Denied Wish

“How could he say something like that?”, she asked as she dragged Akihiro and stormed out of the store.

“He had a point. I don’t know why I saved you. I was not attached to my mother. When she died, the only one who didn’t cry was me. No one said anything then because they thought I was too young to understand what death meant. Even now, after so many years, I feel nothing. Yet at that moment, I remembered my mother’s accident and saved you. He did have a point. Maybe what I felt at that time was regret?”

“I think you would have jumped even if your mother hadn’t died. You are a nice person, I know it.”, she said.

“I probably wouldn’t have jumped, though. I might have called an ambulance, but I wouldn’t have jumped.”

“Still, that’s normal. Most people wouldn’t jump. Natsume made it sound like you are some villain who doesn’t care if people die. You were young at that time, so it makes sense that you were not able to cry. It’s okay.”

“Natsume is a very straightforward guy. He doesn’t sugarcoat his words. He always speaks his mind. That’s just how he is and it doesn’t bother me, so it’s okay.”

“You’re taking his side now?”, she paused for a second as she took a deep breath and said, “Well, if you say so. I would have killed him if he said something like that to me.”

Akihiro remained silent.

“Are you okay?”, she asked out of concern, seeing him lost in thought.

“Yeah, I was just thinking about what he said.”

“Forget about what he said, you might have saved me because you impulsively felt the need to. Not every action requires a reason.”

‘Not every action requires a reason huh…….’

“Anyways, I’m truly grateful. I can’t express in words how grateful I am. I wish I could do more for you.”, she said.

“Ahh, no, it’s okay, it’s totally fine.”

She smiled and waved goodbye as she walked away. Seeing her silhouette blend with the crowd, Akihiro’s head began to hurt again.

‘Agh, these headaches have been getting more frequent…’

----

Natsume eventually apologized, and the three of them continued to hang out together all the time. Rumi would join in whenever Ayane wasn’t around.

“Man, everything is so boring. Life is just so boring. I can’t think of any ideas for my story.”, Natsume whined.

“What about a mystery novel? Like Sherlock Holmes?”, Rumi suggested.

“No, too boring, I don’t like mystery at all. I always figure it out so fast, it becomes boring. Oh! I was thinking of a story where a deadly virus spreads all around the world, and economies freeze, people die, and gov-“

“NO! That’s too realistic, everyone will hate it.”, She interrupted.

“Hmm yeah. I think I’m best suited for romance and comedy. I have a good looking face, so girls will laugh at anything I say, haha.”

“You wish! Haha. Anyways, one day, introduce me to that girl. Ayane, was it? She seems fun to hang out with.”

“Yeah!!! She’s super fun to be with! Me, Akihiro and Ayane always hang out after school.”, Natsume said excitedly.

“Ohhhh that sounds fun, invite me also one day!”, she smiled and then checked her watch. “Oh, I gotta go now, byeee Aki-kun!!!”, she gave Akihiro an adorable wave.

“Where’s my goodbye!!!?”, Natsume exclaimed.

She stuck her tongue out and began to walk away.

Natsume suddenly grabbed her shoulder and stopped her, “If you need my help, ask for it.”

“Help with what? I don’t have any problems.” she replied awkwardly, surprised by the sudden offer.

“Never mind then, bye!”

----

That day after school, Ayane joined them as they walked back home together, as usual. As they started strolling down the path lined with various types of plants, Natsume quietly put his hand into a bush, and then back into his pocket.

“-and then Shinoda-san took the cig-“

“Ayane, stand here for a moment.”, Natsume interrupted and made her stand in front of him.

“Here, hold my hand.”, Natsume instructed. She hesitated a little bit but eventually did as he said.

“Oh look! There’s something on your head.”, Natsume said as he took his other hand from his pocket and immediately opened his palm behind her head, taking the flower out and showing it to her.

“Whoa!”, Ayane exclaimed as her eyes gleamed with surprise. “That was so cool!”

“Anything is interesting if it’s unpredictable.”, Natsume replied with a smug look, “Romantic right?”

“I hate to agree, but it was.”, Ayane reluctantly admitted.

“Cool right, Aki-kun?”, Natsume looked at Akihiro for approval.

“I saw you put the flower in the pocket. Totally predictable.”

“Ehhhh so boring...” Natsume said. “Can something predictable be interesting too?”

“Is this for your story? You are the writer, right? Think of something on your own.”, Ayane replied.

“I still think unpredictability is interesting.”, Natsume said.

‘But even though I know what’s going to happen, why am I so excited? Ahh, this is definitely going to be very interesting.’

----

The next day, all the girls, including Rumi, were discussing something amongst each other. After a few minutes of intense discussion, Rumi came up to Akihiro, “Aki-kun, I have something important to tell you. Can you come to the garden behind the school during lunch period?”

“Okay.”

But when lunchtime came, he didn’t show up at the garden where she was waiting. After waiting for some time, she went and asked her friends where Akihiro was. No one knew. Frustrated, she ran up to check if he was still in class. She saw Natsume sitting in class all by himself, lost in thought as he looked at the sky.

“Natsume, do you know where Aki-kun is?”

“He’s over there, sitting under that tree.”

Akihiro was sitting under the tree in front of the school, a spot which could be seen from most classroom windows. He sat there munching on some bread. Rumi dashed down the stairs and ran to the front of the school to the tree. By the time she reached she was panting and completely out of breath.

“Why didn’t you come to the garden behind the school?”, she asked.

Meanwhile, rumours were spreading like wildfire and everyone was rushing to the windows to see for themselves.

“I didn’t want to go all the way there. So I came here instead.”

“But you said you would come to the garden...”

“Sorry, I changed my mind. Why don’t you say it here?”

“Fine…”

She took a deep breath, calmed herself and then confessed,

“Aki-kun, I love you.”

Akihiro showed no reaction. He stood up from the seat and began to walk away.

Rumi didn’t know what to do. Her worst fear had just come true.
“You don’t have to give me an answer now. I can wait.”, she said.

“I don’t feel anything towards you. I’m sorry.”

“Why…? Do you hate me?”, she said as her eyes began to tear up.

Everyone had now assembled at the windows and were watching. Natsume ran down the stairs and stood at a distance from the tree as he watched them converse.

“No, I don’t hate you.”

“Then please give me a chance, I’ll do anything. I’ll make you fall in love with me. Please give me that one chance.”, she said as tears started rolling down her cheeks.

Akihiro brushed past her, “No, you could never make me fall in love with you.”

She turned around. “I’ve done so much for you, the least you could do is give me a chance.”

“I have never asked for your help. I could do all that by myself. I don’t require your help.”, Akihiro said coldly, his back facing her. Rumi couldn’t hold her tears back anymore, her eyes displayed the pain of being rejected. She dropped to her knees and her hands covered her face as she cried. Her two friends ran up to her to console her. Akihiro could see Rumi crying from the corner of his eyes. His head hurt again, but he kept it to himself.

Natsume ran up to him, “I thought you both were close.”

“Close?”, Akihiro responded in a confused yet indifferent tone and entered the school building.

Natsume smirked at his response, a face very different from what Natsume normally puts on when he tries to fit into society.

Natsume’s attention now turned towards the weeping girl.

“I told you to come to me if you needed help. Look, this is what happens if you don’t come to me first.”, he said egotistically.

“Go away, Natsume!”, one of her friends screamed.

“The fact that you thought you were close to Aki-kun was hilarious. Your relationships are shallow. You all just act as if you care about each other. Hanging out with someone isn’t the same as getting close to someone. Oh yeah, you wouldn’t know, right? You probably have never had any true friends anyways.”

“Get lost, Natsume! Can’t you see she’s crying?”, the other friend shouted.

“Haha. Did you really think you were close to Aki-kun? What do you know about him? If you consider these girls your best friends, then your relationship with Akihiro is at max ‘acquaintances’. In the end, you will never be able to know anything about him.”

Her wailing just got louder. Her friends helped her get up.

“How could you say something like that to her when she’s crying? Friends are supposed to help each other in times like this, not make things worse.”, the first one remarked.

“Just go away, Natsume! If you enjoy putting others down, then you are just a psychopath.”, the other one yelled. They helped Rumi walk into the school building. Everyone in school had seen the rejection and the commotion was loud.

Natsume didn’t turn back, he just stood there. That comment made Natsume feel guilty. He slowly sat down below the tree. His hands were now supporting his face and his eyes had become hazy. He had done it yet again.

The cold breeze blew, as Natsume said to himself,

“The man you loved was a psychopath.”