Work Text:
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergro—
"Apologies, Hoshimi-san, it seems that the one that requested to meet in the library has finally arrived." Tendo Maya interrupted the silence that she was experiencing with Hoshimi Junna.
A frantic Saijo Claudine arrived, panting and covered in sweat. She slammed her hands onto the table in front of Maya, which was met by a quick 'Shush' from Junna. Maya giggled at Claudine's reaction before waving goodbye to Junna as the two went further into a different section of the library.
On the other hand, the girl that was left alone wore a frown on her face. "Ugh..." Junna groaned, as she tried to analyze the poem in front of her. Beside the written copy of the work was her notebook opened on an empty page. The rhythmic tapping on the paper was occasionally interrupted by a click of her pen. Her mind was empty. While she could understand the meaning behind the works of Shakespeare and the like, it's this poem by Frost that gave her trouble. What was the true meaning of these words, after all? Did the speaker regret their choice? Was the path even the road that was less taken? How much did this one path supposedly affect them? These questions wracked Junna's brain. All thoughts that were both valid and invalid but Junna couldn't decide how she would interpret the meanings.
"Are you alright?" A sudden voice piped up from beside Junna and a finger poked her in the arm.
"Huh?" In her distress, she hadn't noticed that a different person had now occupied the seat that was Maya's just a few moments ago. In fact, it was the familiar face of an acquaintance from another school. "Oh, yes. I'm just having some difficulties, Otsuki-san."
"I see... What are you reading anyway? It seems interesting." Aruru spoke as she nudged her chair sideways, ending up closer to Junna. "Is that a poem?"
"Yes, it's 'The Road Not Taken' by Robert Frost."
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
"Ahh... it sounds so deep, but I'm sure you can figure it out with your smarts, Junna-chan!" Aruru patted the other girl on the shoulder, but quickly scratched her own head instead. "To be honest, I'm not quite sure what it means either."
"Supposedly, it's about the speaker finding a fork in the road—" Junna started before she got interrupted.
"No, no! I actually get that part, but why were they questioning where they went?" Aruru questioned.
"Well, that's part of what I'm here to figure out." Junna rested her cheek onto her palm. Her finger tapped her temple in deep thought. "Why did the choice matter to them if the speaker didn't even know how much it really affected them?"
"Hmm... maybe it just doesn't?"
"Huh?"
"Yeah, maybe you can interpret the poem as 'it doesn't really matter'. The choice was already made, after all, and the speaker didn't return to see what was in the other path. Maybe one of the lessons is that not every decision has a meaning. That we don’t always need to overthink.” Aruru spoke with confidence. This was immediately followed by a shrug with a smile from her. "At least, I think it could be like that?"
Something sparked inside Junna's mind. She nodded at this new insight that was given to her. "Thank you, Otsuki-san, I appreciate the help." For the first time this afternoon, Junna looked pleased. She didn't expect wisdom from the most unexpected of interactions that she would have imagined that day.
"Really? Well no worries, then. I'm always happy to help!" Aruru matched and even overtook the grin that her interlocutor had.
A moment of silence passed before the both of them giggled quietly inside the library.
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
"So, why are you in the library anyway, Otsuki-san?" Junna asked. "Not that I mean you don't go to libraries; more that I never thought you'd visit this one since I recall that Frontier has a massive library."
"Misora couldn't find the book she was looking for so she's trying to check other places. I decided to tag along, of course! Though our walk here was tiring so Misora told me to just take a seat while she searched around." Explained the blonde. "That's when I found you! I saw that there was a spare chair beside you and took it for myself."
"I see... sorry that I didn't notice you arrived, by the way."
"It's no problem. I didn't want to be a bother but then you seemed a bit stressed out so I had to—"
"There you are! Come on, I got what we came here for and—Ah!" The voice of a red-haired girl interrupted their conversation. Misora immediately bowed in apology upon the realization of the other party at the table. "Hoshimi-san, I hoped that Aruru didn't bother you too much."
"It's alright. You don't have to apologize, Kano-san." Junna motioned for Misora. "Aruru was just helping me, in fact."
"Sorry! Let's just go, alright, Aruru?"
Misora tugged on Aruru's sleeve, which caused the other to stand up in defeat. Despite any protests from Aruru, Misora was not having it and simply wanted to prevent any possible shenanigans from happening. Junna and Aruru waved each other goodbye, a smile plastered onto both of their faces until the Frontier students turned around a corner. Junna remained looking towards where Aruru had gone and only broke her trance when she heard the voice of someone that was also here just earlier.
"Did something happen while we were gone, Hoshimi-san? You seem to be in high spirits." Maya inquired as she passed by the girl once more.
"It's nothing. I think I figured out why Sir Robert Frost's works are lauded." Junna said before she giggled. "The many interpretations of his work by scholars... there's merit in that."
" Très bien , but I hope you don't start quoting his works like you do with philosophers or Shakespeare."
"No promises."
Maya dragged Claudine out before another witty reply could come out of the French girl's mouth. This caused a flustered look on Claudine; this caused Junna to roll her eyes. Back towards her work though, Junna took to reading the poem again. As her eyes scanned through the words, it was evident that it brought new meaning to her. Was this new angle revolutionary? Likely not, but Junna didn't mind that anymore.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.