The First Was Serene

He had no idea where he were being led. They ran through the park cheerfully, and Aria was the first to start laughing, with Ren quickly following suit, letting himself immerse in the moment.

"What are we doing?" Ren asked, finding all of this madness both amusing and bewildering.

"Following a cat!" Aria exclaimed, as if that were explanation enough.

Ren looked in the direction they were running but saw no cat. It seemed like they were chasing a ghost.

"Aria, where's the cat?"

"It ran over there. It was all white, looked magical, so if we follow it, we'll arrive at a magical place too."

The first image that came to Ren's mind was Niko, but he was an imaginary cat, and it's not like there weren't other white cats around, right?

They continued their erratic run, with Aria leading the way and pulling Ren by the hand. He followed her, but without knowing where they were going, he could only keep up with her steps from behind.

They passed by the food stalls, and Aria stopped abruptly, nearly causing Ren to fall to the ground.

"What now?" he asked.

The girl pointed to a ladder leaning against the top of one of the stalls.

"We almost went under it. It would have brought us years of bad luck."

Ren stared at his companion and began to laugh at her decision. There was no denying it; he was in love. She was just perfect for him.

"Well, but we can't stop, right? And the cat?" Ren said, trying to maintain the same level of excitement as Aria.

She looked around attentively, just like Ren, who was certain there was no cat in any direction. Nevertheless, Aria pointed to a direction further into the park.

"There! Let's go!"

Once again, there was no doubt that there was no cat, but the chase continued nonetheless, and the two resumed running, this time through trees.

Ren's mind began to wander. He thought of his story and imagined Vanat and the Small Shining Knight running hand in hand through a magical forest.

Then he stopped. Not from running, but from wandering in his mind. He was literally running hand in hand with the girl of his dreams, chasing a destination that probably didn't exist but still felt magical, and he decided it was time to embrace reality instead of daydreaming.

He tightened his grip on Aria's hand and tried to speed up; now, the two were running side by side. Even though Ren didn't know where they were going, he didn't want to be left behind. Both of them were smiling through the adventure, not needing to exchange words to enjoy each other's presence.

And then the barking started. A large dog was chasing after them. They saw no owner, and not knowing if the dog wanted to play or attack, they ran even faster, now for their lives.

They ran and ran until the dog gave up chasing them. Both collapsed on the ground, exhausted, and more laughter followed once everything settled. They were now in a quieter part of the park, where they could barely hear other people.

Ren had no idea how to get back to their friends, and honestly, he didn't care. At the moment, he was in the best place he could be.

The spot where they rested was at the base of a hill in the park, with an observation deck at the top. It wasn't especially high, but the park was already situated in an elevated part of the city, and Ren had heard that the view from the deck was wonderful.

When they were no longer out of breath, Ren turned to Aria and started speaking.

"It's a shame we lost the cat."

He stood up, reaching out his hand to help the girl get up. However, she didn't let go of his hand after standing.

"What are you talking about? He went up the hill; let's go!"

The chase began again. Ren was already tired and didn't know how long he could keep up. Aria herself seemed out of breath, but she never stopped smiling, which made Ren's heart melt.

Now, he wondered what their friends might be thinking. Leo would probably say they were kissing and make Ren uncomfortable. Thinking about that activated another idea in the boy's mind.

What if they did kiss? Ren didn't need it; he was already loving the adventure with Aria, but it was a possibility he wouldn't refuse. But was he ready? Did he have bad breath? Would his kiss be terrible, and would Aria not want to look at him anymore?

All those thoughts vanished when he saw the view from the observation deck.

The two arrived exhausted at the top of the hill. They could see the most beautiful sunset covering the entire city, and Ren's mind had space only to appreciate this moment with Aria, despite the absence of a white cat. Moreover, there wasn't anyone else at the observation deck with them.

Still holding hands and facing this beautiful landscape, it felt like the most intimate moment of their date. Ren felt his hand starting to sweat, not wanting Aria to notice.

He turned to her, thinking of suggesting that they let go of each other's hands since they weren't running anymore, but he saw her turning to him as well.

He felt her breath. They were very close, and Ren couldn't resist looking at Aria's lips and wondering if this would be the moment. But of course, deep down, he knew he wouldn't take the initiative for that.

His heart was already racing when he opened his mouth to speak, and at that moment, Aria leaned in, and their lips touched.

To Ren's surprise, everything calmed down. Despite the nervousness, his heart didn't scream; there was no hurricane or fireworks display. Their first kiss was serene.

With closed eyes, he felt Aria's lips, the last rays of sunlight illuminating them, and it was as if there were no problems in the world.