Our Very Best

It was the edge of night; A faint blue glow could be seen somewhere beyond the city horizon. A rhythmic shaking and rattling gently rocked Aya as she stood within the hull of a train. As the train moved, it carried her further from the starry night behind, and ever closer to the shimmering edge of morning ahead.

Aya flipped open her phone as she hung onto the overhead bar. The light of the touch screen lit her face and the space around her with an otherworldly glow. The time read: 6:01 am. She gently sighed, placed the phone back in the side pocket of her bag, and quietly embraced the silence as the ground beneath her feet gently rocked.

Aya stared at the glass window nearest her. Her reflection overlaid the dark nightscape outside. Aya’s long fluffy, sea-foam green hair was extra disheveled today. She was wearing a long T-shirt with wave patterns and bold print that was cropped at the shoulders. Sitting snugly around her head was a white and blue beanie with a dolphin logo printed on the front. As she gazed upon her own reflection, Aya’s eyes met her own. Her and her reflection locked eyes, sharing an intimate moment tucked just beyond time’s reach.

Aya felt a sharp pain swell in her chest. The corners of her eyes welled up with tears, and her chest heaved a few quiet sobs. She sniffled and wiped her eyes; Her surroundings responded with indifference, much as it always had. Everyone on the train was preoccupied with the hypnotic glow of their phones, were staring out the windows to confront their own struggles, or had opted out entirely and decided to sleep. A cold familiarity. The kind that had caused her to feel more like a ghost with each passing day.

Aya’s train had embarked from an orphanage in a distant city three hours away from her current destination. She never knew her parents, or at least had no memory of them. Likely for the best, as Aya had a different kind of family; One that followed her everywhere she went, and whom she was inseparable from.

“There, there…” a gentle voice cooed softly into Aya’s ear. A warm chill ran up Aya’s neck, and she leaned on the familiar voice, letting her envelope Aya with what had been a lifetime of familiarity, warmth, and love.

“Kanna…” Aya whispered. She sniffled once more, wiping her eyes a second time for good measure. Kanna stood directly behind Aya, just barely out of view, and wrapped her arms gently around Aya. Kanna’s touch flooded Aya’s heart with a lifetime of history. The bond they shared was special, and was difficult to put into words. What some might consider child’s play or an overactive imagination, to Aya, was the greatest source of love, comfort, and stability in her life.

“Saying goodbye like that, um.” Kanna paused as she struggled to find her words. “It was brave of you, Aya.” Kanna looked out the window towards the black ocean of stars. They shimmered brightly over the glowing horizon, as mountains and grassy fields passed by. “Wherever this train goes, just know that you’ll never have to suffer a final goodbye with me.” Kanna squeezed Aya’s hand. Aya forced a smile and turned to face her reflection in the window; She stood alone.

“It hurts.” Aya said. “I’d rather be a normal girl, if it meant I’d have a family to call my own.”

“Normal? You mean…Without us? Aya…” Kanna paused and put a hand on Aya’s shoulder. “You don’t mean that.”

“...What if I did, Kanna?” Aya looked over her shoulder. The machinery below hummed rhythmically, as the blues on the horizon made way for warmer hues of purple, which outlined the shadow of the growing cityscape that lay straight ahead.

“We’re your family, little one.” Kanna wrapped her arms around Aya. Aya felt her mind grow fuzzy, and warm chills run up her back. Her frustration faded as time slowly drifted by.

“Sorry…I didn’t mean that,” Aya whispered.

“Don’t be, sweetie. I came to listen,” Kanna said with a warm smile. “So let it out, okay? Tell me what’s bothering you.”

Aya paused and put a finger to her lip, searching for the source of her trembling heart. “Um. I dunno. I guess…Getting a free ride to an expensive school is good and all...” Aya leaned her head against the glass. “...but why does it have to be like this? I’ll probably never see the people I grew up with ever again.”

“They’re probably happier that you left for a better life.” Kanna smiled softly at Aya, wiping a tear from her eye. “Your creative talent was wasted there, it was only a matter of time before you were noticed.”

“Dunno,” Aya said quietly, her eyes shifting back from her reflection, to the passing scenery outside. The sun was starting to show faint signs of rising. Aya opened her phone and looked down at the time. She opened her messenger app, and a pending friend notification immediately struck her attention; Aya’s heart skipped a beat.

“You should put that away, Aya,” Another familiar voice called out. This voice was breathy, quieter, but also more womanly.

“Huh? What-Why?” Aya said. Her jaw clenched, and she looked away from her phone.

“To conserve our phone’s battery. We need the extra battery life, should we get lost navigating our way to the campus.”

“Dude, it’s fully charged. It’s gonna be fine,” Aya said as she turned back to her pending friend notification, completely ignoring Saffron. The notification was from ‘ChuuBear’, the name of one of her best friends that managed to check out of the orphanage at the same time as Aya. She quickly clicked the add friend button, and almost immediately, her phone began to buzz with incoming messages.

“Aya. You can look at those later. Turn it off, or I’m stepping in.” Saffron said firmly.

“Ugh.” Aya rolled her eyes, flipped off the phone, and tossed it back in her bag’s pocket with a sulky sigh.

“That’s a good girl,” Saffron said, as she gave Aya a pat on the head. Aya’s head tingled pleasantly as she gazed into her reflection once more, seeing only herself. She looked beyond and felt herself get lost in the passing landscape.

“Personally, I think…maybe life’s finally paying us back.” Kanna smiled. “It’s like a dream come true really. Think about it! We’re going to be living on campus at a big school in the middle of the city.” Kanna grinned and pumped her fist. “Getting away from home is like, every kid’s dream, man.”

“I guess.” Aya slipped in her earbuds and had flipped open an old handheld gaming console that a close friend and enthusiast of retro games had given her.

Aya popped in the cartridge to her favorite JRPG, and pressed the power button. As familiar chiptunes looped in her ear, the two people whom Aya was just speaking with slowly started to fade. Aya tapped the buttons and quietly hummed along to the background music of each stage like a little songbird. After some time passed, Aya looked up from her game. What was once a small hint of purple on the horizon had turned into a glowing ball of orange that pierced the city skyline and put Aya’s destination into full view.

Before long the train came to a stop. A few beeps played over the intercom, and the doors slid open. Aya folded up the console and tossed it in her bag. She stepped outside and was immediately met with a powerful gust of wind. Aya held her beanie as her bushy green hair flapped wildly in the breeze. As she walked along the platform of the station, her feet echoed and clacked in the empty space. Aya searched for the exit to the platform, pushing her way through a turnstile, and jumped onto an escalator going up.
Aya yawned and stretched as the escalator carried her to the ground level. The streets above were mostly quiet, with the occasional low roar of a passing vehicle, and the chirping of birds lined up on power cables. The morning ambiance was like music to her ears. Aya began to feel a heaviness in her limbs from having skipped sleep for three days straight in a fatal combination of both excitement and dread. Aya’s eyelids grew heavy and she felt her steps get more difficult to take.

“Can’t make it much further.. Saffron, could…you?” Aya managed to make a few more words before her vision began to spin. A small pressure formed at the center of her forehead, and she felt the waves of the ocean fold in around her, swallowing her last breath.

—

Saffron took a moment to flex her fingers and took a deep breath. She wiped a few tears away, but noticed quickly that her hands were trembling. Her chest ached, her face felt warm, and her eyes stung. Saffron reached into her bag’s pocket and pulled out a pair of thick black-rimmed glasses, and put them on. People were looking at Saffron from across the street.

“Miss, are you all right?” A concerned voice called out to Saffron from just a short distance away.

“Mm.” Saffron nodded firmly and held up her hand, as if to gesture she was fine and didn’t want to be bothered. The person quickly nodded, and continued on their way.

“So um. What just happened to Aya?” Kanna looked to Saffron with a worried expression.

“She needed to rest.” Saffron said, pulling out the phone and holding the power switch. The phone took a few moments to boot back up. “She’ll be around more once we’re settled in and have our class schedule. The girl’s fine with routines. So maybe once we get her there, things will work themselves out.” Saffron clicked through her navigator app. She waited a moment and then, with more confident steps, began walking towards the direction of their new school.
The city streets were aglow in a nostalgic purple hue. Lavender fluffy clouds floated above whimsically like cotton candy. The neighborhood that Saffron walked through was clean and well maintained. Birds sang cheerfully on the power lines that hung over the street like a forest canopy. Saffron made her way through a crosswalk, passing by a few shops that were just starting to open their windows. She took a deep breath, taking in her surroundings and still getting her bearings.

“It’s so pretty here,” Kanna said, skipping along happily just a step or two behind Saffron. “This is so exciting! We’re on our own little adventure! Hehe.” Kanna chuckled.

“Starting life in a new world, basically,” Saffron said. She held up the phone as she walked, keeping the phone screen lit at max brightness. She squinted through her glasses as she read the map and navigated through the various twists and turns of the city.

“Ah! Thought it was weird that you told her to save the phone battery while at full charge. It makes sense now though.” Kanna chuckled. “I can’t fathom how your eyesight is so much worse than both of ours. We share a body!”

“I’m half convinced you both are pulling a fast one on me and just not wearing your glasses like you should be,” Saffron said.

“Hehe, or maybe you’re just faking bad eyesight so you can have an excuse to wear those frames.” Kanna pointed at Saffron’s glasses frames and stuck out her tongue.
“Maybe I am.” Saffron smirked and continued walking.

The two continued down the nostalgia tinted city streets. Saffron led the way with Kanna in tow a step behind.

“Ohh! I think I see it, at the end of this street, right?” Kanna said.

“Mmhm. Straight ahead,” Saffron said as she continued ahead.

“Saff, I was wondering…If you’re so worried about Aya, why don’t you just take over when it’s time to do anything school related?” Kanna tilted her head and put a finger to her lip.

“I’m just here to help when things get to be too much.” Kanna quietly said as she continued walking towards the school. “Besides, I can’t take Aya’s best years from her.”

“So you’re excited too, Saff?”

“Somewhat. Though, not nearly as much as you.”

“Awh, why not?” Kanna puffed out her cheeks and pouted towards Saffron.

“Aya’s mostly right to doubt the legitimacy of this. I’ve come up short when it came to keeping her out of trouble. Time after time Aya’s taken things into her own hands.” Saffron exhaled and closed her eyes. “She’s become rather skilled at ignoring me and has found quite a few ways to drown my voice.”

“Look at it this way, Saff: Whether she listens or not, we owe Aya our very best.” Kanna declared with a bold smile. “She’ll definitely come to realize how useful our help can be.”

“Well, you’re right about one thing. She’ll need it. Probably now more than ever, if I’m being honest,” Saffron said. “She’ll be busy with homework, clubs, and who knows…maybe she’ll start dating.”

“You say it like it’s such an afterthought.” Kanna chuckled. “When people are in love or afraid, that’s when they really grow into who they are.”

“Can’t really tell if you’re referring to yourself or Aya,” Saffron said with a snicker.

Kanna smiled back and the two continued along. After a bit more walking, Saffron stopped short and pointed down a secluded alleyway.
“This way.”

“Ah-really? Sure this is the right way?” Kanna asked.

“Mmhm. Have I ever steered you wrong?”

“Yes.”

“Just trust me.” Saffron playfully sneered.

The two continued down the alleyway. The walls were brick and covered with ivy. The sounds of traffic and people made way for more chirping birds and the swaying of leaves in the breeze.
“This is probably where I should get off.” Saffron took off her glasses and slipped them in her bag. “Lots of people ahead, I think you’re better suited for this.”

“Sure! Hehe. Thank you very much for all you do, Saff.”

“Always.”

—

Kanna’s eyes flew open and she exhaled loudly and reached for the sky.

“Ahhh~ So exciting!! Hehe,” Kanna said with a stretch. “I can’t wait to see who’s in our class. Oh! Maybe we’ll have a cute dorm-mate. Wouldn’t that be steamy?” Kanna winked back at Saffron, who was sighing at the comment. Aya had just begun to stir once more, and slowly started coming to.

“Little Aya! We’re almost there. You’re up just in time.” Kanna smiled and skipped long to the entrance of the school.
“Yo, really-Where’s the school at?” Aya tilted her head, sleepily trailing behind Kanna, walking alongside Saffron.

“Aya, this isn’t really your typical school. You’ve been admitted into a school for creative talent. The buildings here are all pretty old, actually,” Saffron said, pointing out a few rustic looking buildings that were beginning to pop up along the walkway. “You see, they refurbished these once abandoned factories in the area to turn them into school buildings.”

“And they wanted me for my graffiti scribbles, huh?” Aya sulked. Her head hung as she dragged her tired limbs behind Kanna.

“Hey-Don’t sell yourself short, honey. It’s not graffiti. It’s street art. And they picked you because you’re the best there is.”

“The best huh? Sure, dude.”

“Would you quit sulking, child?” Saffron crossed her arms.

“The quicker we get through this orientation, the better. I just wanna sleep.”

“Oh don’t worry, Aya. You’ll get your chance for a nap soon I’m sure,” Kanna said in a chirpy upbeat voice.

The three girls walked through the campus, winding their way through the open green hills. There were groups of students clad in uniform, and standing in groups. They were all chatting amongst themselves. Occasionally people would walk by and wave to Kanna, to which she’d give a friendly smile and a wave back. Before long, they arrived at the entrance building. A sign written in ornate script with chalk stood in front of the doors. “Entrance Ceremony”
“Ohh! This is it. Once we walk through these doors, our lives will change forever.” Kanna clenched her fist, looking towards the doors with a spark in her eyes.
“I’ll devote myself to supporting you both. Please work hard, and from here on out, I want us all to do our very best,” Saffron said as she stepped up next to Kanna.