TEN
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A week goes by filled with Sayo visiting that bench with Wisterias surrounding its place, and it was strange that she had not once seen Shinsuke around that time span. It was not like she desperately wanted him there, but there was this certain gap in between her heart that appeared, and it was almost as if he took that part with him every time he was not there.
Sayo had been exasperated over the subconscious thoughts and emotions that she couldn't help but feel, and it was almost like the world dictated a part of her life, though she was not sure of what it was.
There was always this pull like a puppet master pulling at their puppet's strings. But this, it was the world who purposefully tugged at her heart strings whenever it saw that the certain light-grey-haired young man was around her.
She didn't want to feel it – well at least, she didn't want to feel it so soon when she barely even knew anything about him.
Today, as Sayo walked on the usual route that she took towards school, it rained. The droplets were cold when it came from the sky before dropping down over the thin tight-knit threads of her blue umbrella, serving as a cover to prevent her from getting wet – though, it was honestly not much of a help.
Some of the cold droplets bounced against the surfaces that sat near her, then finding itself latched on her arm – and as those droplets stayed there, it turned warmer against her skin before dripping down towards the ground, joining its whole that it had been separated from when they were together in the clouds.
Sayo liked the rain.
The smell of the fresh green leaves and earthy soil that emitted the natural strong scent of a forest, and the temperature that was cool but not cold enough for her to start freezing – but it was just enough for her to snuggle against bundles of the thin blankets that they owned.
But at the same time, Sayo did not like the rain. It was a confusing love-hate relationship between a human and a natural phenomenon that occurred in this world.
She did not like how the rain would seep into the sleeves of her white uniform or her shoes that made her feet feel soggy. She did not like the way its dull hues bled against every corner and surface of the streets, making their house appear darker than how it always was. And she did not like how it reminded her of when her father left – it had rained harshly that day, from what she could remember.
Sayo sighed, removing her wet shoes and replacing it with the school-required ones that were placed inside a small wooden-cubicle by the entrance. Right after putting it on, she had immediately headed towards the direction of their classroom.
-o-
Sayo sat on the chair right beside the window where she could watch each rain water drop against the metal window sill on the other side of the transparent glass. Minuscule and multiple drops would stick by its glass and she watched how it trailed down, multiplying to turn into a larger droplet when it touches another, before it falls down on the sill once its weight was too heavy to carry itself.
Raindrops and its vertical trajectories down to its chemical components was what Sayo wondered about as she sat in boredom in their class. She didn't think it was weird for her to do so when it was similar to thinking that thirty-four minus fifteen is equal to nineteen – where thirty would be equal to another fifteen added to fifteen, then adding four right after – thus, fifteen plus four would be nineteen.
It all sounded complicated, but it was simple inside her mind. And the way the teachers would teach these lessons, was in her opinion, much more complicated than how she does it inside her mind.
It was probably why she failed most of her quizzes – the answers were correct, though the solution was different from what they wanted, and it ended up with points deducted from her paper.
She always found herself wondering about the little things, then finding herself unintentionally wanting to compute each feature that it had by doing so in different divisions – though, she wanted to do it all in her way. And as she stared longer at the rain waters that were stuck on the window, she didn't notice that the bell that signaled the beginning of lunch had rung, and as well as her peers that began whispering in curiosity and amazement a few minutes after.
Sayo sighed and turned her head down on her empty notebook, placing her hand under the cover to flip it closed before placing it inside her bag. And as she made a move to stand up, she looks up mid-way to see the familiar light-grey-haired boy that she was well acquainted with, with her head tilting to the side in confusion.
"Is that Kita-san?"
"What is he doing here?"
"Are those flowers?"
Her eyes widen when he walks in with the stoic expression remaining on his face that he usually had, his brown eyes searching the class making Sayo wonder who he was there for. His eyes then landed on hers, causing the corners of his lips to quirk up a little and Sayo to jolt up from her startled heart.
Wisterias. Flowers that had many symbolisms and two of them being patience and long-life, but it could also mean love and beauty – but how could she know that, when she barely gave a shit about researching on flowers and their meanings?
Sayo didn't know what to think or do when he approaches her and stands right in front of where she sat, and could only stare at him with eyes wide as saucers and lips that were parted in shock. She blinks and looks at the bouquet of Wisterias in his hands that were extended towards her, then back at his face that told her that he was not joking.
She snaps out of her reverie when he asks, "Are you not going to accept the flowers?"
"U-Uh..."
She gasps lightly when he personally made the move to grasp her hand that was placed over her table limply, then allowed her to hold the bouquet in her hand. He raised her hand up and carefully laced her fingers around the bundle of stems before waiting for her to speak.
"Oh, it was for Kai-san?"
"She's so lucky..."
"I'm jealous. I want my boyfriend to do that to me too."
Sayo abruptly stood up from her chair, overwhelmed by the amount of attention that was directed to her by her classmates. She slung her lunchbox over her shoulder and with her other hand, she grasped Shinsuke's wrist while the other held the flowers, then began pulling him out of the classroom.
"Ooh, get it Kai-san!"
She cringed at the comment and started to walk at a rapid pace, bringing him to the place where they hung out the week before. She releases his hand from her hold when she sees the lilac hues and the wooden bench before plopping herself down on the seat (mind you, the seat was still wet from the rain), staring up at the boy who looked down at her with an unreadable expression.
"The seat is we-"
She cut him off while glancing at the flowers then questioning hastily, "What are the flowers for?"
Shinsuke looks down at her dark eyes that were staring back at him, almost wavering but she tried to hold it firmly because of her naturally stubborn nature. He remembers the time that he walked towards school this morning and he suddenly felt that same ache beneath his chest, so he made the uncharacteristically impulsive decision to buy her flowers.
He looks at her properly this time, with his thoughts much clearer; I want to make her happy.
With that thought in mind, he gives her a proper smile that caught Sayo off-guard at how wide and genuine it was. And the next words caused an implosion of vibrant colors and bursts of softness to bloom inside her already worn-out heart.
"I had a feeling that you needed a bit of encouraging today."
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