January Ember

3. Reunion

No matter how much my heart shatters at the thought of her not wanting me, I keep holding her in my arms. Taking her familiar scent in which calms my rapidly beating heart. I bury my head in the back of her neck, my lips barely touching her smooth skin which seems so cold. I don't want to let go of her, afraid she might leave me again. Afraid I might experience the piercing pain in my heart as if someone stabbed right into it. Afraid she might stop looking at me.

Stop feeling anything towards me.

She's awfully quite, which scares me furthermore. She has always been quite but right now it almost feels like she's numb.

Suddenly she chuckles, which leaves me dumbfounded but I still don't let her go. Rather I enjoy the sound of her sweet melody.

" Didn't know you missed me that much." I hear her say.

" You have no idea. " the words leave my lips as if it was as natural as breathing.

" Come on you're suffocating me. Let go. " her hands come to my chest, gently pushing me back. I let go of her but I maintain the small distance between us. She looks at me with a small smile on her lips but it's nothing like the smile I've known for so long. The smile which made my heart ache with a sweetening pain.

The smile I fell in love with.

" You're not leaving again. " I demand as I keep staring right into her eyes. There's no hesitation in her voice as she replies.

" I'm not. " saying she finally breaks our eye contact. " Can't let my dying mother worry about me anymore. "

This was the thing that bothered me the most about her. Whenever she was hurting by something she would bury it by saying it out loud so bluntly that anyone would mistake her for being emotionless. Anyone but me.

" How's she? " I try, in hopes it would make her show any sign of weakness which she so strongly tries hide.

" Surviving. They said she has three months max. Honeslty I'm not surprised. "

" Mia. You shouldn't be dealing with it like that. "

She doesn't say anything and just shrugs. No one says a word after that, silence taking over us once again but it's not bitter, it's comforting. I try to reach for her hand but too afraid to see her reaction I pull it back. We stay there for a long time, basking in the warm sunrays and a cool breeze. Completely forgetting about the world around me, I'm taken aback when the school bell is heard ringing, signalling the end of the ceremony.

The thought of Mia and I would have to part our ways to our classes makes me furrow my eyebrows in sadness. If anything I want to stay right here as long as I could knowing she would be here with me. The only place we'll be with each other.

The only place that belongs to us.

" See you later. " she starts approaching the door but haults midway. A sudden feeling of nervousness takes over me as I see her glancing towards me again. It is soon replaced by overwhelming urge of claiming her lips as she smiles the beautiful smile I've longed to see for months.

" Thank you for waiting for me. " with that said she leaves.

                                   •~•~•

" Where have you been I was looking for you everywhere! "

As soon as I enter the class Jimin's complaints can be heard. I am not in a mood to keep up with his whines and definitely not in a mood to explain where I have been.

Seeing he isn't going to get any answers from me, he finally decides to shut up, of course with a dramatic sigh.

" So this chick is in Class 2 and she said she wanted to see me more often. I mean she was good but I'm not interested in her that much. But oh she was really good with her mou-"

" Jimin I really don't want to hear your detailed hook up with some random girl. " I say cutting him off before he proceeded with all the details.

" You're not fun. " he huffs and and pulls his chair sitting down on it with a thud.

I make my way towards my seat, sitting down and waiting for the class to start so I can take my mind off of Mia. The sudden reunion with her has left me pretty shaken up. As much as I'm thrilled to have finally seen her after so long, I'm afraid she has become even more distant than before.

I still remember the day I heard the news about him. I still remember frantically running through the streets of her neighbourhood, trying to reach her as soon as possible. I still remember finding her house with no sign of her in it. I still remember the excruciating pain I felt knowing she was most probably beating herself up with all the blame, somewhere alone with her deadly thoughts. I still remember crying for the first time in years when I couldn't find her.

I still remember hating him so much that day. And the hate never seemed to leave even though he left.

For weeks I searched for her non stop. Looking for her everywhere, visited her place countless times in hopes of hearing something about her from her mother who seemed to be drowning herself in alcohol because she thought her daughter had left her to die alone.

Her friends were no good either, not even caring that their friend was missing for months. Anger boiled in me whenever I tried to ask them if they'd heard anything about Mia, but all they did was say they didn't and neither should I bother to know, saying it was Mia's choice that she left.

The only hope I had was Mia's cousin, Zoe. She was the only one looking for her besides me. We'd talked and tried to find Mia together but we never had a clue where she went. But neither of us ever gave up. Until weeks became months and all we found was dead end whenever we tried. We decided to wait, and have hope that Mia would come back to us someday.

And she did. And I've never been so happy in my entire life.

I wonder if Zoe knows, if Mia visited her. Anyhow I needed to let Zoe know. I took my phone out quickly finding her contact.

'She's back. She's here. ' was all I text her

I wonder what her reaction will be. If she would show up the next hour waiting outside the school. If she would start to cry the moment she sees the text. I wouldn't be surprised if she did. I barely contained my tears when I saw Mia.

Afterall it felt like someone revived the life in me.

I look outside the window, finding some of the cherry blossoms starting to bloom a little. I wonder what Mia must be doing right now. If she is lost in the world of her thoughts just like me. If she is thinking of our time spent on the rooftop or if she is thinking about me. Because all I can do is think about her. Her onyx eyes which makes me stare at them as if I'm staring right through her. Her lips which makes me yearn for their taste, to claim them with mine and leave her breathless. Her hair, the fierce locks which makes me want to run my fingers through them. 

She is the spring which made the life in me bloom again.