Connect

38.5: Update

Gumi opened her eyes, and it felt like a monumental task. It was as though her eyelids had been glued together.

How long had she been asleep for?

Stretching out in bed, her back heaved out a series of pops and cracks as her spine straightened and she relaxed her body. The exhaustion of what felt like years washed over her.

And then she saw it. 

The faintest sliver of sunlight, pink against the horizon and thin like a freshly cut fingernail.

"Good... morning?" She said to herself. Which morning was this? How many mornings had it been since the last one?

And who...who in the world were these voices in her head? She sat up, only to gasp and grab her head with both hands as a throbbing headache washed over her.

"Augh..."

Faces that felt too familiar flashed through her mind. Blue eyes, blue hair. Girls and boys, tall and short.

"Kaito."

His name was soft on her lips. She almost didn't feel it. Didn't realize how long it had been since she had said it. It felt sacred and foreign, but just like that, it all came tumbling together in her brain. 

Miku and Neru, Gakupo. Luka. Rin and Len. Basketball with the boys. 

That strange boy who surely got paid for teasing her as much as he did... Naoki, or Yuma.

Kaito.

She thought of him, blue hair, blue eyes, cool and gentle like springtime, but in her mind, his face seemed to morph into Yuma's.

It didn't make any sense. None of this made any sense. Gumi fell back into bed, head hitting the pillow. The comfort felt too welcoming. In her head, the voices of her friends swam around in endless circles.

"Gumi, please do something about this loser..." 

"He stole my flowers! My flowers!"

She was out like a light again, but something told her she would be awake again soon, one last time.

Hello everyone! I've been very busy these past few years, and it's a difficult time for everyone so I'll spare the details, but if you're reading this, thank you very much. Thank you for sticking by me for so long, and for supporting me and my stories. I want to make sure I give the readers the ending they deserve for Connect.

This chapter is a bit meta, I wanted to touch upon the fact that I'd been gone for so long, so don't read too much into it. Gumi's just getting ready to experience the rest of her journey (hopefully without any more hiatuses).

I've reviewed the past chapters of my story, and of course, I plan on staying consistent and finishing the story according to my outline. That said, you might notice a change in my writing style because I've been growing as a writer! I hope you won't mind the change and will find that it's ultimately just, well, better quality writing.

See you tomorrow with Chapter 39 :) and if you want to catch me elsewhere, you can find me on twitter. I'm @/macedon_prince.

Thanks again.