Living In The Present

After 4 rounds of cheat, Emi and I were tied at 2-2, with Daichi and Hana still competing for who deserves the last place the most, while Chinatsu was steadily on the 3rd place.

I have to say, for her age, she’s really good at bluffing. In fact, she’s miles ahead of Daichi and Hana.

After we decided to call it day with “cheat”, I put away my deck and we all stood in a comfortable silence.

Soon, the sun who was still hidden by the grey clouds started setting, and due to the long silence, Emi, Daichi and Chinatsu, probably due to the fatigue of the day kicking in, fell soundly asleep.

“How they’re able to sleep in a cave, I will never know…” I comment, watching their faces dozing off.

“The sound of rain is really calming, you know.” Hana, who’s the only one still awake, apart from me, replied.

“That’s true, but I mean… in a cave? Come on.” I shrugged earning myself a small smile from Hana, who stood up from her seat and sat next to me.

“Woah, don’t mind me…” I muttered, noticing how close she suddenly was.

“I think it’s better this way, don’t you think?” She voiced softly, wrapping her arm around my own.

“Yeah, it’s better…! Definitely better…! Better than ever…!” I can’t make heads or tail of what I’m saying or why. All the nerves in my body are concentrated on that small spot where our bare skin is touching.

“I mean, it’s getting kinda chilly.”

Oh, so that’s what she meant… I hate you, virgin brain.

“Haha, yeah, of course… That’s what I wanted to say, too… Haha…” I laugh dryly, trying to play the whole thing off.

“Yukio…” Just when I thought her voice couldn’t get any softer, she suddenly called out to me. “What would you do, if you knew there would come a day, where you had to do something you really didn’t want to?”

And then, silence.

The only thing that could be heard, was the soft pitter=patter of the rain, hitting the cliff’s surface.

“What would I do, huh?’ I voiced, falling back in thought. I didn’t need to think long and hard about it, really. The answer just came to me, almost naturally.

“I may not be the best person to ask, in this matter, but since I’m the only available one… I’ll indulge you.” I pointed towards the three sleeping members of our group before straightening my posture.

“I… wouldn’t worry about it too much.”

“Really?”

“Sure. I mean, I don’t know if that’s because I’m stupid or what, but I refrain from thinking about the future much. Case in point, I still have NO CLUE what I’m gonna do with my life after graduation.”

“What? But we’ve got only 6 months left!” Hana suddenly gave me a worried look.

“I know, I know…” I shrugged off a topic that I had talked to my father about a million times, and brought back the subject at hand.

“What I wanted to say is, if you think too hard about the future, then you’re missing out on the present, you know?” I voice, looking back out the entrance, where the rain had died down a bit.

“I know I’m not the best example there is and of course, being prepared is good and all, but if you think too hard about something in the future, then you lose out on every day in between that something.” I had never had a deep talk like that with someone before, so even I was amazed by my words.

“So, you just, wouldn’t think about it, ‘till the time came?” Hana asked, her eyes full of intrigue, but with just a slight hint of sorrow behind them.

“Well, I’m a sly person, so I would probably postpone dealing with it for last minute, and then find a roundabout way to get past it.” I voice with a shrug, to which Hana giggles.

“But my advice to that someone else, would be: Live in the present. And the rest, will just sort itself out in the end. And if they don’t, well then it’s not the end.”

“The present, huh…” Hana repeats after me, a part of the shadow covering her face, gone.

Just as a brief silence crosses the two of us, I suddenly realize the rain has stopped, and the clouds have given way to the departing sun, and the newly appointed ruler of the sky: the moon.

“The rain…”

“…Stopped?” Hana completed my sentence, as she got up and ran outside.

“Hey, wait!” I voice in a low tone, casting a gaze over the others, still sleeping. Deciding it’s best not to wake them up, I dust my clothes off and run after Hana who’s already getting ready to get in the water.

This girl and the ocean are inseparable…

“Come on, Yukio!” She turns back to me after having discarded her clothes.

“Wait, you little troublemaker!” I say in a huff, trying to take off my shirt and run after her.

“Come on, come on, you’re too slow!” Hana giggles as she splashes me with water, the moment I step into the ocean.

“Oh now you’re asking for my ultimate technique!” I prepare to demonstrate a killing blow, as I run towards Hana.

“Ultimate techn- WOAH!” Before she can finish, I blast her whole body with so much water, she was practically underwater for a second.

“Pffft!” I laugh in her face, doing a lap of honor to commemorate my victory.

“Yukio-kun, you have angered the goddess of the sea!” She points a finger at me with baseless confidence, and before I even know it, I’m blasted from head to toe. Maybe it wasn’t so baseless after all. Shaking the droplets off my eyes, I run past Hana’s retreating form.

“Stop running and come back here!”

“You will never-woaaah!” Hana tries to provoke me, but loses her balance and falls with her back to the water.

“An opening! Ha!” Seeing my chance at capturing the culprit responsible for my soaked body, I run straight for her. But to my dismay, I trip at the exact same spot Hana did, where a hole is dug on the sand, and fall on top of her.

“Woah!” I exclaim, supporting myself with my arms, while Hana lies just beneath me. In a matter of milliseconds, Hana’s face lights up red all the way to her ears, as our eyes lock in such small proximity.

For a moment I can’t… or more like, don’t want to look away from her. I can already feel the heat rising to my face, but I pay it no mind. My mind is only occupied by her.

Just as my desires are about to take over, I suddenly stop myself.

No, this isn’t right… Me and Hana are friends. Just friends. It’s impolite to think about something like that.

Despite knowing that my train of thoughts was reasonable, a sudden ache crosses the left part of my chest.

“Sorry…” I voice, as I get up and offer her my hand.

After lying there, facing up, for another couple of seconds, Hana finally accepts my hand, as I pulls her back to her feet.

An awkward silence ensues.

“I’m sorry!’ We both bow our heads down at the same time, apologizing to each other.

“Hey, I should apologize because I’m the one who fell on top of you!” I protest.

“No, I should apologize because I tripped FIRST!” She doesn’t back down.

We both give one another a glare, as we turn away from each other in a huff.

Realizing my actions, I glance at Hana who’s already looking back at me.

“Haha…”

“HAHAHA!”

And before we know it, we are already bursting out laughing.

“Seriously what was that?!” I voice, still holding my stomach.

“You’re way too extra!” She wipes away a tear from her eye.

“Me? Extra! Take that back!” I point an accusing finger at her, causing Hana to start laughing once again.

“Phew…” She finally calms down, a faint smile still on her face.

Then another brief silence. This time though, it was of the comfortable kind.

“Thank you.” She softly voiced those two words so sincerely I was slightly taken aback.

“Thank me? For what?” I simply ask, unable to understand the sudden change in her attitude.

“For coming back here. For doing all of these things with us. For giving this island, and me, a second chance.”

A second chance… what does that even mean?

Is she referring to something that happened in the past, and I can’t recall?

The truth is, with every new day I spend in this island, small bits and pieces, fragments of memories slowly come back to me.

I still don’t remember everything, but I surely remember more than when I first came here.

But what was Hana talking about… I had no clue of.

Taking my silence as a cue to go on, Hana continued.

“I know I promised, that I’d make you fun, but truth be told, I was the one enjoying myself the most.. I’ve never had this much fun before in my life, and that’s all because of you. So thank you…”

She voices, turning her back towards me, so I don’t see her blush.

“This is really embarrassing so I’m not gonna say it again…” Her voice trembled slightly, and I can already imagine the embarrassed face she’s making right now.

But my imagination wasn’t enough to satisfy me. I wanted to see it for myself.

As those thoughts crossed my mind, I could already feel the dam called reason, starting to give out.

“Hey, that’s not fair.” I reply, unable to hold back a smile.

“What?”

“I’m having fun, too.”

“Really?” She asked, taken aback.

“Come on, don’t you see? If you ever told me I’d be doing all this, while I was still back at Tokyo, I’d call you crazy!” I said, holding back a chuckle.

“So… truth be told…” I scratched the back of my head, as if that would drive away the embarrassment of voicing my feelings.

“It’s all thanks to you, Hana.” I finally muster the courage to say.

The sun has long set, and the moon has taken its place up in the sky now. And as the sole ruler up there for a lighting source, I can’t make out much of anything.

At that moment, that split second, all I could see was Hana’s figure illuminated only by the stars and the moonlight.

Everything happened so fast.

She turned around, and before I could process what was happening, her face was right in front of me. She had grabbed me from my collarbone, and brought our lips together. All the sensations across my body had shut down, and the only thing I could, and wanted, to feel were her lips. It was as if lightning had struck my whole being, and fire was seemingly coursing through my veins. I had never felt this way before.

It was a short, sweet thing that didn’t even last 5 seconds, but the effect of her lips on mine lingered on in my mind.

“What… was that?” I voiced, my tone low, as our foreheads still touched.

“Me, living in the present.” She replied, a radiant smile finding its way to her face.

And that smile, was what turned on a switch I didn’t know I had. She just seemed so endearing in that moment, that my body just acted on its own.

Gently grabbing her waist, I brought my lips to hers this time, craving more of her.

This time it was more passionate and messy, but we couldn’t care less. All we wanted to feel was each other’s warmth.

“Haah… haah…” Finally, we pulled apart from each other, completely out of breath.

“Maybe we should have had this “present” talk, earlier…” I made a joke, to which Hana giggled in response, her face tinted in a tomato red glow.

“Yukiooo!! Hanaa!!!” Daichi’s face echoed from the cave, and we jumped apart from each other like two wet cats. Thankfully, the darkness of our surroundings had helped us keep our kiss safe from prying eyes.

“Yeeeeesshh?!” Hana replied, her face turning SO crimson, I suddenly felt worried about her blood vessels.

“Oh, there they are.” Emi pointed a flashlight our way, as we emerged from the ocean.

“H-Hey Emi…” I greet her, trying to sound normal.

“Heh, what were you guys doing back there?” She gave us her usual grin and comment, but this time, her teasing hit home harder than ever.

“NOTHING!” We shouted simultaneously.

“Why are you shouting? Suspicious…” Emi’s grin widened, and I felt my face redden, even as much as Hana’s.

“Hey, guys, I’m about to light these up, so come on over!” Daichi announced, sparing us from the interrogation.

We joined him in the middle of the beach, where he had set up the cake fireworks boxes.

“Welcome to my realm, peasants!!” Chinatsu said, playfully running around in circles with a lit sparkler in her hand.

Heh, FINALLY she’s acting like her age!

Soon, we had all gathered round the fireworks, eagerly anticipating what was to come.

“Okay… and go!” Daichi lit up the fireworks, as a low burning sound ensued.

Soon, a ball of light took to the sky followed by a hiss, and bloomed into a colorful flower with a bang. Countless colored sparks filled the dark canvas above, challenging the stars to a contest of beauty.

Everyone looked up in awe, as another firework erupted.

That was when Hana took my hand in hers, squeezing it with affection. Looking around to confirm nobody has noticed, I squeeze back, as her lips curve into a bashful smile.

Despite the rocky start to our trip to the beach today, I can safely say I had so much fun, that I will never forget it. And not only due to how fun it was, but also, because of this girl next to me.

The girl that taught me how to enjoy every moment. The girl, that delivered on her promise, and keeps on taking me to a new adventure every single day.

But looking back on it, the highlight of every little adventure we had, was her. It had always been HER. She is the embodiment of fun. And thanks to her, I can truly say I enjoyed myself this summer.

And the best part? Our time together is only getting started…

Turning back from one spectacle to another, I notice the girl beside me, is looking up at the sky with a natural smile. At that moment, only a single thought crosses my mind.

Beautiful. Just like the ocean and the stars.

After we finished every single firework on Daichi’s box, we were delighted to see that the car was actually in a working condition all along, and we drove back to Ryusejima’s main prefecture.

The day may have ended, but the events of today will play back in my mind for many years to come.