Chapter Six
Yellow Strings
Natsume's squeeze grew tighter as tried to pull away from his grasp. I breathed so heavily, it was hard to tell whether what was happening was real; I wish it were all a bad dream. But somehow, I didn't want to let go of Natsume's arms, in the same time I wanted to pull away. The forest was thick with crisp air that was scented by the fragrance of moss, dewy leaves, and
earth: the smell reached my nostrils and I heaved an inaudible sigh. We both stood on a damp area, where grass stood as tall as wheat stalks. I felt Natsume's slow-paced breathing on my neck and his warmth seemed to warm my whole body- top to bottom, as we clinged to each other: one very warm hand clasped on my back and another stroking my hair. We did not speak, and there was a dead
silence except for the rustling of the tree branches swaying and beating each other by the wind, and the sound of crickets chirping.
Slowly, we grew apart, Natsume pushing me away from his clutch my shoulders. He took hold of my hand, softer than he had done before. We stood there, gazing at each other's eyes, red to brown. Then, still gazing at me, he took out from his pocket two bright yellow cotton strings and he tied one onto his own finger beside his long pinkie finger, he wrapped round
and then knotted it, making it look like a ring. He drew the second yellow string towards me. He then said, with a low, flat voice that seemed unlike his usual tone:
"Will you put on this string as a sign of our betrothing?"
I didn't know the meaning of the word, but I dared not ask. I lifted my right hand a little hesitantly. He wrapped the string on my finger beside my pinkie just as he had done to his own finger
and when he finished, he drew nearer to me and our lips met. It was so fast I didn't understand what was happening. The kiss may have lasted for over half an hour or so, but this time I did not want to part. I kissed him back and it was as if the whole world seemed to vanish from our surroundings. After a long time, we parted and natsume turned his back on me and said:
"Don't tell anyone you saw me...," He left me standing there and he darted off deeper into the woods but after a few steps he came to a halt and without turning back to look at me, he whispered, "...wait for me..."
I couldn't reply, I could hardly even move. The darkness swallowed up natsume and he vanished from sight. From that day on, I vowed never to remove the yellow string he had wrapped around my finger.
An extremely short chapter, but I will update soon!