Guardian Angel

We were both out of breath after running to the site after school. We knew this was supposed to be a student's gallery and they must not have had much budget, but what we saw was...

"You kids have no idea how hard it is to be an adult!" Chiharu rolled her eyes and called us inside like a suspicious person. "We did have famous people coming here, you know? It's the work that matters, not the place it's displayed in!"

My shoulders slumped and I let out a sigh. The little event was almost over, and the students were picking up their pieces. The room was actually not bad-looking from the inside.

"Our professor was impressed by the piece, and I have to thank Saeko for it." I didn't know how good Chiharu was as an artist, nor I had any idea of how to judge a painting. But I looked forward to seeing it. After all, this was the next step to finding something about my sister.

"Look, boys, there it is." She pointed towards a brightly lit corner.

Hikari looked at it, and I first said, "That's really... big."

The big blue canvas with a figure wearing white hovered over what looked like a faceless man. The figure in white was female, smiling and crying at the same time, she had her hands on the man's shoulders. At first glance, it was too big and too bright. The light reflecting from all that white paint was hurting my eyes. The white contrasted against the deep blues and black in the background, and it seemed as if some divine entity was haunting the man underneath. I don't get it.

But, the title of the painting read, "Guardian Angel" by Chiharu Tanabe.

We both stared at it for a good few minutes.

It's not too well made, but something about it makes my skin crawl. I don't like it at all.

"What the hell is that?!" I didn't want to say it out of politeness, but well, Hikari said it. "Why did you draw her like a ghost?! It's ugly! I don't want to see something like this!" He said loudly and walked out. I tried to grab his hand to stop him, but he gave me a look and I let him go.

"Wow, he hated it, huh?" Chiharu smiled and scratched her head. "Good thing I didn't go to art school then. Doing it as a hobby is good enough." She laughed at her own words.

I didn't respond and kept staring at the painting. It was uncomfortable to look at it.

Chiharu started talking again. "Most of my friends said it's too bright, so much, that it's hard to look at; and I get that. But you know, when the professor saw it, he started crying. He praised it and told me, how it reminded him of his mother."

"I don't like it either. The ghost's face is horrible and it's like the man doesn't even know he's being followed by her."

"Exactly!" She nodded her head. "And that's not a ghost, read the title, kid. That's a guardian. Something like a fairy. I thought, well, the man should turn around and face her, so she would stop crying, but that's not what he will do. Isn't that genius?" Chiharu was shameless enough to brag about her own work. "I'm gonna upload it online. Or maybe, I should find a buyer!"

I took one last glance at the cryptic drawing and asked her to wrap it up, and that we'd help her take it back. "I'll go and see where Hikari went. Please start without us."

I ran down the flight of stairs, hoping to catch a fresh breath after reaching the open. Something was stuck in my lungs, something like a good cry, but not really. Then I saw Hikari leaning against the building wall. He was looking at a tree on the other side of the road and he looked peaceful. Almost so, I did not want to disturb that expression.

Usually, Hikari behaved childishly around me. He pouted and made remarks you wouldn't expect from someone our age. When he's quiet, something has upset him. But this was different. He was standing alone, so he had no appearances to up for anyone. I wondered if this was how he remained all day until he could rush into our classroom and pester me and Yamato.

He hadn't noticed me yet, so I walked closer. He looked at me, but his face did not change. Like this, Hikari looked mature. Like a stoic I'd admire and want to copy; like a man who wouldn't be affected by what he went through. Like a monk who's attained peace.

"Did you hate it that much?" I asked and waited patiently for an answer.

He did not hum or make dramatic gestures like he usually did before answering a question. He didn't tilt his head pretending to be cute. "I know the man in the painting." He said.

"When I looked at it, I felt like it was me," I answered honestly. "Saeko didn't ever ask me for help, instead, she treated me very well. So, I thought I was the ignorant man who didn't realize in time, how much she suffered. At the least, that's what I thought."

"No, Souma, it's not you. It's someone else." He relaxed his spine and looked at the sky. "A privileged jerk who thinks he's better than everyone... Someday, I'll tell you about him."

"I'll wait." I rested my body weight on the same wall he was leaning on, beside him. The sky was yellow and the sun was white, the clouds weren't visible and the air was slightly chilly.

Chiharu loudly called us from inside, "Hey, help me lift it downstairs!" We walked up quickly and lifted the frame wrapped in brown paper. "You see, the delivery man doesn't bring it downstairs."

We leaned the painting against the wall. There was a bicycle parked just in front of the building now, but we didn't see anyone enter it. It was getting in our way and Chiharu lightly kicked it in frustration. "Please do that later." I pointed at the bicycle. "Will you be fine after this much?"

"Uhuh, I have some friends coming over to help. You two are free to leave now." So, we bid our goodbyes... or I bid goodbyes and Hikari remained quiet. I looked at him a few times and he did not make a comedic face. But he must've noticed me glancing every few minutes.

"Souma, tomorrow I'll be in your class again. Now, I need to hurry home." He said.

"I'll wait," I replied and he drew closer. He hugged me very fast and then nodded at me. His face was saying, It'll be alright. And mentally, I agreed. Everything will be alright.

Then, we parted ways.