𝐌𝐄𝐄𝐓 𝐌𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍. ʜᴀɴᴀꜱʜɪʀᴏ

0 4 : 花少年

Flower Boy

—

Something was moving her involuntarily as she keeps her eyes closed. Nene didn't want to open them as she vaguely remembers what happened the night before: she ran away from home and met an accident.

The cream-haired thinks that maybe it was the doctors or just the bed moving. But wouldn't that sound weird? In hospitals, people don't bother patients, especially if they're in a critical state. Wait, is she even in that kind of state right now, though?

"A new girl?" She hears someone say from somewhere near her. It was a boy's voice. "Geez, what happened to you?"

Nene tries to ignore his question, not moving a muscle. What kind of nurse asks that? It sounded disrespectful, that's for sure.

"Are you really not going to open your eyes, girl? Seriously, you're the weirdest I've ever met," she hears him chuckle. It irked her. "Come on. I'm a friend."

With that, she forced her eyes open, expecting to be in a bed at a hospital room, with some annoying nurse by her side. But what her magenta eyes met were only a pair of big amber eyes and a wide smile from a young boy's face.

And moreover, she wasn't at a hospital. She was in a moving train.

"W-What the?!" Those were the first words that rolled out from her tounge as she springs from her seat, her eyes, wide. She frantically looks around, shoving him into a seat, although not really meaning it. "Where am I?! Why am I not in a hospital?!"

"Calm down, geez, you're so loud and problematic," the boy frowns at her, dusting himself as he stands up. He crosses his arms, "Will you please sit down for awhile so that I can actually explain everything to you nicely?"

"B-But," she whips her head back to him, teary-eyed. Nene's heart was beating rapidly and her head was spinning because of confusion and frustration. "I was in an accident last night and I..."

She couldn't hold it and soon slumped down the floor, in between the rows of seats present in the train. Her cries were silent for the first few moments, until it emerged into uncontrolled ones. Just what kind of twisted joke is this?

"Come on, I know, I know," the boy says and crouches down in front of her, hesitantly patting her back. He sighs, "Let's sit down and I'll explain. I know how you're feeling."

He led her to a seat as he sits down in front of her. The boy wipes her tears away with a snort, "Gee. You cry too much, you know? You must dry up those tears first before I tell you everything."

"Is this heaven?" She asks in between sniffles. "Why doesn't my body hurt? And there's no blood now. It's gone."

"W-Well, I wouldn't say that this is heaven but, maybe," he shrugs as he withdraws his hands. He does a sideways glance and purses his lips. "But let me just tell you this; you are either alive or dead right now that's why you're here in this place."

"Huh?" Nene didn't understood what he said as she only tilts her head to the side. "You mean this is just my soul?"

"Well, yeah, I guess?" Then, he sighs and scratches his nape roughly, quite ticked as he groans, "I'm not really good with explaining things but..." He finally looks at her straight in the eye. "To be in this train means that we are waiting souls."

The magenta-eyed only stares at him, complete confusion visible on her face. Well, who would actually be able to absorb all of what he said when you have only arrived to this strange place? This is a terrible joke.

"Okay, I get that you're thinking as if it was joke. But I am not fooling around right now, okay?" She flinches, thinking if he actually read her mind. "Well, let's say that maybe you're dead right now. Or maybe half-dead, whatever. You are separated from your body right now that's why you don't feel any pain. But there's still some way in order to get back to the living world."

"What is it? I'm willing to do it, whatever it may be!" Nene lunges forward as she clenches her fists, eyebrows furrowed in sudden determination. "Tell me, please!"

"Pipe down, geez," he pushes her shoulders down and makes her sit back, plopping down. "I'm going to tell you how you can go back. But it's not your role to fulfill, okay?"

Nene frowns at him, "What do you mean?"

"By what I said, it means that you can't just go back on your own, just because you want to or you need to, okay?" He crosses his arms again and sighs after adjusting his dress shirt for a bit. "You need someone from the living world to pray for you and wish for your soul to go back."

"That's it?! Well then..." She underestimated the thought first, until her voice trails off and she realizes that she can't actually do that. "W-What?! But what if no one does that for me?"

"Then you'll have to stay here till someone wishes for you," he says in a matter-of-fact manner. He grins, "Only a sincere heart can take you back to the living world."

Nene groans as she runs a hand down her youthful face; everything was stressing her. Just what kind of place is this? She hits her lap with her fists lightly, "This is the worst!"

Meanwhile, the boy chuckles at her and stands up, lifting the window open for some air. She looks up as she feels the fresh air hit their faces. Her face was still frowning so he laughed at her again, "Call me Hanako. Nice to meet you."

He holds out his hand and she just stares at it. She hesitantly takes his hand, shaking it, "Nice to meet you too. I'm Nene Yashiro. By the way, why is your name like a girl's?"

Indeed, it was that of a girl's. Hanako means flower.

"Well, that's not really my real name," Hanako flashes her a toothy grin. "I'm a ghost right now so I wanted to spice things up and change my name. Why don't you do the same?"

Nene rolled her eyes at him, chuckling, "No thanks."