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Aira and Serah sat under a tree on a small hill in the park, a blanket splayed out and lying flat beneath them. The soft psithurism of the wind brought a sense of calm to the pair. Near them, there was a picnic basket that was previously full. Now, it lay empty, evidence of their earlier indulgence in all of the self-made goods that they had packed back at home.
The two had been planning this little "date" for a while now; it had been a long, untouched plan on their calendar. Though, due to the recent end of their midterm exams, they finally thought that they needed a well-deserved break from all the academics and just focus on themselves, for the first time in a while, may I add.
And, due to the aforementioned midterms, their dorm room looked like the spirit of Albert Einstein himself had possessed either one of the two (maybe even both?) to tape papers full of reviewers onto the walls, and even fill their large whiteboard—causing multiple busy nights—weeks of lucubration. All that information was almost sure to be indelible to them both now, especially after that much reviewing. Aira was sure that the bright colors of the highlighters were pretty much engraved in her memory from seeing them too much, ad nauseam.
Sure, they could’ve passed completely fine with just a few hours of reviewing alone, but what can I say? The two were dedicated—assiduous, even. You at least had to give them credit for that.
Aira sat at the other’s side, legs pulled up to her chest, with her head resting on top. She looked at the girl to her side—at Serah—and just observed. How the wind blew softly, causing some strands of her hair to cover her face lightly. Her beauty was seraphic—a fitting description, too, given her name.
Ever since they were kids, Serah’s always been a slow eater. And with the way the wind was blowing her hair into her face, she surely couldn’t eat properly, or at least without any hindrance.
So, being the ever-so-kind friend she was, Aira sat up a bit straighter and tucked the loose strands of hair (that were clearly bothering Serah) behind her ears. This earns a small, tacit show of gratitude from the other, though no actual verbal “thanks” since she was still preoccupied with her food.
Serah spoke, though almost incomprehensibly, “These taste good.”
“Probably because I made them.” Aira said with a laugh.
“Eh.. whatever floats your boat.” She looked at the other with slight admiration as she giggled, finding the whole act to be endearing—even if it was just a simple one. She had to force her gaze back onto her sandwich, only realizing that the fact that she was staring might’ve been seen as weird.
Who was she even kidding?
This was Aira she was talking about. She wouldn’t find it weird.
She’d been there through almost everything. She had been there ever since they were infants. Every achievement, every dark spot she found herself in, she was there. Aira was fastidious. She’d probably notice eventually, too.
Even so, she still felt the need to look away, to hide. To fear.
She didn’t know why.
By this point, the two had been there for almost two hours, though neither of them really minded. It’s not like they had anywhere else to be, anyway.
Eventually, Aira lay flat on her back, resting her head on her hands. The sun’s rays beamed through the small gaps in the tree’s leaves and into Aira’s eyes, causing her to squint and shift around a bit to find a comfortable spot that didn’t feel like she was seeing the sun actively combusting right in front of her eyes. She turns her head towards Serah, who begins to speak.
“You know, this is nice. Reminds me of when we were kids.” Shera muttered in between bites, voice muffled due to the food in her mouth.
“Ew, come on. Don’t talk while you’re eating..” Aira replied in feigned disgust, though it came out with a slight giggle.
Though, even through her act of indifference, she crosses her legs as she listens scrupulously, like she always did when it comes to Serah. She couldn’t help but hang off of her every word and just... Listen better in general. She didn’t really know why, though. She just did.
Aira nodded in agreement after, getting thrown back to the memories of them two as kids. Though, they were obviously much more energetic–running around the park, and all.
“Yeah,” she mused. “When our parents arranged playdates for us in your backyard.”
This whole thing… it all felt so nostalgic for her. For them. They were eating at the park like they did back home, from middle school throughout high school. Even the toddlers and kids who were running around in the area also reminded her of them, and the little playdates their mothers had arranged, like she had just said. The way that they cried and refused to leave each other’s side, even when it was time to go.
Taking the last bite, Serah started talking again. She seemed happier this time—like she had just had a sudden ebullition of joy.
“Yeah. I like spending time with you, 'yanno? Ever since college we barely hang out. I mean yeah, we’re roommates and all that, but we never talk about anything but the work our profs assign, if we have notes, stuff like that… I missed this. I missed talking to one another about things that aren’t just school. I miss us, man.”
Serah paused, a wide grin on her face. “So, how’s stuff doing? You told me about a girl you liked a few months ago, right? Are the two of you still talking?”
Aira momentarily stared at her as if she was either processing the whole thing, or was in deep, utter confusion. “..what?”
“You told me about a girl during our graduation party... don’t you remember?”
“I told you about a girl during a class outing where all of our classmates could hear?” Aira’s expression was contorted into an expression which was akin to horror. No one knew she liked girls. No one except Serah. Plus, she only knew that because she had come out first.
She probably wouldn’t have even come out to her if she hadn’t first, and that’s saying something, considering they’ve known each other for their whole lives.
And now Serah was telling her that she was talking about someone during a class outing, in a public space? It almost made a shiver crawl down her spine, even in this warm weather. There was no way she had outed herself without even remembering. Aira spoke again, voice now tinged with a barely masked tone of worry.
“Are you sure that I did? Maybe it was a.. a weird dream??”
“Im pretty sure you did… but nah, I wouldn’t worry about it. Most of them were pretty much knocked out by then. Apparently even you.” Serah didn’t give much context, but the implications of what had happened for them to get to that state were very much there.
“But what if-“ Aira was quick to retort, but Serah was quicker in cutting her off. “Why are you so worried about that anyways? It’s not like they’d care anyways. I mean, Jeff probably would, but who cares about him? Plus, if they did, they’re grown adults. They should know better.”
Even if she felt a twinge of annoyance at her interruption, she was glad that she didn’t question her further about the little “crush.” She wasn’t sure if she could even prevaricate if Serah had pushed more on the topic.
Aira insisted once more, trying to prove her point. “I know that. I just… I don’t know. People in Alabama are religious, you know-“
Serah sighed, cutting her off once more. She crossed her arms and furrowed her brows while speaking. “So?? Who cares if they were homophobic? It’s not like they can change that part of you, anyways.”
“But I can hide it.” Aira quickly added.
“That doesn’t change anything, and you know it. You’d still be attracted to women, one way or another.”
Silence.
“I know.” Aira admitted defeat, voice dropping and shoulders slumping a bit. She’d admit, her way of thinking was… convoluted, at best. It made sense to her, though.
“Guess your mother and father’s ‘loving the same gender is a sin!’ talks finally got to you, huh?” Serah muttered, a soft sigh escaping her lips. She knew how Aira’s parents were extremely religious, so she couldn’t really blame her for it. Didn’t make the fact any less sad, though.
“Yeah. They probably did.”
She had a brief memory of those talks. Whenever they would watch a movie and something even remotely related to queerness was mentioned. Hienmother and father would either skip the part, or explain to her that it was all just propaganda, of some sorts.
Then, when she was caught holding hands with a friend, they scolded and berated her for being a sinner. How they had scolded a nine-year-old Aira for wanting to be close to one of her friends from school.
Momentarily after, Aira sat up. One leg was propped up, but one lay flat on the ground. She propped her chin on top of her knee, a breath she didn’t even know she was holding leaving her lips. The next words that left her were soft and quiet, as if admitting a deep, dark secret of hers.
“I always wonder… who imbued us humans with the idea that people loving and being true to themselves is wrong? Out of everything there is in this small world—the whole universe, even, we choose to fear love. Isn’t that weird? Why must two men who feel genuine, deep-rooted love for one another be forced to love in the dark—too afraid to step into the light for fear of judgement? And just for not loving who they’re ‘supposed’ to love? Isn’t that just… wrong?”
“It is. Very. But, just as you can’t change the fact that you like girls, most of the time, you can’t change the fact that they don’t like ‘the queers’ either. Not easily, at least.”
Serah scooted a bit closer after she spoke and wrapped her arm around the other’s shoulders, placing her hand on top of her head, letting her lean against her. She leaned against the girl as well, a small comforting gesture.
“But hey, don't beat yourself up over it, okay? Some people will never like us, and that’s okay. It’s their loss, anyways. We’re amazing.” Serah chuckled, voice softer—a stark contrast to her usually loud self. She then looked back down towards Aira, who had a small smile on her face now.
This is what she loved so much about her. How she was always so effortlessly comforting, even with her stupid little jokes and sarcasm that never failed to make her laugh. The way Serah always knew what to do when she felt down.
“I know we are. Thanks.”
A pause.
The silence between them was comforting—safe. The only sounds that were heard were their breaths, the slight breeze of the wind, the sound of happy little children running around, the soft beats of their hearts due to the close proximity.
“We still need to clean this up, though.” Aira said, looking around their small little area under the tree, seeing a few pieces of crumpled up tissue paper from earlier. Yeah, they really did.
“Man, we were having a moment.” Serah reluctantly let go and stretched, leading Aira to feel the need to do so as well. She laughed at her comment, starting to pick up the pieces of trash that littered their picnic blanket. After collecting them all, she made her way to the trash bin at the other side of the park.
While Aira made her way there, Serah packed up the containers they had used earlier to pack their food. They also bought their own utensils, to reduce waste.
Her eyes briefly wandered to Aira, who was making her way to the trash bin, a soft, admiring smile on her face.
After, the two folded their picnic blanket back up and made their way back to the dorms, chatting happily.
People tend to say that soulmates are someone’s missing half—that they’re a carbon copy of them.
Though, in Aira and Serah’s case, that just wasn’t true. They were barely alike, their love for science and technology being one of their only common factors. But, even so, the thing that brought them together was the fact that they complimented each other perfectly.
Aira was usually stoic and quiet, but Serah always knew what she meant and wanted to say. She always knew when something was wrong, when something that was bothering her was left unspoken.
Meanwhile, Serah was usually loud and brash, leading her to impulsively do things that she would regret. Aira always knew how to calm her down, bring her back down to earth and let her think about it for a minute.
Serah knew Aira’s heart well by now, and Aira hers.
That’s what made them so… perfect for each other. Romantic or not, they were meant to be.
And maybe, for now, the two of them were happy as is.