Hereafter | Haikyuu!! Oneshots | Hiatus!

I: Caramel Overture

The streets of Paris were often quiet at night. As the night rolled on, undulating, and the stars glimmered overhead, the atmosphere sang. Sweet melodies fluttered through the streets and alleyways, filling the void with liveliness that seemed to give life to one's feet. A Parisian couldn't help but waltz alone, hearing this music. As they clapped their hands and danced around the tender harmony with the breeze as their partner, the moment could've captured them in its gentle hold. 

Though you were alone, you didn't feel lonely.

I found myself enraptured by this.

Every night, when I got off work, I'd stroll through the many streets of Paris and look above at the lamps that shrouded the view of the sky, then smile. It was nice, to be surrounded by such a serene setting, and not have to worry about the problems in life. I'd dance on the balls of my feet, my boots tapping on the stone-paved road as I flew ahead with my arms spread wide. Shops lined the sidewalk in which I ventured across, the warming golden light coming from the stores shining onto me as I flitted across the city of love. 

My hair would be tousled by the wind, air would rush through my fingertips, and I would just love it to no end. The way my heart thrummed with such passion, such fervor, made me savor the jumble of inexplicable feelings I had with the utmost gratitude. It was so delicate, yet held so much ferocity and vehemence. 

I never knew that such a thing would lead me to happiness through another, once upon a wonted Parisian night.

__

As the stars glowed with their usual brightness, and a quietness finally settled among the streets, the music began -- the silent yet oh-so-lovely melody. I felt my heels lift off of the ground and my body start to balance itself on the balls of my feet. My mouth split into a wide grin as I lavished in the utter enchantment I was surrounded by. Tonight was just like any other night -- peacefully mysterious -- but once I turned a corner on one of the avenues, I was met with a wonderful surprise.

The smell of sweet confections perfumed the air, making my cheeks warm up in utter bliss. A delicious cocoa scent wafted into the streets from a local chocolate shop, inciting a sense of curiosity deep within me. What was this scent that filled my vision with hints of gold and luminescent flecks, that dashed color across my irises like an abstract painting? It gave me so much hope yet depleted all the energy out of my soul at the same time as it was directed solely to the formation of these  sheen clouds -- it was beautiful.

I wanted to explore; I wanted to know what this godsend was. 

My feet seemed to have a mind of their own as they led me to approach the store. 

I felt my fingers wrap tightly around the cold, steel knob of the door as I twisted it to go inside the chocolaterie. As heels of my boots clicked against the metal frame of the door, they gently tapped off any snow carried in from outside. When the door creaked open, the night's song seemed to come to its climax as the piano's glissando finally reached the top key. 

Immediately, a wave of warmth hit my face, and along with it came a burst of fragrance that sent my olfactory into ecstasy. Note after note, skilled fingers upon a keyboard dashed across the keys and the accompanying violinist strung their bow across the strings of their wooden instrument, resounding in perfect harmony with the pianist.

The evening's aria had been laced with golden twine, glistening and glimmering like sugar cubes in a small, glass jar. Confections and delights of all sorts surrounded me as I dove deeper into the chocolate shop. From truffles to bon bons, everything was laid out in perfect order on their respective displays. I spotted a row of glacé chocolate at the front of the shop, each one having a thinly layered coating of browned sugar atop their chocolate shells.

And if the wonderland could not have been any more astounding, I spotted a lone chocolatier behind the counter, pouring an auric filling into a cube-shaped mold. His white hat stood tall on top of his head, buzz-cut hair in tiny, stiff peaks just underneath the garment. 

Caramel drooled from the spoon he held as he poured it into the small chocolate mold, a glossy waterfall of milk and sugar filling the casing of cacao. I watched him, fascinated with the way his wrist flicked and his fingers moved ever so precisely — it seemed that they had been trained somewhere else before, though I knew not the place nor time in which they had been.

When the door closed behind me and the sound of a small bell rang out, I could only stop and stare at the chocolatier's reaction.

He turned from his work just to take a glance at me, the only customer that dared to come at this hour. Oh, but I wasn't at all complaining.

Upon the first look at his face, I was immediately entranced by him.

His eyes widened, then crinkled as a large, welcoming smile spread across his fox-like features. That expression made my insides tingle with delight and my heart flutter about my rib cage, smoothly gliding across the ballroom floor that was my chest's inner chamber. The silent yet defeaning sound of the piano cast its resplendent melody into both of my ears, making the room darken and all the light direct itself to a single ray that cast itself on the red-head.

Perhaps I was being melodramatic, but I sought a sensitive yet tenacious emotion with passion — the feeling of completion, of being whole and not lonely as I had once been — and as my cheeks reddened and flushed with mawkish fervor at the sight of this chocolatier, I knew that I had finally found it. 

It was quite the odd sensation, and I wasn't sure if it was love or not, but it was a strong feeling nevertheless. All I could hear was the evening's melody ringing in my eardrums, drowning out any other noise, no matter how loud. I winced at the throbbing that had now started to pound in my skull, although there was no real sound to be heard in a fantasy.

But curiously enough, when the red-haired chocolatier's voice pierced the utopian quietness, the waltzing music suddenly cut out from my world, and I was only left with the thrum of my own heart, running quicker than ever before. I furrowed my eyebrows, wondering what phenomena this was a part of. It only took one word for him to completely hush any inflection that was left, and to bring me back into reality:

"Welcome."