Labyrinth | ✓

s i x t y - e i g h t h ♂️

Reasoning.

It took me a lot of reasoning until Mother eventually allowed me out of the house. During breakfast, in which she made too much bread for me, she insisted to stay back home and remain until my next appointment. However, when I told her Rena was there to accompany me, immediately her tensed expression fell. Even if she slightly disagreed at first, she was washed with relief, and after minutes of struggling, she succumbed and finally let me go.

I settled myself on the back row of the bus, listening to music, as usual. With my cheek resting on my hand, I stared out of the window into the streets outside, glancing at the cars and some groups of people. The gentle tempo of my favorite songs helped me clear my head off unwanted thoughts and flashbacks. Also, this mentally prepared myself to face Raphael...

During the journey, my eye began to grow droopy, but I tried not to fall asleep wnd. I was about to close it all the way when all of the sudden, the bus shook hard as it hid against a speed bump, which instantly drove me awake. I abruptly looked out, and realized that I actually have arrived at the destination. Don't be out of your mind... don't be daydreaming... you should have been ready for this since yesterday, so stop feeling so nervous like it was meeting a friend for the first time.

I jumped out of the seat and punched the button before the bus could go any further. It fortunately stopped, and when the doors slid open, I instantly hopped out. I pulled off my earphones and cut off the music even if it didn't reach the finish yet. I shoved them down my pockets, before I strolled through the sidewalk.

The sky today was seriously crystal clear. There were totally no clouds that could shield the surroundings and I from the scorching sun, and therefore it burnt so brilliantly in the horizon, sending its scorching rays below. I could feel them hitting against my skin, which in turn produced sweat... and obviously, I despised that.

Ugh... I hate sunny days... so fucking hot...

Why can't it just stay cloudy the whole day or at least rain... that would be ten times better...

Not to mention, the heat gradually swelled up when I was close to the beach. I breathed heavily as I felt something trickling down my cheek, but I was quick to wipe it away. At this point, I regretted wearing dark, thick clothes, and should have just wore like a simple T-shirt. This was stupid thought, but I just wished I could them easily strip off and got away naked.

Despite the unfortunate weather, there were still some positive things I should take, like I could see the entire scenery of the majestic, deep blue ocean that sparkled as it bathed under the sun. Like always, I could sniff in its iconic sulphuric smell and the sounds of its ferocity. There were also seemed to be no ends to it. The quiet trees on the park were just... a perfect match, like they blended in with the background. As I glanced up, there were the silhouettes of seagulls gliding across the sky as they let out some noises.

If there were birds around... there will be a chance that Raphael was around. I knew this since he told me he loved feeding them with his food.

Regardless, I could literally relax and spend the entire day being here. I shut my eye, listening to the nature. It was just so... spectacular...

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

I instinctively jumped at the voice, since it was right beside me. I abruptly looked back, seeing... Rena, chuckling at how shocked I must have looked. I breathed out a huge sigh of relief, and at the same time, the fluttering butterflies in my stomach came back. People appearing out of nowhere and scaring the shit out of me wasn't my thing, but with Rena... she just made things that I hated seemed okay.

"Sorry about that..." She said between her laughs, "You were really just so focused I can't help but to... surprise you."

"I-It's fine..." I stammered while my voice came out really stiff. "I... I kinda got carried away..."