A certain room pictures a melancholic scene. The bedsheets were left unfolded. It was dark, the lights were off and the windows were closed shut. Staying inside would surely suffocate one. The room was empty but was not quiet. Continuous sniffs and sobbing from a female voice can be heard on a corner. There was a silhouette of a lady sitting with her arms were resting on her folded knees as she buried her face on it. She was silently hoping in her heart that someone would come and utter in irritation the words that she's been longing to hear. She raised her said for the nth time to look at her bed, but no one was there. Her bed was still empty. There was no figure of a man wearing a large robe with ears on top of his head. She did not see the familiar nine tails that wiggle leisurely. She started to cry hard again.
It's been a month since she last saw, touched, and smelled the earthy scent of Jiro. She missed him damn much.
"Jiro, you promised me. How could you leave me? Much worst without even bidding me goodbye?"
If someone was listening to her this whole time, that one would have already probably memorized her words.
She's been like this every night for a month. Always on the corner, crying in pain as she waits for Jiro to suddenly appear and say 'Sh, stop crying,' Just like what he did 10 years ago. No, she wasn't mad. She did not get crazy. She was hurt, in pain, and broken. There was a profound difference in that.
May, 2022.
It actually took Mizuki half a decade to move on. She wasn't sent to a psychiatric hospital after doing some tests. Aside from seeing things other humans can't see, she shows no symptoms of mental disorder.
When Jiro left, she stopped talking to air and glancing on sides while smiling. She was considered as having a normal and healthy mind by psychiatrists.
She transferred school and lived in Kyoto, Japan after proving out that she's sane. It was a whole new world, new faces, new places to visit, and a new life to begin. Coincidentally, Sean—her classmate, originally lived there. He did not believe that madness was within Mizuki despite being there on that day.
He had pursued Mizuki for whole 6 years yet Mizuki never reciprocated his feelings. She wasn't ready to love again. Sean wholeheartedly accepted his defeat but still stayed by her side, more like a best friend now. Without crossing the line or breaking the barriers between them.
It was spring again. The cherry blossoms have scattered everywhere. Sean and Mizuki talked as they walk on the street, consuming the time with each other's presence.
"Mizuki, where do you want to go for dinner later?" Sean stopped and looked at Mizuki. They halted
under the shade of a cherry blossom tree. They were being showered by petals that fell 5 centimeters every second.
"How about you go to my place? I'll cook," Mizuki invited.
"I insist on eating outside. Your cooking still needs improvement—aw!" Sean did not finish his words when Mizuki punched him on his shoulder lightly. It did not even hurt more than an ant's bite but he feigned pain for drama.
"So mean," she started walking ahead of Sean, leaving him behind. Sean laughed and jogged to chase her.
After dinner, Sean sent her home and stayed no longer. The 24 years old Mizuki grew up but only
highlighted her ethereal beauty. Her eyes, especially, held a sparkling and spirited elegance that mirrored an ocean brimming with a constellation of stars.
In a studio room scattered various paints and paintbrushes. There were canvasses hanging and works in progress on the corner. The curtains were wide open and revealed a city glowing with flickering lights from the cars outside. The night sky was filled with stars along with a full moon. The studio emanates a fragrant scent. It wasn't heavy like perfume, but more like flowers growing out of a glacier, emitting light and cool scent.
Mizuki became a known artist over the years. Her pieces were mostly related to magical realism.
Characters that only exist in fantasy and myth stories were weaved into the real life of every human. But the most popular work of Mizuki was a painting of a man with nine fox tails with a little girl. Some authors even made fan fiction stories about it.
It was, of course, Jiro. She missed him. She still does. A decade isn't enough to forget him. No, she can't and she won't. She moved on from the idea of meeting him again but there was still a small fire burning in her heart, continuously hoping but does not expect much.
She had roughly deduced that perhaps Jiro had left her to save her life from the judgment of society. 16 years ago, he saved her from breaking when he came to her life. And now, he had saved her once again by leaving. Why does he always have to adjust? He couldn't stay by her side forever, but at least, she had met him. Mizuki smiled bitterly in content.