She heard a voice calling her, from far away. A very familiar, nostalgic, and yet, sorrowful voice. Calling her…always asking her questions, but never staying to hear her answer.
She was in a park that was lined with sakura trees in full bloom. Using her left palm to shield her eyes from the glaring sunlight, she tilted her head this way and that, unsure of what to expect from this strange setting.
“Why have you been looking for me?” asked the slightly bemused voice.
She was taken aback.
“I – what? But I haven’t been looking for you!” she protested.
Where was she? And who was he?
A cold wind blew and she shivered.
“Then why are you here?” came the reply, albeit one that was tinged with the barest trace of melancholy.
She turned in the direction of the mysterious voice, and caught sight of a young man casually leaning under a sakura tree in full bloom. His arms were folded and he was gazing at her with what seemed like an X-ray vision. As if he could see through right through her contradictions and half-baked lies.
“I, I…” she stuttered.
He cocked his head to the side, and continued staring at her in a contemplative fashion.
Feeling for the world like a lab rat under observation, she squirmed uncomfortably.
And still, she was at a loss for words.
“I came because.. because, I -”
“I have to go now,” he said abruptly, tilting his head towards the far end of the park that they were in. Over at the other end she could see a playground, and some festival of sorts with various stalls selling snacks of all shapes and sizes.
Where was he going?
“Wait! Don’t go!” she said, walking through the rows and rows of sakura trees that were in full bloom. Towards him, always towards the him that she didn’t know, and couldn’t understand.
He dusted himself off and started heading in the opposite direction.
“Wait, please! Tell me who you are!” she panted, as she continued chasing after his retreating back.
But he would not pay heed to her pleas. Or perhaps, he could no longer hear her. Maybe he never would.
Why then had he approached her first?
Or was it true that she had been the one chasing after his shadow all the while? Then, suddenly…
“RIIIIINGGG!!!!”
The alarm clock buzzed angrily next to her right ear, and she jolted out of bed in a frenzy.
Reaching over to turn off the nuisance of an alarm clock, she stretched and blinked blearily.
“A…dream…huh,” she murmured.
Placing a slender wrist against her head wearily, she winced and massaged her aching temples as she mustered her energy to recall the vague, shifty images that plagued her disturbed sleep.
But his face wouldn’t surface, no matter how hard she tried to recall the contents of her dream.
Only his voice. Always the same, probing, mysterious tenor voice.
Dragging herself out of bed, she propped herself up before the mirror at her dressing table and stared at her sleepy reflection. He was so going to pay for the horrendous Dark rings beneath her eyes…well, that is, if she ever found out who he was.
“You there. Who exactly are you, and why have you been appearing in my dreams ever since Valentine’s Day?”
