"Please. Please. I beg."
***
Calli and I were on our long-awaited date. I can't seem to see what I was wearing, but I hope I look good enough. I waited a long time for this moment. I don't wanna mess this up.
We were sitting outside a café enjoying the sweet delights and refreshing juices. Calli was sitting opposite to me, happily talking with her cute face. Her words were muffled but also not making a sound. Hmm. How do I explain this? It's like, you know they are talking, but for whatever reason, that thing they're saying is inaudible to you. Yeah, something like that. Also, do you know what else? For the first time in forever, Calli had all her guards today. For the first time in forever, I think I can finally do it. The time was right, the moment was right, the weather was perfect. Isn't this the kinda place you want to cherish forever, or is it just me? It was perfect as it can be, and I don't want it any other way.
I can't seem to see any further beyond my surroundings. Everywhere beyond this café was plain white. In the space, Calli, the shop and I are present. Nothing further out existed. I was bewildered by our surroundings and how we got here in the first place. Calli was still talking to me, not paying any mind to my amazement. While I was still looking around, Calli poutingly had enough of me ignoring her.
"Ehhh-Hemm, Baby, Kiara Sweetie? Are you seriously ignoring me on our date?"
I was flustered by the speech she was using. It was way more girly-er than her usual self. On the Guhhh scale, if her usual self was 1, this would have been a SasuGUH. What I am saying is its way above 100. It was that different from her usual self, I felt spoiled a bit. I was the one used to being in her position, now, I feel our roles have been reversed. A serious wave of responsibility came over my body, almost forcing my old self into hiding. So much responsibility, in fact, I didn't know how to respond.
"Baby Kiara? Are you just gonna look at me with a blank face? It's like you've seen a ghost. Here, do you want some water?"
"Ummm. Thanks."
This is practically an easy mode for me. If I fail this, I don't know how to feel afterwards.
She poured some water into my glass. With a smile on her face, she slightly leaned over the table.
Wow, I said in my mind. The details on her face were more beautiful than before. Strands of hair fell from her head, then the light from the sun shined through it to her face, highlighting the makeup and her pale complexion. The unrealistic beauty she has is making me feel a tad bit jealous. My looks were good. I look very beautiful myself, but I don't know if I had the unrealistic beauty she possessed.
Calli fell back into her seat looking happy and blushing a bit, looking like a teenager on her first date.
"Calli, I'm going to the bathroom, I'll be right back okay?"
"Sure. Okay, sweetie. Don't take too long."
I got up from the table and headed into the café. When I reached inside, I speed walked to the bathroom.
***
"What, what was that? This is, she is, acting so weird."
I was sitting in one of the bathroom stalls, holding my face which had a mysterious expression. In a mysterious pocket, I didn't know that I had, I took out a small box I got from the jewellery store. Looking inside, I saw my options of passing this on or not. Looking at this now, I feel conflicted about my options that were so simple.
I don't want to miss this opportunity.
But everything was perfect.
"What should I do? I don't know what to do."
I was confused.
But everything was perfect.
"Hmmm...Ahhh..."
Feeling uncertain.
But everything was perfect.
"Oh, my."
Perfect.
Perfect.
Perfect.
***
After all that time of contemplating, I got out of the stall and looked into the mirror. The answer I wanted is now on my face. It was a plain and simple answer that I needed.
"Wow."
I was smiling uncontrollably.
My smile was so big, it almost reached all the way up to my eyes.
My cheeks were being crushed and starting to hurt from how big my smile was.
My face was red from excitement.
I was truly happy.
My emotions were genuine, and I can't control them. I never felt this happy before in my life. I honestly feel this is going to be the best decision I ever made. I'm right. I'm sure of it.
It was finally time to make Calli my wife.
***
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
Calli was standing outside waiting for me. Catching her attention with my voice, she faced my direction from where I was leaving the café.
"..."
A disconnect happened. Seeing me strolling out of the café, a conflicted look in her eyes was present for a fraction of a second. It was the look of seeing someone or something creepy, most likely from within the café. I mindlessly turn around looking for an unknown thing.
"Kiara?"
"Yes?"
When I turned my head back to her, it happened again.
"I paid for the bill already. Let's go."
"Ok."
We resumed our current roles in our relationship. The feistiness was back in Calli. Is this a good thing? She was way open before, and now she is suddenly back the way I'm used to her. But no worries. It is going great. This is the perfect world after all.
I ran up to Calli in my usually girly fashion, wrapping my arms around her when close enough to. When I was in the position, the white world before us began to colour itself in with buildings and pavements for us to walk away from the café. It wasn't fully coloured out in the distance, just the path before us appeared. I don't know where we were going, so I will just follow Calli's lead.
"..."
Looking up at her face one time when we started walking, her presence was even more distant somehow.
***
The sun was finally beginning to set. Yes, this is perfect. We were on a hill that was within walking miles from the café. We were going down the hill when vehicles from the road were going up, to somewhere I had no idea of.
"Calli, let's go over there."
I pointed to a place where you can watch the sunsets from. It had a railing to prevent us from falling into the unfinished world. I released Calli's hand and ran over there by myself to prepare for the 'you know what'.
Facing Calli's direction, her face was telling me 'why wasn't I looking at the sunset?'. I didn't respond to her unasked question for reasons that were moments to come.
Calli finally arrived with us facing each other with the sun glaring between us. I had the thing in my grasp tightly behind my back, holding it till the last moment I could finish muttering my self-confidence. My palms were sweating and my heart was beating out of my chest.
"Why are you so tense, Kiara?"
Calli approached me but I backed her up.
"Stay exactly where you are Calli!"
"Something up with my darling. How can I be here just looking at..."
"Calli, can you just be quiet for a moment!?"
I can't mess this up. I will not mess up. This is my one and only chance. Oh my gosh. My knees are shaking like hell.
I went down on one knee to calm myself. They were shaking too much.
"Kiara, what are you doing?"
I took a final sigh of relief to calm and mustered all my strength to this one thing. I took out the small box from behind my back and presented it open up to Calli.
The ring of my love for her.
"Would you please marry me, Calli?"
I said it.
I said it with my face down.
I said it again with my face up, looking at her in her eyes.
"Kiara?"
Calli said, covering up her face with her hands.
When she releases it, a dark expression appears on it.
"You really think I will marry a person like you?"
My heart broke into a million pieces.
"I haven't such pitiful interest in undying beings like you."
The false sunset began to slowly burn up this white world with its flames.
The ring fell to the ground.
My heart was broken.
My limbs were numb.
Petrified, all signs of life were gone from my body.
I might as well not exist.
"I can believe you fell for that act. How stupid can you get? I was just leading you on the whole time, and you still didn't notice? I don't even feel sorry for you. Look at you now, do you even have any life in you, hellllooooo. The reaper is calling, picking up. My, my, this, this is for the better. That face you made back there, I have always hated it. I never loved that always happy looking face of yours. It makes me so angry that I still can't believe I put up with it for that long. Stupid Phoenix can't even get a brain. Even a loathed animal, like chicken, is even smarter than you. So pitiful. So useless. So disgusting. Such an eyesore. Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. My skin crawls every time I have to touch you. You make me feel ill. I want to puke. Yuck. You know what? There is only one use for someone like you, which is to be a pawn in someone's game. And for the first time in existence, I found a pawn so useful like yourself. Oh. And one more word before I leave you wallowing in your demise. I hope you die and never wake up again, low-life, beta-looking, second-rate Phoenix."
And thus, we were finally consumed by the flames. Calli was not going to die from it, but for me, I was still on my knees, already dead.
***
"PLEASE, NOOO, NOT LIKE THIS!!!"
I woke up to a dream that I had, it was the worst of the worst. It wasn't even correct to call it a dream, it was a nightmare.
"Kia-Kusotori, what's wrong?"
I woke up Calli, but I didn't even care. I started crying from my eyes and embraced Calli beside me. Super tight.
"What's wrong? you had a bad dream?"
I nodded because I couldn't even use words right now. I was too shocked by my nightmare. Calli would never say those words to me. Calli would never say those words to me. Calli would never say those words to me. Calli would never...
"I'm here. Don't worry. Everything is going to be fine."
Calli patted my head to calm me down. I'm not a child but in this case, I might as well be.
I slept the night holding Calli in my arms. I was too scared of having another bad dream.
Throughout the night, I don't even know if Calli got her to sleep from my constant panicking.
The actual ring I have for her now is going to need another evaluation. I don't even know what to do if something like that actually happened. No, it won't.
Calli would never say those words to me.