Because Of Love (Guilty Crown) [Book 1 of the Secret Garden Trilogy]

❤️Chapter 1❤️ Kenji Kido

To be lonely is terrible, however, it is a gift for someone lonely to find their special one...
-Suzuki Aiko and Kenji Kido

13 July 2033

The young brunette got out of the house expecting the day to pass by like any other day. She passed by the same old things and see the same old people. She sighed with an expression that shown that she would care less about the world.

The eight year old girl lost her parents at a young age. They were one of the many victims in a tragic incident that was called 'Lost Christmas' by the adults. It was not a topic the child enjoyed, she barely remembers her parents after all. There are times when she thought about her parents, her heart would start beating fast and she would feel an invisible source of warmth.

She had been living with her aunt since then, but a year ago, she had suddenly disappeared. Now, the girl lives alone, it does not bother her though. She described her aunt as someone she known in a distant past, like her parents.Her aunt was not much of a company, she was always busy with her job. The girl does not remember how her aunt looked like, however she does remember the songs her aunt used to sing her to bed before she got so busy.

The girl walked into a garden, which was in a small little beautiful garden behind her house.  From what she could remember, she would come here everyday to play. Not a lot of people come here as it was a secluded area in the town and was not easily seen in the eyes of normal people. You had to go through bushes and around trees to find this garden. Also, most people who did find this place never come back as they regarded the place to be 'dirty' and 'old'. However, in the young girl's eyes, the garden was beautiful and she wanted to protect it from those who wants to destroy it. The garden was a big part of her childhood after all.

She sighed and glanced at the serenity of her little garden. The abundance of blooming flowers, sakura trees and many other living things. 

To her surprise, a boy was sitting in her favorite spot in her secret garden, the cherry blossom tree. He was gazing at the sky, obviously deep in thought.It made the young child curious to how he found this place, but then again, this garden is still a public place, just that no one ever comes here.

The brown haired girl decided to speak up and greeted, "Hi! My name is Suzuki Aiko. The sky sure is beautiful, am I right?" The boy turned around in shock. Upon closer inspection of the mysterious stranger. Aiko saw that he had green spiky hair and shiny amber eyes. He looked around her age. He stared in shock, but calmed down soon after and looked back at the sky.

Seeing that he was not hostile, Aiko sat next to him and started talking to him as if she knew him for a long time, however he did not respond to any of her questions and statements. She don't know why she was doing that, but talking to him made her feel less lonely.

Normally, she would just keep silent and nap here or play in the gardens, but this time it was different. She was talking and asking him questions which were given with silent replies. It felt awkward at first, but Aiko somehow got the hand of it.

Hours past and it was soon nightfall. Aiko had no idea that time would pass by so quickly. She got up and waved goodbye.

Before she left, I heard the boy say, "Thank you. My name is Kenji Kido."

Aiko smiled and turned around to wave goodbye one more time, but he was gone.

Even though it was only for a day, she knew that she have found a friend.

Her very first friend...