The Bursting Point

"Ah!"

Ren screamed, his hands falling to his sides. His scream was mimicked by a few birds and echoed through the trees, spreading news of his suffering.

"I just keep trying and trying, but nothing happens!" he grumbled to himself.

He was left alone in front of the tree he had been practicing on for what felt like years, but he hadn't even scratched it. He had tried so much that he could barely lift his trembling hand. He was angry at himself, Lily, Haku, and the whole world.

One last time, Ren raised his outstretched right hand toward the tree and clenched it into a fist. He supported it with his left hand at the wrist and imagined the blue line traveling from within him into his fist, but the power stayed put. He wearily released his fingers from their tight grip and was about to give up when he felt something. A great, sudden pressure that almost wanted to burst out of him, and unable to do so, it tried to consume him alive. The air around him thickened with the smell of ozone, and a low hum vibrated in his ears. He squeezed his eyes shut, determined to accomplish what he had been practicing, but it was much harder to control something so big than before. It was like a beginner taming a lion—one who had never seen a wild animal before.

His index finger, like a pistol, was pointed at the innocent tree, like a threat. At its end, a blue light glowed, painting his vision blue. The hum intensified to a high-pitched whine, and the blue light pulsed with incredible heat. Then, with lightning speed, it punched a hole in the bark he had been looking at, a little bigger than the circle drawn on it.

With his mouth agape and eyebrows raised, he looked around to see if anyone else had witnessed his wonderful result, but no one was there, so the smile froze on his face. Still, he was bursting with joy inside, which manifested itself in him humming and moving his body to a non-existent rhythm. He lay in the grass, grinning like an idiot, as he enjoyed the vitamin D from the blazing sun. Suddenly, a large shadow blocked the sun, ruining his peaceful moment.

"What are you doing?" Haku squatted over him, talking with her mouth full. "And what's with that smile? It's disgusting!"

She stood up, her boots making a dull thud in the soft green grass as she trudged away. Then, after she found the hole in the tree, she excitedly jumped next to it and peered into it with glittering eyes. She put her hand in and pulled it out, repeating the action with growing excitement.

"You did this? I didn't know you were this good!"

One part of him wanted to say it was nothing and collect the praise. But instead, he pushed himself up and answered louder: "I'm not! The whole thing was torture! I thought about running away countless times, but I'm sure Lily would track me and hunt me down."

Haku laughed and leaned cockily against the tree. For a moment, Ren thought she would fall through the hole.

"You're funny. But..." She dusted off her short, wide-legged pants as she rested on her knee. "Lily can't track you down. Prophets are basically able to see the future and the past. But Lily can't. Because of her illness."

Ren's eyes widened, and his mouth parted slightly. So Lily wasn't reserved; she just hated him.

"She told you all this?"

Haku laughed heartily again, showing her sharp canines. Her red skin was glowing in the sun, and her short, red hair was stuck messily to her head.

"Of course not. I'm just incredibly smart, and I figured it out. She coughs up blood after every exorcism, and then she takes a break. I pretend not to see it."

Now that he thought about it, Ren's chest didn't hurt, and he could breathe easily. It was especially nice not to be in pain.

"And how are you?" Ren glanced at the girl, who looked away.

"I'm fine."

"Listen, I—"

"Ah, it's very hot here!" She pushed herself away from the tree and, like a professional dancer, turned and twirled back and forth. "Come on! Get up and keep practicing! Otherwise, Lily will be angry."

Ren accepted that she didn't want to talk about what had happened, even though he liked straightforward talk and not having to fumble in the dark. In place of his aching limbs, it was as if there were two heavy pieces of wood that he couldn't just drag around.

Then he was overcome by a familiar feeling. His head began to throb painfully, his body cramped as his consciousness slipped into another timeline, something he had already experienced once. A ringing sound filled his ears, a high, metallic shriek that echoed in his skull. As the noise faded, the forest around him dissolved into a scene of sunlight and wooden desks.

He was sitting at a school desk. His nails were short, with dirt under them. His long-sleeved shirt was a more yellowish color, half-covered by a brown vest that pleasantly warmed his chest. His black, wrinkled pants were a little too big for him, so he had to tie them with a belt, over which he pulled his shirt. He sat in the last row, next to the window. It must have been a break because not many people were wandering around the room. Those who were there were talking to their friends over a bento box or studying for the next class. There was nothing in front of him. His stomach growled with hunger, but reaching into his bag, he found nothing but a few notebooks.

"Ren!" A black-haired girl waved to him from the doorway. Her skirt was well above her knees, with a similar shirt—but hers was actually white—and a brown vest. She had pushed her hair back with a yellow hairband, and her nails were the same light yellow. "You really did it!" She ran to the boy and touched his dyed blue hair. Her big eyes sparkled as she looked at him, as if he were the only thing she found joy in.

He was mesmerized by the girl's beauty, like water in the desert. He unconsciously reached out to cup her face in his hands. The girl leaned closer without batting an eye and pressed her lips to his. Ren knew this was a vision, but it felt real: the girl's soft, wet lips on his, her floral-scented perfume, and how her long eyelashes tickled his face. He wanted it to be real.

After she pulled away, a huge grin appeared on her face, with a fleeting blush.

"Look what I brought!" She waved a nicely wrapped bento box in front of his eyes. "I made it! Try it!"

Rice, carrots, octopus-shaped hot dogs, broccoli, tomatoes, heart-shaped cheese, and cute animal-shaped toothpicks were stuck everywhere. Despite the uncoordinated flavors, the meal was made a thousand times more delicious by the great devotion she had put into making it just for him.

"We could go to that café we went to last time. You could bring Reiko too!"

He opened his mouth to speak, wondering who Reiko was, but someone interrupted him.

"Segawa!" A tall green-haired boy shouted his name in the hallway. When he saw them from the doorway, he ran up to them. "How cool! I was sure you'd be too much of a wimp to do it! Now we have to listen to the student council's lecture because of this!" He looked over his shoulder, seeing the girl, who had pulled a chair next to Ren. "Oh, the princess is here too. I'm surprised your parents haven't sent you to be homeschooled yet."

The girl stuck out her tongue and linked her arm with Ren's.

"Oh yeah, before I forget, Ren, I embroidered my initial into your hoodie! It's what couples do, you know..."

The girl, blushing, put the hoodie he knew well on his lap. This realization, however, pulled him out of the memory, and he returned to the clearing, where Haku and Lily were already waiting. He could still feel the tasty food in his mouth and his girlfriend’s touch on his skin. Now everything was cold and empty. A ghost of the memory that just played out. He looked from Haku's impatient face to Lily's reserved one, and a thousand questions formed in his mind that he couldn’t ask.