behind the falling rain

#behind the falling rain

The sky, which had been clear, suddenly darkened slowly. A gust of wind began to blow, blowing away the small leaves. Then came the sound of a light drizzle above.

In this unexpected place, I met her again...

"Eh? Alief...?" she said softly, almost a whisper.

A girl with long, shiny black hair was standing, gazing up at the sky.

She remained silent until she noticed me and our gazes met.

The girl was Tiana. The one who had suddenly greeted me this morning. I still don't understand why she suddenly said that this morning.

And now, we've met in this place...

"..."

I could see the girl wanting to say something, but it seemed she chose not to. She lowered her head, then placed both hands in front of her chest as if holding back something.

To be honest, I didn't want to get too involved with someone like her. A figure who hovered above the clouds and was loved by everyone. I think it'll be really troublesome if I keep getting involved with her.

That's what I thought, just before I noticed her blank stare, as if she was carrying a heavy burden.

For some reason, I felt uneasy. Especially since I knew I'd been ignoring her this morning, even getting her into trouble.

I took a deep breath, trying to regain my composure.

Gathering some courage, I slowly walked towards her.

I stopped beside her and said, "Sorry." I said, without even looking at her.

Tiana turned to me, seemingly confused by my sudden statement.

"Sorry? For what?"

I lowered my head and said, "About this morning, I'm sorry I got you into trouble."

At first, she looked confused, but then she started to smile.

"You don't have to apologize. I'm fine."

Even though she was smiling, I knew it was forced.

It seemed like this girl was really thinking about it.

This wasn't good. If this continues, this problem will never be resolved. Before things get more complicated, I have to resolve it quickly.

"Perhaps it's a bit rude of me to say this to you..." I said, trying to find the right words.

The girl turned to me and watched me intently, waiting for what I wanted to say.

"But... it would be better if you didn't get too close to me..."

The girl remained silent, not saying a word.

I continued,

"I don't know why you can be so sure that we know each other—because in reality, I don't know you at all."

"...is that so. So, you've forgotten me..." the girl said softly, almost a whisper.

"That...I can't answer that. The point is, don't come near me again. It's for your own good."

After that, there was a silence between us, without a single sound. The small drizzle from above had now turned into numerous droplets of water that quickly hit the ground.

I knew this would hurt her, but somehow, I had to say it. I thought it was best for her.

When I glanced at the girl, I could see something wet starting to roll down her cheek. In a situation like this, I didn't know what to say. But at least, I knew one thing.

I had hurt this girl.

And it was... probably my fault.

Time passed, but the silence lingered between us. Until the rain began to ease, and the twilight could be seen breaking through the thinning dark clouds.

Without even looking back, I immediately left the girl.

With steps that felt somehow heavier than usual, I crossed the still-damp schoolyard.

Even though this was the right choice, the strange pressure I felt in my chest was really bothering me.

Right. What I did was right.

I did this because I wanted to protect her from something that might hurt her someday.

Even if she hated me, it wouldn't matter. In fact, it would be better that way.

Right. I was sure this was the best thing for him.

I kept convincing myself that my decision was the right one. I'd been living alone and isolated from others for a long time. I was used to it. However, the more I thought about it, the colder the emptiness inside me felt.

"Shhh...wait...!"

While I was still lost in my own thoughts, I seemed to hear a voice. At first, I didn't pay much attention. But the voice grew clearer and clearer.

"Hey...wait for me!"

The voice began to sound clearer. And when I turned around—

"That's..."

It turned out to be the girl named Tiana who called me.

She was seen running through the remaining drizzle. Her breathing seemed irregular, and her voice was ragged.

Her long hair glistened in the sunset. Small droplets of water began to wet her face.

Why...? After everything I'd said earlier... why did she...

"Ha...ha...ha, finally, you can hear me," she said, breathlessly.

"Why are you here? Didn't I tell you not to come near me again?" I asked.

The girl still looked down, catching her breath.

"Um... can... can we go home together?"

"Eh?"

The girl suddenly asked me to go home with her.

No, wait, did I hear you right?

After all that, why did she ask me to go home with her?

"Go home together? But why?" I asked, trying to reconfirm her invitation.

The girl then smiled and said, "It's nothing, I just want to go home together."

This girl is crazy. That's the conclusion I came to. Normally, someone would have left immediately after hearing what I said. But this girl...

"How about it? You want to go home with me, right?"

Honestly, I intended to refuse, but for some reason, the smile she gave me made it impossible to refuse her request.

In the end, we walked home together.

Along the way, this girl talked about many things. From her likes and dislikes to school and her friends, and much more.

Despite this, I just stayed quiet and listened to her talk. After all, I didn't know how to keep up with her pace. I didn't even know where the conversation was going.

Even so, even though I seemed to be ignoring her, this girl continued to enthusiastically discuss it all, as if we were close friends.

Normally, I would tend to avoid people like this girl. But for some reason, I didn't feel bothered by her. In fact, I felt a slight warmth in my chest.

When we reached a three-way intersection, Tiana asked, "Oh, yeah, where's your house now, Alief?"

The way she spoke was like, "Where's your house now, Alief?" It was as if she already knew where my house was.

"My house is that way..." I said, pointing the way with my finger.

When I turned my gaze to the girl, she seemed silent and frozen in place.

Wait... was there something wrong with what I just said?

"Tiana...?"

"Eh? No, it's nothing. I was just surprised," she replied, seemingly taken aback by my sudden address.

But wait, why was she surprised? Was there something about my question that could surprise someone...

Could it be...

"Actually...my house is that way too..." she said, turning to me with a smile and a small laugh.

For some reason, I felt something strange about this. And as we began to continue our journey to our respective homes...

"Wow... so our houses are next to each other, huh?" the girl said, looking amazed and in disbelief at what she had just seen.

And sure enough, the strange feeling I had felt earlier was due to this.

Really? How could I possibly live next to this girl?

Seeing this reality, I was speechless and speechless.

It made me think, "Is this really a coincidence...?

Chapter 2 end

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