Velleitie

A Spirit's Wish

Snip!

Snip!

"What are you doing?" Amane leaned over from across the table.

"Nothing, nothing." Isui hummed a reply as she continued cutting the paper she was holding.

The two were currently in the library. Isui, personally always found the lulling atmosphere of being around books to be comforting. Maybe it was just her, but despite only being around the place for no less than a year, it felt so comforting within the numerous stocks of information; she felt at home. 

"Shouldn't you be in class right now?" The spectre's yonderly eyes reflected worry as it quietly observed Amane.

He merely raised his shoulders to a shrug. "It wouldn't matter."

Even with how he played it off as a joke, somehow, Isui felt a sudden shift in the air, it didn't feel so warm anymore. Was it because she brought up the idea of class?

"Is… " Isui's sentence trailed, questioning whether she should finish it. "Um… nevermind."

The heavy sigh of defeat that followed placed Amane on edge as he leaned closer to his companion. "What? What were you going to say."

The apparition merely dismissed it with a wave of her hand, before she continued cutting the piece of paper again. "It's nothing. You said you wanted to know what I was doing, right?"

Snip!

Isui had finally finished her masterpiece, holding up a single paper cutout of a person. It had the same level of artistry as that of a kindergarten.

"Ta-da," the girl cheered, "What do you think?"

"It's a person…?" Amane stated unsure and somewhat surprised for how childish it was.

"That's right!" Isui hummed, booping Amane on the nose with her free hand. "It's you."

"His name is Yu?"

"No, he's you you, dummy." Isui booped him on the nose again. "It's an analogy."

"Explain…?" Amane asked, shuffling closer.

Isui chuckled a bit. She pushed aside all of her crafting materials and placed the paper she cut the humanoid figure from in the center of the table. Like a puzzle piece, she fitted the cutout back to where it was from

Isui started, "So, I was reading this book about ghosts just a while ago and I came up with this small theory. See this?" She pointed at the paper in the center. "Assume that's the world in its very essence. This is everything we see, taste, hear, smell, touch, and feel; including us. Ok, look at this." She pointed at the cutout specifically. "Assume that's you, or anyone really. You have your own space that you occupy in this world while you're alive. Now, once you die," Isui then proceeded to take the cutout from the paper. "We're left with this hole where you're supposed to be. That's your ghost."

There was a short pause before the two looked at each other. Isui sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. "Sorry, I must be boring you."

"No, no! I actually get it," Amane confessed, gesturing back to the paper. "Going by what you said, it's like that one image of three triangles forming another triangle in the center, or the kanizsa triangle. Both images rely on the surrounding objects that are strategically aligned to create this fictional outline of something, giving the illusion that there really is something there. So, in relation to ghosts it's similar, because they aren't really something but rather just the idea of that something, based on the surroundings."

"That's… " Isui spoke as if she was at a loss for words, before smiling again. "That's really accurate! You're smarter than you let on, Amane-kun!"

Flustered by the compliment, said boy rubbed the back of his head whilst looking away. "Th-thanks…?"

"That's why ghosts rely so heavily on their rumors." Isui's light features dropped, "Because supernaturals, like me, are only concepts born from the rumors that circulate around us, we don't change the way people of the near shore do. We're basically bound to follow what is written about us, even if we don't want it."

Eyes still lingering on the paper, she picked it up, looking through the hole to see the raven haired boy on the other side. She smiled. "It's everything to us; our identity. If we ever even so as try to defy it…"

Riii—ip!

"We fade away."

The torn pieces of paper were placed back down on the table, letting on a very sour note to Isui's words. 

Isui's eyes were distant, yet they just then carried the weight of a deep and heavy emotion Amane could easily recognize all too well. He moved from his seat and walked beside the ghost, crouching down to give her a hug.

The warmth in the embrace was one sided. Both parties knew that, but as the other accepted it so, the other wallowed in guilt. She could do as much as she can for him, but in terms of warmth- that which was so important- all she could do was sit and watch. 

She wished she was born human. She wished she could reciprocate the comfort she was given. She wished she could just walk out of the school grounds, like everyone else. She wished she lived a normal life together with him. Yet, those wishes are fleeting; impossible. She knew that… and it hurt.

Amane… I really envy you.