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I would never forget her eyes.
Everything here used to be so colourful; until the moment the helicopter lifted off the ground. Then, everything changed. The vibrant colours of the seaside town began to fade into a dull monochrome until the helicopter finally disappeared from our view; for what we thought would be forever.
After that day, we drifted apart like the water I swam in so often. I took the colours for granted. I took what we had for granted; yet we were young and foolish and there was not much any of us could do.
We had a promise. One we never thought would break, until fate slapped us across our gullible faces.
I swore I would never forget her eyes, but it felt like I forgot them as soon as our promise broke and we all fell apart. All I can remember was how bright they were, gold and shining. She was the epitome of beauty and she would always be the brightest star in the world.
In my eyes, she was perfect.
I like to think she still is. I hope she is.
I still remember that one memory like it only happened yesterday.
“Kanan! Come swim with me!”
“Mari, it’s not warm enough yet and also it’s too dark.”
“Just this once, I promise.” She jumped into the cool waves, the moon’s reflection shattering as the water splashes around her body.
“Kanan, shiny~”
I couldn’t help but laugh, then proceeding to jump into the water with her.
“Can I tell you a secret?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
She leant forward, I thought she was about to whisper something and then splash me, calling out her catchphrase, “It’s joke~”
Instead she leant forward and the next thing I knew, I could taste salt on my lips and feel her skin on mine. It felt like the kiss lasted forever, but it was merely seconds before she gently pulled away and whispered, “I love you, Matsuura Kanan.”
As I stand here, on the same place we stood two years ago, looking out across the water, I remember that we were just foolish children. The past would be the past and the future held no place for us, now that there would be no possibility of her returning.
Usually, I can see that familiar grin and the creasing of her golden eyes, shining in the light or dark. She was like the flashlight we would wave at her window at night. The days unfortunately had passed and two years had flown by and we had barely noticed. We had drifted apart, without doubt, things would never be the same again.
The wind was harsh that night, so cold and bitter; much like the feelings I had held in me for so long. She was the girl I fell so deeply in love with, only to disappear and never to return, only to remain as a fleeting memory and feeling.
I felt like I was going to lose hope.
I was being swallowed into a dark abyss, we were foolish children, I was a foolish child.
But she came back.
The flashlight turned back on and monochrome turned to a dull faded palette of colours.
It was hard. We were all in denial and me and Dia held up against her, no matter how hard she would try to win us back, we wouldn’t take her.
our childish foolishness returned; we were wrong to shut her out, but also right. She hadn’t contacted us in so long; we thought she would’ve forgotten us in her bright and hopeful life, full of endless opportunities.
But she came back. Shattering her future to return to a town of nothing. To come back to us. To win me back.
She tried, so desperately. I felt unforgiving, I was a stubborn child.
The look in her eyes every time I pushed her away. The golden gleam would dull ever so slightly.
Every single time.
She would keep coming back to me and I would push her away.
I would never forget her eyes.
Once shiny, now dull. Void of any happiness and joy she usually was. Her world of colour, slowly turning to darkness, as she began her descent into the same abyss I had fallen in.
“Let’s hug.”
It was in that moment, when her eyes widened, the gleam in her golden orbs returning, as she leapt into my open arms.
The colours began to flourish once more. The colours I had missed so much had finally return.
I wrapped my arms around her cold and damp body. I held her close, as close as I could. I was afraid, afraid of letting go of the one thing I needed most.
Ohara Mari.
Her sobs echoed across the dark room, her body shaking as her hands clutched the back of my shirt. Resting my head on hers, I too, proceeded to sob. Bringing one hand up to her fair hair, messed up from her frantic journey, I brushed through it gently, soothing me and reminding me that she had finally returned.
She had returned. And she wasn’t leaving. Not yet anyway. Not without me by her side.
“Mari…”
She removed her head from my chest, her tear stained face, still as beautiful as ever, looking up at my own. With a small smile and my eyes crinkling at the corners, I lifted her chin, cupping her soft cheek and leaning in.
Our lips met once more. It felt like millions of years since we had last kissed. Even though this was our second kiss, it felt like our first once again. Only more familiar.
She leaned in more, wrapping her arms around my waist, straightening up, she returned the kiss with her own.
I had to tilt my face upward ever so slightly so we wouldn’t part. I gently laid my hands on her shoulders, it felt as if the kiss would never end and I didn’t want it to. Not yet.
But of course, nothing can last forever and her soft and gentle lips parted from my own.
gazing softly into each other’s eyes, I whispered my answer.
“I love you too, Ohara Mari.”