I yawned and opened my eyes to the sound of raindrops gently tapping the glass of my bedroom window. I sat up and slightly opened the curtains to the window beside my bed, curious to see the drenched world outside. Even as a child, the sound of rain was a noise I loved to hear. It was when my mother and I would stay at home during rainy days if she was off work.
She would bake pastries and play beautiful operas and classical music from her old collection of vinyl records. She would even try to belt out a note or two like the singers did while letting me lick the leftover batter from the spoon. The rain and its nostalgic melody occasionally bring me back to a place of warmth. I miss her so much.
As my memories slowly fade away, breaking my daze from outside the window, I pause at how silent it was. 'Was Josai still sleeping?' I remembered him being a morning person, waking up even earlier than I do.' I'm surprised he hasn't come to scare me awake. I shimmy out of bed and make my way into the living room only to find no one there.
Empty couch, my neatly folded amber blanket, and Josai's bookbag. Why is this here, but he isn't. I try not to get worried too quickly. It just wasn't like him to go anywhere without his bookbag. I ran back to my room to get my phone ready to call Josai. It rang and rang, yet no reply. Where could he be this time of the morning? Class doesn't start anytime soon, even the city is barely awake. I keep tapping the tiny phone icon near Josai's contact picture just waiting to hear his voice on the other end. I sighed.
"This is ridiculous!" I grab my raincoat and tennis shoes from my closet and dash to the door. The few places Josai likes to hang out in his free time are the campus cafe, the park, the library, or his own place. Just before I open the door, I throw the hood of my raincoat on my head, determined to check the cafe first since it was closer. I fling the door open and rush out.
Within an instant, my body makes a sudden impact with the tall, dripping wet, sculpture in front of me.
"Woah Hiro, slow down, where are you headed off to?" asked Josai with water dripping down his face and falling off his chin, clearly concerned about my hurried actions.
"I was running to go look for you! You left your backpack here, you didn't pick up any of my calls. You didn't even let me know you left. I was worried…" These words flew out of my mouth almost as fast as I was running to find Josai.
"But Hiroki, I left a note for you on the table. I wrote that I'm going out for a run and that afterward, I will be picking us up some pastries for breakfast. See?" Josai lifted his hands and gently wiggled the bags around as evidence.
"Oh… ahh thanks. I definitely didn't notice that note when I woke up. I just don't get why you didn't answer my calls. When you didn't respond, I didn't know what else to do."
"Let me come in and I'll explain, okay?" Josai pleaded with such kind eyes.
I nodded. We both came inside and sat down on the couch. Josai reached for his book bag and pulled out his phone.
"I left it here because when I go running I don't like to have any distractions. I saw how beautiful it was outside with it raining and all. It helps me clear my mind for the day. I'm sorry for making you worried, Hiroki." Josai's voice was nothing short of genuine.
"I understand now. But, hey, I didn't know you liked running in the rain. Hearing it reminds me of home and just makes me feel warm inside." I smiled, remembering glimpses of my childhood.
"Well, maybe I can warm you up even more with these delicious baked goods! I got these for you and I hope they're still your favorite." Josai ruffled through the brown paper bag and pulled out a baby blue box. I pulled back the top of the box and my heart melted like ice cream on a sunny day. Almond & vanilla crème snack cakes. My favorite thing to order at the cafe during freshman year for our study sessions. The cafe had stopped selling them because the cakes didn't appeal to the majority of their customers' tastebuds.
"Wow! You remembered? I thought they stopped serving these on campus. How'd you get these?" My eyes marveled at the yummy little lumps in that baby blue box.
"You're right! They did stop selling them, but I found another cafe off campus that's near my place selling the exact same ones! Let's eat up!" Josai smiled and nudged the box at me, insisting I take the first snack cake of my choosing. Josai then took one for himself.
We sat on the couch, eating, talking, and laughing till our heart's content about anything that came to mind. It's moments like this with Josai that make me feel so warm inside and lay waste to any doubt of my feelings for him. The dripping rain, pastries, and laughter feel like home. A place that had disappeared for so long was now sitting beside me, laughing with a pastry in his hand.