Chapter 2: The tale begins

“So how long is this going to be, and

where exactly are we?” asked Shimura, “For as long as it takes for you to

understand, and we are in your past, to be precise your memory lane, here we

cannot change anything but only spectate”, answered the masked boy.

“And what is your name?”

“Does it matter?”

“I mean, I must call you something, right?”

“Hmm, Hiruko, call me Hiruko then”

“Hiruko, mmm ok alright”

“Anyway, it seems you are in class”

“Shimura kun good morning”, said someone

as soon as young Shimura entered the classroom, “Ah, Misaki chan Good morning”

“I hope you brought your homework today; I

won’t cover for you this time, Shimura kun”

“Yes, yes don’t worry, I have done it

today”

The two started talking, while Hiruko

said,

“Misaki san, huh, you two used to be quite

close back in the days”

“Ya, Misaki Suzuki, she was my first

friend in this school, a member of disciplinary committee. We used to be very

close, people even mistook us for a couple”

“What about now?”

“Nah, we don’t talk anymore”

“Why?”

“I don’t know….”

“You don’t know, eh”

Meanwhile, 3 boys approached young Shimura,

“Yo Shimura, what’s up, said one of them”

“Ah, it's Yamato, Akira and Hiroto, you

guys are early today…”

“What are you two doing, flirting so early

in the morning“, said Hiroto.

“We were not flirting Hiroto kun, I was

simply asking Shimura kun to do his homework properly”, Misaki replied.

“Well, you always cover for him any way”, Akira

said “You should also cover for us for a change you know, especially for

Yamato, he would have loved it you know?”

“Shut up Akira” said Yamato while

blushing, “Enough of chatting, class will start soon go to your places you

guys”, said Misaki.

“Umm Misaki chan, I brought this for you

“as Yamato handed a chocolate bar to Misaki, “I heard you like this chocolate,

so I brought this for you”

“Hmm, Yamato you know, we too like

chocolates you never gave us, I guess Misaki is special eh…?” said Shimura

“Just shut up idiot”

“Well thanks for the chocolate, Yamato

kun, say Shimura you want to eat it with me?”

“Eh? Why Shi chan?”

“Well, we share stuffs from the start you

know”

“Nah leave it, eat that yourselves, or

Yamato will be sad”

Everyone laughed, while Yamato was visibly

embarrassed. The teacher entered and the class started.

“Those 3 were always with you right?”,

Hiruko asked

“Yes, we were best friends, and Yamato had

a huge crush on Misaki, but his confession got rejected sadly.”

“Ah, I see, You guys still talk?”

“Yamato and Akira are still my best

buddies, my only friends, however Hiroto doesn’t talk anymore”

“I guess you don’t know why though?”

“Right, I don’t”

“Say, why are we watching this day of my

life? This is just a normal day of my school life”

“No, it isn’t”

“Huh?”

“You will see, something important happens

this day.”

Time passed as the two of them kept on

watching, Shimura essentially waiting for what the important event of the day

might be.

Lunch break came by, the guys once again

grouped to talk, when Akira asked,

“Hey, Shi chan you are single right now,

right?”

“What’s with this sudden question?”

“Nah just asking, I mean you look kind of

sad, recently, you're still not over Himeragi san, are you?”

“Eh? I am well over her, that relationship

was never meant to work, that was just an infatuation”

“Then why do you look sad recently? Is it

because Himeragi is dating Haruto right now?”

“Why is that my problem?”

“Well, you two used to be so close, even

teachers knew you guys were best friend”

“Well, we no longer are best friends, but that’s not for Himeragi san though”

“I see, well I think you will soon get a

new girlfriend”

“Who knows, maybe …”

“Or we will search one for you, what do

you guys Say?”

“SURE”, said all of them together.

“Alright, alright, that’s enough.”

The guys kept on talking.

Hiruko asked, “Himeragi san and Haruto kun

huh…”

“Ya, what of them?”

“Tell me the truth, did it really not

matter to you that those two dated?”

“If you mean the fact that those two

started dating, nah that didn’t hurt, however I was honestly disturbed by how

they tried to keep it a secret from me, even though I was his best friend,

although thinking about it now, I don’t know for sure whether we were ever ‘best

friends’, that term is so vague and flimsy”

“I see…, and why you guys were no longer

close? “

“That’s a story for another time, but

anyway, when is this important event you said is going to happen?”

“Patience is a virtue, friend”

“We are not friends”

“You don’t know that yet”

“What?”

“Anyway look”

“What now”

He saw young Shimura walking through the

campus, alone, with a piece of store-bought bread in his hand,

“What, I was just going to my lunch spot,

nothing special?”

“Why didn’t you eat lunch with your best buddies?”

“Nah they generally went to play, I

preferred my lunchtime alone, but never mind that, what of it?”

“Not yet, wait and watch”

As young Shimura walked towards the back

of the school, right around the corner, someone appeared suddenly. They bumped into

each other, and fell.

“Ouch…., I am sorry”

“It’s my bad “, said the girl,

“Here do you see now?”, asked Hiruko

“No way, you meant this day was the day I

met her?”

Love, what a strange thing, a spark, a

fire, a feeling unexplained .I have never once in my life believed in love at

first sight, but what happened that day was well beyond expectations, when I

looked into her playful eyes, I knew it was over, that she is the one, it was

strange to be honest as she helped me get up from the ground, I sat speechless,

staring towards her, butterflies in stomach, mind blank as an open field, but

what started that day affected my life for years to come.

“What do you mean by this Hiruko, why are

you showing her to me?”

“Think, my friend, for this is the end for now”

“Eh, what?”

Suddenly, Shimura woke up, in the very

couch he sat on… It was 8 30 in the morning.

“A dream?”

Shimura kept the sleeping pills away, which

he was still holding on to,

“Gotta go to work”

As he got ready, his phone lit up with a

notification,

“HEY GUYS LETS MEETUP TODAY AFTER WORK, 7:

00, AT MY HOUSE – YAMATO”

Shimura thought to himself, that he

probably won’t go, then he remembered how he said to Hiruko that Yamato and

Akira are probably his only friends.

He took his phone and typed in,

“SURE, SEE YOU GUYS ON 7”

“Where did I go wrong… eh?”, he thought,

“Well anyway”

He took off for work.

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