EDEN | mitsukai

two

to say one's fit by societal standards means falling fooled by society itself. hakkai knows much of that absurd norms and their lengthy demands on a person. labels, by far, are nothing but names of identity. the idea of people bending over something so shallow—something that changes over time, is the most stupid yet entertaining thing to watch.

crimson liquid shines in the harsh lights of the afternoon. the humid air of summer stuck to hakkai's skin along with asphalt dust as he sat by the corner of the alleyway. he felt sticky and brazen inside his blue yukata. for a second, he almost blamed the summer heat for what he was feeling. if, per se, the summer did horrible things to his condition.

from a distance, there's a faint sound of a festival. the pounding sound of taiko rhythmically followed the beat of his heart. the murmur of crowds buzzed in his ears, and it has the sound of summer youth—one that a child would yearn since the loathsome winter. but, who knew that evil liked to roam the earth in the liveliest time of the day. he realized they had a taste for humid air, cotton candies, alcohol, and straggling children.

"you see this, hakkai?" the man smiled, "look at what you did!"

the child in front of him would let out whistling noise of pain as the man held him by the neck. he was hakkai's friend. the child of a lady living two blocks from their house. he could say that he was a nice child, a lively one at that. now, that child was walking at the edge of death as he desperately clawed taiju's arm. much to his childhood innocence, hakkai supposed. his broken nose dripped with blood and snot from crying for hours, and just like his nose, bloodshot eyes formed an impending black eye.

hakkai turned his head, scanning the area once more as if expecting a miracle to come their way and save them. he should have known no one was coming their way. miracles like to turn a blind eye in situations like this, and the stray cicadas sticking in tree trunks are the only witness to his demise. the sound of festivities was far too loud that it drowned whatever noise came out of their mouths. let alone the child in his brother's hand.

"brother, stop." hakkai pleaded.

taiju raised a brow, "oh? is there something wrong with facing the consequences of your actions?"

tilting his head in confusion, hakkai sent his brother a look of question. taiju's conceited nature never failed to feed his curious musing about righteousness and what not. for as far as he knew, visiting a nearby festival wasn't considered a trivial sin. perhaps he missed another sentence from his brother's notes.

"i..." he trailed off with voice fainter than the singing cicadas, "repent for my sins."

"oh?" taiju tilted his head.

"in the name of jesus?"

the name echoed inside his head similar to the bell ringing atop churches after sunday mass. it's more of a mantra rather than a prayer at this point for hakkai. that phrase carried too much dread inside of him that every time he would hear it, he couldn't help but feel his core tremble.

clasping his hand in desperation, "amen."

a pat on his shoulder awakens hakkai from his terrible daydream. the scent of boiled wheat noodles and the pungent smell of century egg whiff in his nose. the tint of orange lamps on the sides of the aisle is warm to his eyes as he sits alongside his friends. it's like the feeling he had one summer back in his primary days. though, he must admit that this moment feels a little more distant than the accidental meeting with the "strict perfectionist."

it has been three weeks since he last saw him, yet he left enough musing for hakkai to wonder on and on. sleepless nights were no stranger to the man, but someone never stayed in his mind during those nights. not even his existence was worthy enough of thinking through those nights, and that strange man effortlessly settled in his thoughts.