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❝ BRIGHTER THAN THE BLUE SKY! ❞
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ♡︎♡︎♡︎ ANOTHER YEAR HAS passed with no one but Ryuhei beside me, his hand still holding mine as tight as ever with a grin so broad and beautiful that I fear that I'd go blind. Day and night, he does nothing but love me, care for me, and protect me. And I do nothing but cherish every moment we spend together, realizing that pushing him away would mean pushing away the only love I have now.
My caretaker passed away just nine months ago, leaving a little plant in my care to nourish much like how she did with me. She told me, just a few days before she left, that I was alike to little potted plants, and I asked her how so since it was unusual for someone to associate plants with an actual person, people tend to use animals or maybe even inanimate objects to describe another more.
She said, with a little rasp in her voice, "I believe you're like a plant because plants generally can't tell when they're hurt, when they need water or sunlight, which is why they die when they're neglected or don't receive the adequate amount they need. You need someone to take care of you, but that someone needs to be willing and fill you with love, because even the most cherished plants die when they're deprived of love."
She was clear with her words and I understood already what she meant, but there was still the tiniest bit of doubt in my mind that maybe I have misinterpreted her words, and maybe what she meant was something else.
I did not cry during her funeral, or even during her last moments, but I did hold on to all of our dearest moments together, my bones and soul feeling emptier than usual whenever I'd look behind me and there was no tall woman looking at me with a kind smile, her dark brown hair tied into a neat bun and her light blue kimono matching mine.
My eyes and heart may not have wept from her passing, but the memories in my mind shimmered. She will continue to shine like gold in my memories.
Now that I'm thinking about it, I have no one left but Ryuhei with me. My caretaker who always took the role of my mother have now died, my mother has long been distant with me and I highly doubt she'd start to treat me like her son now that I'm older and can take care of myself, and my driver who temporarily took the role of my father after he passed retired because he was suffering from paralysis on the left side of his body.
My only wish now was for Ryuhei to stay with me until we're older, but that wish was just as ridiculous as it sounds since, usually, when people get older they tend to get distant because of the constant changes both people would go through, and some of those changes may not be something the other would be so keen.
In my perspective, neither of us have changed much. Ryuhei was still the same boy that he always was. Always so energetic and friendly, rowdy and unruly, fun and exciting to be with. His smile never changed and the twinkle of mischief and love in his eyes never left. And I liked that about him. I like that he was still the Ryuhei that I met in the playground, although now he's grown an inch or two more than me and rebelling more than he usually did.
