Day22

It rained again…

Miya and I met up on the school roof as often as we could, especially after we became a couple. The only times we didn’t were during rainy days. Not only are we not able to hang out in the school roof when it’s raining, the rain also made it more difficult to go home, especially if some areas get flooded.

Miya had been acting distant again the whole day. Though she still ate with Hitori and I during lunch, she was deep in thought the whole time. I tried snapping her out of it by asking her some things, but after answering, she just went back to her own world.

I’m not that naïve. I have a good idea why she had been acting that way. It probably had something to do with last Saturday, when her father told Yumi and I that Miya wasn’t home when, in fact, she was. The way she looked back then told me there was something wrong. I just can’t imagine what.

I didn’t really plan on going up on the school roof this afternoon, as it was raining. But when I saw Miya walking to the direction of the school roof, I got curious. Reaching the door, I opened it and found no one.

Tiny spears of water bombarded the ground. Darkness surrounded the whole place. I wondered where Miya might have gone. It was when I was about to go back when I heard her voice.

“Over here,” a voice called from my left.

I turned to my left and saw her sitting on the ground, hugging her knees. She was leaning against the wall, trying to use it to shelter herself even for just a little. But she was still drenched.

“Do you believe that I’ve only been here for around a minute?” she looked at the sky. “And yet, I’m already so wet.”

I quickly grabbed my raincoat from my bag and wrapped it around her. The moment I stepped outside, I quickly got soaked from the rain. “What the heck are you doing? You shouldn’t have gone up here today.”

“Well, you’re here,” she replied.

I just realized then that her voice wasn’t the same as before. Though her tone was pretty much normal, I could sense that she was distressed. “I saw you go up, so I just followed,” I said as I sat on her side.

“I guess I should be happy,” she smiled at me. She then opened her bag, took out her raincoat, and wrapped it around me.

“If you brought along a raincoat, you should have worn it earlier,” I scolded.

“Do you like the rain?” she asked.

“Huh?” was my only reply, being caught off guard by the random question.

“It’s strange. But whenever I feel depressed, I feel like taking a walk in the rain.” Looking up, she continued, “Maybe I just like the feeling of walking alone in the rain, having nothing but the raindrops as my company.”

“Are you depressed right now?” I asked her.

“When I’m sad, the rain cries for me. When I’m angry, the rain washed away my evil intentions. When I’m happy, the rain hums a beautiful melody for me,” was her reply, ignoring my question.

“You don’t need the rain for those anymore. I’m here for you,” I whispered, placing my arm around her and pulling her close.

She rested her head against my chest. “I know. But there was a time when I was alone... And there will also come a time when I will be alone once more…”

My heart skipped a beat upon hearing those words. I’ve been taking my days with her for granted, feeling that we would be together for a very long time. But she was right. Everything might end when we graduate. There’s no guarantee that we will still be as close when that time comes.

“I’ll always be there for you,” was what I wanted to say. But I could not say those words for some reason. I couldn’t help but remain silent. The rain echoed around us, reverberating against the ground.

“I have to go,” Miya whispered.

I nodded silently. I stood up and helped her up. After changing to something dry, both of us went outside without saying a word. Before separating, I suddenly remembered that it was her birthday two days ago.

“Miya, belated happy birthday!” I called out.

Miya was already walking away when I said that. She turned to my direction for a bit, not enough for me to even see her eyes. “Thank you,” she halfheartedly answered before leaving.

It only made me more worried about her. But not knowing what to do, I walked away.