Rooftops At Sunrise

33

Aoi's parents drive the two young adults back home, across a land full of never-ending fields—pink sunsets that slowly shift into violet hues, until it is dark again, and Aoi finds herself falling asleep on Damian's shoulder.

It is late when they arrive at their destination, and a little past eleven in the night-time when Aoi bids farewell to Damian, who disappears back into his apartment alone.

Neither of them speak another word regarding Aoi's preposterous theory. They have come to the agreement that it is likely a strange malfunction from both their phones—perhaps, they think, that something in the ambulance made it so that their phones deleted the last contact they'd added to their respective devices; although Aoi and Damian barely believe this excuse, it is good enough for them to hold onto, until they will visit Lucas in a single week's time, to clear up this misunderstanding.

Damian has told Aoi that he will not go without her, and that—should she need more time to recover—the young man will wait for her, because he believes that they are in this together, and that it would not be right to go on what he considers to be the final step in their road trip, alone.

*

Much to Damian's relief, the young woman does call him, and precisely one week later, at that, too.

Aoi is in her room, staring out at birds that sing in a nest, lodged up high in a tree next to her window.

The young woman reaches for her backpack that she had yet to touch in days. She picks up her phone and listens to it ring for a moment, then two, before Damian finally picks up.

He is huffing; she cannot help but wonder if he ran to answer this call.

Their exchange does not last long. It consists of one, simple request from the young woman: "Meet me in an hour, by the sunflower park?"

Of course, Damian agrees.

The sunflower park is not actually named as such—however, it does have many flowers, some of which are indeed, of the sunflower type. Aoi suggested they start their investigation in this precise location for a reason—Lucas had mentioned having a brother, who supposedly lives in the vicinity.

He had also told Damian, at some point in the beginning of their bizarre partnership, that he would deliver pastries on the daily to the local bakery of the town he'd been staying in.

Aoi and Damian hope to check out the two locations today. And if they still fail to pick up any clues by then, or do not accidentally—as Aoi says—run into the young man, they will give up; they will go directly to Lucas's address.

If, he is still living there, that is.

And so, their search begins two hours later under the setting sun, in the exact middle of the sunflower park.

Aoi wonders if she should mention Damian's sister at some point—or ask him if he is well—yet, the young man seems so preoccupied by their current endeavors, that she decides it best to leave their more serious talks for a later occasion.

Damian takes care of biking around the neighborhood, then says he will report back to Aoi, once he finds a more or less interesting place, that could potentially be of help to them.

He doesn't.

In the park, where she had been seated in wait on a bench beneath the shade of an old oak tree, Aoi observes the fireflies returning to their rightful places, as the moon rises in the sky.

Damian returns to her, his face flushed, as he is bent over and wheezing for air. "He doesn't exist," the young man gasps, as he leans both his hands against his knees. "I— I mean, his brother in question exists, b-but—" The young man glances upward, and stares straight into Aoi's eyes. "But he doesn't remember who Lucas is. I— I don't—"

The young woman rises to her feet. She holds out her hand for Damian to take. "We should get some rest," she tells him. "Everything's closed now; we'll try again tomorrow in the morning, okay?"

Somehow—to Aoi, at least—it does not feel like they are really searching for Lucas anymore. "Don't worry," she tells Damian, as her good friend takes her palm with sweaty, heat-tinged fingers, and bites his lip—down on the shame, of not having found Lucas yet. "I won't leave you alone," Aoi tells him.

And neither of them acknowledge it, when Damian's eyes widen, then fill with tears, as the young man realizes that this is what he had needed to hear. The words of someone who will stay.

Instead, they head back to Aoi's house, where Damian sleeps over, and Aoi is not served an empty plate for dinner any longer.

"Your parents seem to be fighting less," he tells her, as they both brush their teeth, with their backs both nudging one another's in the small, spaceless tiled-white bathroom. "And you— you ate a piece of boiled salad, dude, that's awesome!"

"Yup!" the young woman exclaims with pride, in her pajamas, as she punches the air, then spits into the sink. "Times are changing!" She shrugs. "Well, okay that, and"—Aoi reaches into a drawer and takes out her pills that she pops past her lips. "We've changed my doses." She shoves the medicine back to where it came from, then adds, "It's not perfect. I'm still in pain if I do a regular task for more than a few minutes, and I doubt I'll ever be able to eat one of those delicious pizzas again—but hey!"

The young woman smirks at Damian; he thinks, that she is radiant, nothing like the person he met before they ran into trouble together.

"I can wash three dishes and eat something other than medical food now! Isn't that great?"

He chuckles, then leans in to give her elbow a gentle squeeze. "Yeah, Aoi," Damian tells her, as he lowers his voice and returns her elated grin. "I'm glad. Really."