A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews! I hope you enjoy this one.
This is for achiel, my very first reviewer. Many thanks to you.
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I don't like to see Aya cry, so every time she does it, I turn away from her. Yuuya tells me that most of the time, the reason she cries is me.
Now she's crying like she would never stop, and I hate myself for it, although I knew I had no fault in this mess. If only I could comfort her…if only she could see me.
Aya went with Ran and the others to the ice cream parlor. They were all subdued, and it warmed my heart a bit to see that they did care for me. Yuuya looked thoughtful, probably thinking of what he heard.
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I saw Yamato and Yuuya talking seriously so I went to them to hear what they were talking about.
"Rei didn't die in an accident," Yamato was saying, "Someone deliberately run him over."
I was startled. Someone tried to kill me? Who would do that?
"Are you sure?" Yuuya had asked
Who wanted to kill me?
"There were eyewitnesses who said that the truck was waiting for him that night. The truck was stationary until he was there and it immediately headed for him."
I was right beside Yuuya. I faced Yamato, "Who is he?"
They didn't answer.
"Hey—" I placed my hand over Yamato's shoulder; and to my horror, my hand went through his body.
What the!
I immediately withdrew my hand and stared at it. I glanced at the two of them, Yamato looking grim and Yuuya looking shocked, completely oblivious that I was there.
Shit. I keep forgetting that I'm already dead.
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Kissing Aya was the most wonderful sensation I ever felt.
Her lips were deliciously soft and her body was so warm. Her blue eyes were glassy again, but I knew she wasn't sad. She was happy, I thought, I made Aya happy.
The sapphire necklace was a gift from me to her. That day was as special as any other day, which means it was another ordinary day. There was nothing in particular to celebrate that day, no special days, and no holidays. I was passing along the same street I had walked on for the majority of my life. I was passing along the same jewelry shop as I had done for five years. It was only the glint of blue reflecting the sunlight that had caught my eye that day. For the first time in my life, I stopped in front of that jewelry store and stared at the sapphire pendant nestled in thin, gentle folds of silver hanging on a delicate silver chain. However, I wasn't looking at the shiny silver, though. I was still staring at the sapphire.
It reminded me so much of Aya's eyes.
I stood there for a few minutes, and then I thought, Why not?
What if she doesn't like it? I thought again, I don't know her taste.
Yes I do. She's a quietly elegant girl and it will look perfect on her, I just know it.
With that resolution in mind, I entered the shop.
It was surprisingly cold.
The red felt décor and warm light from the lamps did nothing to warm my skin. I stared at the other pieces of jewelry. They were just like the shop: warm to look at but cold to the touch. A girl went to me immediately, "G-Good morning! You're Rei Otohata, right?"
I stared at her. She was about sixteen. She had long blond locks and blue eyes, and evidently in awe of me. I thought: they're not Aya's eyes.
I had no idea what to say so I merely nodded before I looked around. My eyes wandered a bit until I saw what I was looking for.
The girl followed my line of sight, "Oh, are you interested in this necklace, sir?" Without further ado, she picked up the necklace and showed it to me for my benefit, "It's a beautiful piece designed by Fulco di Verdura. The sapphire is a brilliant cut, and the silver is sterling. You couldn't find a better piece."
It was beautiful. The profound blue of the sapphire was like colored water, and it was exquisitely cut, it looked like it was resting on a silver cloth. For a moment, I was unable to say anything.
"It's a charm actually. The necklace is rumored to bring two people in love closer together. It's a perfect gift for your girlfriend." She added
I gave her a sharp look and she backed away immediately, "I'm sorry."
Strangely, I felt guilty that she figured out I was going to give it to Aya. She's not my girlfriend, but why do I want to give this to her? Maybe because I want to thank her for all the things she did for me, like baking those cookies.
Cut it out, Rei, I thought, you like Aya, and she likes you so don't act like there's nothing special between the two of you. Aya isn't making moves because she's scared that you don't like her as well.
Five minutes later, I bought the necklace. An hour later, I placed it on top of the table in my room and forgot about it. Twenty-four hours after that I was walking Aya to her house when I kissed her. Her face wore the most beautiful smile I had ever seen. Fifteen minutes after that, I crossed the street only to block the path of a huge truck. It hit me and I knew I was flying. The last thing I saw before my head hit the pavement was the starry night.
I fell, but I got up immediately. I saw the driver's face briefly before the truck accelerated away. I tried to run after the person but I knew it was no use. Damn, I thought, the driver's gone. At least, I memorized the plate number. That person almost killed me! Thank God Aya was already home. Breathing heavily, I stared at the sky again. It looked magnificent with those sparkling stars. There was a strange light from the sky…like a spotlight that shone a few steps in front of me. It looked like it was beckoning to me, but I ignored it. I wondered where Yuuya was so I decided to call him on my cellphone. I fished it out of my pockets…
Where…?
I looked down at my pants. It was there alright, I could see the bulge it made in my pocket, and I saw its shape inside the pocket. But I couldn't touch it. When I tried to reach for it, my hand passed through it like the phone wasn't solid.
What the hell…?
Confused, I turned around and headed for the lamp post to see better. I saw several people crowding on the street. I couldn't see what they were staring at, but I could see that they were shocked. I was wondering, didn't they see what happened to me? Some were staring at me…no, wait a minute, they were staring at the street behind me…at the truck that was now gone. But most were still fussing about something on the street. I went near them but I couldn't see anything from this distance. What was going on?
All of a sudden I saw Yuuya nearing the crowd. I called out, "Hey, Yuuya."
He didn't glance around. Yuuya probably didn't hear me so I called again as I ran towards him, "Yuuya!"
He still didn't turn around. I'm pretty sure my voice was loud enough for him to hear, but no one glanced at my direction. Why was he ignoring me? I followed Yuuya to the center of the crowd and tried to reach for his shoulder. I was a few centimeters from touching him when I saw what the commotion was all about.
It was a body.
I immediately thought of the truck…it hit someone and almost hit me as well. I should report this to the police…to Yamato. But then something cut my line of thought, the guy had the same foot size as me; wait a minute, he also had the same shoes…the same pants…
As I neared the body I had a terrible premonition.
The guy had the same jacket…and the same face as me.
Yuuya immediately went to the body and searched for a pulse. From his body language, I figured there was none.
Impossible.
I can't be lying there when I'm standing here. It just can't be…this is impossible.
Yuuya then stared at me. And then he charged. I managed to raise my arms and take a step back. To my horror, Yuuya went through me and attacked the guy behind me. I suddenly felt cold. He went through me like I was thin air…like I wasn't there. I stared at the body that looked like me…that was me.
And then it hit me.
It was here where I hit the ground…where I hit my head. I remembered feeling for my phone; I thought then that the phone wasn't solid. I realized, as Yuuya suddenly went berserk, that the phone was completely solid. I realized, as I stared at the body, that the problem wasn't with the phone.
I realized I was dead.
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I followed them to the ice cream parlor. I pushed the door, but my hand simply phased through. It was a painful reminder that I was not alive anymore. Grimly, I went through the door and stood near the counter. I could see that Aya was toying with her melted ice cream, and wearing the necklace I gave her. That girl from the jewelry shop was nothing but a liar. She said it was supposed to bring us closer together and here we are worlds apart. The glimmer of the gem was shining on my eye, and Aya was staring at me.
Stop it. People aren't going to stare at you anymore, I thought, you're already dead; but what would she be staring at, the plain lemon yellow wall? I looked at her. Aya had her mouth slightly open, as if in shock. Her eyes were looking directly at me, I could feel her stare. Wait a minute; Aya can see me?
Ran noticed Aya's expression, "What's the matter?"
I was still looking at her as she swallowed and her eyes were started to turn glassy. Aya whispered, "It's Rei."
My heart felt like leaping for joy. She can see me, I thought as her eyes were still on me, Aya can see me…
At first, the others misunderstood her. Miyu said, "It's okay, Aya. He's probably in heaven right now."
Aya was still staring at me, her face registering happiness and bewilderment. I whispered, "Aya."
And then Aya broke the eye contact and turned to Miyu, "No, that's not what I meant. Rei is right there." She pointed at my direction.
They were all silent.
Tatsukichi stammered nervously, "That isn't very funny, Aya."
They all agreed with him. I got a bit hurt by that remark, but I suppose I couldn't blame them. But Aya wasn't put off, "But he's right there! I can see him…" she glanced at my direction, but her expression changed. I noticed she wasn't directly staring into my eyes like before…as if I wasn't there. What happened?
Aya was surprised that she couldn't see me anymore, "Well, he was there a moment ago…"
"Aya, this is getting scary." Miyu said nervously
"But it's true, Rei was there." Aya insisted, "Guys, why won't you believe me?"
"Maybe it was just your imagination, Aya," Ran reasoned out, and then added quietly, "Because you were thinking of him much of the time, you thought he was there."
The others agreed hastily with her. That Ran, never believing anything until she saw sees it, why can't she understand that Aya was telling the damn truth? Aya kept insisting and her tears ready to trickle down her cheeks. It was useless; they thought she was being delirious. Why couldn't she see me anymore? As soon as Aya broke the eye contact, it was gone. Aya was confused as well, I could see, she was probably wondering whether she did see me or she was simply seeing things.
I felt utterly depressed. At first, when I finally absorbed the fact that I was dead and I not going to neither heaven nor hell, I was lonely. Thinking that no one could see me, then realizing that moment that Aya could see me, and then she could not, was the worst feeling that mankind has created. It felt like a blind man given his eyesight back again, and then it was taken away overnight. It sucked like hell, and my body felt like lead. I dragged myself to where my feet would take me.
Why did I have to die?
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I heard a strange sigh and I looked up. I was in the train station. Unable to find anything else to do, I decided to board it. Good thing I don't have to pay for it anymore. The thought had made me unbearably sadder than ever.
The train honked and I realized that its doors were closing. I ran to catch up but stopped after a few strides.
Hold it.
I don't need to enter through the doors, I thought. The train was moving slowly. I walked a few paces back, and stared at the train, now moving at a man's running speed. That's when I ran towards it, jumped, and raised my arms to shield myself from the impact.
Impact? What impact?
Just like before, I had phased through the walls of the train and dropped on the floor, panting at the effort and thrilled in a way. I'm not supposed to be thrilled, I thought. Looking around, I saw the passengers acting like nothing had happened. Of course they couldn't, I'm dead already, right? I closed my eyes, what am I thinking? The motion of the train slowly soothed me. I'm actually accepting the fact that I'm dead? Well, I suppose not accepting the fact won't make me alive anyway, I might as well make the best of it. Still, it hurts…not physically, but emotionally. Why am I still here anyway? Why am I not in heaven or in hell? At least there are no more pesky girls to hound and stalk me around; trying to know what color is the underwear I'm wearing at the moment. It hurt me that I can no longer be around to take Aya into my arms…
I opened my eyes and saw ragged old man's eyes a few inches from my face. Surprised, I took a step back, "Y-You can see me?"
He took no notice and yelled angrily, "What are you doing here!"
I tried again, wishing with all my heart that it was true, "Hey…can you really see me?"
He ignored the question and pushed me hard. I phased through five people and three poles before I fell hard on my butt. I took experienced no pain at all and felt both irrationally glad that someone could see me and bewilderment at what was going on, "Hey—"
To my surprise, he also went through the crowd to grab my lapels and lift me high, "Geddoff my goddamn train!" and heaved me to the next compartment.
"You're a ghost, too?" I asked him as he phased through the compartment, ignoring the fact that he was practically beating me up.
"Didn't ya hear what I said!" he roared.
What was his problem? I stood up and raised my arms to shield myself, "Look, I—"
The man roared again and punched the window pane of the compartment, and the glass broke. The passengers were startled and some uttered a shriek.
What…?
He then pushed me out of the train and I fell on the railway. I felt nothing, although I knew that a normal, live person would have at least a rib hurt in that fall. The man phased his head out of the train and shook his fist at me, "And stay out!"
I stood there, shocked. How the hell did he do that? He could see me and go through things and people with no one noticing so I'm fairly sure he's a ghost like me. But how could he break the window? How the hell did he do that?
I was still bewildered by the thought when I heard a noise. Suddenly, I was blinded by light. A second later, a train was charging in front of me and I was terrified. There was no time to avoid the train. I raised my arms just as the train went through me. I had closed my eyes, but I still felt the shock of the train phasing through me. By the time the train was past me, I felt like my breath was knocked out of me and I dropped to my knees, shaking like I would never stop.
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A/N: Did you enjoy it? I hope so...if not, do not hesitate to lash out at poor little me in your reviews. At least add some constructive criticisms should you decided to do so. I did my best at create Rei and Aya's er, romance here. Is the train incident familiar? That's because it's inspired from an American movie starring Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg. Notice that there are recurring incidents here. I just had to show Rei's point of view because it is necessary for the story line. Comments? Suggestions? Violent reaction? Put them all in your reviews...please do!
