The Five Petals

7 - UA

The street was silent, eerie than the night itself. The setting sun was basking the earth with last of its rays. The two souls strolled the ground with lush grass.

"It's beautiful." Aya whispered against the wind. Tsuichiro turned around to look at Aya and held the sight with his heart, "It is."

Aya sat down with her back resting on the wall of the old wooden house. "How did you find this place?"

Tsuichiro followed her steps and sat next to her, he scanned the area with his half open eyes.

There was an old wooden shed, a little pound and unkept grass. The place was secluded from the isolated city. It was barren and empty with no sign of life.

"There was an old man who used to live here."

"Really?" Aya looked at the house and it seemed like it hasn't been used for more than a decade. "Where is he now?"

Tsuichiro closed his eyes to recall, it has been so long that even the memories were becoming blur to him.

"He's gone."

"Did he not have any relatives to look after his house?" Aya asked. Even if the old man had relatives, they probably moved to the bustling city, after all, the place was too sequestered. Even more cloistered than the building she lived in.

Getting no response of the question, Aya casted a glance at Tsuichiro; he seemed to be in a world of his own.

"Would it be rude if we see inside?" She asked carefully.

"Do you want to?"

"Mn."

"Then let's go." Tsuichiro got up from his spot and pulled up Aya. The force was abrupt that Aya almost fell on Tsuichiro but she managed to secure her ground.

He let go of her hand and guided towards the entrance. The door was barely intact. There was a trail of molds growing on the maple wood. Tsuichiro attentively opened the door. The creak of the rusted hinges welcomed them inside.

"Be careful, it's very old. The roof might fall down at some point."

"I'll be okay." Aya declared and walked past him. The sun was going to kiss the earth soon. If the shed wasn't small, they wouldn't be able to even look everything in one go.

There were cluttered tools, some utensils and ruptured futon. Aya's eyes fell upon a metal object. She picked it up and wiped away the dirt.

"Is it a watch?" She mumbled.

"It's a music box." Came a firm response.

"A music box?" She turned it around and found a key holder. "Maybe the key is here somewhere." She handed Tsuichiro the box and begun to search in the pile of lost things.

"Aya, you'll get hurt. Don't rummage through broken things."

"I am not that fragile, Tsu." Aya ignored her friend and begun her hunt for the key.

With the receding light, all she could do was feel the objects on the floor. Due to holes in the roof, some of the rain water seeped trough it and had created tiny puddles here and there.

While searching for the key, her finger was pricked by something sharp.

"Aish!" She yelped.

"Aya!!!" Tsuichiro pulled her over and saw the droplet of blood forming on the newly found cut. Instantly he put her finger in his mouth to suck out the bad blood.

"Tsu?!" Aya tried to yank her finger away but Tsuichiro didn't let her.

"This is why I told you to be careful."

"It's just a small cut, not like I lost my finger."

"That's it, we're going home."

"Hey!! But I haven't even found the key."

"You won't find it here."

"Why not?!"

They both begun to tug at each other, trying other to agree with their set of arrangements. Seeing no other way, Tsuichiro brought his head near her belly and grabbed her by her thighs onto her shoulder.

"Tsu!!! Put me down!!"

"Stop struggling or we will both fall." Tsuichiro carried Aya back to their building while she did her best to grapple away.

. . .

The ointment was spread evenly on the tip of the tiny finger and was covered with bandage right after.

"It's a cut not a broken bone." Aya Noir let his stubborn friend make the big deal out of nothing cause he wouldn't stop otherwise.

"Could you mind your words, Aya?"

"Could you mind your business, Tsu?"

Tsuichiro sighed and packed the first aid box. "Alright, I'm going home. Try not to stay awake for long."

Aya just rolled her eyes and went upstairs. Tsuichiro saw her fading back and exit the building with an empty smile.

Freedom doesn't come without a cost.

. . .

Aya peeked through her window and after making sure that Tsuichiro had left the building, she climbed down the stairs and picked up music box, which she he managed to grab secretly.

She put the Aluminium box inside the sterile liquid and rubbed it clean.

"It's beautiful." She muttered as she traced trough convoluted designs on it. There was something engraved on it. From what she could decipher, it read as,

"A-ra-I – Arai?"

She spun it around and observed all the pattern. It started to appear like a temple.

"Hmm. Maybe I can open it with the screw-driver?" She strolled around the building searching for a perfect tool to reveal the gems she imagined inside.

. . .

Tsuichiro entered his apartment, which he rented right next to Aya Noir. As compared to her building, he only had a tiny room but in terms of condition, it was much more equipped. All the things he got, knowing Aya would be too stubborn to get for herself.

He placed the first aid kit into the cabinet and went to take a quick shower. Afterwards, he got the cup noodles and cooked them up.

He was still waiting for the noodles when his phone started to ring. He knew who would be calling this late.

Unwillingly he received the call.

"Tsuichiro! How's Aya? Can I talk to her today?" The caller blurted in haste. Tsuichiro responded monotonously, "She's fine. I will let you know when she's ready to talk."

And before the caller could continue, he cut the call and turned off his phone. It was his rule, in order to keep Aya's trust, he wouldn't reveal her location but at the same time, he would not make her family take desperate measures to find her.

He was stuck between a wall and well. No matter where he go, it would be dead end. At moments, he really wish he could turn back the time and fix everything but once the train goes off track, it loses all its direction.

He finished his noodles in a daze and after cleaning up, he went to sleep. He took off his spectacles and put them in the side drawer. His eyes landed on the shiny object.

But I haven't even found the keys!

You won't find it here.

Why not?!

"Maybe today was a mistake." Tsuichiro mumbled. He slumped into the pillow and hoped for the rainy days to go away.

----------

Sorry for errors and thank you for reading.