A dream within a dream (pt 1)

Haru opened his curtains and was greeted by a pleasant sight. It was Mia, standing on the street beneath his window, filming with her phone. Even though he couldn’t hear her voice, her enthusiasm radiated from her movements.

Man, what am I going to miss this, Haru thought with a big sigh. She will be leaving Hanabusa tomorrow, going all the way back to America. The exchange was over. But would that mean their relationship would be over as well? Was Mia nothing more than a springtime fling, destined to wither away as soon as she entered the plane, or could they remain a couple of eternity?

He leaned his forehead gently against the glass.

"Take this kiss upon the brow… and, in parting from you now..." he murmured, short of breath. Those lines slipped from his memory, like his breath on the windowpane.

Poe, Again. Always Poe, whispering through his thoughts at the moments he failed to describe his feelings himself.

A kiss for a goodbye, how more romantic could he get? But it wasn’t time for goodbyes just yet, Mia would be here for another day. He wanted to impress Mia one last time, but he felt like he had shown her about every abandoned place he could think of. It would be almost impossible to surpass all they have experienced already in one short month. The sailors' home, the waterfall, the abandoned shrine, the ghostly lake, that building in the alley, and even the Hikarisakura festival. All beautiful, haunted memories Haru could never top.

His head hurting, he plopped down on the bed, burying his head in the pillow, digging for an idea. Then, his stream of spiraling thoughts was interrupted by the ringing of the bell.

Haru got up, running down the stairs. He opened the door and was met by Mia.

“Your hair is looking messy today,” she said with a grin, combing her hands through his hair in an attempt to fix it.

The boy smiled, “Thank you for coming here to save me.”

Mia shook her head, “That is not what I came for, please look at this. Isn’t it awesome?”

She held up an old map and told Haru one of the elderly villagers had given it to her.

“Apparently, there used to be a train station near this town,” she exclaimed.

Haru looked confused, he had never heard of a train station. Although now he thought about it, there was an abandoned piece of railroad track lying in the forest near the town. The station must lead to that.

“According to the villagers, it was closed down about sixty years ago, after a horrific accident happened,” a grin appeared on her face, “and they say the ghost of the person killed still lingers.”

She grabbed Haru’s hands, jumping up and down, “Do you want to go tonight, after school? One last ghostly sighting, us and all our friends?”

Haru smiled, happy to take her to another abandoned building. Able to spend just a little more time with her… his American muse.

“Sure, let’s go!” he exclaimed, ready for their final adventure.

X

After school, the friends gathered at Ayaka’s house, who prepared a big goodbye dinner. When the boys and Mia entered the door, they were met with the sweet smell of curry rice. Ayaka waved at them, wearing a frilly apron.

Renji smiled, looking at the ceiling, “You even hung up some decorations, I didn’t expect you to care this much,” she said in a teasing tone.

The girl crossed her arms. “It’s normal to put in some effort when your friend is leaving, okay?”

He looked at Ayaka’s hand, “I get it, it’s hard now you have to start painting your nails yourself.”

He sighed, “Is that all you could come up with? I can do that just fine myself…”

Renji grinned, “So you keep painting your nails, even after she’s gone?” he gazed at Mia, mockingly bowing before her, “Thank you for fixing our ugly duckling!”

Mia complicitly smiled, “You should be grateful, Renji.”

She moved her mouth closer to his ear and whispered, “Now, it is up to you to seal the deal.”

Ayaka looked red as a tomato. “Just pick a seat or something. I need to get back to the kitchen,” she said while retreating to the back.

The friends waited by the table, which was beautifully decorated with Ayaka’s best plates and cutlery. While Ayaka finished her cooking, the others were inspecting the map Mia got from the villager. It was an old photocopied map with some red-marker scribbles on it showing where to go.

“Any idea where this might be?” Renji asked Haru, who turned the map upside down.

“Mmm, looking at it this way, I think this broad line might be the main street with the sakura tree. So if you go uphill here and then take a right turn by that little crooked house. There you have that overgrown path...”

“Ahh…” Renji said in a questioning tone, “I think I’ll just trust you on this one.”

When Mia left to help Ayaka carry some plates, Daichi quickly zipped open his backpack and took out a couple of silly paper hats and paper party horns. Holding his finger before his mouth, he passed them to his friends. With his fingers, he counted down, and just as the girls entered the room, the boys blew their horns in unison, the paper quickly expanding.

Ayaka scuffed, “Don’t startle me like that, I almost dropped your food.”

Mia smiled, “There is never a boring moment with these guys, isn’t there? I will certainly miss them when I am back in America.”

They put their plates on the table and joined the boys, and together they ate the delicious curry and side dishes Ayaka had prepared. For a dessert, she had prepared little bowls of ice cream with swirls of sauce. In addition to that, Ayaka had a little foil-covered plate. She pulled off the foil and uncovered the skewered dango.

“Because you liked them so much,” she said to a hungry-looking Mia. “I asked the family for the recipe and made it myself.”

Mia took a skewer and took a bite. “Mmm… delicious…” she exclaimed, “I’m definitely going to miss these back home.”

She sighed, looking down, “That’s true, I’ll be in the plane this time tomorrow…. I feel conflicted, on one hand, I feel like I spend ages here doing fun stuff with you guys. But on the other hand, it felt like this month flew by in a blink. One month is way too short… it is.”

The girl balled her fist in excitement, “But one thing is certain, I am never going to forget the amazing time I had here. I couldn’t thank you guys enough… I can’t… there is no way…”

A faint smile formed on Haru’s face. He swallowed, feeling a lump in his throat. “It’s okay, Mia, you’ve done enough. Let’s clean up and go on one final adventure with us!” he said while holding the map.

“For now,” Mia added, “Our final adventure for now.”