Chapter 11 – Rainbow

He remembers. He remembers all too well the scorching heat of the summer, sitting with his little friend in the back porch of his grandmother’s house, shoving his face into a juicy piece of watermelon while his friend laughed at him. Not that his friend was any neater, of course.

He remembered, and it tormented him. Because those were the sort of memories that he hadn’t wanted to recover, and if he had to be completely honest with himself, it was the reason he was running away from his fear. It was the reason he acquired the fear in the first place. Just thinking about it made his heart break.

Black.

He was the whole reason he feared black. He was the whole reason he sought out as many partners as he could, hoping that whatever it was, it wouldn’t be as bad as wistful nights spent alone. Wistful nights spent alone yearning.

And for what? Kris couldn’t pinpoint it even if he tried to. There were just too many things he wanted to happen, too many colours he wished to see again. Too many voids to fill. And what would come from it? Nothing.

Kris only vaguely remembered what the kid looked like, but he was definitely a wild one. The kid could cheer up a whole stadium with his smile, something which he never failed to do. Kris had seen a multitude of colours radiating from him, something that had confused him at first, but eventually something he would muse over later. In his lifetime, he had never come across anybody who was special enough to encompass two colours (except Jongdae, he learnt many years later), let alone a whole multitude of them. This kid was a ing rainbow!

And rainbows were quite rare. They came unexpectedly and after sprinkling their magic, left just as suddenly as they came, leaving a huge weeping gap between fairy tales and reality. He learnt that after the kid left.

“I’m sorry Wufan-ge, but mother says I have to leave tomorrow.”

He stared at the kid, who had shoved his hands in his pockets and looked sadly at the ground. He wanted to slap him for being an , for not keeping his promise, for leaving, just like the rest of them.

The kid pouted, nibbling at his lower lip. “You can’t hate me, ge! It’s not my fault!”

“Of course it is!” Kris stomped his feet. “Tell your mother that you don’t want to go!”

The kid shook his head and sighed. “I tried! But mother really insisted on it, and father too.” He scratched the back of his head, then let out a little giggle. “But mother says that my new school will be wonderful! I’ll get to hang out with kids who ‘challenge’ me and the schoolwork won’t be so easy, which means that I won’t be bored anymore.”

“But the school here is lovely too!”

The kid shook his head solemnly. “Not according to mother.”

Kris folded his arms, giving his foot one last stomp. He couldn’t believe it – his school was wonderful! They got to play with toys and mess around with paint, and take naps when they were tired. He had heard stories from bigger kids who went to other schools. They often complained that they had too much homework and there was not enough time to play. Why his buddy would want to go to those evil schools was beyond him.

Suddenly, the kid smiled up at him dreamily. “Mother says that I can do all the maths I want in my new school. And I’ll get to learn about the world, all because I’m special!”

Kris wished that his buddy wasn’t so special. If he was ordinary, just like him, then maybe he wouldn’t have to leave and go to that awful school. And he wouldn’t have to be so lonely, because the other kids didn’t want to play with him.

“Maybe if you weren’t so scary-looking, the other kids will play with you.”

But of course, Kris couldn’t help looking the way he did. It was just the way his face was. The kid was the only friend he had.

“Xing tuo, you can’t leave!” He began to cry. “I’ll give you all the unicorn plushies you want and draw you all the rainbows you need, just don’t go!”

He heard sniffling, and then his buddy hugged him, pressing his face into the crease of Kris’ shirt. “You can’t!” He bawled, hiccupping. “Can’t you see?  It doesn’t matter how many plushies you buy me or how many rainbows you draw, I’m still going to go because mother said so, and I can’t argue with mother.” He hugged him tighter. “Mother says it’s good for me, and I believe her. And I want to go, nap time simply isn’t fun!”

He wanted to leave. His buddy wanted to leave. His buddy didn’t want to stay. With him.

“I’m sorry, Ah Fan-ge!”

Kris pushed him away. “Mummy says that after thunder comes a rainbow. And after a rainbow comes sunshine. But you know what? After sunshine comes rain. I hope you’re happy when you’re in your new school, because I’m going to get rained on every day now. And it’s all your fault!”

He woke up in the morning and walked to the neighbour’s house, hoping that it was all a bad dream. But it was already empty, save for a little unicorn plushy in front of the door. He walked towards it and picked it up.

                Dear Wufan-ge,

Mother says I should leave this with you because I don’t need it anymore. So I’ll leave it here, and hope that whenever you play with it, you’ll think about me.

                From, your little Xing tuo

From that moment on, he could feel his entire world fade to black.

He was six.

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Author's notes: I'm so sorry for the really late update! I don't have an excuse this time T_T Forgive me? Thanks for not unsubscribing and waiting ever-so-patiently. Now I'm wondering if I should get rid of the [M] rating for this entire story because honestly, nothing really happens...

By the way, I changed my name from MystMisuto to Chibitalia. So if you get a shock because the name is different, it's still me! ^^