My heart was pounding as I watched Yuna and Ayumi shopping, could this situation be any more disconcerting? I know Yuna talked to Ayumi, but about what? Just fashion and trivial things, or was there more to it? Yuna rarely went out with friends, let alone shopping.
"Well, Sora, how are you?" Yuna greeted me, breaking my thoughts.
"Fine... How about you?" I replied, trying to hide my nervousness.
"Here, shopping with Ayumi. We plan to cook at her house," she explained.
"Cooking, at Ayumi's house?" I replied, trying to discern if it was just a casual activity between friends or something more.
At that moment, Yuna surprised me with a revelation, "You know, Sora, Ayumi and I are childhood friends."
My thoughts became entangled in a sea of confusion. Childhood friends? Why hadn't Yuna mentioned this to me before? I felt somewhat displaced. As I tried to process the information, Ayumi took advantage of my bewilderment to temporarily withdraw.
"I need to go to the bathroom. Excuse me," leaving Yuna and Ayumi alone.
My mind played tricks on me, reminding me of a similar episode from the past that haunted me. A year ago, a confession of love turned into a heartbreaking turn of events. Two girls, childhood friends, shared laughter and secrets, but one day everything changed. The elegant girl, the one who almost confessed her feelings to me, was overshadowed by the outgoing girl who burst onto the scene.
The laughter became an empty echo of what it used to be. the elegant girl, was caught up in a dance of contradictory emotions. My laughter turned to tears, and my world crumbled. It was a tragedy I couldn't help but relive in my mind, and as I did, the pressure in my chest increased.
I couldn't help but remember the rainy day when I saw them together, when my world fell apart. Tears began to emerge, a wound still fresh in my heart. The intensity of the pain manifested itself in tears that fell silently. It was the first time I cried for love, an internal rain that coincided with the storm outside.
That experience made me loathe relationships based on childhood friendship. Now, here I was again, facing a similar scenario with Yuna and Ayumi. But this time...
I decided to leave the premises to collect the remaining ingredients. When I opened the door, a surprise awaited me: Ayumi was outside, waiting for me.
"Hello, Sora. Took you long enough, don't you think?" she told me with a smile, as if everything was casual.
Nervousness washed over me as I tried to think of an answer - why was she here? Was she really out shopping with Yuna?
"You run really fast, Sora. Are you an athlete or something?" he commented, deflecting the conversation.
"Actually, I'm not bad at sports. I was good in elementary school," I replied, avoiding the real dilemma.
He gave me his number, and at that moment, I knew something was changing. It wasn't just another number, it was the door to an uncertain future. Ayumi said goodbye with a grateful smile, and I watched her walk away as my mind filled with questions.
On my return home, the talk with Ayumi had raised the bar of complications. I had to be careful. Relationships with girls like Ayumi could be a minefield of rumors and misunderstandings. In addition, Ayumi's mother, an unknown but seemingly authoritative figure, added another level of complexity.
"See you at 7, stay tuned!" said Ayumi to me, disappearing into the crowd.
Uncertainty loomed over my head-how would I get Ayumi to be freer in a year? How would I win Ayumi's mother's approval? I knew that every misstep could be my undoing.
With these thoughts, I prepared for dinner, feeling my life tangled in a thread more complex and exciting than I could have ever imagined.