There was no doubt that her mother was a hopeless romantic.

It was the woman who informed her that each dream has their own meaning; that even the most mundane one could be a message sent by some sentient being no mortal was allowed to see. She didn't specify what kind of a being she was talking about—pretty sure she didn't thought of it thoroughly—but she was quite of a character and tended to go overboard with her storytelling.

"They're telling you something!" The woman exclaimed as she handed the ten-year old girl her bowl of rice. The little girl merely raised an eyebrow and wondered how her dreaming of a sponge cartoon lead them to this conversation. "They are never random, Mama is sure of it! So look out for the obvious signs, alright?" Then she beamed at her sweetly.

She didn't get what the woman was talking about, of course.

What could be so important Mr. Spongebob needed to tell her that he appeared in her dreams?

(Later that day, she was surprisingly amazed when a familiar yellow square greeted her when she opened the gacha box that she purchased. "Huh, maybe she was telling the truth after all." The girl muttered and observed the toy in her hand.

When she informed her of this, the woman looked disappointed and proceeded to pout. It's definitely something that no grown woman should do. There was just something eerie about it.

"How boring! Mama was expecting something romantic!" She sulked.

Sometimes she just don't get her own mother.)

Years later she dreamed of a crow and a dark heavy forest.

She saw herself running after something, the heavy-set kimono that she wore was dragging her down yet she persevered. Why a kimono? She wasn't sure. Probably because she watched a historical drama before falling asleep. But whatever it was that she was chasing must have been quite important. She'd never seen herself that determined before; not even when she was trying to get the corn inside the kernel canned soup that their school vending machine sold.

The girl called out to something but the words were muffled and due to her haste, she tripped over her kimono. She landed face first on the cold forest ground and she could almost hear the unseen beings surrounding her snickering at her expense.

She wanted to murder each on of them then.

Time passes by differently when one was dreaming. She wasn't sure how long she stayed there lying face first but she saw the seasons passed by and watched as the leaves buried her unmoving form, followed by the snow, until eventually the cherry blossom petals replaced the cold blanket.

She continued to lay there akin to that of a fallen corpse. But she wasn't dead, at least she thought so because she would've woken up if that was the case. That's how dreams run, right?

Then she heard a flutter of a pair of wings, and true to her theory she raised her head to check on sound.

A crow landed a few inches from her. She weakly moved her hand and reached out for the animal but it never moved an inch to get closer. It simply stayed out of her reach and stared at her with its dark eyes.

There was tense moment as she waited for the bird to do something, and when it finally did, it cawed so loudly that her soul was pulled back to her body and she was literally woken up from her dream.

She found herself on cold wooden floor of her room. Well, half of her anyway. Her feet were still on her bed and the other half of her body was lying flat on the wood.

Talk about waking up with a start. The fall must have been so loud because her mother literally barged through her door and looked like she was going to cry any given moment.

She apologized for startling her and after a lengthy interrogation of why fell off the bed, she ended up telling the woman her peculiar dream.

The girl was already expecting the squeal that came out of the older woman's mouth.

"How wonderful! Is this finally a sign? Are you finally going to meet your soul mate?!" She gushed and bounced on her feet, all the while shaking her daughter's hands.

She wanted to ask how seeing a bird in one's dream equated to meeting one's soul mate but thought against it. Knowing her mother, she must have pulled that notion right off her ass.

Still, she couldn't erase the image of the crow in her dream.

"According to this website, dreaming about a crow meant that something about you will change."

Her flinching wasn't subtle the slightest.

Usui, the friend who read off the article for her, raised one perfectly filled eyebrow. Maybe it was indeed ridiculous to react that violently about a simple dream reading (that was possibly bogus too, mind you) but to her defence, getting told that things were going to change made her skin crawl.

She didn't hated change, but she prefer them to not happen as absurd as that may sound.

Change was constant; she was aware of that. But she was afraid that with change her beloved monotony would disappear as well. An idea that didn't sat well with her. She needed her everyday monotony as one would need air to breathe.

Honestly, she'd rather take her mother's dumb soul mate theory over that interpretation. (The former was more unlikely to happen and she could live with that.)

"You didn't like that, huh?" Usui commented as she pocketed her phone. "Change isn't that bad, you know?" She continued which merely made the other girl sigh.

"I'm aware. I never said I didn't like it." She countered and choose to busy herself with the fashion magazine her friend brought. She wasn't supposed to bring it to school but some people just like to rebel against the system. And by that she meant this girl who was sitting before her.

Usui hummed and smiled knowingly. "You didn't need to say it. It's written all over your face." She pointed out, and once again the girl flinched.

She don't have anything to counter that. There was no denying the obvious so she just kept quiet.

Thankfully, Seiko came in before Usui could continue to jab at her with her words. The girl had the usual bounce to her feet and immediately chattered about this one drama she watched the other night. Times like these were when she's glad that Seiko was such a chatterbox. She served as a good decoy to remove the attention away from her.

But still, change huh?

That was such an ominous news. Usui was right, she didn't like change. To some people change might be a harbinger of good fortune but that was never the case for her.

Change was a pain in the ass.

It was as much of a pain as when her dearly beloved friend Kaito begged her to take out the trash in his stead. She gave him a deadpanned look as he clasped both of his hand in front him while saying he just need to fight for that last yakisoba bread in the cafeteria.

She retorted how it's a pain to do so and why ask a girl in the first place? Not that she really cared but it's times like these—when she'd rather melt away in her seat and listen to her friends ramble about anything—that she liked to pull out the "girl" card. That, of course was smugly pointed out by the boy and she about lost the argument.

Damn him for being cheeky.

So as much as she hated getting up from her seat, she reluctantly stood up to do the job. She wanted to smack Kaito's face as he ran off happily toward the cafeteria. The girl thought that he better not runaway when it's finally her real schedule for cleanup for he was definitely going to do it.

Thankfully the garbage bag wasn't as full as she expected. She quickly move out to carry it to the back building where the general trash were collected.

She disposed of it with a huff before proceeding to stretch her limbs. The sound of bone cracking after a good stretch was all that she could hear and she thanked all unknown entities that gave her that sweet relief.

The girl pulled out her phone from her pocket after she was done. She contemplated the time she'll have if she decided to simply dick around somewhere quiet. It was lunchtime after all and she doubted that her friends would mind her disappearing for a bit.

Fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes were a long time, right? She tilted her head to the side and weighed down her options.

"Maybe not," she finally concluded and slid her phone back. With a deep exhale, she looked up to the sky.

The sky above was devoid of any clouds and she wondered if this good weather would continue for the rest of the week. She wasn't the type to watch any local news and would barely watch any television unless her mother drags her for a movie marathon. That being said she hoped it would.

She wasn't going to deny that she loved rainy days. In fact, if one were to ask her what her favorite season was she'd say it's the rainy season. She loved the rain, the smell of wet earth, the soft pitter patter of raindrops against her windows, and she specially loved the coffee or hot chocolate her mother would make during those days.

Those were the memories that she'd put in a jar and keep forever.

But the cloudless springtime has its charm that she appreciated as well.

It's the full bloomed flowers that she passed by when she's on her way to her part-time job that she couldn't help but admire. Or that old couple next door who liked to sit on their porch and admire the single cherry blossom tree within their property. She'd sometimes catches them holding hands and the girl admired how they seemed to still be so in love even after decades of being together.

It was a warm sight to say the least.

There was no doubt that it's the little things that she liked the most.

But her daydreaming was put to halt when she heard a loud caw coming from above. It startled her a bit and she finally noticed the single crow staring down at her from the top of the building.

Once again, she's reminded of her dream.

"Look for the obvious signs." Her mother's words rang loudly in her ear. She said that but what signs was she even supposed to look for? There was just too many possibilities and the task was nearly impossible without a single clue.

As if on cue, the sound of shoes hitting the gravel register in her ears.

In the instance she diverted her eyes toward the source of it. Only for her to see the same face who screamed and ran away from her one early morning, about a week ago.

It's when she uttered an "Oh," that he finally looked up from whatever it was he was reading on his phone. Saying that the way he went to a screeching halt was hilarious was an understatement.

She'd never seen someone comically freeze before and she was glad she was able to.

The girl blinked for a couple of times and decided that it's probably for the best that she greeted the boy. She faced him and wore the best polite smile that she could and started with the customary "Good afternoon," followed by a bow.

What he did next would have made her laugh if it wasn't for how it completely caught her off guard.

"Sleeping Beauty!" he practically screamed as he sprinted to close off the distance between them. If that wasn't enough, he got to one knee and took ahold of her hand. "You are by far the most beautiful girl—next to Kiyoko-san that is—that I've ever seen! Please go out with me!"

And the crow above the building cawed even louder.

"I," she started as she stabbed her milk box with a straw. "Got confessed to."

The way Seiko spat out her drink straight at Kaito's face was not only funny but was also viewed by the girl as divine punishment because, technically, what happened during lunchtime was his fault. "What?!" Her friend screeched while her boyfriend sputtered and Usui was looking at her like she'd grown a second head.

Classes ended for the day and they were lounging near the vending machine before going to their clubs; job in her case.

"You know I took out the trash earlier, right?" She started after taking a sip of her drink. "Well, I was admiring the sky and stuffs then I saw this crow, right? I then remembered my dream last night and then what my mom said. Suddenly this boy came, got on his one knee, and without missing a beat he asked me to go out with him."

"What is with that shōjo manga plot?!" Seiko exclaimed and proceeded to shake her vigorously. "I have so many questions!"

"Me too," Usui chimed in. "Are you sure you didn't hallucinate this? 'Cause this sounds unlikely."

"I'm telling you I'm pretty shocked as well," the girl replied when she finally made her friend to stop shaking her. "He even called me 'Sleeping Beauty!' before all of that." She relayed and even went as far as to mimic the way he screamed the name. Both Kaito and Usui broke into hysterics after hearing that while Seiko's frown continued to deepen.

"Sleeping beauty?!" Kaito gasped out and clutched his stomach. "Who unironically calls someone that?!" he wheezed while Usui banged her fist to the wall next to the vending machine.

(She wasn't going to say that she didn't get what they found funny.)

"You two stop laughing! This is a serious matter!" It was Seiko who stomped her feet on the ground and pouted. "Can't you see? This is the moment we've been waiting for! She finally have a development in her dull life!" She practically screamed and pointed at her.

"Yeah, no shit!" Usui guffawed with tears uncontrollably rolling from her eyes. "I'm telling you! That's gotta be the best way to confess to someone! Sleeping Beauty? Sleeping Beauty?!"

"Tell me you said yes. Please tell me you said yes!" It's Kaito this time who was wearing the same expression as their dear friend Usui; mildly deranged look and red from laughing.

"No, I didn't." She admitted which made the duo laugh even harder and Seiko letting out a sound that was akin to a dying whale.

"But why?! That was a once in a lifetime chance!" The girl argued.

"Well, I barely know the guy and that was our first conversation." She said and finished the rest of her milk. "I can't go out with someone like that and I'm not interested in that type of stuffs." The girl bluntly confessed.

That of course made Seiko wail louder. "That was your chance and you blew it away! You're not really serious about dying alone, are you?"

When she said "I am, actually." Her best friend cried even harder to the point that her mascara had started to smudge.

"I will not allow it! I will not!" She cried. "You deserve to be with someone who will make you happy and make cute babies with! I will not allow you to be alone!"

When she's acting like this, she's strangely reminded of her very own mother. The girl could see the older woman doing the same and throwing a tantrum in the exact way. Which was why she had never mentioned her plans to her.

"Who's the dude anyway?" Usui finally questioned after she came down from her high, albeit still snickering.

"Oh," she said and stared at the milk box in her hand. "It was Nishinoya from Class 3."

At that, Kaito instantly stopped laughing and stared at her incredulously. "You're kidding, right?" He asked.

"No? Not really." The girl merely replied and wondered why was it so hard to think that someone like Nishinoya would do something like that.

"Ah, I know him." Usui said and snapped her fingers in realization. "We were classmates during our first year and I think he's in the basketball club."

"Volleyball," Kaito corrected.

"Same thing." Usui retorted with a very unattractive snort.

"No, they're not." The boy frowned which merely made the girl roll her eyes.

"Whatever. Both sports deal with balls, right?" She said. "Anyway, I've personally only spoken to him for a couple of times but my older sister—you know, Maika? She's in her third year. Yeah that one—said that he is super infatuated with their manager or something... I don't know."

"That's what you know? How about the part where he's hailed as a genius and is a very good Libero?" Kaito exclaimed and was visibly upset that Usui only knew senseless gossips about Nishinoya.

"Uwah, look at you. You're literally sparkling. Are you in love with him or something?" Usui teased to which the boy replied with a "W-What's wrong with appreciating talented people?!"

Spoken like a true sports enthusiast.

By this time, the girl had already zoned out.

If what her friend had said about him being infatuated with his manager, then she was right to outright reject him. Although she do admit that seeing him flush fifty shades of red after being rejected and then realizing his impromptu confession was more than amusing.

Well at least that's already over. She thought.

"With that being said, I kinda see where that Nishinoya is coming from with the 'Sleeping Beauty' thing." Usui said and slung an arm over her shoulder. "You're very easy to the eyes and if you don't utter a single word for the rest of your life, you could pass as an actual Yamato Nadeshiko with your looks."

Snickering, she jabs her friend with her elbow. "You think I'm pretty?" She cooed and attempted to flutter her eyelashes in a flirty way; reminiscing of those heroines in her mother's favorite movies. Of course she failed horribly at it and they ended up nearly laughing themselves until they couldn't anymore.

(At least most of them because Seiko was still hung up on how she let go of the supposedly "love interest" in her stupid black and white life. The girl kept the pout on her face until they finally had enough and decided it was time to go their respective way.)

It was getting harder to breathe.

Maybe not in a literal sense but there was this heavy feeling in her chest and she can't seem to shake it off no matter how hard she tried. What was it? She asked herself. It was an unanswerable question because she didn't have any idea. She tried to keep her cool during her conversation with her friends but deep down inside she was panicking.

All she know was that something was changing.

Call it intuition or whatever, but she felt uneasy as she waited for the bus to arrive. She was on her way to her part-time job and it perfectly aligned with her daily routine.

Aside from that sudden confession from the strange boy from Class 3, every puzzle pieces fell perfectly in their designated spots. She woke up right on time, arrived at her class ten minutes before it started, she ate her lunch with her friends and her being part of the "going home club" she was going straight to her job.

That little confession shouldn't have that much effect on her life, right? She was sure he was not going to come back because why would he?

He's not some sort of idiot that would chase after a girl he barely knew after he got rejected, right? The girl unconsciously clutched the strap of her bag.

"He's just a small glitch," she softly tells herself, repeating the same words she thought of a week ago when she saw his gaping face for the first time.

A small glitch. Nothing but a small glitch. He'd be gone before one would know it.

She didn't like change. There was an underlying reason behind it that she kept six feet underground and vowed to let it stay there. She was fine with how things were, she was fine with her life in this small town, and she was fine with uneventful monotonous days of her life.

She'd rather not have it changed. The girl wanted that endless loop of solitude, the comfort of the memories she wanted to put in a jar. That was all that she needed, nothing more and nothing less.

Yet what was this feeling in her chest? It almost felt like it was burning; that something was clawing out and trying to burst out of her. It was sentient almost. It doesn't stop until it finds a way out and she was sure that the very moment it find that tiny, tiny door, a drop was what it would take for her heart to burst.

The idea alone scared as much as the crows that she still saw around her.

"The rest of the world was in black and white but you were in screaming color."

Yes i tweaked with that lyrics. I love slow burn stories ya kno.