Sing Me A Song

Chapter 3- I'm getting really tired

As they walked across the empty land, they knew the path like the back of their hands. The earth beneath their feet was mushy and slippery, but that never stopped them from sitting by the river and talking about the sweet and sour, or embracing each other in silence. It was a place only they knew, or so they liked to believe. None of them ever took someone else to that spot or had they seen any other person. In the midst of the city, it was a quiet place. The perfect place.

It made Bokuto complete. Where did those simple days go? If he was still so young, how come age was heaving on him? He urged for something he could rely on.

There was a fallen tree in the path. They haven't said a word since they started their walk. The branches of the tree stared at Bokuto when he stepped on them. He ought to say something. Or would he wait to reach the place he had been dreaming of? By the foggy river, hidden with tree branches. Surrounded by nature calls.

Maybe in the fog, Aika wouldn't see his anxiety. Maybe with the frogs croaks and the crickets melodies, she wouldn't hear his palpitations or the trembles in his voice. The possibility crossed his mind and never left since then. There was only one way to be sure. Cut to the chase and stop to beat that stupid bush. She hadn't answered a single question of his directly. Not one. He tried to reconnect, but how was he supposed to do that when she wouldn't let him in?

"Remember the last time we were here?" Bokuto wondered.

What a fool. That was not the question he wanted to ask at all. Mentally, he punched himself so hard he got knocked out.

"The day before Nationals." Aika said. "You were amazing in that tournament. You glistened with every victory. With every point you made. Your eyes were set on winning the whole thing. Didn't matter how many times you would hurt your fingers or go into your emo mode. You wanted that trophy."

There was something he wanted even more that he didn't earn.

"You were shining," she continued. "That's what made me worry about you."

"I lost it, didn't I?"

That question was filled with regret and shame. Those were his golden years, after that, it became a blur he can't explain. The light, the joy of volleyball. Both of those were gone. Maybe he started to suck at the sport.

"Let's change the subject. That's not why I brought you here."

From there on, the path cleared towards the river. A direct road to the green waters.

"Did you find someone new?" he finally asked. It was barely a mumble, but he was sure Aika had heard him.

She didn't answer that question either. He was getting impatient. Why wouldn't she say anything? Because it was true, it was the only option.

"You moved on, huh?"

"That was the promise we made. That we would move on with our lives."

Aika walked behind him. It was better that way. She couldn't see how pathetic he was being, however she would be able to hear the disappointment in his words.

"I never thought you would get over me so quickly."

"It's been almost three years, Koutaro."

That was right. The weather changed every so often. Festivities came and went. How much time had he wasted with his thoughts? What had been those last years? There was a sudden buzz in his ear, a smog of thoughts inside his mind that blinded his path. His legs continued to walk, but not at his command. Had it truly been almost three years since he graduated high school? He halted his step by the river's edge. Just before the dirt became a little more wet. There was barely a difference in the terrain.