Awakening

Gene recognized her immediately.
     She was on a petite podium that raised her above the crowd.
     Her milk-white skin shimmered in the stage lights.
     As he and Annabelle walked towards her, he almost forgot that she was someone he knew. Her long blue hair floated gracefully around her body. 
     Before he knew it, he was standing directly in front of her.
~~~
     Miya recognized him immediately.
     He was staring directly at her, as if he knew her from somewhere else.
     His somewhat tanned skin made him stand out sharply in the room, and the adorable young girl who was standing directly beside him was looking up at her with gorgeous blue eyes.
     As he approached, his brown hair fell along the sides of his face in slight tangles and she realized she wanted to take hold of him and brush every single one of them out.
     Before she knew it, he was standing directly in front of her.
     He was real. 
     Her words felt thick in her throat. She had lines; she'd trained for years to be the perfect K-Pop idol; she had dealt with all kinds of rude people and snide comments in her time. Speaking to someone she'd sent letters too shouldn't have been so difficult.
     He wasn't even saying anything; he was just looking up at her with his beautifully brown eyes. They were brown like tea; like tea that she'd love to taste and sip and drink until she couldn't drink anymore. 
     Her hair was blue, and nothing else was as beautiful. 
     He wanted to touch it and feel it; he didn't know if it was coarse or rough to the touch, or if it was soft and silky. If it was soft, he would hold it in his hands and run it through his fingers; if it was rough, he would drape it over himself and hide underneath it with her, like a canvas tent that would hold them. 
     Though no matter how her hair felt, he wanted even more to see her eyes; were they green like grassy fields in flyover country? Were they blue like the endless sky? Were they gray like stormy clouds? He didn't know, but he knew that no matter what color they were, once he saw them, all other eyes would look dim in comparison.
     "Miss Miya?" Said a small voice.
     Miya shook slightly upon being snapped out of her daze, then immediately directed her attention towards the small girl who was still tightly holding onto Gene's hand. 
     "My name is Annabelle Southwell, and this is my older brother Gene."
     Gene exhaled slowly and glanced at his sister briefly, then looked back towards Miya. She was smiling so innocently at Annabelle, with her thin lips curled slightly and her small round nose that barely peeked out from under her long bangs. 
     "It's so nice to meet you." Miya tilted her head at Annabelle as she said the words, and Gene watched intently as strands of hair brushed against each other when she did. Between the strands, he caught glimpses of her milky white forehead beneath it, and he realized that she looked like she belonged in the clouds. 
     "I've been wanting to come see you for a long time." Annabelle said with a smile. "I just... you're so pretty! And kind! And I love the way you dance and try to make people happy, and the way you tell people to pray for miracles at the end of your concert makes me really happy because people don't pray enough, so having someone so popular tell them to do it is amazing!"
     Gene momentarily stopped looking at Miya and turned towards his sister; she was practically a machine gun with how fast the words were pouring out of her mouth. 
     Miya blushed playfully, but when she did so, she looked at Gene. 
     "Well, as a messenger from the heavens, it's my duty to tell people these important truths!" Miya said playfully, then stood up and put her hands on her hips. "I'm glad that you understand how important this message to you mortals is."
     Annabelle nodded excitedly, then reached into Gene's pocket and pulled out his phone. Before he could process what was happening, his sister had pulled out a solid black marker from her pocket and handed both objects to the K-Pop idol. 
     "Sign my brother's phone please!"
     Gene looked back and forth between Annabelle and Miya for several seconds, then decided to settle with looking up at Miya. 
     She was looking down at him with a very slight smile. He could see her cheeks turning slightly pink, and despite the fact that he couldn't see her eyes, he knew that they were lingering on him. She spoke after a brief moment.
     "I-is it okay if I write on your phone?" She said calmly, though her voice was quieter than it had been before. "Sir?" She added nervously.
     Gene nodded.
     He watched as her graceful hand moved the pen across the back cover of his phone in slow, swooping motions. Each movement showcased a small muscle that he'd never noticed in anyone else's hand; a small twitch above her thumb; a miniscule movement of her pointer finger; every single thing her hand did looked effortless and elegant.
     Miya held Gene's phone in her hands as she looked down at him from where she stood on the podium. She could see his hands at his sides as she wrote. They were slightly calloused, and much bigger than her own. She could see the edges of his wrists; they looked wide and strong, as if he was accustomed to lifting and carrying things.
     She wondered what would happen if she leapt into his arms and told him to run off with her. He wouldn't collapse; he would hold her steady, and he would run with her effortlessly through the crowds. 
     She had an idea, and before she could stop herself, she acted on it. She focused on his phone case and wrote her name in slow, swooping motions. Once she was finished, she handed the marker back to Annabelle, but held the phone in her hands momentarily.
     "H-here's your phone." She said as she crouched down and held out his phone. "Gene."
    Hearing his name come out of her mouth made everything crystal clear.
    He imagined his life as someone observing the world through a pane of translucent glass. There was sunlight and moonlight. Rain and wind. He could hear things, and people told him that the things he was seeing were beautiful, but he never understood just how beautiful those things were. 
     Then he heard her say his name, and the glass shattered into a million tiny pieces. He could feel the wind on his face; he could feel each individual drop of rain on his skin; he could feel everything, all at once, and it wasn't overwhelming.
     It was glorious.
     He took hold of his phone, and when he did, his fingers brushed against hers for just a moment.
     Miya's eyes widened behind her bangs.
     His touch was strong and firm, and when she felt his fingers pull away, she imagined another hand letting go of her.
     For a moment, she was sixteen again, standing beside her grandpa, holding his hand tightly as the last signs of life left his body.
     His hand was pulling away from her, and she desperately wanted to hang on, but as she began tightening her grip, she looked at his expression.
     Her grandpa's eyes were full of tears, and he was looking directly at her. Her body froze, and she realized he was pulling his hand away. She wanted to say something, but her mouth was frozen. 
     She didn't know why he was pushing her hand away; didn't he love her? She tried to hold on and grab his hand tighter, but he simply pulled away more. She looked into her grandpa's eyes, and she realized he was smiling despite his tears.
     "These hands are old." He whispered. "I can't carry you anymore."
     Miya's eyes watered.
     "I love you."
     Miya felt her grandpa's hand slip out of her grasp as his words faded.
     "And so does he."
     Gene looked at Miya as she slowly pulled her hand away. He could tell something had changed. He opened his mouth to ask about what was wrong, but then she spoke in a trembling voice.
     "Th-thank you for... c-coming to see me." 
     The ballroom fell silent as everyone looked at Miya. Annabelle clutched her brother tighter.
     A single tear fell from her cheek as she gestured for Gene and Annabelle to step away. 
     The silence was terrifying as Gene held his sister tightly and made the executive decision to leave the ballroom as fast as possible. 
     Hundreds of phone cameras caught him leaving and captured Miya's tear.
~~~
     Mukashi had been watching via the cameras.
     Seeing Miya shed a tear made his mind fill with smoke.
     He had to get her out of there.