f a r e w e l l .

friday.

I was sitting down on my parent's relatively big bed - this is my spot to watch some anime if I'm in the mood.

My feet were dangling on the edge of the bed, being cooled by the subtle breeze from the air cooler plugged into the wall socket.

It's about 9 in the morning, so the sun shined brightly through the window, bathing the entire room with light.

The bedroom door was left wide open, letting more breeze into the room.

My mother plays music from the speaker on our terrace. Meanwhile, my brothers are downstairs watching something on YouTube. I assume that's what they're doing.

Today, I still can't get the image out of my head.

The soft orange shining through our windows.

The mess of papers and chairs all around the room.

My classmates and I shedding tears and comforting each other. Saying our thanks and goodbyes.

How I cried to myself and how I couldn't explain it.

How she saw me...

...and hugged me...

I usually watch anime whenever I'm in the mood or if I have the time. Classes are cancelled today, so you bet I'd be watching.

I always try to find a new series to watch - this time, it's Your Lie in April.

This is when Tsubaki's lines hit me hard. It felt fitting.

I wanted this to go on forever.

But... time keeps moving.

Even if it's scary and painful,

they have a goal.

And they force themselves to move

one step a time,

while supporting each other.

It's true. We can't turn back time to relive the moments we wished would never end.

--- ~11:30 ---

Our group chat goes crazy with joy. A few minutes ago, we recieved an e-message from our teacher.

It seems as if Kousei and Nagi's piano performance was right on cue with what I felt.

Since I was pleased by the improvements of your batch, the summative exam will be cancelled and exemptions will become plus points. I will miss you all.

Our teacher's message went along those lines.

I managed to become real productive of myself for this morning. Six episodes already? Chill!

The light got a little faint through the window, but Kousei's performance was anything but. I always get moved yet I can't put it into words.

--- ~13:00 ---

After lunch, all I did was continue watching anime. I ended up finishing what I had left of Your Lie.

I wanted to find a new series to watch, but at the time I wasn't quite in the mood of something new and I couldn't find anything interesting, so I gave up that task.

I ended up just drawing and playing games on my devices.

However, I get continuously sidetracked and distracted by the conversations that my classmates are having over on our group chat - some about making fun of each other, others about memes, but occasionally there pops up a message regarding any goodbyes or final requirements.

--- 22:54 ---

With a little glare on my eyes, the phone screen shines amongst the darkness, giving a sliver of brightness to what might have otherwise been a dark and desolate, quiet bedroom.

I can't sleep. I begrudgingly tuck myself under the covers, shielding my body from the chilly air released by the air conditioner.

I don't want to sleep. I take my phone and lower the brightness a little.

I won't sleep yet. I mute my phone and continue to play games.

With a thick blanket over my head, soft pillows to my side, and a springy bed below me, this is exactly the situation I wanted to be in right now.

Our performance from a week ago resonates in my head.

At the end of the day, there's another day dawning

And the sun in the morning is waiting to rise.

My heavy heart returns. Why is this line echoing in my mind? I don't want it to be over!

--- 23:05 ---

The textured pillow on the front side of my bed - textured with its slight bumps and stitches - acts as a support when I lean my phone on it.

I hid in the blanket to protect my phone from being seen, but it usually gets kind of warm.

I peek my arms out of the front, and poke a leg out the back. The fresh, cool breeze caresses my extremities and I get a little drowsy.

Some of my classmates are still awake, exhibit A being the chat heads popping up on the edge of my screen.

They're either releasing the latest information of the outbreak that got classes cancelled, or just asking if anyone else is awake.

--- 23:15 ---

For a second, I turn off my phone. I peek ny head out of the warm, fuzzy blanket and just lay there - embracing the darkness.

The room is painted in a deep, dark, desolate black. Leaves of trees outside when paired with the open lights of the neighbors form silhouettes on the window.

Above me, there is the repetitive, soft snoring sound - my younger brother is asleep.

I pick up my phone once more and turn it on. The glare comes back, but this time it isn't trapped under the blanket. The soft light from my screen reaches the walls behind me and gives them a faint, grayish glow.

Until now, the image still lingers in the back of my head.

The soft orange shining through our windows.

My classmates and I shedding tears and comforting each other.

How she saw me...

...and hugged me...

I put my phone down and look around. This is the room I'll be in for the two months of summer vacation.

I tell myself to get used to this atmosphere, even though I know it's my own house.

Maybe it's because I'm used to the school setting, so even if this is my house, it feels like a building I've never set foot in before.

Or maybe it's because I know that after our final days as third-year students, we may never be able to enter our room again - the room we worked on to fill with the memories and experiences now etched into our hearts.

Or maybe it's because the feeling of the warm sun shining through the window, I might never experience the same way again.

The soothing soundtrack of my game plays softly in the room. You wouldn't quite notice it at first, but it's playing.

It's mellow aura matches the chilly, dark atmosphere surrounding me.

Like a silent lullaby, it sings to me. It pulls me in - deeper and deeper - into slumber.