A Meteor and a Flower

A meeting and a shining star

"Hello there. Nice weather today, right?" said the girl in white.

Ryusei was starstruck. He had a good track record of what a female looks and acts like from a lot of his games, but what he felt right now was the same feeling that he had when buys a newly released game. He was full of happiness, and he wants to discover what they contain. He wasn't able to admit it to himself, but this was surely a "something" at first sight.

"Y-yeah.." he muttered, after what seemed to be an arrangement of incomprehensible words and nervous body actions.

As the girl looks up to the sky, she says "It's that time of the year, when the stars dance in the sky. The way they flicker, the way they shine, it's such a delight to see. Don't you think so, too?"

She stands up and approach Ryusei. "Hi. I'm Airi. Fancy meeting you."

Right now, Airi looks like a real star to Ryusei. Too bright, too dazzling, too surreal. A pure being that was too good to be human. An existence that was too good to be basked in his underwhelming presence.

Having had little interaction with other people, apart from his dad and relatives, his mind went blank. Adding the unexplainable feeling in his heart right now, he awkwardly answered, "H-hi Airi, I'm Ryusei. I just moved here today. I-it's nice to meet you. You're very pretty."

From the moment that he uttered that last sentence, he regretted being born. He knew that he had just encountered a death flag. He wished that he could reset this game and load up from his last save point so that he doesn't have to say something so embarrassing.

To cover up for his blunder, he followed up his words with, "S-sorry! That was a slipup! D-don't remember what I just said! What I meant to say was--" And as if on cue, the hunger from his stomach retorted, and a loud grumbling sound can be heard from him.

At that moment, Airi let out a small but cheerful laugh. That laugh seemingly erased his embarrassment and he laughed as well at the predicament that he got himself into. At that moment, it was as if they were in their own world. Ryusei wished for it to last forever.

But such is the bad luck of Ryusei, as Airi replied, "I didn't notice it was dinnertime. I guess I should head home now. I'll see you next time, Ryusei. It was nice meeting you."

As her skirt flutters into the dark of the night, radiating as the moonlight shines upon her, the only thing that Ryusei had in his mind was her image, her smile, her laugh.

As his feet dragged his new home by the hunger that he ignored for a long time, he couldn't help but to recall the brief but joyous event that just happened. And as he walked, there was a plastered smile on his face, as he began to imagine the next time that they'll meet. And at that time, he was glad that he went outside.