Compass ¦ Short story

Forsaken Hanahaki

"A boy with gentle beauty and passion
As a bloom of Hanami falls into green grass
A girl who believed true love was a myth
But only boys who believe love doesn't exist"

A mariner with a cursed desire
Only to get his wishes
To seek to steal their love
He cannot have it

But love will conquer all
Through selfless sacrifice
Until they finally unite
A forsaken love, when will this tragic end?

"When will it end?"

Sayuri asked herself while holding a book in her hand. The first page was a poem and the other page was filled with myths. She found it under the blossom tree in the Park near her house.

She thought she could find answers if she hoped to heal her curse or so she thought.

"Do you think Autism is like a curse? Do you think it is easy to be autistic? Of course not... It is also hard to be with someone you love... Someone you wish you could have- "

Sayuri shakes her head to disappear those negative thoughts but why is it so hard to ignore it? It disturbs her.

"Yet it seemed everyone had a better life," she thought.

A life with friends and popularity.
A life without constant meltdowns or sensory overloads.
A life without constant rejection or isolation.

And here she was, holding a book under a tree, searching for answers when she knew deep down it was all useless.

She was cursed. Just like the man in the poem."

A

s Sayuri enters school she notices people a bunch of people surrounding the entrance. She was confused as to why are they so crowded. She was feeling dizzy all of a sudden due to the tension of the people. She tries to move away but misstep almost falls. Suddenly a boy rushes him to catch him.

"Are you okay?" The boy looks concerned and worried trying to make you stand up again. Then she look at the crowd and got pissed about how many they are disturbing the others.

"Come on, have we had enough with this? You're making a scene here" He shouted but no one heard it.

Sayuri stood up and slowly looked at the crowd. there was glowing light amongst the crowd and she couldn't help but look also.

Among the large crowd a small peak she knows why they were there.

As she looked, she noticed the crowd's focus was on one person: Masaru.

And at that moment, she realized why everyone seemed so entranced by the crowd.

Masaru had the aura of a star, his charm, charisma, and grace exuding a radiant light that everyone gathered around was trying to capture.

Sayuri couldn't help but look at him, his radiant beauty and elegance. The way he stood among the crowd, a speck amongst a sea of people...

The students were gathered at the entrance to watch Masaru perform his famous Japanese Calligraphy.

He had become an icon at this school, known for his talent and kindness towards others. His performances always drew a crowd, but this time it was especially crowded as Masaru had recently announced that this would be his final performance before graduating.

Seeing her beloved, Sayuri couldn't help but stare at his performance and feel a strong sense of pride in him. However, as she was watching, she felt a sudden dizzying sensation, like a ticking clock coming closer.

Sayuri's vision became blurry making her close her eyes for a bit.

As she opened her eyes again everything was pitch black. She couldn't see anything as she became scared A thing in front of her appeared

She remembers, A compass directing her to look that way.

"That way?" She asked but the compass didn't respond. She walks slowly, the compass starts to move following her and instructing her. Sayuri was anxious and kept following.

But the Clock ticks louder

She panics

Then louder and louder

She was scared until she started running in the direction. She runs to the way they want her to look.

She runs-

Suddenly the bell rang, Sayuri was shocked and was breathing heavily. She realized she was staring at the light bulb again in the classroom. She was catching her breath when three girls walked in front of her and pulled her hair to the bathroom.

They dragged Sayuri by her hair to the bathroom, where they cornered her and started teasing her.

"Look who it is, the weird girl who can't even function properly in society," One of the girls smirked cruelly.

"She's probably just daydreaming about some boy she will never get," another girl snickered.

"Yeah, she is probably thinking of that popular guy, Masaru," The third girl laughed.

Sayuri felt her self-esteem shatter, but she didn't let it get to her. Instead, she just nodded silently and continued to focus on the glowing light in her mind. She couldn't resist trying to figure out what it was and why it was so intriguing. So, she stayed calm and listened to the Clock ticks.

But as she continued to focus on the light, she heard giggling voices outside. The girls were watching her, waiting for her reaction.

Searing rage grew within Sayuri as she realized what they were doing.