A Hundred Leaves

"Have you come to a point in your life where you feel like raining is the worst thing that could ever happen to this world?

For me, yes. I dislike rain. No... scratch that. I despise rain. Every time it rains, it feels like every single raindrop I hear drizzling on the roof turns to be blood in my sight.

Yes, blood.

The blood she shed that night… The blood that almost ended my life, too.

I can still remember... so loud and clear. I saw her lying on the ground. The sight of her lifeless body, it was taking my breath away.

I was shaking. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move. I couldn't let myself walk towards where she was lying.

I couldn't believe she's gone.

She's gone forever in my life....."

The annoying sound of the school bell virtually surrounded the place as the clock ticked 7 o’clock. He stopped writing as soon as he heard it. He heaved a very long sigh and closed the notebook where he was writing on.

“What the heck, Hanger?” he heard someone say from behind.

The girl approached the teenage guy who owns the last name and continued, “I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” she complained as she gestured dramatically like a mom nagging at her son. “Why wouldn’t you answer my texts and calls? I was even talking to you knowing you were walking behind me and when I looked back, you weren’t there anymore! Then now I would end up seeing you here?! In this God-forsaken place?” She sounded very annoyed as what her furrowed brows show.

The guy serenely fixed his specs and tucked his pen on his uniform’s front pocket. He stood up and faced the short-haired girl who's been ranting on his back.

“It’s not forsaken,” he shook his head, “This is the place where God continuously shows His mercy on me,” he seriously replied as he stepped toward the girl to whisper on her ear, “You’d better be quiet because this place is called a library,” he explained emphasizing the last word.

He stepped back to reach his backpack from the desk where he was sitting on.

“Oh-kay,” the girl rolled her eyes in annoyance. “What-ever!”

As a quick response, the young man gave her a bitter flick on her forehead.

“O-Ouch!” she reacted instantly and rubbed her turned-red forehead. “And did you really need to do that, Kliff?!” she complained.

The guy just smirked at his seemingly overreacting best friend.

“W-Wait,” the girl paused as she realized something. “Don’t tell me you’re here because,” her eyes widened a bit, “You’ve started... writing stories again?” she asked hesitantly.

“Yeah,” he responded with a quick nod, “Is that surprising or something?”

The girl couldn’t respond right away but after a few long seconds, “N-No. No,” she managed to say. “I’m actually glad to hear that,” she continued with a very tentative smile.

“Are you mocking me or something?”

“No, Kliff. Of course not!” she giggled as she tapped the tall guy’s shoulder. “Anyway, we’d better hurry up now or else, our first day would be ruined.”

But before the young man could even say a word, the girl already moved and abruptly took his arm to drag him toward the library’s main door.

“Casey?! Would you please stop this habit of dragging me?” he pleaded in annoyance.

“Yeah, I got it,” she replied lifelessly yet continued dragging him.

Today would be their first day in high school.

And today would also be the first page of the story they would never, ever forget.