Thanks for sticking with me through the short chapters and the wait between updates. But I promise to work harder!

Whisper of the Heart characters (c) Studio Ghibli


Chapter 4: The Road Less Traveled

Staring at the last spot he saw her, a low groan escapes from his lips as he turns back to look at the cat who is now resting in her spot. "Now look what you did Moon, I have no idea where she went!" Resting his head in his hands, he wonders if he's lost her forever. It was never his intention to put her in such a position today; he just wanted to be with her. But every time he looked at her, he remembered how happy she was when he proposed. Could she be having second thoughts? Is that why she ran away? No, he pressed the issue and made her uncomfortable, which is why she ran from him. Still, maybe he scared her by asking her to marry him. What in the world possessed him to ask was beyond him, all he knew was that at that moment; he wanted to be with her forever. "Well Moon, are you going to stay here or do you want to help me find Shizuku? Lifting his head, he looks next to him only to find the cat missing. "Moon? Where did you go? Not you too!" Glancing about, he locates the cat walking in the same direction she had run just moments earlier. "Hey, wait up!"

Standing in front of the café, she debates what to do next. She probably should go home and study or do some more housework, but she didn't feel like going home yet. With a soft sigh, she just picks a direction and begins walking, not really caring where she is headed. She walks for a few moments, only paying enough attention to avoid vehicles and other people, before she finally takes notice on where she is. Without even thinking about it, she has made her way to the library. But surprisingly, she doesn't feel like going inside. The thought of books made her think of Seiji…Shaking her head, she slowly walks away from the library and actually smiles a bit, never thinking there would be a time when she didn't want to be surrounded by books. But where to go? Glancing at her watch, she is surprised to see that it is only 4:30. An hour and a half ago, she was supposed to meet Seiji for a wonderful afternoon and now she is wandering alone feeling miserable. What a day, but then again, isn't that just how her life goes? The sound of a loud deep horn wakes her from her thoughts and she glances up to see Moon sitting in the middle of the street cleaning his paws as a large truck quickly approaches. What a crazy cat!! "Moon!! Wake up and move your bubble behind before you get squished!" Moon, being the kind of cat he is, just glances up at her before giving his paw one last lick. Then, he casually gets up and slowly makes his way across the street just as the truck comes to a screeching halt. Tail raised high, he continues his slow pace till he reaches the other side, and with one more look to her, he begins to walk down the sidewalk. Now what can he be up to now? Without thinking, she darts out into the street right in front of the same truck as the sound of the horn follows her. But she doesn't care, right now all she can think about is chasing after Moon in hopes that he will lead her to Seiji. Darting through the crowd, she tries to keep her eyes on the tubby cat but he manages to lose her.

As soon as he started to follow the cat, he lost him. It's as if he managed to disappear right in front of his eyes! "Moon! Moon, where are you? How am I supposed to follow you if I can't see you?!" In frustration, he runs his fingers through his hair as he debates on what to do next. All he wanted was to spend some time with her, to be near her. How did he manage to mess things up this badly? "Do I go to look for her or do I just give up and talk to her later?" As he stands there debating, someone runs into him from behind. Turning around quickly, he smiles happily thinking that it may be her but the smile fades just as fast when it turns out he is wrong.

"Oh excuse me! I should have been watching where I was going, please forgive me!" His eyes rest upon a girl about Shizuku's age and height, but she has long dark brown hair that is pulled back in two braids and a face full of freckles.

"There is no need to apologize, it's my fault for standing in the middle of the sidewalk. So please, forgive my stupidity." He forced a smile as he stepped to the side to allow her to pass.

Yuko's eyes opened wide when she realized who she had bumped into. It was that guy Shizuku had been telling her about. She remembered when he was pointed out to her at school one day. All she could do was nod her head and quickly walk past him. He certainly looked troubled, I wonder if something is going on with them.

Seiji watched as the girl walked away, wondering why she was surprised to see him. Perhaps he met her once before but he couldn't place her face. With a sigh, he shook his head. He had more important things to do right now and that was finding Shizuku. He scanned the area carefully, trying to locate where Moon went, but all he could think of was her. Unable to find the feline, he just started to wander hoping that his heart would lead him. He never thought he would feel this way about someone. Sure he had girlfriends before, but she was different. He didn't even think of her that way, she was more like …a soul mate. He may not have known her long, but there was just something that caused them to click. At least, that's how he felt.

"Moon! Why do you always do this to me? Couldn't you just walk to where he is instead of running and trying to loose me?" Even though people were staring at her, she kept of running and yelling at the cat. She didn't care, she just wanted to be with Seiji again. First she was running away from him and now she was running to him, why couldn't she make up her mind? Then again, could she even think about not being with him? Just the thought brought pain to her heart. No, she had to straighten herself out and find a way deal with her feelings. Running away won't solve anything. With a determined nod of her head, she made her way out of the crowd and to a bench. Climbing on top of it, she scans the area for the gray kitty but has no luck. "I wonder what Seiji is doing right now…" As she talks to herself, she debates on what to do next. Perhaps she wasn't meant to follow Moon this time, maybe he was just going to one of his many families. No, he purposefully tried to get her attention and waited for her to notice him before fleeing. But where is he then?