Eriol Hiiragizawa felt discomfort with the way the stranger before him gaze. The first instinct for him was to snap at her. He was sure as hell that he didn't look like an alien from the X Files, no. It was a look of admiration, one often thrown at him by the women of London whenever he walks down the sidewalk or rests by the park benches. A stare filled with blissful worship for his Adonis-like features—his infinitely cerulean eyes framed by his no-nonsense glasses, making him sage-like; his perfectly chiseled nose and jaw; and his dark hair cut cleanly.
But there was something else with her gaze that startled him; her lilac eyes were looking at him with fascination. Women had looked at him like a piece of art, but she was looking at him as if he was art in poetical motion.
He knew of only one woman who looked at him with that kind of adoration in her soulful orbs. The same woman whom he loved his whole life, but whom he felt didn't love him back enough to live longer.
This summoned unexplainable anger within him. He stood up curtly and walked away.
"H-Hey, M-Mister, wait!" she cried suddenly. He turned to her reluctantly, and now he had no choice but to survey her appearance.
The long, lustrous locks that contrasted beautifully with her creamy skin, her large, expressive purple eyes, her small, pouting lips, and her petite frame that barely reached five foot three. She was clad in long-sleeved pale green shirt and white pedal pushers, her hair pulled up in ponytail with white silk ribbon, making her look like a teenager.
She started to speak again, breaking his momentary pause. "M-Mister, I-I know that what I will say is weird, n-not to mention totally stupid, b-but…" She looked down, blushing.
Annoyance filled him. If there was anything he disliked most, it was giggly, blushing girls. He opted for women who were mature, quiet, and composed, like his beloved deceased wife. "Then don't say it," he said stiffly, turning his back on her once more.
She looked up, embarrassed. "W-Well then," she said shakily. "I take it back. What I will say is not weird, not to mention totally not stupid—"
He eyed her with disbelief. What was this girl babbling about?
She looked at him, face flushed. "Will you marry me?"
"WHAT?!" he spat out, losing control of his composure. "Look, may I inform you that I am not entertained by your tricks. Your disturbance is also causing me inconvenience, and I suggest that if you want to maintain the last shred of confidence I have on your sanity, please leave me alone."
She blinked, then smiled demurely. "You didn't answer my question. It's just a yes or no. Will you marry me?"
"Shit!" Eriol rubbed his face with his hands. "You're sick!"
She winced. "Well, I know it was unconventional, but you have to believe me. You are the guy I saw in my dream. Fate meant you for me!"
He groaned. "You're sicker than I thought." He walked away. "Good day. Find yourself some other man to make fun of."
"Well, at least tell me your name!" she called after him.
He turned to her, face blank. "Eriol Hiiragizawa." He quickly turned his back on her, not seeing anymore the shock that registered on the girl's face.
He was already riding the subway home, and still, he couldn't erase from his mind the girl he met just some minutes ago. "Good grief," he muttered. "Fate! Imagine, using fate for her stupid…stupid…whatever. That mentally deranged child…did she escape from an asylum or something? She must have. She barely looked eighteen. A child… proposing marriage…" He ignored the bewildered looks his fellow passengers were giving him. He hadn't realized that he was talking to himself out loud already.
Ever since he arrived in Tomoeda weeks ago, he had grown used to his routine of thinking about Kaho Mizuki and their wonderful moments together as he goes home through the subway. This afternoon ride was a novelty though; no matter how much he tried so hard to –not- think about that freaky girl awhile ago, his mind remained stubborn.
He tried to justify this, thinking that it was because this was new for him. He had been immersed so deeply with his sadness and grief that this little incident suddenly became a highlight for him.
He was in the middle of this convincing theory when a hand tapped his shoulder.
"Hiiragizawa Eriol-kun!" a familiar voice greeted.
He frowned. Who could have known who he was? He turned to the owner of the hand. He grimaced when he saw the girl from the Tsukimine shrine again. She was smiling at him cheerfully, as if they had been intimate friends for quite a period of time.
"What are you doing here?" he growled. With that, a few passengers turned to him, mostly women, in disapproval. He cursed himself. Of course, no matter what the circumstances were, it still wasn't right for any self-respecting gentleman to react like that to a lady, even if the lady happened to be mentally defective.
She maintained the impeccable smile on her face, making her even look younger and more innocent looking. "I was still hoping that you would change your mind about my proposal—"
"I will NOT marry YOU!" he yelled, and he regretted this again. The wary, withering looks he received from the other passengers dashed the last of his self-esteem. He decided to explain subtly. "I will NOT marry a STRANGER! We just met! Do you expect me to do something so damn reckless? Besides, you're just a kid!"
She held her hand up, laughing. "You know, if you let me explain, then I can erase some of your reservations about my proposal." She ticked one finger. "First, I'm twenty-nine years old, and I'm anything but a kid." She smiled coyly. "Although I was flattered when you didn't guess my age with my looks."
He glared at her, and she continued. "Second, I'm no stranger. We met long ago, back when we were in elementary. I know you very well, in fact."
"I don't believe you."
"You moved from London to Tomoeda Elementary School in fifth grade, and you became Li Syaoran and Kinomoto Sakura's classmate. You play the piano for your church, and you left for London with Mizuki-sensei after you had settled things between you and Sakura regarding the cards." She smiled sweetly. "How's that?"
"Are you a stalker?"
"I'm too pretty to be a stalker." Her eyes twinkled. "You still don't remember? Why, you ought to be ashamed of yourself! You hurt a lady's feelings badly."
He took a closer look at her again and realized something—she looked familiar. Achingly familiar. The features of her face, the almost melodious tone of her voice…
"My offer still stands. Will you marry me?" she asked again, smiling impishly.
"If that guy says no one more time, I will marry you!" a random man from the back of the train yelled. It solicited laughter from the passengers.
"Damn you!" His eyes were spitting out with fire. "Damn you, Daidouji Tomoyo!"
But she barely flinched. She smiled some more. "Known at last."
Soon, they were walking home already. She was still following him home.
"Come on, Hiiragizawa-kun, once upon a time, we were friends. Can't you at least give me a try?" she asked.
"NO!" he barked. He had enough humiliation in the train alone. Why did she have to do this until here?
"This is my last card, but I'll give it anyway." She took a deep breath, then said, "How much?"
He turned to her angrily. "I do not need your money, Daidouji-san. I need you to leave me alone!"
She bit her lip. "You know, I won't be this desperate if I have no reason." She stopped walking, stopped following him. She leaned on the brick wall, sighing.
Eriol paused when he didn't sense her presence anymore. He turned around and found her looking down on the ground pensively.
"And what are you doing now?" he asked, irritated.
"Hiiragizawa-kun," she murmured, looking at him. Behind her, the sun had finally set. It was dark, and yet her eyes seemed to glow, mesmerizing him, to his mind's utter dismay.
"I dreamed of my groom, and it was you in my dream." Sadness and desperation was evident in her voice. "It's just a matter of time before I become thirty, and I will lose the battle of ages with the calendar." Lump formed in her throat. "I don't want that to happen…I don't want to die alone. I want to be married…I want to be a bride…"
Strangely, he froze. He listened. And sympathy was starting to fill him.
And he listened to her dreams about cakes, lovebirds, gowns, and flower-covered aisles. Of the perfect sunset, the perfect bouquets and garter catches…
He was stunned. Kaho Mizuki never spoke of wedding that way. They looked at the ceremony as a ritual, nothing more.
But listening to his old classmate talk, something warm rose within him.
And he didn't like it one bit.
But her last statement caught his attention.
"…and I want to be a mother."
He walked towards her slowly, something forming in his mind. "Is that so?"
She looked up, surprised by his sudden attention. She silently wiped a tear away, embarrassed that she didn't even notice herself crying already.
He inhaled deeply, then spoke up. "Daidouji-san, does the offer still stand?"
Her eyes shook.
"I will offer you my name and the wedding that you want…" He looked at her intently. "But you will have to give me a child. After which, we will go on separate ways."
"Y-You mean…like…divorce?" she asked, voice barely audible, her hopes for happily-ever-after endings with her fairy tale wedding dashed.
"Exactly," he said coolly. "I want a child, but there's no room for extra baggage." He smiled sardonically. "You know what I mean. You're smart, Daidouji-san."
She shook like a leaf. Was fate playing with her? But she fought for her last shred of poise.
"Damn you." With that, she slapped him and abruptly turned the other way.
I hate you! I hate you, Hiiragizawa Eriol! Her mind screamed over and over again. And damn her too, for all he was worth, she still wanted him.
It was love at first sight for her, but she was better off falling for a rock. Hiiragizawa Eriol was not a prince charming she imagined to be, just a piece of cold, lifeless stone.
tsuzuku