Beside You (Akira Sendoh Fan Fiction)

4

I was awakened from my slumber in the middle of the night, not from a nightmare but from a dream. It was a dream like those thoughts you randomly have at unexpected moments about unimportant objects that suddenly they're already 100% important that you want to search your whole house where you stored it for, say, eons ago and when you already find it you just stare at it in awe feeling like this:

"I haven't seen you in years!"

or like

"I missed ye, buddy."

That was what I was feeling right now. I looked at the alarm clock beside me, and it's almost 4 A.M. I couldn't sleep anyways, so I headed to the bathroom.

I looked at the sink, with dried-up toothpaste covering it. I just cleaned this a week ago, does that mean I use too much toothpaste everytime I brush? I washed my face with water, its icy cool freshness biting my skin, waking me up.

I turned on the lights, blinking a couple of times to adjust my eyes. I have this wooden box similar to the size of a medium luggage bag at the foot of my bed where I always kept the oddities I collected all these years. Somehow I always wondered that if I'm out of money, I can sell some of these stuff. They've been in existance for more than a decade now, since some things inside it were given to me from my parents or grandparents, and it's their personal belongings! Whenever I laid eyes on things and started to fancy them it was always given to me.

I named the box "Mr. Russet" when I was a kid since its color was, russet. Its top was hinged to it, so it's like a treasure-chest type of box.

As I opened the lid, a doll greeted me, complete with her sparkly eyes and studded tiara, her dress still fine like the way it was years ago. As I delve into the box, I saw a Rubik's cube, its colors faded, the security blanket I always clinged to when I was scared, and a bag of marbles. Then there's the fan which my grandma gave me, and a pair of binoculars with which my dad bought for me. I held it over my eyes as if to survey the scene, but it occured to me that it was almost dawn, and if someone has to barge into my room without knocking they'll think I'll be going locko, so I put it back.

Delving deeper into the box, I saw a book beside a Slinky Dog toy. I unearthed it like it was a gem I haven't seen before, and my memories from it flashed before my eyes. It was a thick book, and my mom would always read to me before bedtime.

Dusting it, the book was a compilation of fairy tales. I kept on smiling as I flip through the pages, complete with colorful illustrations, stopping halfway at pages 76 to 77.

There was a photo of a boy that was sandwiched between these pages. He was standing in front of the gate of his school, with a brooch and a ribbon pinned to his chest. He was probably graduating grade school then. His smile was warm, and you can tell that he was truly happy at that captured moment.

I took out the photo and used my phone to capture an image of it. Then, I placed it under my pillow.

This boy, years back, was the one I treated as my first love.