Chapter 2: A Night to Remember
Maya leaped off Sakaki's shoulder and began searching for Mr. Tadakichi. Chiyo-chan grinned at his antics and tugged her arm, urging Sakaki to walk faster.
"Come on! Everyone's waiting. We were going to go smash watermelons, and Kagura was nice enough to bring quite a few huge ones this time!" They ran around to the side of the house, speeding past a tall black gate and an ashen wall, which was the side of her house.
As soon as they got to the other side, it was as if they were transported to another dimension; it looked like a picture of heaven. They walked down a declining slope made of cool cement that soon gave way to fluffy soft sand. It stretched for miles both ways going into a curve at both ends, causing it to look like a pair of outstretched angel wings, and all they could see were creamy white specks with the occasional light tan patch. The sparkling crystal-clear water was lapping playfully against the shoreline and it glistened like a sea of aquamarine gems. The breeze was light as it lifted up the few intermittent sand particles.
Sakaki was awed at the beautiful spectacle, and she smiled as Mr. Tadakichi came walking out with Maya sitting on his back. Mr. Tadakichi is such a docile dog, but that is partly due to the fact that he is becoming so old and tired.
She spotted Tomo in a bright red bathing suit blindfolded, poised and ready on the beach about to smash a watermelon. Yomi was not far behind her, shaking her head muttering something to herself. Kagura was next to Tomo laughing and chanting to smash the watermelon really hard. Osaka was drifting out somewhere in the vast ocean riding a floating inner tube, while picking up sea cucumbers and looking at some odd sea creatures.
Yomi spotted them, and waved for them to come over and join in on the fun. Chiyo-chan looked at Sakaki and nodded, but Kaorin came over quite hastily and grabbed her arm. She started dragging Sakaki over to the others like she was her property and Chiyo just followed them. They finally made it to the group, with Sakaki covered in sand, and watermelon pieces scattered everywhere. Tomo grinned and held out her hand in a fist.
"Hahaha! Hey Kagura, you should have brought more for us to smash! This is great stuff." She kept giggling like a little kid pumped with sugar while hitting the ground as if there were more invisible watermelons to obliterate. Yomi shook her head and said Tomo was being childish again and it then resulted in a, "How's your diet going?" retort.
Kaorin looked at the ground and asked, "So Sakaki… um, how's your job at the veterinarian's office going? Being around animals must be fun for you." Sakaki looked at her and thought about it.
"Oh, it is going alright. I would like to fully handle the animals myself one day, but I guess, for now, it's best for me to just be an assistant." Chiyo-chan looked up at her and said, "At least the cats aren't biting you as much though. I see less bandages on your hands than back in high school."
She chortled, then dashed towards the water and began swimming through the clear water, letting it envelop her senses. Tomo laughed and called after her, "Hey, Chiyo-chan! You should watch out for Osaka! I think she's been hording a bunch of sea cucumbers, and she's ready to throw them at an unsuspecting person! Hahaha."
Kagura laughed and then followed Chiyo into the water, and began splashing around in the shallow part of the ocean. "Come on Miss Sakaki!" said Kaorin hopefully, "let's go into the water too! It's a nice day today, so now's the perfect time to swim!"
Sakaki stared at Chiyo-chan in the water, and then to Kaorin's face, and decided to just stay on the beach and relax for a little bit. Kaorin's face faltered a little bit, but she decided to go swimming anyways without Sakaki.
She sat down on the beach on her back and looked up to the endless clear blue sky. Only a few clouds were floating by at a slow pace. One of them resembled an eggplant… Sakaki blinked her eyes and shook her head, "Eggplant?" she heard a snort behind her.
"Hahaha, what do you mean, eggplant?" Sakaki tilted her head and saw Yomi's face only a few feet away from where she was lying down. She took a few steps and plopped down next to Sakaki. They both basked in the sunlight and stayed in silence for a while. Eventually, a small chortle emitted from both of the girls. They both burst into laughter and held onto their stomachs until their shaking bodies could control their giggling breakout.
Through small occasional chuckles, Sakaki responded, "I was just haha, looking at the sky, and I pmfh, saw a… haha…a cloud that resembled an eggplant, though not in color, but certainly by the odd shape." She pointed to a rounded cloud that came to almost a trailing tip.
Yomi looked to where she was pointing and burst into more laughter. "Hahaha, interesting Sakaki… an eggplant." Sakaki sighed and closed her eyes, letting the smells and sounds of the beach and ocean all around her fill her senses. "This is a wonderful place, I wish I could live here."
Just as she began to unwind, a wave of sand blew over Sakaki's face, causing her to sputter and cough. As she was clearing the suddenly not-so-feathery sand out of her eyes, she heard Tomo's frantic voice.
"Sakaki Sakaki Sakaki!!! Chiyo-chan got caught in a riptide, and it's forcing her into a current that's carrying her out too far! You have to go get her! I tried…" said Tomo with a sheepish grin, "…but I can't really swim that well. You're the most athletic out of all of us! Go help her, please!"
She sprang up and scanned the shimmering water and easily spotted where the trouble was. Her little friend was caught far out in the ocean, struggling just to stay above the water.
Sakaki sprinted as quickly as she could and dove straight into the cool liquid with ease. She swam hastily towards the growing swirl that she could make out underwater coming increasingly closer by the second. The water started to get more and more vicious as it lashed at her eyes.
Struggling to make out Chiyo's struggling form, Sakaki arrived at the riptide and tried to grab hold of her small body. After swimming through with the current of the rotation, she finally caught up to Chiyo-chan's riptide-tossed body and grasped her arm tightly. She dragged her to the surface with as much effort as she could and tried to swim out of the strong water force.
Forcing her eyes to stay open despite all of the stinging water and pushing her body to stay vigorous made the muscles in her body fatigued quickly. 'Chiyo-chan, we can't die right now!' She thought.
In a final act of desperation, she kicked and swam as intensely as she could and they finally popped out of the current like a cork from a wine bottle. After feeling the force of the water calm down, her aching muscles finally caught up to her and her eyes closed as the two drifted towards the incoming lifeboat.
Sakaki was surrounded by darkness, floating around in a place completely devoid of any light. She looked around, wondering where everyone was. She felt cold and alone, with nobody there to help her. Tears stung her eyes, 'Where is everyone?' she thought.
Suddenly, a small light appeared in the distance. It grew in intensity until it blinded Sakaki so much that she had to shield her eyes. 'What is that?' The light was warm and inviting. It felt safe and it flooded her body with need. She dropped her hand despite the glowing entity, and she reached out for it. It was far beyond her reach, and then it began to fade away and disappear.
"No! Don't leave me, come back…"She slumped to the floor in defeat, desperately wanting the luminescent light to come back. Suddenly, she heard a tapping sound coming closer to her. Despite her curiosity, Sakaki didn't raise her head, and instead only listened to the sound more intently.
After a minute, the sound turned into footsteps; a person's footsteps. A hand rested on her head and a soft voice hypnotized Sakaki's mind. Her head drifted upwards until she was looking into Chiyo-chan's eyes. She smiled at her.
"It's nice to see you again, but you need to wake up. Sakaki…Sakaki…"
"Sakaki!" Her eyes slowly opened to reveal all of her friends crowded around her. She shook her head and rubbed her eyes. 'A… a dream?'
"Oh Sakaki, you're awake! We were all so worried for you!" squealed Kaorin as she pulled her into a vice-like hug. Sakaki didn't know what was going on, until she realized that she was still at the beach. Then, she remembered the whole riptide incident, and she suddenly felt really exhausted; it wasn't like her to get tired during swimming.
As if on cue, Chiyo-chan appeared next to her and pried her from Kaorin's crushing hug. "How are you feeling? You fainted from sudden exertion and Yomi drove over in a motorboat to pick us up. You nearly choked on all the water that got into your lungs, but I gave you CPR, so you should be just fine, with a little rest of course."
Kaorin frowned and turned her head as a faint blush crept up on Sakaki's face, "You… did what?" Chiyo-chan giggled, "CPR. I was the only one here certified and able to perform it. Your torso and ribcage should feel very sore though, because you have to press hard and in the right place in order for the pressure part to work."
Sakaki was only half listening. She brought her hand to up and touched her lips. 'She did CPR on me?' was all she could think about. Her thoughts were cut short as Maya pounced on her and licked her face. He had a worried look in his face and he meowed lightly, showing his concern. She stroked his head.
"I'm alright Maya, you need not worry about anything. You just have to thank little Chiyo-chan here." She pointed towards Chiyo and Maya purred. He walked over and began weaving in between her legs and making almost a buzzing purr sound.
Yomi offered her hand and Sakaki took it. Lifting her up to stand on her two feet, the group strolled to the house to have some fun. As soon as they walked inside, they heard two loud voices bickering back and forth, then a loud 'SMACK' sound, and then, strangely enough, laughter. Chiyo-chan looked at them in puzzlement.
Their two teachers were sitting at a table in the main dining room with food strewn haphazardly in front of one of them.
"Yukari-sensei and Kurosawa-sensei, when did you two arrive here? I didn't know you could make it!" She noticed that Yukari had a very ruby red mark in the shape of a handprint on her cheek, and Kurosawa was sitting across from her grinning.
"Eh, I was persuaded by your 'great' teacher here, and when we arrived, she went straight inside your house and started eating some food. I had to… gently tell her not to."
Yukari stood up. "You call that gentle?" she gestured to her inflamed cheek, "you have as gentle a touch as a wolverine! EVIL! SHEBEAST! WITCH!"
With that, the two teachers continued to banter insults back and forth while the kids just watched and laughed at their silly actions. Sakaki was instead looked around the enormous house. She admired Chiyo's elaborate estate, especially since it greatly overshadowed her miniscule apartment room.
The walls were a soft off-white that nicely accented the hand-made embroidered, mahogany drapes. Lofty windows with auburn wood frames were evenly spaced out between each other, letting pools of light gather in intervals around the nicely polished wood floor. The wood floor merged into a plush white carpet that eventually led to a spiraling double staircase going up to the second, third, and even a loft floor.
She must have been out of it because when Osaka placed a pair of collected sea cucumbers on her shoulder, she didn't even notice them. It was only when she felt something gooey and pulsing on her shoulder did Sakaki realize that live things resembling pickles were stuck to her.
"AH!" She whipped around in surprise and the live pickles flew off of her shoulders and instead landed on Yomi's head; just like in the past. Yomi shuddered and plucked it off her head and handed it back to Osaka who just stared at her with her blank face.
Everyone laughed and started to talk with one another. Jokes were animated, rumors were spread, by Yukari of course(which ended up in more slaps from Kurosawa), and stories were told as they caught up on old times. As things went on, the sun started to sink into the water in the distant horizon.
"Come on everyone, we can go watch the sunset on the beach!" squealed Chiyo-chan, "it's always so breathtaking at this time of day!" So everyone sauntered down to the beach's feathers, and sat down on the invitingly silky sand. Sakaki took a seat down and was joined with Chiyo's company on her left, and Kaorin on her right.
Chiyo-chan inched closer to Sakaki and heaved a sigh, "It's so nice out. I'm glad that you decided to come with us today, it really means a lot to me. It wouldn't have been the same without you." Sakaki felt a faint blush and looked away in embarrassment, "It was nice coming to see you all again, it was fun to be with everyone, just like old times…"
Kaorin glimpsed at them from the corner of her eye, like a hawk surveying its prey before striking. One might say she had a venomous look in her eyes, but if she did, it went away quickly before anyone could really take notice. She stayed silent, but continued to watch and listen from Sakaki's other side. She noticed that they both continued to gaze into each other's eyes for a long eternity, and that did not settle that well with her.
Hastily, she pointed to the horizon, "Look, the sunset is at its best now!" As planned, everyone turned their heads to watch the colors blend together like one giant collage. It was like looking into a kaleidoscope of colors, mixing together to make a prismatic image. It reflected in everyone's eyes as it slowly sunk down until the bright hot colors transformed into dark cool colors. Yukari stood up and clapped her hands.
"Woohoo! Alright! I brought the bottle rockets, and I'm ready to blow them up! Who's with me?" she looked around at all the blank stares that were given to her, and she ran towards the shoreline with a bag. She flipped the plastic bag upside down and everyone watched in amazement as nearly forty to fifty bottle rockets plummeted out of the bag in bundles.
Everyone gawked at Yukari as she chaotically tossed a match into a pack of ten rockets and she laughed as all of the fuses burst into multi-colored sparks.
"Are we going to die?" whispered Yomi. Tomo laughed feebly and replied, "I hope not. Then again, if she doesn't kill you, then starving yourself for a diet will." Yomi slapped Tomo in the face and continued to watch Yukari light the rockets. All around her, the mini-missiles were exploding in an array of many different colors, causing the lights to swirl all around them.
After all of her rockets were lit and demolished, Yukari began trudging back to the house, and Chiyo-chan stood up.
"Okay everyone, it's time to go inside and have…Late Night Fun!" With that, everyone hopped up and scurried to the house, eager to see what activities and madness would ensue that night. Apparently, Kurosawa was not very sober, due to Yukari urging her to drink more and more, and so she revealed some things about boyfriends to everybody, just like she had done back in high school.
She eventually passed out, but not without leaving everyone embarrassed and a very dark crimson shade. They decided to retire to their rollout beds due to that little incident, but as soon as they were snug under the blankets, Tomo had to pull her somersault act and roll over everybody, which ultimately resulted in a fierce pillow fight. Kagura picked up a fairly large pillow, and chucked it at Chiyo-chan's head from behind.
Her body fell limp and hit the floor with a silent thump. Sakaki noticed and knelt down beside her while everyone continued to smack each other senseless. She shook Chiyo's body gently.
"Hey…hey…hey! Are you okay?" Chiyo flipped over on her back with a lined pattern on her face; the result of falling face first on a wooden floor. She grinned back at Sakaki and giggled.
"It's always like Kagura to throw something at my head," then she looked her in the eyes, "and it's always like you to come to me first when it happens." Then she jolted up and ran back to hit Kagura with a pillow.
Sakaki just sat there, wondering if what she just said was still part of her innocence talking; or something more. 'What did she mean by saying that? Was she trying to get something across to me? Did it have a deeper meaning to it?' she pondered.
Shaking her head at her pathetic little analysis of the situation and comment, she stood back up and threw a pillow at Osaka's already dazed head.
Kaorin was sitting across the room with her pillow, watching the whole incident. She grimaced in unseen pain, and began thinking of something. Her thoughts were interrupted when Yukari and Kurosawa both threw pillows in a joint attack from both sides at her head.
After the pillow fighting subsided, everyone went back to their beds for some sleep. With Yukari's loud snoring, it's a wonder how everyone managed to fall into a deep slumber, well, everyone except for Sakaki. She lay awake, unable to restrain the racing thoughts shooting through her head.
She was mainly confused about how Chiyo-chan had been acting lately around her. Perplexing as it was, and as much as she wished to dismiss it, she just couldn't shake it from her thoughts. Her eyes, those also made Sakaki wonder about a few things. What was it that she saw in those glowing innocent orbs? She saw something there that was also present in Kaorin's eyes, yet she could not place a finger on it.
Something there that isn't present in anyone else's. Sakaki shook her head at yet another failed self-analysis and she slowly rose up out of her bed, trying not to disturb anyone else from their peaceful dreams.
She walked out to the balcony and took a seat on one of the available chairs outside. She gazed at the ocean. It looked docile, but almost unnaturally so. It was like the calm before a storm. Dark black with the occasional blue and purple streaks made up the sky with a few dark navy clouds drifting by.
She looked up at the stars and admired their splendor. So high up and out of reach, so far away and free in the sky, like an untamable spirit; she sighed. As strong and magnificent as they may be, they always burn out eventually, whether it's in a grand way, like a supernova, or a small disintegration like a microscopic star.
A light shot across the sky in a second, and a voice was heard behind Sakaki, causing her to get surprised.
"It's a shooting star," said Chiyo-chan, "you should make a wish." Sakaki looked behind her and decided to try and make one, even though they usually never come true.
'I wish… that I things would be clear to me and everything would just come to light.'
As if on cue, she looked up and stared in awe at the sky. "Chiyo-chan, is that normal? Does this happen often?" Chiyo was in just as much shock as she was.
"That… is an amazing miracle…"
The clouds had gathered in one place, but they were spread around the moon in a perfect circle.
The two girls just stared at the sky, and then to each other. Sakaki was speechless, so Chiyo-chan said something for both of them, "This will be something we're going to remember for a long time… a long, long time."
With that, they both walked back inside to get some rest.
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Sunlight crept through the closed drapes, signaling the rising of the sun. As soon as it inched its way over Tomo's face, her eyes popped open, and her torso darted upwards, "What's the story, morning glory?!"
Everyone moaned and groaned as Tomo began hopping on everyone's sleeping bags and blankets, and they tossed and turned to try and ignore her comments. Yomi suddenly sprang up and tackled her to the ground and shoved her in a vacant sleeping bag.
Kagura started clapping, and everyone laughed as Tomo continued to make remarks, though they were now a bit more muffled. Yomi sat on the sleeping bag, causing her to shift and squirm.
"Gerroff me you oversized elephant!" she was suddenly tossed off, and Tomo somehow managed to unzip the bag. Huffing and wheezing, she somehow still had the air to attack Yomi.
After the two had stopped their humorous bickering, the cleaning of all the blankets, sleeping bags, and messy pillows commenced. As soon as things were clean and tidy, everybody began to leave, one by one. Sakaki was about to depart until Chiyo-chan took hold of her arm.
"Wait, don't go. Um… if it's okay with you, would you like to go to Magical Land with me? It's that great amusement park that we went to in high school. I thought that… it might be fun to go again, you know, relive memories?"
Sakaki looked at her momentarily, and then nodded. "That sounds like fun." Then she stroked Maya's fur for a while, and then began driving Chiyo to the place. She was trying to maintain concentration on the road ahead of her, but it was somehow beginning to get harder and harder to think straight. For some reason, she felt like Chiyo was studying her, watching her every move, but Sakaki didn't really mind it.
They finally arrived at the theme park. Walking towards the opening gate, the two girls looked at all of the new sites and attractions that have been built since they last visited it. They had apparently built a dome over the whole park, making the whole place indoors. Sakaki snuck a glance at Chiyo's face and was filled with a protective feeling just watching her smile widely.
They strolled up to the ticket booth and purchased their tickets. A man dressed in a large white kitty suit greeted them as soon as they walked through the entrance. "Welcome to Magical Land! May all your dreams come true!" They took in their surroundings and were engrossed with all the beautiful scenery.
There was a kid's section to their left, filled with a flying cat ride and many stuffed animals of all sorts. Little children ran all around within that area, with some crying, some laughing nonstop, and some just being what they were; carefree kids.
Food stores were concentrated in the middle of the park, with some being tall, and some being short. The bazaar was filled with multiple shops that were painted outlandish colors to attract attention to bring in any business.
Some coasters nearly touched the top of the dome. They were in a range of different rides, including water ones, track ones, and floating ones. Since the whole place was indoors, the ceiling was painted like a planetarium. It spun around slowly, causing it to give off the feeling that you were rotating around a planet. It was all black with some dark blue patches. Stars speckled the whole thing, and to top it off, the moon was in the very middle of the whole spectacle. It truly was a magical place with an enchanting aura about it.
Chiyo-chan pointed to the roller coasters and grabbed Sakaki's hand, "Come on, let's go on those rides first!" She giggled as her tall friend gulped audibly.
After going on numerous roller coasters for most of the day, they finally decided to take a break from all of the excitement by getting something to eat. Sakaki ordered udon while Chiyo ordered soba.
She slurped up some noodles and then spoke after she swallowed them, "Hey Sakaki. I wonder what time it is right now, you know, since the ceiling is closed off and all. This place not only has a mysterious atmosphere, but it also throws your internal clock off too. It feels like nighttime thanks to the painting up there." She pointed to the dome's ceiling.
Sakaki nodded and then looked at her watch, "You say your internal clock is off right? Well, it's not, and it's exactly what time you think it is. Haha," she smiled, "Chiyo-chan, nothing you think is ever off from the right answer; it is nighttime. Don't let the ceiling throw you off."
She chuckled, and then threw away their trash as they started strolling down a different path. Chiyo-chan grasped Sakaki's hand and tugged her forward, "Come on! There's one last place I want to go to before we leave." They weaved their way in between the crowds and strangers. They finally stopped in front of an enormous, glowing, behemoth of a ferris wheel. Her eyes sparkled.
"It's the largest ferris wheel in the country! C'mon, let's go on." She led her best friend to the line. They stepped up to the loading dock and the operating man looked at them and shook his head. He frowned, but then let then opened the hatch to let them on.
Chiyo frowned, "I wonder what that guy's problem is. He seemed grouchy towards us." They sat inside of a translucent sky blue cart with a silky soft interior that had cushiony seats for the passengers to sit on. It had a solid outer shell, but because it was some new translucent material, it allowed them to see around them as if they were sitting inside of one big window.
Chiyo-chan pressed up against the walls and stared at all of the glowing lights down below them. She could see the kid section, with the lit up flying cats, and the roller coaster section with the carts howling through the night on the metal tracks. After gazing at everything, she finally laid back and relaxed.
Sakaki was looking outside and she too pulled back to sit down. Chiyo leaned closer and rested her head on her comfortable and inviting shoulder.
"Isn't it beautiful?" breathed Chiyo-chan. Sakaki was glimpsing at her friend's face, studying her perfect features in the half lit night and replied, "Yeah… it is beautiful."
Suddenly, a loud jarring sound shot through the air, piercing through the silence. They looked around as if danger was near, but when Chiyo tugged on Sakaki's sleeve and pointed upwards, they stared in amazement as they noticed that the ceiling was looking a lot more authentic.
With her mouth agape, Sakaki managed to say something, "I … did not know that the dome opened up at night… did you?" Chiyo-chan shook her head, unable to even utter a single word at the breathtaking sight. The night sky with actual stars shined down upon them like heavenly orbs of iridescence.
Sakaki turned to face her and grinned. "It's so pretty up here. The ferris wheel was a great idea, as always." Chiyo-chan looked up and noticed that she was barely a foot away from her friend's mesmerizing smile, and she felt like she was being pulled closer and closer by some unseen force.
"I…" murmured Chiyo-chan only a few inches away. She could feel the warmth from Sakaki's body due to the proximity, and she leaned in.
Shoooooo! Krack! An explosion of light and sound caused her to jump back out of surprise. A grand firework show started as the staff in the park lit various firecrackers, causing the sky to dance in rhythmic beats as the explosions let loose a rainbow of colors.
Chiyo-chan was blushing fiercely, aware of what was about to happen, but was interrupted by the fireworks. Sakaki too must have been embarrassed because she was turned away and somehow found that staring outside was suddenly very interesting.
Their cart came to the bottom of the lift, and the man who supervised the ferris wheel saw them, and immediately coughed and decided not to even look in their direction. Chiyo-chan grabbed Sakaki's hand nonetheless and they ran all the way outside of the park to her car.
They drove home the whole way in silence, and decided that perhaps it might be best to just think about things instead of say anything. Finally arriving at Chiyo's house, Sakaki parked quickly and escorted her to her door. As soon as she opened the door, Maya jumped out and sprang into Sakaki's waiting arms.
She stroked his head quickly, and sent him into her car to wait for just a little bit. They stood awkwardly at her front door for a while until Chiyo-chan coughed and broke the silence.
"Um… thank you for coming with me to Magical Land, it was very fun, and it was very nice. Uh…" she stammered for a second, and then she tilted her head upwards to look into her tall friend's eyes. Once again, Sakaki saw that sparkle that was present in Kaorin's almost pleading gaze, and she couldn't tell what it was. She felt like she was too ignorant to see what it was.
Chiyo blushed and walked inside hastily. She turned around and smiled showing her adolescence, but at the same time, her maturity and growth.
Sakaki walked back to her car in a daze. She couldn't believe all that had happened, not only just today, but the things in her past that could have possibly lead up to this exact moment in time. She couldn't believe what she was feeling right now. What could it possibly be that she was feeling, and, what she saw in Chiyo-chan's eyes?
"This is truly… a night to remember."