Words Left Unsaid | Five Years Since Collab Contest

Words Left Unsaid

'It's been five years since you last saw your biggest crush. How both of you ended up in the same city, away from your hometowns makes no sense at all. It's got to be more than a coincidence, right?'

☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆

In the end... what do we seek?

That was all that Cecelia wondered as she walked in the lane between two huge shelves, both containing thousands of memories, sayings, experiences and messages. She ran her fingers on top of the spines of the books as she walked, her shoes making a slight creaking sound on the wood. The dust covering the spines coated her fingers, and she brushed it off.

Cecelia gazed at the far end of the British Library– one of the biggest libraries in the world and the largest in England. It had always been her dream to come there, and now that she was, it felt almost surreal. The feeling. The exhilaration at even the thought of looking through every book there was amazing. And to think she was about to work there... it was thrilling.

She stopped in front of a specific book. The Devotion of Suspect X. It wasn't as if it was an unavailable book, it just held memories, and she knew it would be available in the Mystery section. Taking it, Cecelia went to sit at the far end where no one would trouble her. There weren't many people, but she still felt solace under the warm sunlight.

Too engrossed in the book, the blonde failed to notice the presence near her. They coughed as dust flew off the book they were holding and came nearer, but she still didn't notice it. It was the voice that caught her attention.

"Too dusty, isn't it? The mystery section, I mean."

Cecelia's eyes widened as her head snapped toward the voice- the impeccable accent. Unbelievable. She gasped at the person in front of her, unable to form words. Her expressions were being mirrored by the unmistakable girl in front of her.

"Is that- is that really you... Kaori-chan?"

"Lia...?" Kaori muttered, just as shocked as Cecelia.

Cecelia gave a breathy laugh, still unable to believe what was happening. She stood up and ran towards Kaori, engulfing her in a hug. The Japanese girl returned it, holding tight.

"Hisashiburi ne!" Kaori said with a thick voice which was muffled due to the hug. (It's been a long time, right?)

The two had met in school around seven years ago. Kaori's family had settled in Derby for over two decades. She would return to Japan a couple of times per year but she was fluent in both the languages just like her parents.

The story of Cecelia Morgan and Kaori Minamoto had started funnily, and ended tragically, as Kaori had to leave for her home country forever, trampling on Cecelia's crush. It quite ironically crushed it. That's how it went down. Just like a snap of the fingers.

"How are you?" Cecelia asked her, taking her hand and guiding her to the table.

"I'm good," she replied, giving her a soft smile. "What about you?"

"You're seeing me right now, fit and fine," Cecelia answered, a number of emotions flashing through her eyes. As they settled in front of each other, a moment of silence passed between them, the sound of slight breeze filling the space between them.

"So..." Kaori started, slight hesitation lacing her voice. It faded away as she said, "How come you're here?"

"I could ask the same for you," Cecelia smirked. Even after five years of not seeing each other, their dynamic seemed strong. A bit awkward, but still not that bad.