Sakura (2)

Chapter 2

[Click here for Part1]

 I chuckled. “You’re a weird one, Mikasa. What’s your secret, I wonder”

“I’m gonna die soon” I looked up at her. She was writing something in a diary. “ What happened to peace and quiet?” “Thank god” “ What are you even talking about?” “You just heard that I’m gonna die and that’s your reaction. I would have hated if you started pandering to me.” “I hate pandering to people. I prefer to be straight with them” “As do I” I looked up from my pad. “I’ll bite. What’s wrong with you?” “Kidneys. Both of them. I have dialysis appointments, but I need new ones. Mine are out of order.” “I see. How hard Is it to find a replacement?” “ I have a rare condition that makes me special.” “ Specially effed you mean” “Ehhh. I’m still on the list, but its a long list.” “The list?” I asked confused. “The national organ donor list.” I nodded.

“So what happens if you can’t find a donor?” “I told you, I die” We were standing in the bus shelter School was over. For now. ”But there must be someone out there. Your parents, siblings, relatives?” She shook her head. “I have some kind of rare autoimmune condition. Makes accepting much harder.” I stayed quiet. What was I supposed to say? “  Its okay, you don’t have to say anything.” She said. I looked up. Was she reading my mind?  “That’s usually what people say. I don’t know what to say. If there’s one thing I hate, its pity. I ain’t letting something as minor as kidney failure stop me from having a good time. Besides, we’re all gonna die one day right.” I stayed quiet. A cool wind blew, throwing a couple of strands of  hair on her face. She brushed them aside. “It’s getting cloudy.” I looked up. It did look like it might rain. “come on! I know where to go!” She said, cheering up. Grabbing my hand, she ran off, dragging me along.

“Where are we going?” I wheezed. I wasn’t used to running. She ran, dragging me along, ducking through stalls and markets, jumping over sleeping dogs, dodging cars and bikes. I had completely lost all sense of direction. All I could do was run after her, and try to keep up. Just then she turned to me. “We’re here!” “Where are-” I stopped. It was the Promenade.And beyond that, the ocean. Stretched out to the horizon, reflecting the grey skies. “This, wait how did we get here so fast?” “I know a lot of shortcuts. Come on”

“I love this place. I used to come here when I first moved to the city.” she said. We were sitting on the edge, dangling our legs below. The freezing cold water splashed us, and I was pretty sure I’d catch a cold. But it was worth it. A strong sea breeze blew, blowing my hair up. I could feel the salty scent of the ocean, the stillness of incoming rain. “ It’s gonna rain heavy” I said, looking up. Mikasa looked at me. “Nothing is gonna happen between us.” She said suddenly. I looked at her puzzled. “What do you mean?” “I’ve noticed you around. You don’t socialise with others, that’s why I chose to trust you. You’re not gonna gossip. I don’t have tomorrow guaranteed and I wanna enjoy life. But I’m not gonna waste my life being in love. So no matter what, we are never gonna be in love. I just need someone to accompany me, because I got tired of going out alone. And my friends are no good. Everything they enjoy id boring. You’re free to tag along. I like your company. But you aren’t allowed to fall in love with me.” I laughed. “That’s it? Seems simple enough.” Mikasa sighed. Then smiled. “ I never seen you with your hair blown back. You look good like that.” She brushed my hair, when just then, the first raindrop fell.

“SO YOU’RE TELLING ME YOU DIDN’T GET AN UMBRELLA?!” I screamed at her. We were running along the promenade. It was raining heavily. “In mt defense, I thought it would be a light rain.” There was a gazebo built a couple of hundred meters away. Right now, in the heavy rain, that was our only option. We barely made it, nearly drenched. We stood there, panting, wheezing. I sat down on a bench, unzipping my bag. Thankfully, none of the books got wet. “You okay?” She asked, sitting besides me. I nodded. She sighed, resting her head on my shoulders. My body tensed for a moment, and she felt it. She lifted her head slightly, turning to look at me. “It’s fine.”I said, patting the side of her head. She nodded, curling up against me on her seat, and before I knew it, fell asleep. So this was the famous, popular Mikasa. From 100-0 in five seconds. I opened my phone, checking cabs. Five minutes away. Perfect. I booked one and smiled, looking over at her. Her long straight hair, now wet, now clung to her face. Loose strands plastered all over. Her body heaved with every breath. I felt her warmth through all the layers of wet clothes. Suddenly, I had an overwhelming urge to hug her, take her away from here, and keep her safe. I shook my head. No. There’s no feelings involved. Sleeping on someone’s shoulder was better than trying to sleep upright. I turned to look at her again. Her lips kept trembling, as if she was mumbling something in her sleep.

“Huh! Hey, where am I!” Mikasa got up panicking. I put my hand on her shoulder. “Relax, I got us a cab. We’re going home.” She turned around. Her face relaxed in relief. “Thank you. You didn’t have to.” She said quietly. I laughed. “I know. I was perfectly happy leaving you there. “ She smacked me on my head, “Dumbass” she said quietly. WE stayed silent in the rest of the car ride. When the cab stopped at her place, she gave me a small hug. “Thanks” She whispered in my ears. Then, she got out.

The next day, I went in class, hoping to see her again. But she was nowhere to be seen. I looked around the whole day. Yet, couldn’t catch a glimpse of her. When her roll was called, silence. Was she alright? I took out my phone and texted her. Single tick. No profile picture. Huh. I kept it off. I Went about my usual. Ignoring the teacher. Sketching. I even went to the abandoned classroom that she took me to. She was right, it was peaceful. I kept checking my phone impulsively. Nothing. I even tried calling her, but no use. It went straight to voicemail. I spent my break, sketching her from my memory. When I had finished, I laughed. I really needed to see her again. I crumpled up the page, tore it, and threw it away.

A week passed. No sigh of Mikasa. I repeated my pattern. Although I did study a bit sometimes. Home wasn’t anything different. I just stayed locked up in my room, listening to music, sketching, doing anything to not be bored. Plus the rain. Everytime it rained, I found myself wishing to be with her. Back in the promenade. I wanted to sit in the rain with her and talk. There wasn’t anything remotely romantic about it. It’s just she was the first person I felt any connection to. Everyone else felt the same. Shallow, transient. But her. Something about her was different.

My ringing phone brought me out of my thoughts. Unknown number. Huh. I picked up. “Umm hey, Kaneki?” I froze. “Mikasa?” “Hi” She said shyly, “Where are you!?” I almost shouted. “Funny thing. I’m in the hospital. I got admitted few weeks ago. I had to undergo an operation. They said they found a kidney for me.” “And? How did it go?” Silence. “Where are you, I’ll visit you. “ “No no it’s okay.” “Mikasa!” She paused. I’m at St Marcus General.”

I didn’t go to school the next day. Instead, I found myself at the gates of St Marcus General. Legs shaking, I found myself waiting outside her room with a flower bouquet. I  knocked , and went in. “Why did you have to get flowers?” She snapped as soon as she saw me. “They die so quick.” “I can throw them away right now if you want. “ I said, turning towards the trash bin. “No stop! Okay. There’s a vase there.” She said pointing, pouting. I chuckled. I pulled up a chair and sat down beside her. “How’s everyone in class?” She asked quietly. “Dunno. I shrugged. “Same as usual. I didn’t notice anything.” “You’re no use” She sighed. “I don’t want a whole round of questioning as soon as I come back.” “Well just say you were on a trip. Say something. Say your grandma died or something.” She smacked me. “Ow!” I cried. “What was that for?” She smacked me again. “I’m not gonna say my grandma died. Again.” “Oh” I chuckled. “No follow up questions!” she snapped. I raised my hands. “Fine fine” I leaned forward. “How are you feeling?” I asked quietly. “ Oh splendid. I have tubes running inside of me and my body is pumping more drugs than an arts college freshman. How do you think I am?” “Still sassy?” She smacked me again . “Oksy what was THAT for?” She giggled. Damn. Didn’t knew she could do that. “Nothing. I like beating you up.” “What if I hit back?” “Well you won’t.” she said, making puppy dog eyes. “How can you hit me” She cooed in a high pitched, cute voice. “Anyways, I’m feeling tired. IM gonna sleep. You can stay, just don’t be a creep and keep staring at me.”  “ah shit, there goes my plan!” She winked, and settled in. I checked my watch. I had a couple of hours to kill before I could go back home. I figured I would keep her company. I took out my sketchbook and started drawing her. Her long black hair was now dishevelled. Her skin was pale, her lips, colourless. She slept like a staute. Suddenly, I heard the door squeak. Before I could turn to see who it was, I heard an angry roar “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE!”

[Part 2, so as to speak Here is part 1]