「ShinAi | Longfic」Forget-Me-Not

Part II

I sleep, but my heart waketh.

** Shinichi's POV **

There were gardens in the hospital for the patients. It was summer, so I sat in the shades to read but felt somewhat agitated. I didn't know what I was expecting. Cicadae were droning merrily at a distance; the warm breeze carried the scent of grass. It was a serene and beautiful afternoon. Sounds of shuffling feet came from ahead, and I lifted my head. For a moment, the world around me was silent. In front of me stood an eight- or nine-year-old girl, head lowered, wearing a light blue dress and holding a big bouquet of Forget-me-not in her hands. The wind blew by, ruffling her short, soft strawberry blonde hair and brushing upon the small flowers. Just like this, she stood about a yard from me and slowly lifted her head. As in my imagination, her eyes were blue like the sky, soft and rich. Moist as well, as if filled with tears. I jumped up and felt a jolt of pain. It might have been due to the wound on my shoulder, or it might have been something else. She was so similar to her, the girl in my dreams. But she was a stranger. Why would there be such a feeling of familiarity? When I realized what was happening, I was already in front of her, crouching down so that I could look into her eyes. The girl was startled but quickly got hold of herself.

"Hi." Her voice rang in my ears. "Hakase asked me to visit you." She smiled. It was a pretty smile.

Something told me I knew her, but that was only a feeling. I still couldn't figure out her name.

"Can you... tell me your name?" I smiled, beholding the girl's eyes. I saw a flash of desolation in them, and then I heard a soft sigh escape her mouth.

"Hi, I'm Haibara Ai. Nice to meet you."

Time might have stopped then in the afternoon of that summer day. The familiar yet unfamiliar girl extended her hand to me. I held it gently.

It is a noisy classroom filled with children's laughter and shouts. A new student, cute but calm and collected, heads straight for the boy's seat and sits down beside him; the boy is taken aback.

Another familiar scene—flashback. The same boy and the same girl. Would she be "her"?

"Hi, I'm Kudo Shinichi." I patted her head with a smile. "It's nice to meet you, too, Ai!" Would it be too rude to call her by her first name when we just met? But I felt as if I'd known her for a long time. There was no awkwardness.

The girl's head jerked up, her bright eyes twinkling. Her cheeks flushed, like she was angry. It was so cute to look at her. She lowered her head immediately and pushed the flowers into my arms.

"Get well soon. And be happy," she said and turned her heels, running off in a hurry.

I looked at the flowers, flowers with droplets of water on them, droplets like shattered diamonds. Forget-me-not? Is there anyone who can tell me, if I can't even remember, how am I supposed to forget?

***