean up for me," she called from the corridor.
"I'll be done in a sec," I hollered back.
When the room looked presentable enough, I breathed deeply to muster enough composure to meet Laura, then bid her to come in. Her wet feet tapped lightly on the creaking wooden floorboards as she walked, shivering in the cold. It must have been dreadfully cold for her, I observed; it was November, after all. Soon, it would begin snowing.
"You better get changed into something dry," I suggested in concern.
"Would you mind?"
"No, err… I mean, you can wear my stuff if you want."
"That'll be great," Laura said warmly, smiling.
She followed me to my bedroom, arms wrapped around herself to fend off the damp chilliness. A few wet bangs of hair draped over her eyes as she looked around, studying the furniture and quickly evaluating my room as I sifted through my closet for appropriate clothing. One thing, I noticed, caught her fancy. She walked to my bedside and bent down to study a framed photograph that I had placed there – one of father clad in his complete military uniform, with a hand laid upon my shoulder as I grinned broadly at the photographer. It was taken at the academy spaceport some time ago.
"Aww… how cute. Who is this?" she remarked, picking up the picture for a closer look.
"That's me, the kid you see there," I answered in a falsely calm tone, still facing the closet to hide a faint blush. I didn't know how to reply, and I didn't know what to give her to wear.
Her eyes dwelled on the photograph, perhaps realizing that it was my father in the background; he was famous in the Lylat System, after all. But she made no notion to bring up the topic; instead, she shifted her attention to the long sword lying above my cabinet and studied it further, the dangerous gleam of silver dancing across her bright, fascinated eyes.
"Um… the shower's upstairs. Just go up, turn a left, and you're there," I said as I tossed her a shirt and a pair of jeans.
"Thank you so much, Summers," she smiled broadly.
"No problem."
With that, she pranced off gleefully, leaving me behind to ponder the next move. What should I do? I thought, and where would she sleep? My room?
"No," I muttered to myself, shaking off the notion as the blush returned.
But what, and where? I screamed inside as I started to panic. I'm not all that at ease around women, after all. I could hear streams of water begin to tap on the shower floor, and I caught dank whiffs of fog as I sniffed the air. For a while, I just sat dumbly at the bedside, uncomfortable with the whole situation.
I will spare you the explicit details, and the uncomfortable moments of her visit, but things went smoothly. Perhaps I'm a natural. Laura and I didn't do much in particular, as the gloomy weather confined us to the house for most of the holiday, but at length, we conversed about our pasts and our thoughts. I was surprised that I could talk that much, and as I had observed, so was she. Perhaps it was a sign that we were, indeed, meant for each other.
As she unraveled her enigmatic musing before me, I learned, from our conversation, that a looming grief hung about her. Laura seemed a willful, resilient pilot, bearing her misfortunes with great equanimity. In truth, she felt alone, alienated, and most of all, she longed for Katina – the desolated, barren desert planet to the strangers, but home in her eyes. How she went on about her childhood in the Katina base, and how her eyes gleamed sadly at the mention of the planet, I cannot exactly delineate with words. But she was mostly interested in listening to me; it never failed to fascinate her. It was our compatibility, perhaps.
Perhaps…
I would have wished to prolong that period of mutual sharing and enjoyment. We did other things besides talking, of course, but that I shall not share yet. It was as if we existed within each other, and the absence of one would mean the deprivation of life in another.
I would have wished that to last longer, but the seasons would not wait…
Soon, I was transferred to the infantry division, where the Cornerian Federation deemed me more helpful to the country. Autumn fleeted from my grasp as quickly as it came…
-----------------------------------------
Follow link to an illustration of Summers and Laura in the upcoming chapters:
http://images.deviantart.com/large/indyart/anime/Neo_July_Day.jpg
*This illustration was the featured "Daily Deviation" and "Daily Favorite" for May 3rd on DeviantArt.com! ^_^