Lotus

PART TWO - Rina - 9: Acceptance

“When I love someone, I love him or her unconditionally. If someone offers me love, but only under certain conditions, then I don’t need it. That isn’t real love to me.”

     Thanksgiving Break came along. The teens and pre-teens of Kiiroibara were off celebrating their short vacation from school. To celebrate, they went to the popular drug and drinking spots by the river.

     The beaches of Kiiroibara and the nearby towns were completely polluted by trash. The beach the Rina, Ren, Kai, and Jason went to was not included. Rina used to hang out by the beaches in Kiiroibara until the trashy neighborhood kids started hanging around as well.

     She found her refuge in Ren’s house. Having been there so many times in the past couple of months, she had declared it her second home.

     “Aren’t you tired of seeing me?” Rina asked. “If I were you, I’d be annoyed that I’m always around and eating your food.”

     “After all these visits, I really only notice when you’re gone,” Ren replied shyly. “It’s quieter… and there’s more food in the kitchen.”

     Rina laughed. Others had described it as being very distinct. She had a cute, happy laugh that had a captivating effect on others around her. Ren’s laugh, though much bolder, had a similar effect as well.

     “Why do you come over so much anyways?” he asked curiously. “You and I don’t even do anything nowadays.”

     “Because,” she replied. She shied away, embarrassed to admit her reason. “I like hanging out with you.”

     She rolled over on the carpet, hiding her face in humiliation.

     “Aww,” Ren teased, sitting himself beside her. He poked Rina’s scowling face. “You’re so cute, Rina.”

     She quickly turned and licked his finger. He pulled his hand back as he cringed at the moist touch of Rina’s tongue.

     “Am I cute now?” she asked evilly.

     In retaliation, Ren began tickling her and poking her sides, causing Rina to laugh even harder and flail around. She tackled Ren onto the floor in an attempt to stop his cruel and unusual torture. They fell against the edge of the couch.

     “Ow!” Ren cried. “You have a really hard head!”

     Rina looked up at him. His hair was just as messy as hers was. They both blushed, finding themselves in an awkward position on the living room floor. Ren tried to wriggle himself out of the awkwardness, but Rina only continued to embrace him.

     “I love you, Ren,” she said, nudging her head against his chest. She sounded very comfortable and sincere in her words. “Let’s be close like this forever, okay?”

     “Okay,” he agreed.

     Rina wanted to tell him that she truly loved him dearly. She wasn’t the type of person to do that, though. She had experienced rejection before, and did not want to go through that again. She had kept her feelings from another boy once before, but her friendship with him deteriorated. However, she felt that Ren was different. Ren wasn’t going anywhere. She convinced herself that he loved her as much as she loved him, though probably not in the romantic sense. Ren was a generally straightforward and outspoken person, but, unbeknownst to Rina, was always quite reserved upon the topic of his love for her.

     “You smell good,” Rina said as she pressed her nose onto his shirt. “Did you ate pancakes for breakfast?”

     “You’re a weirdo,” he replied, flicking her head with his finger.