The Sakura Blossom

  ~Anime Images are from Google, some images are from the anime series Clannad~

    I stand on top of a high hill, over looking pretty much my entire town, the other half almost cut into pieces by low clouds covering the sky. My long brown hair lapping at my back as the wind pulsates against my face. Every detail up here always seemed so...vivid and revealing, like it knew I was here. Green eyes flashing, I blink, trying to figure out the feelings I've had ever since I found the necklace...My fingertips desperately grip the chain, sliding down until it reaches the ruby red heart dangling in the air as I bring it up to clearly see it. The pattern and colors haven't seemed to disappoint me yet. I'm always filled with this...this longing for something that keeps me attached to its ever-lasting beauty. The morning sun glints across the red surface of the heart stone, soon lighting it up inside and again the twisted, gentle curved metal that's tangled around it flashes. The metal is slightly jeweled in little diamonds, the ruby so transparent that the twisted design on the back is clearly reflected in neatly drawn shadows. Or was it ruby? Maybe it was some rare jewel, because to me, there's no way I'm hallucinating, no way that I'm imagining this. The tree tops give me shade once again, but the necklace, starts to glow. Glow so bright that my face lights up and little shadows form, stretching across areas of my face.
    There was no holding back. The light was like a force. A force that's growing inside me. I become covered in what seems to be a veil of warmth from head to toe, and before I know it, my senses are drawn to the other side of the hill. I have a deep wanting to get to the other side.

So I start to run...


~
   I run until my thighs ache, until my veins throb with each pounding step. But I know i'm getting closer, know that I can feel it. Racing down the other side, I smell the salty, humid air of the ocean. My favorite place to doze off whenever I need to think. But today I don't plan to take naps by the sandy shores, I'm too determined...The feeling inside is too determined to let the strange instincts slide. So I stumbled on, so tired that when I finally plop down onto the soft sand, my head feels two times heavier than before. I sit there, letting myself relax no matter how far the necklace tries to push me farther. Seeing that I refuse to budge, it decides to vibrate slightly under my shirt instead, making sure that I know its there. 'I think it has a mind of it's own' My mind whirls with thoughts before I finally heave myself off and brush off the grains of sand that stick to my shorts.
   A figure far out across the sandy beach catches my attention. Completely overwhelmed with the site, I cough after feeling my heart thudding inside my chest, the rhythmic vibrations caught up in my throat. It was a young boy, the dark morning clouds above seemed to hide any of his identity to me. I became disappointed, my necklace making me take a step closer, and then another after another until I'm only a couple feet away. Something about seeing his blueish hair and sparking blue eyes made my heart skip a beat. And especially when he looked my way...It was like I began to panic. His gaze penetrated mine, and I felt warm, my face reddening and heart pounding, I managed to slightly lift my hand and curve my fingers once or twice in a tiny wave. The necklace now seemed to be humming a tune, the vibrations no longer itchy and uncomfortable, but soft, like a pillow. And I couldn't help but smile when he returned the gesture.


~
   I close my eyes, trying to determine how much of this is truly real. As I open my eyes again, the wind blows sand across my flip-flops. Again, I look up at the young boy, gasping inside to keep my reactions hidden as he walks my way. As much as the necklace pulls me closer, and gives me a deep yearning to get closer, I pull back. The strange feelings are too much for me. I take one step back at a time, and the boy notices. So he calls to me...
   "Are you alright?" His voice clouds my senses until I can no longer hear the ocean waves crashing, or the seagulls gliding through the air. For that split moment, all I hear is his voice. It rings through my ears and echoes in the sweetest tune. He looks at me closer, and I can tell he thinks the same about me as I answer him,
   "Y-yeah...I'm fine..." I whisper. I watch as his eyes go wide, and he stares at me, looking me over and searching for...something.



   I watch, dazed as he reaches into his pocket and reveals a small chain with an exact replica of the jeweled heart hanging from my necklace. We stare at each other, the wind sweeping across us like a captivating hug, filling us both with a need to get closer. But we don't budge, and I can tell that he's just as confused as I am. I gulp when he breaks the silence, his voice so soft it fills my chest with complete warmth,
   "What's your name?" he asks, his eyes never leaving mine.
   "Ebani" My voice comes in a nervous rasp, trying to contain everything inside, although the necklace dares me to reveal it. I refuse.
   "I'm Ryuji" I can tell his heart is beating a mile a minute, but he finds the strength to raise his hand in greeting. 'What will his touch be like?' I thought, glancing down at the necklace to try and figure out if it would answer my question, but it stayed still. It knew I was close, heck, I knew I was close! 'Close to what exactly? The feeling I've had for a couple weeks? Was this boy behind all of that?' My thoughts jumped around inside my head, and I reached out my hand after noticing I might've been keeping him too long. I tilt over a bit, just enough to where we clasp our palms together. And instantly, our sight goes black.    


~
Our hands slip from each other's grasp and it feels like we're falling...falling deeper in blackness. The only thing visible to us is each other's eyes, and they're filled with tears. We can't get to one another, and now we're stuck, falling in a horrible pit of darkness as my heart plummets painfully in such yearning to be wrapped in his arms...He reaches toward me with his hand, and I do the same. Our hands tremble as we stretch father and farther to get to one another before our fingertips finally touch. 


My back is hot, and the sand underneath me shifts to the shape of my body like a blanket. I gasp, breathing the air around me as my eyes flip open immediately. Relief surges through my muscles as I see the blue ocean sky and clouds dotting the blue atmosphere in calm serenity. I suddenly sit up, heart racing before I feel Ryuji's arms against me from behind in a protective hug. I'm still as concrete, not wanting to even move an inch and just enjoy this moment before speaking up,
   "Wh-what are you doing?" I croak, tilting my head up to look into his eyes, questioning how things could be going so fast. I notice my necklace tingling, and humming even stronger once more. My spirits drop once he removes one of his arms until he brings out his charm and holds it against my chest where my own charm lays. I can hear the roughness of his breathing, and now notice the change in mine as well as I gape at the glow the two charms make. The nurturing light sends a warm, liquid type feeling through my veins and once it starts to fade, I see that both of our jewels have combined, and once the light has completely disappeared, our charms have turned into two little ones hanging off one chain. Our breathing calms down and we sit there, his one arm carefully splayed over me. My eyes travel down to look at the sand,
    "....What was that?" My voice quivers, beginning to remember the darkness, and the feeling of wrestling against the current of air rushing by my face. Before I notice him moving, his fingers are already rubbing against my poor half-hearted jewel. Before I know it, my whole face tingles in warmth, and he feels it to, looking straight at me from gazing at my necklace, which I still haven't even found out why he's been doing that.
   "They came together as one...one small heart on each of our chains is my part, and the other is yours. They have pairs now." Ryuji says, his arm wrapped around me becoming snug, like it was meant to be there. I stare at him, wondering if he knew about me and his own charm's loving pull before I did.
   "I-......Do you even know what's going on?" I ask him, squirming a bit, not sure how I could be comfortable with where we are now when I've never even met him before. He sighs and moves his arm away.
   "Not as much as you think..." Ryuji confesses, moving his head towards the ocean and nervously watching the waves, unsure of what to say. With my back to him, and legs still out in front of me, I bring them up against me, hugging my legs and sitting my head on one of my knees, eyes half open in thought. My green eyes  flash in worry, remembering home and what time I was supposed to be back. The sun was far above the horizon, and usually mother let me stay out 'till dusk. As far as I knew, time wasn't something to be worrying about right now.

~
Silence had taken over us for a good thirty minutes before I spoke up,
   "So...What do you know about all of this?" I twist my body around to face him, hair falling against the side of my face from behind my ears where it had been tucked. He opens his mouth to say something, but nothing comes out until he looks at me and his gaze wavers to my eyes.
   "Well...I-I know where the necklaces came from...And..."
   "You know where yours came from?, " I gasp, blushing to show that I was sorry for interrupting before I continue, "Can you show me?" Ryuji smiles and tucks a lock of my hair behind my ear again before cringing back, and I know he didn't even realize what he had just done until now. He sighs,
   "You've already been there." he nods. I wrack my brain a bit, trying to remember...

"Why don't you go up to the blossom tree? It's in full bloom for this summer, and I'm sure it'd like some company" My mother tells me.
   "How can a blossom tree love company?" I laugh good heartedly. 
   "You'd be surprised" My mother smiles, not looking up from flipping pancakes as I chew on mine. I look at her closely, wondering what she's thinking before agreeing,
   "OK, mom, I'll go out after breakfast" I say, giving in. When mother wanted me to do something, I knew it was for a good reason. Once I finish eating, I get up, wash my plate and head for the door-
   "Ebani, wait! You can't forget to water it" Mom comes up to me with a full water can, the container bejeweled in such exquisite blue and pink marbles and my eyes light up, tracing the pattern they make and giggle discovering it to be a blossom tree. Mom laughs and hands it to me, I take it carefully from underneath before grabbing it with one had, noticing my mom's special charm bracelet. It seemed shinier today, but I shrug it off, 
    "I'm going to go visit Mizu after I water it, mother, so I'll be back around noon" I inform her, but once again as I open the screen door, mother grasps my hand and whispers in my ear,
     "Water it with hearts" I look at her and wave her away, "I know mom, you already told me!" 
     "Don't forget" She implies. I just nod and roll my eyes playfully and laugh, finally making my way out into the fresh air. I lift up my arms to the side, the fresh wind grazing over my skirt as it's ruffles twist and turn. I smile, making my way up the tree. I still couldn't tell why mother wanted me to water it, it was huge! I take in the scent of the pure pink blossoms and even snap off some flowers from a low branch, the petals so soft and the unique cinnamon scent was warm. I let the flowers fly gently to the ground, their colors so elegant on top of the grass. Quickly grabbing my watering can, I let a nice flow off water drop around the tree in the shape of a heart, then carefully filling inside the heart and at the base of the tree with water. It was a perfect touch to the tree's beauty and I sighed, not yet being able to believe that my family had owned this blossom tree for centuries. 
     "Wait, what is that?" A closed bud catches my attention. The branch it's connected to was the same one I had pulled off the flowers. I broke off the bud, noticing another one right beside it, but instead I ignore it. Caressing the bud in my fingers, I frown, wondering why it hadn't bloomed like the others. The sun suspiciously moves over the tree, the rays breaking their way through the blossom tree's overlapping branches before landing on the bud in my hands. My fingers aglow in the suns light, I watch the bud twitch and softly open, each petal spreading out in their own direction to reveal a beautiful necklace...The charm exquisite...





I look at Ryuji with sensitive eyes,
   "You...You mean to tell me that you visited that same tree? My family's tree?" I gape, observant of his gentle chuckle and the look he gives me,
   "I was drawn to it, and I noticed the very same kind of bud" he nods, looking down at my hand holding me up right at an angular position. He ran his own hand over mine, but I don't cringe or move away, just keep observing him as he speaks,
   "You plucked the closed bud that was beside the one I snatched, and I experienced what you did". I start to notice how my hand goes numb to every feeling around me but his hand laying over mine. I gulp, trying to speak out,
   "So...You know where they came from and so do I...but do you know why or what caused it?" Without thinking, I flip my hand over and hold his, not paying any attention to what I just did. Ryuji just shakes his head, "No, I'm sorry, I don't know any of that..."
   "Th-then, what was the other thing you were going to say earlier that you knew?"
I must've hit a nerve, because I could feel him tense up and that's when I noticed us holding hands. I try to shrink away, and he knows I feel uneasy, so he lets go only to reach for my hand, and pull me closer.
   "For some reason, Ebani, the only other thing I know is that I Love You".
~
And that's finally when we both can't take the suffering anymore, can't take that ever since we laid ours eyes on each other, that we've been pulling back the feeling that emanates from our precious stones.
We lean closer and closer, until our lips finally meet in a quick, sweet kiss...
So sweet, that we now know that it won't matter how much we fight against the gems that hang from our chains...He loves me, and I love him.

Dusk finally falls, and Ryuji and me are peacefully asleep. I stay there, cuddled up beside him on the sandy beach, and I know he's still asleep...but I have to leave! I hated to disturb his rest, knowing he's finally found me. Found the person that keeps his necklace at bay from all the mixed up emotions that swirl inside his head when I'm gone. And I feel those exact same things as well, but what can I say? Mother would never understand. I shiver at the thought of her finding out that I never came home when I was supposed to. Knowing I'd be grounded for who knows how long, it just makes my heart shrink even more. Shifting sideways on my side to face him, I whisper his name.
   "Ryuji," He still doesn't wake, so I shake his arm, "Ryuji!" Finally! He pops one eye open, smiling when he sees me. But I look away, and know he won't be too happy once I tell him I have to go.
   "Ryuji, I-...I have to go home now..." I speak softly. He sits up so fast, I move back a bit and his eyes seek mine with such sadness, the ache in my chest is back. "I'm so sorry...I'll be grounded for months if I'm not home on time," I tell him, "Just look at it this way. If I'm grounded, I won't be able to come out to see you."
   "I know," He sighs, "At least let me walk home with you. My house is over the hill as well" he nods, hoping I'll go through with the idea. I just laugh, how can I not! I nod my head, and we get up, his arm poking out beside him. I slip my arm through his and we walk side by side to the top, and I notice we have a bit more time. Ryuji looks my way, "I wish we could stay" he confesses, and he knows that I wish the same.
   "We'll have better days" I promise, hugging him tight before he lets go of my arm. I rush down the hill, my necklace practically choking me, forcing me to go back.
   "Quit!" I pull it back to my chest and hold it there before stopping to look back. Ryuji still stood at the top.
Our gazes pierced one another, and I've no doubt of what he says when his lips move. I return my thoughts to home, disappearing in the darkness at the bottom where the sun finally sets behind the horizon.

My only guide home was the light from my charm, flickering in sorrow. I cooed it gently,
   "I feel it to."

I head into the house, the screen door creaking slightly as I open it. I find mom in the kitchen, placing dinner on the table.
   "Your just in time, Ebani, I'm glad you got here when you were supposed to" she gave me a look that convinced me she had thought I'd be late for once!
   "Aw, come on, mom, I'm a minute too late," I tell her, smelling the food and being drawn to the table, sitting down, "It smells so good" I tell her, at least trying to get on her good side just in case she tries to go off on me later. But she waves me a way with a glint of humor in her eyes, and then I know I'm off the hook.

After finishing up, I head upstairs to my room. I change, brush my teeth and lay on top of the covers on my bed, thoughts of Ryuji making my necklace hum.
   "I wonder where he lives" I say to myself, sitting up to look out the window. "Strange. The neighbors haven't been out since they moved in..." I said, seeing the lights on in their house, the glare seeping into my room. I yawn, mouth widening and closing with complete exhaustion. Scanning outside, then scanning my room, trying to remember what else there is to do before going to sleep. I forgot to say goodnight to mom and  dad, but I shake it off, I'm too tired to get up. Curling up under the covers, and letting the relaxing feel of my soft pillow send me off into a deep sleep..
~

 The sun shined in my eyes as I cringed, feeling a hand shaking my shoulder lightly. My eyes flew open as my necklace hummed. 'There's no way...!' I sat up so fast I gave myself a headache and I rubbed my temple, going still when I saw Ryuji smiling at me. I wanted to scream, but instead I covered my mouth and stood up beside him,
   "What...When...How did you get in my room?!" I gaped as he laughed, handing me a small rose.
   "I live next door," again my heart skipped a beat, "So I thought I'd surpise you". He nodded, proud of himself. 'Do my parents knows he's in here?' I was having a small heart attack on the inside...I wondered if he could tell when he answered me like he knew what I was thinking.
   "Don't worry, Ebani. Your mom let me right in...Starred at me for a couple of seconds before," He paused, going back to the moment and chuckling, how I loved that laugh,"It's alright, they know I'm up here."
   I didn't know whether to be thankful for that, or know I'm soon to be embarrased!






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