Shooting Star

Shooting Star

A girl aged about 16, hurried past a stunning garden, walking nonstop as if she was on the chase. She was a true beauty, with eyes colored dark blue that entranced whoever caught a glimpse of them, silky black hair tied up in a messy ponytail and a height perfect in contrast with a model’s. She was Erian Pizzare, the top student in school who excelled in everything you can name.

“Erian!” The girl turned around at the sound of someone calling her name. She smiled, finally after identifying whoever called her out; her heart skipping a beat or two.

The boy standing in front of her was the widely known singer named Shiki Caste, who had just recently debuted as one of the country’s youngest singing sensation a few months back. He was the eye candy of all women, the most talked about in the internet and the one and only person who could make Erian smile.

“Missing me?” Shiki grinned as he took off his favorite black jacket and draped it around Erian who shivered in the cold.

“You want me to tell you a lie?” Erian said as she stared up at the sky.

It was the 31st of December, and snow has begun to fall again. Erian stared silently at the starry sky that painted the heavens and wished that this day would last forever. She stretched out her hand to feel the soft damp snow that fell gently on her palm, pain clearly visible in her eyes.

“Hey, Erian…” Shiki held her hand and they walked past busy streets, with people chatting and happy tunes floating in the air. “You seem out of sorts today.” Shiki stopped walking and stared deeply at Erian’s eyes.

“You wouldn’t want it if you knew.” Erian averted her gaze.

Shiki knew Erian better that Erian knew herself, and he knew that once she decides to avoid a topic then he should mess no further. He shrugged and continued walking silently glancing at Erian from time to time; gazing at her eyes that seemed to cry even though she was smiling. At last, he couldn’t take it anymore. As soon as he reached the highlight of their destination he willed himself to start a conversation but something had stopped him.

They went inside a planetarium that was closed due to the New Year, but since Shiki was quite determined, he eventually had the place reserved for the two of them: Himself and the person he cherished more than his life. As they sat down and looked up, he opened his mouth to speak but Erian suddenly talked.

“Do you remember the time when I used to go to your house every winter when we were kids?” She could see her breath in small puffs of smoke.

Shiki looked up and thought for a moment. “Apparently, I do.” He glanced at his side and saw that Erian was deep in thought.

“Then, do you remember what I always wanted to see?” Erian stretched her hand as far as it could go trying to reach for a cluster of stars, then she withdrew it quickly knowing very well that it was out of her reach.

“Shooting stars.” Shiki said smiling to himself. Thinking of all the memories he had about his childhood with his first love. “You always bothered me to find one.” He mumbled.

Yes, to the both of them it was a treasured memory that neither would exchange a single second of it for something else, but at that moment, while they sat there inside the planetarium, Erian had wished more than a dozen times that she and Shiki never met.

“Have you ever wondered why I always wanted to look for one?” Erian decided to be strong and not let her feelings waver. She didn’t want Shiki to be sad.

Her companion remained silent, but he was listening. Shiki was getting anxious although he had no reason to feel that way. “There were times when I did.” He managed to say. “But what exactly is the reason?”

“Wishes.” Erian said in a weak tone.

“Wishes?” Shiki put his hands in his pocket and held tightly a velvet covered box the size of his palm. It was his New Year’s present for his most treasured friend; a silver ring that carved his and Erian’s initials onto it. “What exactly could you ever wish for?”

Shiki had always thought Erian had everything. A well off family, numerous friends that cared for her, a solid and not to mention good reputation, and a unique beauty that made all men fall in love at first sight with her. To him, she was like an angel sent by God, a treasure that people would willingly fight for.

“Time.” Erian would have spoken more if only she wasn’t about to cry. She was on the verge of tears, but she refused to let a single drop fall from her cheeks. “A time that never ends.”

Shiki had just looked at her with a look of question. He wasn’t very sure on how to give an answer so he just quietly stared up at the constellations in the planetarium’s replica of the night sky.

On the other hand, Erian just quietly sat down and reminded herself that she should never love again. She was not aloof and nor did she enjoy being lonely, but she had just found out recently that she did not have much time to live as she was suffering from a stage 4 cancer that was now inescapable.

“That’s a nice wish.” Shiki said, knowing that he should try his best to get rid of the tension between them. “So that’s all you wished for in these 7 years?”

“Yep.” Erian stopped looking up and patted her skirt. She was beginning to feel a little awkward.

It was not stated what kind of severe type of sickness it was, but it was enough to leave Erian in despair. It was around 7 years ago when she acquired information about it, specifically on the day of her 9th birthday, the day where she and Shiki first met, and to receive such news from that day, she thought that she was the unluckiest person on earth.

She swore on her life that she must never ever love another person because it would only hurt the other, but it was too late now. Shiki has fallen deeply in love with her and she has done the same. Erian was beginning to wonder what would happen if Shiki found out about it, the sooner the better, she thought.

“I’ve been wishing for one thing too.” Shiki nudged his friend feeling as if he could say what he needed to. Shiki was getting an idea that there was no better time than this for him to tell Erian how he truly felt; or rather, something was telling him that he had to tell her now.

Shiki quickly stood up, his heart ablaze and his mind set on fire. He had so many things that he wanted to say. He looked at Erian who just stared at him, wondering if there was something wrong. With trembling fear, he stretched his hand out to the only girl in the world that he devoted his songs to. Wait, why was he shaking in fear? There was nothing to be scared about and he knew that, but he kept shaking; Rejection? No. He was confident Erian wouldn’t turn him down, and he wasn’t scared of anything either, a premonition of bad news, maybe?

“Do you want to dance?” He said, keeping his hand stretched in front of Erian.

“What movie did you get the cheesy line from?” Erian grinned. This was one of the things she was hoping not to happen.

“Nothing in particular…” Shiki answered with a confident smile, and told himself over and over again in his mind that nothing bad was going to happen. No matter what, nothing bad was supposed to happen.

“Just hurry up and dance, will you?”

Erian thought for a while and slowly took his hand. They danced amidst the stars and at that moment they wished that it would last for an eternity. Just like Cinderella, before the clock strikes 12, Erian knew she must escape from this fantasy of hers to live happily ever after with the person she loved, because she can’t live another day, and she was certain of that.

“Hey, I need to tell you something.” She stopped in the midst of their slow waltz and made sure her eyes would not show the true sadness beneath them.

“Me too.” Shiki slipped his hand in his pocket and flicked open the box. This was the perfect timing.

On the cold ground he knelt and made sure to keep everything under control. He had been planning this since midsummer, and he did not want anything to go out of hand, when he thought carefully of how to tell Erian what she truly meant to him.

Suddenly, his most well known song played out of the blue and he sang with all his heart, the first two lines.

Shooting star, you’ve hit me now

And there’s no turning back.

He paused for a while and took Erian’s hand to let her wear the ring. Much to their surprise, the ring was a perfect fit. Music continued to play in the background and Shiki continued to sing the next lines of his song.

All I hope for is one day you’d know

The feelings that I need to show,

Erian raised her hand. No more, she thought, Please stop. She feared this moment because right now she knew there was no more time left. She glanced at her wrist watch and her eyes grew fixated on the time. It was 11:45 pm. 15 minutes for her to tell Shiki everything; mere minutes for her to tell him how much she meant to her.

“Listen, I need to tell you something.”

“I’m all ears.”

“I…” She could not bring herself to talk about it, but she knew she had to. “I only have 15 minutes left.” She summed up all her courage to say those words.

“15 minutes?” Shiki was dumfounded, just what is going on? He thought. If Erian wanted to reject him then he thought she shouldn’t beat around the bush and get straight to the point.

The music kept on playing and for the first time he saw Erian cry. He wanted to hug her then and there but something made him paralyzed on the spot as Erian stared at him with her cheeks streaming with tears.

“In this world…” Erian tried to keep her breathing normal. “15 minutes left, in this world…” Erian finally said it. She was crying hardly now and Shiki just stood there unable to take in all that was happening.

For the rest of the night, Shiki held Erian in his arms and made sure that he would never leave her till the Erian’s time was up. He stayed with her even though it pained him to and he sang over and over again his song that brought all his fame and fortune to him/ Even though his voice was shaken by tears, he made sure to sing it until Erian couldn’t hear him anymore.

He proposed to Erian and told her that the ring had a pair with him, explaining that he’d always be there for her even though they would never meet again. He reassured Erian that he would never hate her even though he felt deceived, pained, and betrayed. What could he do? As much as he wanted to curse and cry, he couldn’t. He knew very well that the pain he was feeling cannot be compared to that of the girl crying in front of him.

“Remember the time we promised to stay together no matter what?” Erian said, her voice getting a little faint. “I’m sorry…” Erian wiped her tears. “I couldn’t keep that promise.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Shiki said wiping Erian’s tears. He looked up at the sky and sang again. This was his last gift to Erian.

Shooting star, I’ll chase after you

No matter where you go

This love of mine, is only yours

And no one else alone

Shiki sang even though his voice felt coarse, his tears fell as he sang the first song he ever made, dedicated to Erian. His voice echoed through the planetarium until Erian slipped off into eternity. The and there he hugged her and shouted the last remaining words of his song as fireworks illuminated the sky outside in vibrant colors. It was the start of another year, but he refused to let go of everything that happened just seconds ago.

He sang even though the music stopped playing. Over and over again, he sang his song until he couldn’t anymore. The song entitled Shooting Star.

-END-

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There you go, first post of a short story, hope you guys enjoyed it ! I would love to hear what you think about it and I am pretty open to all kinds of suggestions. Although I am new here, I hope to be friends with all of you! ^^

*NOTE/s

>Italicized words indicate lines from Shiki's song

>The characters here are my own, as well as the story and the song