My Soulmate Died

Friends by Chance

The boy kept that same sweet smile on his face and patted the seat next to him. I made my way closer to the bench and sat down, tired from headaches to everything else that had been bothering me ever since I fainted back then. But sitting down, I found all my worries drifting away into the endless sea, the feeling of bliss being the only thing left to fill my head.

The boy spoke to me, introducing himself. "My name's Gorou." His voice melted like butter into me. Among the smooth, velvety voice, there was a hint of roughness, a distinguished quality, a pleasant voice to listen to.

"A pleasure to meet you, Gorou. I'm Kaedehara Kazuha, but please call me by my first name."

"Kaedehara Kazuha... I don't think I've ever heard of that name before."

To say I was elated at what Gorou had told me, would be a downplay on my behalf. 'Elated' was only scratching the surface of my emotions. To think he had never heard of me before, assured me of the chance we could become real friends.

While I was too deep in my happy little world of fantasies, I saw Gorou reach over to my face and then lift his hand to the top of my head.

"Sorry, there's a leaf on your head."

I patted the top of my head to feel around for where it landed.

"It's gone now," he told me while handing the leaf to me, which I happily received. I took a closer look at the leaf, examining all its colors and small details etched carefully into place. This one leaf, in particular, was a bright red, and adorned around its edges were all shades of warm colors, from deep burgundy to a saturated yellow.

Though, there's something strange I can't quite put my finger on. My memory has been hazy ever since I passed out, the only clear image I can recall being the bits and pieces of the scenery from the few moments before I felt a sharp pain shoot through me. One last time, I tried filling in the breakage in between my memories, and something slowly started coming to mind. I could see a picture forming, the scenery from before, and every feature about it.

And then I felt it. The colors - everything about the colors from then to now is different. The once golden sunset in the sky was now a clear bright blue, the kind of weather you'd see in the mid-noon just after the last of classes are dismissed. There was also something odd about the trees. Its leaves were scattered across the ground from the stone path to the arch of the branches and beneath the wooden benches, their once bright green now deep hues.

I twirled the lead around in my hand, looking for any hints of green, but it was all gone. Another realization hit me, time here passes much faster. So... if that's the case, then how long has it been since I've last seen this place?

Days?

Weeks?

Months?

For every second I spend here, how much time passes back there?

Gorou caught on to the confused look on my face, his eyes lowering to the ground.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Sorry? What do you mean by that?"

"Sorry, I can't tell you yet." He looked back up at me. "But, I can tell you that I've been waiting for a while. I never got to know your name before, so I'm glad I do now."

'Before'?

"Just... forget about it," he continued. "You didn't come here to waste time worrying about things out of your control, right?"

"But..." I sighed, restraining myself from questioning Gorou any further. Perhaps remaining ignorant is the best choice I can make for now. I'll have to wait until Gorou is ready to tell me. "You're right. I should enjoy my time here, who knows if this will all disappear someday?" I leaned back on the bench and let my head hang over the edge, staring up at the leaning maple trees and the clear blue sky. I secretly tucked the maple leaf inside my pocket, hoping Gorou wouldn't notice and think I'm some kind of weirdo.