Chapter 03
Happily Never After: Inexplicable
Date, 09/06/2012,
Back at home, Yamapi closed the soaked umbrella and placed it out at his door step closing the door behind him.
“Yamapi!” The voice in his head rang. He shook his head, as if trying to shake it off and sighed.
Rain drops could be seen entering in the house, wetting the floor through the unclosed window. Quickly, he moved to close the window however, leaving it slightly opened for air. The howling wind blew strongly across the role of trees lined up opposite of his house, while the sound by the paltering of the rainwater on the frosted glass pane could be heard, as if wanting to enter the room of darkness and loneliness.
---
Date, 06/09/2008,
“Yamapi, stop it.” Mira sighed. “Why can’t you be more reasonable and understanding?”
They were fighting however they can’t seem to remember what really were they fighting or arguing about. Yamapi stared at back at Mira. His eyes were cold and hard.
“Now I’m being unreasonable, so now I do not understand anything?” he questioned her back.
“Yamapi, you’re acting like a child. Can’t you grow up?”
Yamapi let out a laugh and his eyes met hers.
“So now you should be regretting being with me because I am childish. I am unreasonable right?” Silence.
Yamapi sniggered. “So why don’t you choose another guy over me?”
“I didn’t say that. You are putting words in my mouth.” She rolled her eyes. She was tired of arguing. It was meaningless.
“Why don’t you just leave then?” he bellowed, signaling the door to her.
“FINE,” Yelled Mira, while tears brimmed in her pair of eyes.
Mira sighed in disappointment and left, closing the door with a thud. Yamapi sank down onto his couch and groaned in frustration. Running his hands through his hair, he closed his eyes and sighed.
The sound of thunder disrupted him. As he looked out at the misty window, he found out that it was raining heavily outside. Mira didn’t have an umbrella with her, plus she wore thin material which was at a disadvantage with this cold and raging weather. In addition, she wasn’t feeling well due to the fact that she was already sick.
Yamapi paused for a moment before grabbing a coat with him and an umbrella, rushing out of his house front door.
---
Date, 09/06/2012,
Out of the sudden, the thunder disrupted Yamapi’s recollections. Glancing out of his window once again, the rain isn’t subsidizing. Instead, it was becoming heavier and heavier instead. Annoyed by himself, he folded his arms and rested against couch, switching on the television.
It was news.
“There is going to be a heavy storm coming and all citizens are advised not to,” Yamapi switched off the television abruptly. Keep his silence another sound of thunder disrupted his thoughts.
Minutes later, he got up and finally decided. He sighed in frustration and grabbed an umbrella before rushing out of his house front door.
---
Niki bowed ‘thanks’ towards the person at the cashier and took the bags of items in her hands. Strolling out of the provision shop with the umbrella on her the other hand, she sighed. What a bad day and bad weather. Biting her lips, her phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Niki, where are you?” Ryo voice could be heard over the phone. Niki grinned.
Holding the umbrella over her head, she crossed the road.
“Mm, somewhere along,” someone bumped into her causing her to stop abruptly.
“Ah sorry sir,” Niki turned but the person was no longer closed her.
He raised his hand to signal a sorry sign but his back was facing Niki. He was walking away swiftly, as if he was in a rush or something. As the person turned into a corner, Niki caught his side view from the corner of her eyes.
It was Yamapi.
“AH!” she yelled a little too loud before deciding to chase after him however, he could no longer be found. She sighed in frustration before remembering her call with Ryo. She turned back and decided to make her way home.
“Ah Ryo!” she answered, fortunately, he was still on the line.
“What happened?”
“I saw Yamaa! But then I lost him…” she trailed off, biting her lips in regret.
“Where did you saw him?”
“I’m near my house, at Tokyo Centre post office.” She looked around. “He looks like he was in a hurry.”
“In hurry?” Ryo questioned back.
“Seems like he’s searching for someone though,” said Niki, finally reaching the doorstep of her house.
Few minutes later, Ryo hung up his phone and sighed on the other end. After the death of Mira, Yamapi didn’t contact any of his friends. He would just stay at home the entire day, rotting. Other than Mira, who could Yamapi be concerned to?
---
Feeling the droplets of what seems to soon be endless raindrops Maki could feel it hitting her bare skin. She was tired of crying. She cried for what seemed hours and hours, and she no longer knew how long she has been on the streets by herself. Shedding tears wasn’t going to help her anyway. It won’t bring back Mira’s life. But she just can’t help it, what is she meant to do? She sat on the grass, in a daze, undaunted by the looks of the passer-by, walking passed the Sumida River.
It was raining so heavily that the distant images she is seeing became no more that blurry outlines.
---
Yamapi temples were throbbing madly. He had been searching for Maki for the past few minutes but he couldn’t find her. Come to think of it, he didn’t even know where she stayed. Sweat dripped from the side of his forehead and he leaned against the wall to catch his breath.
With the umbrella in his hands, he scanned the surrounding. Where in the world could she be?
---
Date, 06/09/2008,
Mira was drenched. Shivering from the coldness of the weather, she wrapped her arms around her own body and sighed. She felt tears stinging her eyes. She ignored it. Seconds later, suddenly, she no longer felt the rain drops pelting down onto her body. She frowned slightly and felt a shadow behind her.
“Baka,” she heard someone saying.
Mira turned around and saw Yamapi panting heavily with sweats dripping down from his forehead. She folded her arms and ignored him.
“Do you want to fall sick?” he yelled, but then his face softened staring at her soaked body and the touch of coldness he felt from her.
“I don’t care,” replied Mira, still ignoring him.
She pushed herself away from Yamapi then, with unsteadily and wobbly steps, she was about to walk passed him when he pulled her into a hug.
“Silly,” Yamapi her wet hair and sighed. “You are always making me worry.”
She pouted and kept her silence. “How do you know where I was?”
“People called me smart for a reason.” He joked smirking at her while she rolled her eyes.
He chuckled then brushing his lips against hers, kissing her softly. “I’m sorry.”
---
Date, 09/06/2012,
Staring at the scene in front of her and in a dazed, Maki’s eyes were then diverted up to the sky. Dark, daunting clouds moved across the sky slowly while a slight strick of light could be seen from a distant followed by loud rumbles of the clap seconds later. Feeling the cold rain water falling from above, hitting her body with unnecessary forces, she sighed.
“Okaa-San,” she let out a whispered and tears began streaming down her face once again mixed with rain water.
Maki wanted to call her mum however, she can’t. She didn’t want to hear her voice in this kind of state, she would probably cry even more.
“Ne,” someone called out from a distant.
She kept her silence, resting her head against her knees. Maki was sitting by Sumida River. Her knees were hugged closed to her body by her arms while her sling bag was soaked with water too, placed right beside of her.
“Oi!” the same voice yelled once again, but this time, the voice seemed to be nearer to her.
Maki turned around and was surprised to see Yamapi panting heavily, meters away from her. With an umbrella over his head, she frowned. She was afraid of being yelled again, she was afraid of being scolded again. She got up slowly and began running away to the other direction, away from him.
“Horikita Maki!”
Huffing and panting, Maki stopped and leaned against a nearby wall. She squatted down on the ground helplessly and shut her eyes tight. She waited for a minute or two till she heard completed silence. She let out a sigh of relief and sat down on the ground then.
Out of the sudden, she heard footsteps and she felt someone’s presence covering her. She didn’t look up. The person squatted down to match her height. She opened her eyes slowly and found Yamapi looking at her.
“Do you want to fall sick?” she kept her silence and looked away.
He sighed and stood up. None of them spoke a word for a few minutes until Yamapi decided to hold his hand out, towards her. She looked up in curiosity.
“Come on, do you want to get sick?”
Maki stared at him, strangely and didn’t utter a word. “I-I…” she began but then trailed off slowly, looking away.
“I- don’t care.”
A pang of sensation overwhelmed Yamapi.
“Silly…” he whispered softly unknowingly but Maki managed to catch that.
She stared back at him. His hand was still there, holding out towards her. Maki paused and thought for a moment before she decided to trust him. Slowly and steadily, she held his hand and he pulled her up gently.
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