𝐌𝐈𝐃𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐑𝐔𝐄𝐒 - 𝐒. 𝐊𝐈𝐓𝐀

𝐓𝐖𝐎

TWO
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      When the night would arrive, and Shinsuke Kita would lay down over his bed, he would close his eyes for long periods of time but the sleep that would usually come to him easily before, didn't come as easily now. He would lay down with one of his pillows placed under his legs, one under his head, and one that he grasped, though nothing seemed to help even with the soft comfort of these things that stayed close by him.

      The clock would strike twelve in the morning.

      And then the muscle beneath his ribcage would start to ache – it was like a sudden push that deflated his heart, his blood coursing rapidly and almost overwhelmingly through his veins and all over his body. Then he would find himself shedding a tear or two at the sudden feeling and the melancholic state that surrounded his mind.

      Never had he ever experienced such emotions and he didn't know where it came from, so he decided to consult his grandmother.

      "Granny, may I ask you something?" Shinsuke asked the next morning whilst holding a wet piece of cloth in his hands before he began dragging it up and down across their house's floors.

      "Hm, what is it Shin-chan?" His grandmother answered softly with her slightly crooked and high-pitched voice. Its wobble reminded him of how much his grandmother really was getting quite older and weaker each day.

      He felt the corner of his lips pull down slightly, before he shook his head then continued, "I have been experiencing these strange feelings lately. Though, I'm not sure of where it came from since I don't think I'm really sad."

      His grandmother urged him to continue with a short nod of her head, her lips quirking up unnoticeably when he did.

      "It feels foreign because the feelings would just suddenly come at midnight, and I think it's pretty strange that it happens at around exactly that hour every day. It's as if these feelings were lost and it had mistakenly come to me." He finished while tilting his head in confusion.

      He jumped when his grandmother abruptly clasped her hands excitedly, the impact between her two frail hands loudly echoing within their empty house. His eyes widened with worry for a moment, before it relaxed when he deemed her alright and turned back to its usual composed expression.

      "Oh Shin-chan, I'm so proud of you!" His grandmother exclaimed joyously then began repeatedly murmuring words amidst her sudden excitement, "My Shin-chan is going to get married! My Shin-chan is going to get married!"

      Shinsuke sighed and let out a subtle grimace at her sudden remarks before asking, "But I still don't understand, Granny. Why are you proud of me? And why am I suddenly getting married?"

      His grandmother paused from her excitement then moved closer to clasp his hand. She smiled up at her grandson and felt a warm wave swarm her heart – and it was one of pride. She opened her mouth to begin explaining with a small smile.

      "You see, Shinsuke. We live in a generation where two souls are destined and bound to be with each other. Your grandfather experienced the same thing as you, except with different emotions."

      His grandmother's eyes dulled at the mention of her husband but continued, "You remember these stories that I told you of your grandfather, right? He was the type of person to hide all of his feelings even when everything was very tough. But suddenly, he would feel bursts of happiness within his heart at different times of the day."

      Shinsuke listened to her words intently with furrowed brows before politely interjecting, "But Granny, I still don't quite understand."

      His grandmother gave him another smile, "You have a soulmate, Shin-chan. And those strange feelings? Those are your soulmate's."

-o-

      Every single day after school, Sayo would open the door of her home – grasping the cold metal knob between her right palm then twisting it to be greeted with the sight of a dim house. It was frigid with shadows and dark blue's bleeding against every surface of their home, and silence was the only sound that her ears could hear.

      Then the door would creak, she would see a dim-lit bulb not even properly doing its job of lighting the whole place. Its light hues only surrounding a feet radius around where its brightness was pent up, and the rest would be left dark.

      Sayo walked across the small hall with her bare feet tapping against the wooden floors, before stopping at the door that stood at the very end. She pushed the door open quietly and silently greeted the person who laid almost lifelessly on their bed. It was dark with only the moonlight providing a form of light that entered the room through the window that was right beside the bed.

      Her mother was there on the bed with her eyes closed and an almost deathly appearance plastered all over her body. Her skin was as white as the cotton sheets that she slept over, and the purple and reddish lines could visibly be seen on her lids – it was almost as if her skin was a transparent sheet.

      "I'm home, Mom." Sayo mumbled, walking over to her mother's side and sitting down on the chair right beside the bed.

      Her mother cracked her eyes open and her whole face instantly morphed to a bright expression – and suddenly, the image of her sickly face would disappear when the very person she loved most sat by her.

      "Sayo-chan, welcome back." Her soft and course voice cracked along the way as she spoke her name, and Sayo bit her lip as she continued to stare down at her mother. She picked up the plastic bag and presented it in front of her mother, taking out the few items that were inside and setting it down over the drawer beside them.

      "I brought you Miso soup and the strawberry mochi you really like." Sayo muttered while her mother's expression brightened much more at the mention of food. She tried to push her body up from the bed and almost fell back down, but Sayo immediately placed her hands on her back to support her body and help her sit up.

      "Thank you, Sayo-chan." Her mother chirped then reached a trembling had for the mochi. Sayo sighed and lightly grasped her mother's hand, placing it back down over her lap. She unwrapped the mochi and held it over her mother's lips, whilst she began consuming it.

      It was always like this, from the time she had turned thirteen, she had first witnessed her mother drop down on the floor. She could still remember the very day and it always brought this aching feeling in her chest whenever she could vividly see it with her own eyes – she remembered that every time she saw how her mother currently appeared.

      But it would disappear when she would see her mother's eyes and the way it glimmered – it glimmered with an unreal spark that told her that she was completely fine. Her mother was like the small group of clouds; right after it accepts all of the things that the world gave to it, it would release then disappear into nothingness.

      It was there, but it wouldn't leave a single trace with no one noticing, and only those other clouds that surrounded it would be able to remember it.

      But that was the thing, her mother lived inside a world where she was isolated from others, with only her hard-working sister and her daughter being the only 'clouds' that surrounded her. And if her soul decides to join to the place where other beings like her have perished, nobody would even bat an eyelash because she wasn't someone that others were familiar with.

      Sayo was her world, and her mother was Sayo's.

      So, if her mother leaves – where would Sayo go?

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