24. Dragonfly
Sailor Raspberry
463 Words
Once, when she was little, she had been rooting through her mother's jewelry box, eager and innocently trying on sparkly rings and necklaces. It fascinated her, brought forth an unknown superiority that only adults could possibly understand.
And then she spotted a charm bracelet.
It had been hiding in the bottom drawer, snuggled tightly between an old necklace box and a pile of staggered earrings. Her lips pulled into a pout as she lifted it up to the lamp light, linked chains cool against her fingers.
She began wearing the bracelet everyday, toying with the charms and giving each one a story. Her friends became interested, and soon, they were gifting her exotic charms for a birthday, or Christmas, or some other special event. It only made her love it more.
But then, one particular sunny spring afternoon, she was resting, quite comfortably, in the park, twirling the bracelet around and around the slim expanse of her wrist.
She didn't notice him as he approached, hands deep within the pockets of his trousers and eyes bright beneath the afternoon sun. When his silhouette slanted across her lap, she looked up, surprised. Her fingers did not falter as she continued to play with her bracelet.
Mamoru stood before her, all sharp angles and handsome features as he motioned to the chain on her wrist. "You've got yourself quite the piece of jewelry there."
Usagi nodded, glancing down, watching as the light reflected off the silver. He pursed his lips, fingering the box in his pocket, stomach trembling beneath his shirt.
She suddenly stood, dusting off the pleats of her skirt. "I have to get going. Mom is making pie, and I want a piece while it's still warm." And though she braced herself for some witty response, steeled herself from the harsh reality of his words, he did not respond.
She blinked, slowly, and looked at him with confusion. He shrugged and withdrew his hand, palming a velvet box, dark against his skin.
Usagi was unsure if he was playing some kind of joke, toying with her mind, but he pressed it into her grasp, whispering for her to open it.
When she did, her breath caught, her heart thrummed a bit faster.
It was the most intricately designed charm she had ever seen, wings arched splendidly and structure carved delicately. She melted back onto the bench.
When she asked him to hook the dragonfly charm on for her, his smile was slow, blue eyes strikingly bright as he bent over.
Her cheeks burned as she lifted her arm, watching as it twinkled in the sun. "Thank you. It's beautiful."
He shrugged again, shoving his hands back into his pockets. "No big deal. Save me a piece of that pie, okay?"
And she did.