String Theory

by Daniel Kolade

  For my friends and family,

  Who listened to all of my bad ideas and encouraged

  all of my good ones.

  © 2019, Daniel Kolade

  dfkbooks@gmail.com

  Edited by Elise Reid

  Cover Art by Alexander Rommel (aerroscape)

  STRING THEORY

  ISBN: 978-91-985275-0-6

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior permission.

  Table of Contents

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  CHAPTER 19

  CHAPTER 20

  CHAPTER 21

  CHAPTER 22

  CHAPTER 23

  CHAPTER 24

  CHAPTER 25

  CHAPTER 26

  CHAPTER 27

  CHAPTER 28

  CHAPTER 29

  CHAPTER 30

  CHAPTER 31

  CHAPTER 32

  CHAPTER 33

  CHAPTER 34

  CHAPTER 35

  CHAPTER 36

  CHAPTER 37

  ChapteR 1

  The air was still and tranquil with a ceiling of leaves blocking out the sun, only allowing its brilliant rays to shine through the small gaps among the green petals. The towering trees stood all around leaving only a small path to pass among them. Clothed in their strong bark, they stood and enjoyed the breeze as it riffled through their leaves.

  Ren found himself surrounded by these barked maidens, but his memories of how he got there were all replaced with empty slots. Where am I? He looked about trying to make sense of his surroundings, but the longer he gazed at the trees and path ahead, the more confused he became. He gave up on the thought and slowly walked up the steep path lined with fallen leaves. What is this place? He glanced to his left and saw beyond the towering trees, a vast countryside with calm fields and majestic hills.

  Ren stopped in his tracks. His eyes widened when he looked upon the fields of flowers and tall grass swaying from left to right, reaching for the solar star. He leaned in and inhaled the impressive landscape, and found himself staring at the horizon where land and sky met at the equator of his vision. The pale clear blue ether perfectly complemented its terranean counterpart, forming an impeccable balance of the turf and the cloudland.

  After enjoying the vista, he continued up the steep leaf-covered path with uneven shadows. The strange silence accompanied his footsteps; it was almost ominous, stealing away every sound. He made his way up the path one step at a time, determined to find out what he was doing here, hoping that the peak of this hill would hold the key to his wonders.

  He escaped the shade of the towering trees and stepped onto the plateau of the hill. He stood a few inches closer to the skyward equilibrium. It was so close it seemed like he could just reach out and touch it. Underneath the sun’s passionate glare, he wandered for a moment, until he stopped to look around and take in the beauty of the vast landscape. He looked from north to south, then from east to west and back. On every side was a series of identical hills which formed boundless valleys that would make anyone feel small in comparison. There wasn’t much that could dwarf this magnificent contrast of rawness and gentleness. Trees grew on the many ridges and slopes, making the highlands look like jungle pyramids.

  He was filled with a strange sensation as he admired the woodland monuments. For a moment it seemed like he was missing something, like there was something he had to see. He turned away from the timberland skyscrapers and faced an angle he’d failed to realise existed, or, more accurately, he’d failed to appreciate what his eyes were now aware of. They captured a huge cherry blossom tree. Its pale pink petals fell like snowflakes and rode the wind in glee, bouncing about and curling in the air as if they were enjoying a breezy rollercoaster. The bark dress that the maiden wore contrasted its rosy leaves as it stood, overlooking the valleys below.

  It caught his eye, but it didn’t fill the void in his chest. It didn’t quench the strange, curious feeling. There was still more to see. Something he hadn’t quite noticed yet. A gentle gust blew by, carrying the rosy petals into the air. In that moment, the fluttering of a girl’s long raven hair, following the sprinting wind, seized his attention. He was glued to her, the girl, who stood next to the huge tree trunk, gazing out into the distance.

  She wore a white dress that gently hugged her body, dancing with the breeze. There was something about her that immobilised him. He was incapable of looking away. It was as though the very sight of her demanded his attention. However, as he remained mesmerised by her, something compelled her to look over her shoulder.

  With a calm pair of brown eyes and a gentle gaze, she looked at him. Her face seemed so peaceful, like she was completely free from thought and liberated to fully appreciate the towering pyramids without the bothers of a single distraction. Her soft eyes gazed into his—it was as though she knew he was standing right there.

  He stood frozen, with his loosely worn brown hair shifting in the breeze. For a moment she was fixed on him, and he on her. It was as if neither realised that the other was returning their gaze. However, slowly the realisation crept into their cheeks, turning them beet red. Her ears grew warm and his heart raced. At the exact same time, they tore their eyes from each other.

  Oh crap, she caught me staring at her! He thought, rubbing the back of his neck.

  Oh god. She hid her face behind her hands.

  She probably thinks I’m creepy, he looked down at his feet.

  I hope he doesn’t think I’m weird…

  Maybe she wasn’t looking at me?

  Maybe he was just looking at the tree.

  What if—he lifted his eyes from his feet.

  What if—she peeked over her shoulder.

  In that moment when their eyes met, when there was nowhere to hide their curiosity and embarrassment from the other—without sharing any words, they knew.

  ChapteR 2

  Who is she? He thought. He sat up on his bed and looked around, recognising his sunlit room. It was fairly clean and small, with a desk and a bed next to the window, along with a cupboard standing on the other side. He looked across the room and cringed. Somehow, just for a second, it seemed unfamiliar, almost alien. The desk, the cupboard and even the school uniform, hanging on it. A knock, accompanied with a familiar voice, snapped him back, erasing the sensation.

  “Ren, breakfast is ready!” Kena chanted.

  Oh… Ren thought, slowly rising from his bed. He got dressed in his uniform. After a moment he appeared in the kitchen wearing a white shirt with a crest on his breast pocket, a striped tie that matched the details on his shirt linings and a pair of black pants.

  “Kena can you pass me—oh good morning,” Gin said.

  “Good morning,” he said, greeting his family as he sat at the table next to Hima, his mother.

  “Good morning,” his mother and his younger sister replied.

  “Ren, you seem tired,” said Kena.

  “It’s because I am,” he replied.

  “It’s not like you to wake up so late,” Hima noted.

  “I had this strange dream.” He served himself some breakfast.

  “Mmm, try not to fall asleep at school,” Gin uttered, excusing himself from the table. “I’ll see you all when I get back.”

&nb
sp; “Drive safe, dear,” Hima said, kissing her husband goodbye.

  Breakfast passed by like a breeze. Ren left the table after putting away his dishes. He returned to his room to grab his notebook, a case of pencils and erasers.

  “We’re going now!” Without a moment to waste, he left the apartment with his sister. They were welcomed by a cloudless sky and brilliant sun. Tall glass buildings stretched up from the ground nearly scraping the sky in the distance. Ren stopped for a moment and rested his eyes on the sun-touched panorama of Trine. The towering buildings reminded him of the jungle pyramids that he’d seen in his dream. The recurring image quickly vanished as his sister called his name.

  “Ren? Ren? Ren?” Her voice snapped him back to reality, drawing his attention away from the urban horizon.

  “Oh… sorry,” he said, gently shaking his head. “Let’s go.”

  They left their apartment building and walked across the streets filled with people. Everyone walked with either their eyes glued on their phones or their ears plugged with music. Only a few walked free from those distractions. The motorways were overflowing with vehicles going back and forth and the walkways hosted a sea of pedestrians. However, the walk to the station didn’t take long. The two siblings entertained one another with petty jokes and trivial conversations as they waited for the train.

  Once it appeared, an ocean of people got off and an ocean of people on the platform got on. Kena and Ren, were among them. They found a comfortable place to stand next to the windowed train doors. The filled vehicle carried its passengers across the tracks, stopping briefly, only to allow a tsunami of people to exit and enter at every stop.

  “Don’t study too hard,” Kena said, getting off at her stop, leaving her older brother to ride the metro alone. The trip was short-lived with every passing moment filled with thoughts and questions surrounding his strangely realistic dream. He arrived at his stop, where he was finally able to escape the rush-hour crowd. It didn’t take long for him to walk to school.

  “Good morning,” Ren whispered, arriving at his classroom. The room was filled with chattering students all wearing the same uniform as him or at least the female version of it, which replaced the pants that Ren wore with a chequered skirt that matched the school tie.

  Maves and Tanford greeted him from their seats. Ren sat down on the empty chair behind them at the back of the classroom, next to the window. He quickly retrieved his notebook and a set of pencils and laid them out on his desk.

  “So, how are you?” Maves asked, sitting between Ren and Tanford. He had an average build, short black hair and a face of delicate features with friendly green eyes.

  “A little tired, I didn’t sleep too well,” Ren answered, omitting to speak about the dream he had experienced.

  “Yeah, I know that feeling,” Tanford noted. He was taller than them with brown hair and sharp dark eyes, accompanied with fuzzy brows and strong features.

  “I guess, I’m the only morning person today,” Maves smiled.

  “That sounds about right. Today is not my day,” Ren affirmed.

  “You don’t have to tell me twice,” Tanford agreed.

  The three uniformed musketeers enjoyed their morning conversations before class, while Ren opened his notebook and embarked upon an endeavour that seemed impossible. The young high school boy drew his pencil and slowly moved his hand, beginning to produce lines on the blank grey lined page. The series of seemingly random marks formed the framework of a drawing. It began as an image of nothing but chaos and mild scribbles, until the emptiness of the page took form and the blankness was constrained to graphite shapes.

  Little by little, as the boy went over his work and filled in details here and there, the scene he had created began to look similar to the breathtaking view he’d experienced in his dream. The captured scenery was engraved in his mind, however, the subtle details of the girl he saw were still a blur, like a far-off memory that he could never relive.

  He sketched the huge cherry blossom tree with light pink petals falling like snowflakes all around, and a single figure standing at the base of the towering trunk. He captured the mesmerising girl and the subtle breeze that carried her raven hair to one side.

  His pencil came to an abrupt standstill as he put it down and stared at the scene he’d produced. The boy scrutinised every detail that made up the picture. The drawing wasn’t bad, but no matter how many times his eyes bounced from detail to detail something was wrong, something about it was just wrong. He sat with his lips pinched together.

  “What’s wrong?” Maves asked, noticing his stiff posture.

  “I don’t know, something is off, but I can’t tell what it is,” he said with a heavy sigh, while staring at the drawing, looking from the tiniest of cherry blossoms to the faintest of shades, finding nothing out of the ordinary.

  “Send it over,” Tanford said and Ren did, after taking a final glance at his work. He lay his head down and let the pair of boys look over his sketch. They, however, were very impressed with his work.

  “How the hell did you do this so fast?” Tanford said with wide eyes.

  “It’s not done yet,” Ren replied, tilting his head upwards.

  “Yeah, but this is still really good!” Maves exclaimed. “How did you do this so fast without any reference material?” he asked, noticing that Ren’s desk was empty, aside from the set of pencils laying there.

  “Well,” Ren began, I did have reference material, just a different kind, he thought. “I don’t know, it’s something that just came to mind,” he explained. “Anyway, something is wrong with it, and I can’t seem to figure it out,” he said, admitting defeat, leaving the fate of finding the issue with his drawing up to his friends.

  “The only thing wrong with this is you,” replied Tanford with narrow eyes. “You’re deluding yourself,” he added, eyeing the artist responsible for such a feat.

  “Yeah, there’s nothing wrong with this,” Maves agreed. “It’s all you, man,” he said, handing back the notebook.

  “Me?” repeated Ren, lifting his head from the desk to receive the book. He glanced down at the picture depicting the scene of the girl and the huge cherry blossom tree from his dream. He thoroughly examined every grain of graphite on the sketch, but arrived at no answer.

  “Homeroom is about to begin,” Maves said, facing the front.

  The sound of the classroom door sliding open took Ren’s attention away from his drawing and up to the teacher that walked in. It was a woman who had long brown hair tied up into a ponytail.

  “Good morning class,” she said, standing at the front of the classroom with a warm smile. “Today, we’re going to have an extra special homeroom.”

  “Excuse me, Miss Flois, is it about the ‘soulmates’ phenomenon?” asked a student, sitting at the front.

  “That is exactly right,” Miss Flois said. “Today is the day we’ll talk about it and how it will affect your lives,” she added, turning around to the whiteboard and writing a set of words. “It all begins with this,” she said, gesturing to the words on the board that read ‘Cupid’s Meteor Shower’. “You’ve all probably heard about this from your parents or siblings, or you’ve read it in romance or fantasy novels, but you haven’t heard it from me,” she said, smiling at the class that offered their full attention without question.

  “So, long ago, it only took a moment for a meteor shower, given the name Cupid’s, in hindsight of the incredible event, to completely change the world. In a single breath, people became connected by what some call an ‘invisible red thread’ that bound us to one another,” she said, adopting the voice of a true storyteller.

  “Some say that those red strings may bend, twist, stretch and tangle, but never break. It is said that it is the fabric that connects us to our soulmate, regardless of distance,” she made a quick amateur sketch to illustrate her words on the whiteboard. “Well, whether you believe in soulmates or not is up to you, but know that it will affect all of you… Imagine seeing through
someone else’s eyes, or hearing someone else’s thoughts. Honestly, I think it is an amazing experience to connect on a deeper level that way and it’s not really something anyone can control. I can tell you that every single one of you in this room will experience it, one way or another.

  “However, the connection will vary. Some will be tied to one another for longer periods, while others shorter. The only sure thing is that it will end as you’re about to exit puberty.”

  Miss Flois’s speech came to a beautiful close as she shifted the attention away from the breathtaking phenomenon to the practical procedures that schools took to help and continue the education of the students even when they may not be themselves.

  Ren looked down at the drawing that failed to arouse his interest and curiosity the same way as the moment it depicted had. Reliving the blurry scene in his thoughts, he found himself sitting at the curb of a question he wasn’t even sure was the right one to ask.

  Are you my…

  ChapteR 3

  Who is he? the girl thought, vaguely remembering the boy from her dream. Her eyelids opened and welcomed the reality filled with the sun’s lofty glare. She sat up on her bed and gazed at the bright room. The pale walls and wooden floor surrounded her, with a desk, a mirror, a cupboard and a pair of shelves, furnishing the relatively spacious room. With a blank look on her face, she looked from one piece of furniture to another and then back. Somehow, her own room seemed strange and bizarre. Her chest tightened at the sight of the school uniform hanging next to the window. It was obvious that it was hers, but somehow the sensation of not-have-woken-up-yet remained.

  “Kaori?” Aiko’s voice echoed from behind the door, into her room. “Kaori? Are you awake?” The door slid open and a woman’s face peered through. “Kaori?”

  “Yes?” Kaori answered, presenting her attention to her mother and simultaneously shaking off the strange feeling.

  “Breakfast is ready,” Aiko explained and disappeared back into the hallway.