Hope

He received a letter from her. The date on the letter was ten years ago. A letter from ten years ago. He remembered they did something like that ten years ago. The letter told him to go to their promised place. And there he stood, at the beach, waiting for her. He began to reminisce the past.

This was where they had their first date. It was summer at that time and there was a Summer Festival being held at the beach. He remembered the outfit she wore, the stalls they visited, the food they ate, and even the prize he won from the air gun shooting. He loved her and she loved him back.

But as they began to understand each other more, they realized that there is an incompatible difference between them. They did not break up, but rather came to an understanding to go their own ways. They promised each other to meet up again ten years later. They both wrote a letter to the other person which would be delivered 10 years later. He did not know what she wrote in her letter, and she did not know what he wrote in his. The only thing they promised to write in the letter was to meet up again 10 years later.

Now, he awaits her arrival. They were young back then and did not specify a time for the meeting. He was been waiting since dawn and it was already noon. But he waited patiently, believing that she will come. It was near sunset when she finally arrived. She stood in front of him. They said nothing except looking at each other. He handed her the letter she wrote to him and she gave him the letter he wrote to her.

His letter

“I understand that you cannot accept our difference right now. But I will wait for you. Even if you choose to not show up, I still will wait for you. Be it 10 years, 20 years, I will be waiting for you. Hopefully, see you again in 10 years.”

Her letter

“I guess we are too young for this relationship to work out right now. Know that we are not breaking up but rather a chance for us to grow up and become more mature than we are right now. Hopefully after 10 years, we’ll be able to accept each other more than we are able to now. See you again in 10 years.”

They said nothing as the sun slowly sets beneath the horizon. A flock of seagulls sail across the setting sun.

“It there ‘us’ now?”

Manten no Sekai

In an old abandoned church, she walked in through the door. Her outfit was not the gracious dress of a bride but rather just a white curtain, tattered and torn, wrapped around her body. The bouquet of flowers was just a handful of flowers randomly plucked. He stood in front of the altar waiting for her. His outfit wasn’t fine either. His tuxedo was torn in various places and even the left sleeve is missing. Blood stained can be seen on the shirt beneath the tux. She walked until she was beside him. The person behind the altar wasn’t a priest, but just their friend who had been with them for a long time.

The friend looked at them and began the ceremony.

“Do you take her to be your wife? To be true to her in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health? Will you love her and honor her for all the days of your life?”

“I do,” he says.

“Do you take her to be your wife? To be true to her in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health? Will you love her and honor her for all the days of your life?”

“I do,” she says.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”

He looked at her and smiled. She smiled back at him. They wrapped their arms around their partner and kissed. It was a sweet and blissful moment for the two of them. They had been through a lot to get to this moment. Even the friend shed a tear of joy for them.

The two of them moved to the middle of the area and began dancing. The moonlight shone directly on them through a hole in the roof. As they dance, they thought about their first meeting. How he accidentally ran into her when turning a corner. How he spilled coffee on her dress and then tried to wipe it off her body. How she yelled at him for touching her at the wrong places.

She began to become slightly translucent. He noticed it but said nothing.

“It’s about time.” The friend said.

“Just let me finish this dance.” She said with tears in her eyes.

He gripped her hand tighter, afraid of losing her. They continued their dance. They began thinking of how they got together. She was being harassed by a drunken man on the street. She tried to push him away but the drunken man’s grip was strong. He saw her being harassed and jumped in to help her. He pushed the drunken man away, held her hand and ran. They ran until they can run no more. Panting, their eyes met. And then they both laughed. They laughed and laughed. He was still holding her hand. And that continued until he sent her home.

She is now semitransparent. The friend looked at her anxiously. Time is running out. He held on even tighter. Tears are flowing down both their cheeks. Yet they continued dancing, trying to stay in the moonlight. They began to recall their first separation. Her father did not like him. And his father did not like her either. Her father opposed of their relationship and so did his. But they knew they were made for each other. Their love for each other was true. They met in secret and enjoyed each other’s company. Until the day her father found out that they were meeting in secret. He was beaten up by guards hired by her father and she was locked up in her room. His father threw him out of the family for continuing their relationship despite his objections. They were physically separated but their hearts remained connected.

She is now almost transparent. The friend’s look was increasingly worried. He wrapped his arms around her and she did the same. They were hoping that the moment would last forever. They began reminiscing the events that led to their reunion. War had broke out across the country. Their city was caught right in the middle of it. This gave him a chance to get to her. Riots were everywhere and looters and pillagers were ransacking everything. He followed a group of rioters to her house. In the midst of chaos, he slipped in to find her. The guards were fighting with the rioters, the rioters are fighting against each other and he was fighting everyone who stood in his way. But she was nowhere to be found. He found a note in her room. The note was written in a code they made together. Their friend helped her to escape from the house and was waiting for him at the abandoned church. The fighting was intense, and the house was set ablaze by rioters. He made it out of the house but he was seriously wounded. Blood stained his shirt as he stumble towards the meeting place. He slumped to the ground when he finally reached the church. Life was slipping away from him. She cried when she saw the condition he was in. Not willing to lose him, she made a pact with the devil. Her soul in exchange for his full recovery. Their friend asked her to reconsider but her decision is made. She was willing to sacrifice anything and everything for him.

He regained consciousness and found himself in her arms. He smiled at her but his smile faded away when he saw the devil’s mark on her. He knew she sacrificed herself to save him. He was angry at himself for causing her to make such a decision. He cursed his uselessness but she smiled at him. She was glad that he was alright. She was happy that they were still able to spend some time together. She walked to the window and tore down the curtain. The curtain was tattered and torn. She wrapped it around her body and made a veil with another piece from the curtain. She walked outside and gathered some flowers.

Her outfit was not the gracious dress of a bride but rather just a white curtain, tattered and torn, wrapped around her body. The bouquet of flowers was just a handful of flowers randomly plucked. He stood in front of the altar waiting for her. His outfit wasn’t fine either. His tuxedo was torn in various places and even the left sleeve is missing. Blood stained can be seen on the shirt beneath the tux. She walked until she was beside him. The person behind the altar wasn’t a priest, but just their friend who had been with them for a long time.

“It’s time.” The friend said. She was almost invisible now.

“I love you. I always will.” She said.

“I love you too. And I always will.” He said, holding even tighter. Tears were flowing out of his eyes uncontrollably. They kept dancing and dancing and dancing and dancing. Until she was gone and his arms were holding himself.

“I love you.”

Kiss The Rain

Normally I would suggest against having the sound Rainy Mood but this is one exception.

Female: Sorry, I don’t think we can be together anymore.

Female turns around and leaves. Male stood there wanting to stop her from leaving but in the end did not reach out to stop her. It was his fault that things ended this way.

<< >>

He met her for the first time when they were in University. It was raining at that time. He didn’t bring an umbrella and ran to the closest place to escape the rain. He almost bumped into her under the small ledge that provided cover from the rain. She was without an umbrella as well. She looked at him and squeezed out some space for him. They stood so close to each other that their shoulders were touching. He felt awkward for being so close to her but there was nothing he could do. They stood there until the rain was over. She hurried away when the rain stopped. He never knew her name.

Some day later, he was sitting in the room waiting for class to begin. A familiar face walked in. It was the girl who stood beside him during the rain. She saw him, smiled and took a seat beside him. Maybe it was fate, maybe it was something else but he definitely felt something for her.

As time goes by, their relationship grew closer and closer. It was at the end of their graduation that he proposed to her. And she said “Yes”. Shortly after that, they got married and led a happy life. He worked hard to provide for the family while she gave him a reason to do so. Everything went well until the second year of their marriage.

It was as if the magic between them had gone away. He complained more about her and began spending longer time outside with various people. She tried to make things better and did all she could to make him happy but nothing worked. The crack between them slowly increases till the point where things fell apart. He lashed out at her for no reason and stormed out of the house. She wept in silent.

He started drinking, coming home late and almost stopped paying attention to her. Still she endured those days. She could still handle it. She endured until the day she found out that he was cheating on her. He was sleeping with another woman. That was the last straw. She could tolerate being ignored, being yelled at but she could not tolerate infidelity.

Female: Sorry, I don’t think we can be together anymore.

Female turns around and leaves. Male stood there wanting to stop her from leaving but in the end did not reach out to stop her. It was his fault that things ended this way. He doesn’t deserve her anymore.

He woke up and went to the dining room. The breakfast he was expecting wasn’t there. Dejected, he went to work on an empty stomach. After work, the empty house greeted him. There wasn’t a warm smile waiting for him, there wasn’t a warm dinner waiting for him. Only the emptiness of the house. He made something from whatever he could get and called it a day. He missed her cooking, her smile and most of all, her beside him.

Months go by and he became more and more ragged. He looks more disheveled than he has ever been. He was on the verge of breaking down. He deeply regretted his action that forced her away. When he woke up, he felt that something was different. The bed he slept in still looks the same but somehow it is different. He walked to the dining room surprised to find breakfast on the table. He sat down in front of the food and noticed a small piece of paper under the cup.

“I forgive you.”

Tears began rolling down his cheek.