It Starts With A Letter

Chapter 3

"What should I know about you?" Natsuki pulled up a chair to Yuri's desk and crossed her legs. If Monika wasn't available to speak, Yuri would work as an alternative for answers.

"L-Like, me specifically?"

"Yes, you specifically."

"W-Well, I like reading and writing poems, which explains why I joined this club. What about you?"

"I joined because it keeps me away from home. That and I like reading." Natsuki's attempt at humor didn't make Yuri laugh, rather, confused and concerned.

"Why stay away from home?" A protective instinct came over Yuri as she threw away her shyness and looked at Natsuki, "Is it an eating disorder? That would explain your petite body but not your feistiness."

"What? I choose to be this skinny." Natsuki rolled her eyes, "Also, I'm not going to be an obedient pet and take orders, something you wouldn't know about." She expected Yuri's calm, gentle nature to explode as if she woke the beast inside, but–

"... Growing up with nobody but your aunt makes expressing yourself hard." Yuri laid her head on her desk, "I hoped by joining this club, I'd find other people who could help me understand my emotions, but Sayori and Monika couldn't be any more different. Sayori's always cheerful, and Monika always comes in confident. I, on the other hand, come in silent, without emotion." She took a deep breath and clasped her hands underneath the desk.

Natsuki felt like shit. She wanted clues and answers to her problem and instead bullied someone into a spiral about their emotional detachment, "Y'know, even though I called you out and almost picked a fight with the President on my first day, I understand your struggles. I don't think I've managed to keep a friend since elementary school, and it's pretty lonely having your father as the only person who loves you. It sucks, and I apo-apologize for earlier." She patted Yuri's head with her right arm.

Natsuki didn't know why she rubbed Yuri's head, but it felt appropriate, "You stuttered with saying apologize. Do you not use that word often?" A muffled giggle came from Yuri as she toyed with Natsuki.

"And you're one to talk? Just before our deep conversation, you were stuttering up a storm!" Natsuki playfully smacked Yuri's head. Is this how friendship works? It's been years since she's smiled because of someone's companionship. She missed this feeling, and Yuri must've too, with the smile she returned to Natsuki, "You mentioned earlier you expressed yourself with poems. Can I read one?"

"I don't have any of my previous poems, but on Wednesdays, we usually share poems. I can start working on mine and show you when I'm finished." Yuri grabbed a fountain pen from her backpack and pulled out a piece of paper.

"That works with me." Natsuki pulled her pen from her backpack and took Yuri's sheet, "I'll be borrowing this." She gave Yuri a playful smile and started to write. At least she tried.

Natsuki, in her entire years of school, had never written a poem, and the eraser shavings beside the paper and erased words showed her struggles. What's she supposed to write about? Her life? Her father? Her feelings?

"Did you want help?" Yuri looked at Natsuki's dirtied sheet and then Natsuki, who nodded, "What're you struggling the most with?"

"A topic. Is there something specific I have to write about?"

"Unless said otherwise, poems express the writer's feelings, current situation, or a topic they're interested in. Tell me something you like."

"Baking."

"What do you like about baking?"

"It's calming, fun, and lets me be creative," Natsuki told Yuri, and she watched her friend's hands glide across the paper. Her handwriting looked familiar but new, Natsuki thought. Did she write the letter? No, Yuri's cursive was too refined, even harder to read than the letter itself, "Your handwriting's beautiful. How long did it take for you to master it?"

"Several years." Yuri dropped the pen and gave Natsuki the sheet, "I still think Monika's cursive is better, especially since hers isn't that fancy, but I appreciate the compliment."

"Why are you comparing yourself to someone else? I haven't seen her handwriting yet, but there's no way it's better than yours." Natsuki grabbed Yuri's poem and held it up, "I can barely read it because of how strong the cursive is. Give yourself some credit."

"If it's too difficult, I can help transcribe the words..." Yuri ignored the last part of Natsuki's words and handed her a sheet of paper written in black ink.

Natsuki, as Yuri said before, struggled to read the poem. The text and style of the poem looked like the Declaration Of Independence, and the words kept coming. From what she made out of it, Yuri, who was represented as a moth, admired something in the form of a lamp, "Did you like it?"

"From what I could understand, it talks about you respecting someone, right?"

"Mhm."

"So I should write about my feelings? Like a middle-school teenager with a diary?"

"If you look at it that way, yes." Even though she sensed the sarcasm in her response, Yuri was glad Natsuki enjoyed her poem. She started to pack all the pieces of paper and pens away–

"Hey, do you mind if I keep your example poem? I wanna try making my own tomorrow for you. And the club, I guess."

"That's fine." Yuri smiled, "I can't wait to read it."