kurekitsune
I hear you calling me from the hallway. I curl up a little tighter in my sheets, not wanting to get up and face the chill of the day. You call again, more urgency in your tone pushing me upright.
"What is it?"
The gong rang in his ears, a rich, tribal sound that made his heart race. Soon - it would all unfold very, very soon. And he would have his sweet revenge.
She took her seat on the train, fumbling in her purse for a stick of gum. She unwrapped it and popped it in her mouth, chewing contemplatively as she stared blankly out of the window. The trees passed by in a whirl of green - the sky, one long streak of blue patched here and there with the white of the clouds. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the glass, wishing she could just be there and in his arms already.
I fished around in my pocket, withdrawing a few crumpled one-dollar bills, a gum wrapper, and a bit of lint. I sighed, going into my other pocket and coming up empty, save for a small length of string.
Clasped between my cupped hands, a pair of fireflies panicked and fluttered about. I rushed over to the stump where I'd set my empty lantern before tucking them inside and hastily shutting the lid to close them in. I watched as they flickered on and off repeatedly, crawling around the inside of the glass.
Sandwiched between a businessman and an elderly lady that smelled faintly of strawberries and moth balls - buses make me claustrophobic. There were no other free seats. I leaned my head back, turned up the music on my iPod, and drowned out the world.
I tugged a little on the string, watching the kite bob about in the sky. A giddy laugh bubbled out of my throat - for the first time in a long time, I felt happy. I was having fun. He sat on the grass not too far away, watching me and smiling at me. If I was happy, then so was he.
Holding tightly to the ribbon that anchors down your precious floating treasure; at the age of five, losing your balloon would be catastrophic. I wish I could return to the time when accidentally letting go of your balloon was the worst thing that could happen.