The Rain’s Petrichor

'Get closer to me.'
Ririka leaned in until his breath warmed her skin.
'Why are your tears welling up, Ririka?' he asked, his voice muffled against her.
'N-nothing. It’s nothing. You love me, right?'
'I do. Why the sudden question? He took her hands and kissed her, his warmth seeping into her.
'What’s wrong?' he watched as the ocean pearls finally spilt from her eyes, shattering on the ground.
'Can I ask you s-something?' she whispered.
'Yeah, go ahead.''Who was the girl who left just before I arrived?'
'Which girl?''The one in the beige sportswear?'
'Oh, her? That’s just a classmate. We hang out all the time. I forgot my wallet, and she lives near this hotel, so I asked her to drop it off. It was just easie—'
Ririka slid off the bed and stood.
'So, you kiss your friends whenever they do you a favour?'
'So, our relationship meant nothing to you?'

Ririka, shaking from the burden of the question that was stuck in her throat, her hand clenched at her chest.

'W....why did you cheat on me?' Her eyes were visibly scanning the room for anything other than his eyes. Afraid of what response she'd get, fearing that maybe she had spent her last 2 years learning all she could was for nothing.

Ririka braced herself for the worst, and the worst sadly followed.

'Cheat on you!? How was I supposed to not cheat on you?' He questioned, 'You're boring, you've got no talent, no hope.' He continued, each word seemingly shaped like daggers. 'I'm not the one who's supposed to fix you, you're a mess... an unwanted one at that!'

 Ririka turned around, words stabbed into her back as if she had been betrayed by her own love. 
'f...fine, we'll end it here', running out of the room, her vision becoming cloudy like a window after the rain. She stumbles through the love hotel door, and the air feels clear but cold.

'At least it can't get worse...right?' she questions, allowed, trying to hold back tears. Looking around at her surroundings, everyone else seems to be going places, doing things and at large seemingly have everything together.

Cars whizz by, flicking water up, and the lights glare through the dark as people walk around the streets. Some talk, some hug, some kiss and others listen to the music of the world. The world seems to stand still and not notice Ririka standing there staring at the clouds.

'I had to open my mouth, didn't I?' She questions, droplets of water splash onto her face as the rain begins to fall. The feeling of the rain on her face felt comforting. 'At least something else is crying with me,' she said, biting her lip as tears began to flow.

Her lip begins to tremble, and words begin to build up in her throat. 

'W—Why am I never enough?' 'Why do I always cause more problems than I ever fix?' 'Will I ever be enough?!' ' WILL I EVER BE ENOUGH?!?!'

'WHY DOES NOBODY EVER CARE ABOUT ME?!?!?'

Ririka's voice echoed throughout the streets, her gloomy atmosphere reflected in the tears that dropped from her face — just as quickly as they formed — each one holding countless words that couldn't be written, countless feelings never explained. Now lost to the concrete that lay beneath her feet.

Cold, hopeless and alone, Ririka huddles down closer to the floor, using her knees as a way to hide herself, or rather the emotions she felt. A cold breeze shakes the trees, filling the world around her with only the rustle of leaves to comfort the shards of emotions that leave her eyes.

A Hand graces Ririka's shoulder, it's warm and soft, a direct contrast to what she was feeling from herself.

'Are you okay, darling?' A calm voice calls out to Ririka over the sound of the wind 'You look hurt. We should get you out of the cold.' The voice continues, with the only response being sobs.

'I'm f—fine, I'll be okay, I'm always okay.' Broken and in a mess on the floor, Ririka doesn't move or budge, but only continues to drown herself in the emotions that she lets out. 'Just leave me be,' she sobbed, trying to get the words out through the small gap in between tears.

'We need to get you out of the rain, though, you'll catch a cold if you stay like this.' Tsukihime pauses for a moment and sighs. 'Although maybe a cold is the least of your worries right now...'

Seeing that Ririka wasn't going to be moving anytime soon, she decided to take matters into her own hands. 'Right then, if you're not going to move, then I'll move you myself, ' she said, rolling up her sleeves to show off her nonexistent muscles.

'Wha— Put me down! What are you doing!' Ririka shouts after finding herself swept off the floor and now being carried like a princess by this stranger whose name she didn't even know. 'Not a chance! Now let's go for a walk. Well, I'll do the walking, and you just sit in my arms and look cute, okay?' Tsukihime replied, taking the now flustered Ririka off to the nearest taxi bank.

In her arms, time seemed to stop; the rain that once fell didn't feel so heavy anymore, and the words that her former boyfriend had said seemed to turn to static. All embraced in this singular moment, Ririka could feel the warmth, and her hand began to hold tighter onto Tsukihime's jacket. 

'Don't get too comfortable now, we're almost there. Let's get you home.' Tsukihime said with a smile on her face, looking down at the girl she had picked up out of her puddle of sadness, both physically and literally.

'Here we are!' Tsukihime shouts as she lets go of Ririka, her body falling towards the bench. 'Ow! Hey, that's no way to treat a princess!' Ririka states while checking to see if her body had survived such a fall. 'Aw, look at you stating that you're a princess. I'll call you a horse-drawn carriage, shall I?' Tsukihime said, a smirk taking over her face.

'Wha— That was just a joke.' She whispered under her breath, her face turning red from the movie of memories inside her head. Looking at the lady who stood in front of her, the girl's hair was the same colour as the night sky. Captivated by it, almost as if there were stars hidden inside the strands, she couldn't help but wonder.

'Will I ever see you again?' Ririka asked, her words, however, being swept away by the wind, never reaching Tsukihime. The two of them sat together in the dark, cold night, waiting for the taxi to arrive. 

Never exchanging words, names, thanks, or a reason as to why this girl helped Ririka. All would remain a mystery, and as the taxi drove away with Ririka in it, who stared out the window holding her hand against the glass as if she was able to feel the warmth from Tsukihime once more.

Tsukihime takes a deep breath while watching the car drive off, exhaling to reveal a cloud of her breath. As it dissipates into the atmosphere, she stares at her hands. The same hands that once held the warmth of another.

'Will we ever meet again?' Tsukihime whispers to herself, the cold nibbling at her fingertips. The words come out of her mouth, like a cloud of air and then dissipate into the atmosphere like her breath. 

No answer, no words, only the sound of wind rustling through the leaves and the rain smashing against the pavement.