Pool

Searching for Lilac in a big city has had to be the most frustrating experience I’ve ever had to deal with.

Currently, we are at a place called Paradise Park. People passed us by, making more tracks to the point where we weren’t sure if we would ever find my dog.

I wanted to give up so badly. Everything was so distracting. Even the sun was starting to shine again into the evening.

In a final moment of desperation, I sat down on an empty bench. While I mindlessly watched the colorful trees sway back and forth through the wind, Izusaki suddenly stood in front of me.

“Ryutane-kun… You probably hate me now…”

I looked back at her, only to see she had been crying with her eyes closed. I was very confused by this.

“It’s not your fault Tanase-chan. After what you said about your life, I can understand why you felt the way you did. I care a lot about Lilac, but not a lot about myself. Last night, I didn’t get much sleep. It’s no one’s fault but mine. I just don’t really know what’s going to happen once I go to a new school. All of these sudden changes. I don’t feel ready for them yet.”

My mind went blank until I finally couldn’t shake the fact that Lilac was probably gone forever. Not only would my parents be mad, but Izusaki’s family weren’t going to tolerate it either. I was in so much trouble.

Processing the problem I had to deal with, Izusaki sat next to me. I could tell she was uncomfortable with what just happened as well. Everything was quiet between the both of us until she came around to ask me about Lilac.

“Say, Ryutane-kun… What do you love most about Lilac?”

I thought about her question for a second before finally telling Izusaki everything I could about Lilac.

“The truth is, Lilac used to have a home. Her owner died when she was little. The pet store told me they had a really hard time getting her a new place to live because she was really hard to train…”

I was beginning to see that there was a lot Lilac had in common with Izusaki.

“I suppose you could say that was when I first went with my parents to buy a pet on my 7th birthday, I couldn’t take my eye off of her because she was the only one that kept looking back at me when I wasn’t noticing. It looked interesting and I came to see that she is really playful in ways I could never imagine any other pet being. My best moment with her was when we both went to a water park and slid down into the pool together.”

I stopped out of concern when I saw the miserable expression on Izusaki’s face. She seemed upset about something.

“I wish I had a friend like that. A pet I could play with. The families I’ve had so far never let me own one before. Instead, I’m so shy around everyone I see. When people usually talk to me, I feel scared to share with them what I went through. My life isn’t normal anyways. Why would anyone want to talk to a messed up girl like me?” said Izusaki.

The negative feelings Izusaki was sharing right now were a whole lot more understandable to hear. She was more interested in other people’s lives rather than her own.

Maybe there was a part of her that was trying to heal from how she felt.