To the Future

Ren woke up energetically from his bed, Niko lying at his feet. They both got up and prepared for the day.

"You seem happy today," the imaginary cat said as Ren brushed his teeth.

He rinsed his mouth and became pensive. "I'm not sure if I was thinking about it that way, but I guess I have a lot of reasons to be happy."

He rushed downstairs and found his mother in her pajamas, sipping on coffee.

"I made some food for you," Maya said comfortably.

"Mom! On your day off? I was supposed to do something for you."

"Don't be silly. I need to pamper my son, so he won't forget about me."

He approached, kissing his mother's forehead, and enjoyed a nice breakfast with her, something that didn't happen frequently.

After finishing, he said goodbye to his mother and hurried to school. On the way there, he spotted occasional magical things with his imagination, but he also needed to stay focused on practical matters and couldn't get distracted all the time.

When he arrived, he was promptly cornered by Erika, who startled him by pulling him aside.

"I have a mission for us," Erika said with a mischievous smile.

"At this hour? What's going on?"

"Yesterday afternoon, a younger girl beat Leo at soccer!"

She spoke as if this already made all the sense in the world.

"So what?" Ren questioned, eager to get back home.

"You should have seen the sparks flying during the match; that girl is the perfect match for Leo! We need to make it happen!"

Ren wished for once to have his role reversed and be one of the planners infiltrating his friends' romantic lives.

"A younger girl who even won against him? It does sound promising," Ren commented, and Erika celebrated.

"I'm going to get closer to her, and then we'll plan everything!"

They walked together to the floor where their class was located and bid each other farewell. It didn't take long to find Leo carrying a bunch of notebooks.

"Here are the summaries for you to study."

Ren looked at the whole pile with no excitement.

"Leo, I'm just trying for a slightly better college; I don't need all of this."

"Of course you do! You spent the entire first semester not studying at all. Do you think you can make it like this?"

Leo was helping him prepare for college. Ren was a bit envious of his friend; he excelled in sports and studies and was one of the most popular guys in their class. At the same time, he was thankful every day to have a friend like him. He had a heart of gold and was always willing to help.

"I'll skip soccer practice today so we can study."

Remembering the girl who played soccer, Ren didn't want to interfere, and he also had plans.

"Today is music room day. I need some time to draw too, right? After all, that was your idea."

"All right, all right. But this weekend, I'm invading your house, and we're studying hard! By the way, what about the new pages?"

Ren smiled at his friend but didn't reveal anything to him.

"You know I show them to Aria first, but you'll see them soon."

Leo pretended to wipe tears of sadness from his eyes.

"You're abandoning your friends for your girlfriend? What a betrayal."

"Exactly, now if you'll excuse me."

He went to his seat and sat down. In front of him, Aria had not arrived yet. He wanted to show her the new pages before class started, but he knew that with Aria, this wasn't always possible.

As usual, she arrived just in time for class, and now Ren made an effort to pay attention, which wasn't always successful. His mind loved to wander to distant worlds and create stories constantly. But he was trying his best.

The day passed, and Ren was already tired by the end, but all his energies were renewed when he remembered the plans for the afternoon.

"Shall we?" Aria asked, extending her hand to him.

The couple walked hand in hand through the school to the music room. They left their belongings on a table, and Ren took out the latest pages he had drawn.

"I hope you like them," he said, feeling embarrassed. Even though they did this often, he always felt insecure.

However, the insecurity disappeared when he saw her eyes light up with every page she turned. The current story was about a detective versus a scammer in the modern world, with exaggerated thefts and a bigger mystery behind it.

"Ren! Your art is so good!"

The compliment always made him happy, but currently, it wasn't enough.

"And the story?"

She paused to analyze, becoming a bit more serious than usual.

"I love everything you do, but I know you need criticism to improve. I think the explanation of the mystery came out of nowhere. Maybe having more clues at the beginning."

He was really concerned about that, he liked the ending of his story very much, but he was afraid the mystery might become too obvious, and perhaps that's why he made it so hard for the reader to try to solve it alongside the protagonist.

"You're right; I'll fix that," he said, looking intensely at the resolution of the mystery.

Sensing that he was getting too tense, Aria placed her hands on his shoulders.

"But it's really good. I'm sure you'll figure it out."

He thanked her and prepared to start drawing, while Aria positioned herself in front of the piano, ready to begin.

Ren loved these moments; he felt connected with Aria in a transcendental way. She played in her chaotic, rule-free manner, enjoying it while her presence and music inspired Ren like nothing else in the world.

She saw magic coming from him as he drew, and he felt her magic with every note that came out of the piano. The future for Ren was not a perfect paradise, with no guarantees of his dreams or success, but he wouldn't trade his present for anything in the world, knowing he couldn't be happier than he already was.