Our Story : One Farewell
Though that. . . I know. . . I know that. . . I shouldn't have kissed her that night. . . Because . . . That kiss made me realised. . .-------
What am I doing? Ai thought to herself when she felt the pair of warm lips on her trembling. Her heart was racing at an abnormal speed, much more faster as compared to the usual fast ones when being with Risa alone.
"Ai - Ai - Ai-chan?" Risa trembled almost inaudibly. Her lips were still trembling from the lingering warmth that were left by Ai. An unreadable expression dawn upon Ai's face, making Risa even more confused in her already confused state. Unknowingly, she brought her fingers up and touched the lips Ai had left moments before.
"Gotcha!" Ai blurted out suddenly, interrupting Risa's own moments of shock, as she pulled her unreadable expression away from her face.
"Eh?" The fingers froze in the middle of the air as the younger girl choked.
Ai turned her back towards Risa immediately, not wanting Risa to catch the fallen expression she had on her face. She took a deep breath in, before continuing again. "Gotcha!" Ai turned back to face Risa, with a plastered wide grin on her face. "For ignoring me for the past few weeks." Ai continued with that wide grin at her lips.
"Gotcha? Ignoring you for the past few weeks?" Risa repeated, finally realising what Ai meant. Yet, the front put up by Ai was so convincing that the younger had bought the story. Though her heart was racing like crazy within her left chest, the reality brought it stop with a painful clench. "I see . . ." Risa pressed her lips tightly together. Following the same actions, Risa took a deep breath before she continued. "I wasn't ignoring you. . ." Risa lied.
"Liar." Ai confronted frankly.
"That's because. . ." Risa trailed off into silence.
The heavy rain continued to fall, drenching the two petite figure completely. Perhaps it was the rain, the tears were remained unnoticed. Perhaps it was the sound of the rain, that had muffled the sound of two broken hearts.
"Because ?" Ai asked after long moments of silence, a long moment of mere staring into each other's eyes.
"Because. . . I thought Ai-chan would rather spend time with her new found love rather than with me. . ." Risa mumbled quietly under her breath. The scene had continued to play before her eyes all these time, though it had been 2 months ever since that event.
"New found - love?" Ai repeated.
There's only one person that I may have love. . . and I knew I love. That kiss has just - just assured my confused self about the unusual change of affection for you, Risa . . . Risa-chan. . Ai thought in her mind.
"I saw . . ." Though the rain was still falling, her throat was dry, dry after all these wave of emotions she felt in this short moment in the rain. "I saw Ai-chan with Urai-senpai together that day, when Ai-chan was scheduled to go for your entrance exam. . . "
"You saw?" Ai shivered, not from the rain, but from her trembling heart.
Risa just nodded her head in response. Nothing else more.
If that's the case. . . Let this misunderstanding be the stop for this growing love. . . Ai thought in her mind as she watched Risa in tears, camouflaged by the rain. Forcing a smile on her face, Ai spoke. "Even if that's the case, no one can take the special place in my heart. Risa-chan will always worth my time to be spent on." Placing her palm on the top of Risa's head and ruffled the wet hair. "Baka." Ai finished.
Risa still remained as silent as she was. Glazing straight into Ai's eyes, Risa gave a gentle nod on her head, showing that she had understood what Ai had just said.
"Let's get out of the rain, shall we?" Ai suggested as she took a small step forward and reached her hand backwards, a little gesture Ai had always did since they were young.
Risa nodded her head again, this time round more firmly as she slipped her slightly smaller hands into Ai's bigger hands. Ai gripped her hand tight, holding on tightly Risa's smaller hand. Tugging it a little, Ai dashed forward, pulling the 13 year old Risa behind her. "Wait a minute, Ai-chan, you are going a little bit too fast!" Risa complained. Her vision was totally blurred by the splashing rain in her eyes.
"You just have to keep up with me then, Risa-chan." Ai responded, not making any intention to slow down, though her vision was blurred too.
"Are you sure you can see what's before you?" Risa continued.
"Yupps. I'm never wrong." Ai shouted back. Just as Ai said that, Ai tripped both of them into a puddle of rain water.
"Mou! Ai-chan!" Risa cried out loud. She did not mind the rain water, but she minded the dirt water that had now stained her favourite piece of shirt.
"Hehehe." Ai giggled, just like an elementary child.
Risa stopped her frowning upon hearing Ai's giggle. The pout on her lips turned back to a smile.
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That made me realised. . . How long I haven't seen that smile on her face. Why hadn't I notice that earlier. I should have notice that earlier. . . That's why. . .Right at that moment, I had made a silent promise to myself. . . .I want to protect that smile that was on Ai's face at that moment. . . I want her to just keep smiling like that moment. . . ---------
"Ne, Risa-chan, let's have a sleepover tonight. . . over at my room." Ai offered suddenly, when the pair where just a street away from their houses.
"Eh? Why so suddenly?" Risa turned around at look weirdly at Ai, especially when Ai's tone turned just too gentle.
Ai swung their adjoined hands forward as they took another step forward towards their destination. "Hmmm. . .To make up the stupid wasted time when Risa-chan had decided to avoid me months ago? Plus I'm starting high school really soon too . . I'm afraid the new school year will mean less time we can spend together with each other. . ." Ai explained.
Risa thought about the suggestion for a short moment before nodding her head in agreement. "But can I have my spare mattress?"
It was Ai's turn to turn her attention to the shorter and younger girl. "Why?"
"That's because I always never had the chance to sleep well when I share your bed." Risa pouted. "You always punch me awake in the middle of the night, bully. " Risa huffed playfully.
"Really? I thought you liked them too." Ai teased.
"No I do not." Risa pulled her hand back from Ai and crossed her arm before her chest.
"Don't deny that. .. " Ai pinched Risa's tiny nose. "I know you like it." Ai shone Risa her childish smile once again.
"I - "
Giving Risa no chance to fight back, Ai ran forward towards her house. "I'll see you in an hour time then." Ai winked.
"Mou- Ai-chan." Risa pouted again as she watched Ai's disappearing silhouette into the house.
-------
"Why's my mattress?" That was the first question Risa asked when she stepped into Ai's room.
"Yui had it. So you have to share my bed with me tonight." Ai smiled playfully.
"Yada. . ." Risa mumbled quietly under her breath. Before she could respond properly, she was already pulled onto Ai's bed, dumped into the inner corner nearer to the wall.
"Oyasumi!" Ai greeted as she lied in swiftly beside Risa and pulled the covers up to their shoulder.
"Isn't it a little bit too early to sleep? It's like, only 8 pm, Ai-chan." Risa reminded.
"Really?" Ai giggled. "Well, let's just chat in this way then."
And they spent hours chatting, about the lost time the past 2 months. Questions about the future were raised too. Risa was still concerned about the relationship she thought Ai and Kenji had.
"Ne, Ai-chan."
"Hmmm?"
"How does it feel like to be in love? How do you even know that if you had like someone? " Risa asked innocently.
Ai chuckled lightly. "You will know how it feels when the time for you to feel that is here." Was what Ai answered Risa.
The night went on, and soon Risa felt her eyes really heavy. Before she knew it, she had already fallen deep into sleep. Just before slipped into her slumber, she felt a soft warmth on her forehead.
What was that? That was the question Risa had in her mind before she fell asleep.
As the first light of the morning shone into the room, Risa was awakened. She smiled a little when she woke up. Because, there were no violence last night. She was not awakened at all by Ai's usually habit of punching her when they shared the bed for the night. She turned around as she opened her eyes, only to find the other side of the empty. That was when she puzzled.
Where's Ai-chan?----------
That's why. . . Ever since the day I realised my feeling for her, I know, the only way to stop loving her, was to leave her side. That's why . .. That's why I had chose to keep my decision to go to a city high school a secret. That's why I had refused to tell her, which high school I am aiming to go into. . . . Till the very last night, I still can't find the right words to tell her. . . That, she was not the only one who was avoiding back then. I was the one who had started it first. . . ---------
"Ai-chan?" Risa got off Ai's bed and began to walk around the room, trying to search for the presence of the older girl. But what she saw was different. All she saw was just a letter on Ai's study table.
Risa-chan,
Sorry for not telling you the fact that I'm leaving this town before the dawn break, towards the place where my high school is located at.
Risa broke down, just after reading the first sentence of the letter. She kneeled down onto the ground. She could not continue reading the letter. And for that, she had never finished reading the letter too. Not until this day.
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I had never finished that letter. . . Because I want to believe that. . . We will still meet someday again too. . . I never knew the reason for her unsaid goodbye. . . All along since then, I only had this goal in my mind. . . To search for where she is. . . Along since then, I had all forgotten about all the love questions I had asked her about. . . .Because I had slowly came to realise, that . . . that. . . one kiss we shared had showed me what love is all about. . .
and i digress =X I was wrong when I said this would be the last of this series. The next will be, not this. heheheh. Had decided to split the two parts up and yupps. . .heheheh
@ kawaii beam : Well not in that sense, but that particular surrounding incident happened to me before, so yupps. heheheh
@ rndmnwierd : Well . . . hehehehe
@ arisa03 : yuppps. finally becoming adult, and becoming adults means . . . heartache ;X opps.
Yupps. the next one is DEFINITELY the last
de wa, until the next time then
heeheh