“Right, breakfast,” Kaori said, rising from her covers. She got dressed and made an appearance in the kitchen, wearing a white, short-sleeve shirt with a crest on the breast pocket and a pleated, black and grey shirt that perfectly complemented her shirt lining of the same colour and pattern. Finally, around her collar was a red ribbon that completed her school uniform.
“Good morning,” Kaori greeted her mother, who had already started enjoy breakfast.
“Finally awake, are we?” Aiko replied, after she’d successfully swallowed the food in her mouth. “How’d you sleep?”
“Not bad, I had a rather strange dream though,” Kaori noted, taking a seat in front of her mother at the table.
“What kind of dream are we talking about here?” Aiko raised her eyebrows.
“I don’t know, I remember there being a boy,” Kaori explained, serving herself some food.
“Oh, a boy?” Aiko repeated, with a small smile building. “So it was that kind of dream…” she got up from the table.
“What kind of dream?” Kaori leaned forward.
“In time, my dear,” Aiko said, winking at her daughter. “I’m off to work now, have fun at school,” she explained.
“Okay, bye!” Kaori exclaimed from the kitchen as her mother left the apartment.
The remainder of her morning was spent alone. After enjoying her breakfast, she cleared the table and returned to her room, attending to the train wreck of a hairstyle that she woke up with. She combed her hair out and wore it with a casual fringe across her forehead.
After finishing all her preparations, she picked up her school bag and exited the apartment, locking the door behind her. She stepped out of the shadows and into the solar flare illuminating the entire city of Pented. She left the apartment building and walked to school. Her clothes gently fluttered with the passing breeze as she walked on the pavements filled with students wearing the same uniform as she did.
“Hey, Kaori!” a girl whistled from behind her. Kaori stopped to look over her shoulder. The source of it was a girl trying to catch up.
“Hey, Nora,” Kaori said, waving to her friend.
“Good morning,” Nora uttered, finally arriving at Kaori’s side.
“Good morning,” Kaori replied as they walked together.
“So, how are you today?” Nora asked. She had dark brown hair and gentle green eyes, accompanied with black-framed glasses and soft facial features.
“I don’t know, somehow, I feel a little out of it,” Kaori frowned, unsure how to describe the sensation that she was experiencing.
“Didn’t sleep too well?” Nora adjusted her glasses.
“Sort of, I had this strange dream,” Kaori revealed.
“Dream?” Nora repeated. “So what happened in this dream?”
“Um… I saw a boy,” Kaori explained, stopping at a crossing.
“Boy?” Nora whispered, standing next to her. “Could it be…”
“Good morning,” a voice came from their right. The two of them looked over and saw Mei. She had short light brown hair and dark eyes.
“Good morning,” the two girls said in unisons as their friend joined them at the crossing.
“So how are you guys today?” Mei asked, as the traffic light turned green, allowing them to cross.
“Wait! Before that Mei,” Nora intervened before the conversation was derailed. “Kaori was just about to tell me about a dream she had with a boy,” she added, strongly alluding to the word boy.
“What? She had a dream with a boy?” Mei said, leaning forward. “Ho ho, how exciting,” she uttered with a mischievous grin on her face. “Tell us more, Kaori.”
“Okay okay, you don’t need to stare at me like that,” Kaori cleared her throat. “I’m having a difficulty remembering it, but all I can recall is a boy standing there.”
“That’s it?” Mei said with her shoulders dropping. Something inside her, however, remained hopeful that there was a more climactic end to the suspense she felt.
“Did he say anything?” Nora asked, with a questioning gaze.
“I don’t think so, I just remember us looking at each other,” Kaori said, trying her best to fish out the hidden memories of the event, but it seemed hopeless.
“Looking at each other?” Mei repeated, perking up. “You think she’s met her soulmate, Nora?”
“I don’t know, Mr Banson didn’t mention anything about dreams,” Nora noted. “However, he did say it would affect everyone differently,” her eyes sharpened on Kaori’s face.
“Um… what is it?” Kaori turned away, trying to avoid eye contact with the scrutinising gaze.
“You know what,” Nora began, bearing a matter-of-fact tone. “I think this guy is your soulmate.”
“How do you know—what made you change your mind?” Mei asked, gazing intently at Kaori. “Actually, yeah, maybe you’re right.”
“Wait, how do you know?” Kaori paused to examine herself, but she was unable to see whatever it was that brought them to that thought.
The trio soon arrived at their school building. It was big and fairly traditional in design and architecture. They ventured into the building along with the many other students walking through the courtyard.
They relieved themselves of their outdoor shoes and replaced them with their indoor ones.
“You should try talking to him if you see him in a dream again,” Mei suggested while they walked across the corridor filled with students of different classes.
“That’s a great idea—ask him who he is?” Nora added.
“That is if I see him again,” Kaori said with a blank expression. They arrived at their classroom. It was filled with chattering students sitting at their desks and conversing about a myriad of different things
“If? More like when!” Mei squinted with a wide smile as they took their seats. Kaori sat next to the window on the far left and Nora sat next to her with Mei sitting behind them.
“Good morning class,” said a young man, walking into the room. He had a pleasant face as he smiled at the students. He wore a blue shortsleeved shirt with black pants. His very presence silenced the chattering and compelled everyone in the room to face him, giving their utmost attention.
“Anyone already have a run in with their soulmate?” he teased, turning to the whiteboard and beginning to write something.
“Well, Mr Banson—” Mei whispered, mischievously.
“You see—” Nora added, following her friend’s example.
“Shut up!” Kaori silenced the both of them before they could incriminate her.
“No, I’m just kidding, give it some time, you’ll all find and connect with your special someone,” Mr Banson explained. “Anyway, until then, be sure to focus on your studies, in this case, English,” he added, smiling at the sea of faces.
I wonder if he is my soulmate… Kaori thought as English class started. She leaned against her palm and counted the clouds in the sky, wondering if it was possible that the boy from her dream was really someone with whom she connected with. Questions rushed to mind. What’s his name? Who is he? Why can’t I remember what he looked like?
She sat completely engrossed, wondering whether or not her friends were right. Somehow, it seemed like the most crucial question she needed answered. She spent the morning class daydreaming about the boy. All sorts of wishful thoughts appeared in her mind. Her toes curled, her knees pulled together and ears were so impossibly hot. She covered her face with her hands and tried to still the thoughts that she’d so guiltily indulged herself in. Instead, she shifted all her focus onto the class at hand.
The school day drifted by in a breeze. It was as though the sun had made its long marathon across the sky into a short hundred-metre dash which started and ended as quickly as a blink of an eye. Kaori left school with her friends, completely ignorant of the proceedings that had taken place.
Mei parted ways with them at the crossing. Nora and Kaori continued home together until they too parted, walking the
final stretch home, alone.
“I’m back,” Kaori whispered to herself, knowing that no one was there to return her words. She walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge looking sharply at what lay within. After a moment, she closed the door and walked into her room. She dropped her bag on the floor and threw herself onto her bed. Her arms didn’t bother to catch her, so her face was used to break the fall onto the soft mattress.
After a few minutes of just relaxing, she changed out of her uniform and into her home attire. She returned to the kitchen, while her phone played Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty Waltz, Piano Duet. She left it on the table and went to open the fridge door once more. She quickly retrieved a series of ingredients.
The gas stove was lit with a black frying pan laying steadily on it, and a lug of oil slowly dispersing across the pan surface. It wasn’t long after that, that her dinner was served from that pan along with an extra portion for her mother. She cleaned up after herself before carrying her dinner off to her room. She sat down at the desk, glancing at her homework. Her eyes narrowed on the open pages. But even after blinking rapidly, it didn’t make any sense. She was left frowning at what looked like complete gibberish.
Instead, she preoccupied herself with her dinner and the thoughts of the boy from her dream. Her wonder only grew as she failed to find answers to her questions, which were obviously impossible to clarify at this point.
When nightfall came and the day had reached its end, she couldn’t help but ask herself: Will I see you again—tonight?
ChapteR 4
S nowflakes fell all around the vast snow-covered plain. The air was crisp and somehow warm in the presence of such frosty crystals. The sun had been evicted and the moon had taken its place on the skyward throne. The faint lunar glare shone on the pale snow that blanketed every surface, covering every leaf, branch and inch of the ground, hills, cliffs and all.
Wow, Ren thought, looking around the wondrous environment he found himself in. He stood on a small snowy path. Ignorant to how he got there and oblivious to the strangeness of his short-term memory loss. He admired the chilly scene, filled with frosty trees and tiny icicles that hung from the branches and leaves like watery buds. He glanced over his shoulder and found only a series of his own footsteps and the same icy maidens standing here and there in the open scenery.
He turned back and followed the path in search of what lay beyond his horizon. His clothes fluttered with the icy breeze as he wandered. It finally struck him that he didn’t feel cold, even though he was so lightly dressed in such a snowclad area. It was as though even among the wintry tint and falling crystals, he failed to sense the temperature drop. This was strange because the snow didn’t melt, but the icicles allowed their tears of joy to drip from their chins as they hung.
Ren continued his little expedition and marched through the snow, where his footsteps were the only sounds that could be heard. Somehow, the silence wasn’t eerie and ominous, but instead, comforting. The snow-covered terrain carried a certain stillness that couldn’t be recreated anywhere else.
He continued on the still path until he reached a small uphill slope. He made his way up, noticing how the entire landscape curved. Without a thought in mind, he continued up, reaching the peak of the hill.
He stood on the hill ridge and looked up at the sky, noticing how it changed from the beautiful ethereal blanket of midnight stars and the wondrous gaze of the moon to an overarching aurora that tore the sky in two, leaving behind a huge glittering trail. The very fabric of the ether had changed, allowing a huge rosy curtain to contrast the darkness.
The serenity of the night sky had been shattered, leaving behind a mixed composure of the glimmering lights and the twilight to contrast it. He admired the majestic sky and knew right away that everything paled in comparison to this view of wintry hues weaved into the atmosphere, forming a breathtaking landscape, along with all of its twinkling wonders as well as the skyward aurora, whose light rained down like glimmering crystals that painted the snowy ridges with its colour, producing a truly awesome alpenglow.
He stood completely stunned by the constellation that was so close he could almost reach out and touch it. His frozen heart began to beat again as he resumed his breathing. He inhaled its beauty and its magnificence. After finally becoming overwhelmed by the all-encompassing glow of the aurora and its neighbours, he drew his eyes away and looked down across the canyon that was surrounded by the circular ridge he stood on.
In a single breath, his eyes widened and his heart leapt at the sight of the snowless landmark below. It was amazing how this grassy field with a few rocks and trees had been spared of the surrounding blizzard. What was even more spectacular was how the sky complemented the scenery so perfectly. The smallest alteration would ruin the equilibrium.
Ren, instead of deciding to visit the oasis, sat down on the ridge and allowed the landscape and the cosmos to fully sink in. His thoughts were empty and void as his senses basked in the greatness of the ambient nature without the distractions of his mind to butt in and disturb the experience.
During his admiration, a girl sat next to him. A raven-haired girl. She sat in silence in the company of the boy. Together, they enjoyed the wondrous view. However, in the sweet stillness, the fluttering of her hair gave her away.
In that moment, Ren turned to see what had entered his peripheral vision. He caught a glimpse of Kaori, who enjoyed the same vista as he did. Shocked by her presence, he found himself incapable of taking his eyes off her.
Kaori returned his gaze in silence. Their faces slowly grew hot as they realised that their eyes had met. A gentle tingle on the back of their necks compelled them to avert their gaze. In silence, they sat hiding their expressions from the other. They both stopped and took a deep breath to still the nervous hearts that beat so vigorously in the their chests. After a moment, they mustered up the courage to face one another once more.
“Hey,” Ren whispered, rubbing the back of his neck.
After a moment of silence, she returned his soft smile and said, “Hi.”
ChapteR 5
What did she say? Ren thought, waking up from his pleasant dream. He sat up on his bed and ventured inward, in search of the lost memory, but it seemed futile. All he could recall of her, was her moving lips. The rest was like a distorted blur. Why can’t I remember? he asked himself, realising that it was only her that seemed to have been erased from his mind, while the scenery remained engraved in his memories. The aurora, the oasis, the absolute balance of nature’s rawness and beauty, all of it, but her. He let out a heavy sigh and sat on the curb of his mental cinema hoping that the show starring her would come around, until Kena came by to tell him that breakfast was ready.
His plaguing wonders vanished as he realised that it was morning, and school was on his schedule. He sat on the edge of his bed and let the day sink in as the morning sun gleamed in through the windows, lighting up every corner of his room. After taking a deep breath and leaving all of his questions unanswered, he began his morning routine.
He appeared in the kitchen wearing his uniform. “Good morning,” he said, sitting at the table.
“Good morning,” his parents replied.
“You’re getting slower…” Kena said, unimpressed by his tardiness.
“I don’t think my alarm is working,” he explained, realising that he hadn’t heard his phone ring once this morning, or the morning before.
“Ren?” Hima said, looking at her son anxiously. “Are you staying up late?”
“Not more than usual,” he replied.
“Mmm, still having dreams?”
“Yeah.”
“Anyway, I’ll be seeing you all this evening,” Gin rose from the table, kissed his wife goodbye and left for work.
The usual breakfast conversation continued for a little bit until, “You’ll be late for class if you don’t eat up,” Hima said.
“I have time,” he said nonchalantly, as he drew his phone out from his pocke
t. However, the digits that he saw on the screen were not in his favour. “Oh no!” he exclaimed, realising that he had to rush to make it to school.
Kena said nothing and rose from the table to put away her dishes.
“Shit!” Ren exclaimed, trying to quickly mow down his food.
“Ren, language,” Hima said, unimpressed by his outburst.
“Sorry,” he uttered, trying to apologise through his half-full mouth.
It didn’t take too long for him to finish his breakfast and pick up his bag. In no time he was at the front door ready to leave with his sister.
“We’re leaving!” They chanted and left the apartment in a hurry. They quickly walked across the streets, swiftly navigating through the horde of people, to the train station. They waited there among the crowd on the platform.
“Ren?” Kena said, standing next to her brother. “What kind of dreams are you having?”
“The kind where you’re welcomed by breathtaking sceneries—but nothing really seems to happen,” he explained, cleverly trying to omit the girl he kept seeing.
“Aw… I thought maybe you saw your soulmate,” she complained. “Like mom and dad, when they met each other.”
“Sorry to disappoint you,” he added.
“It would be so exciting, maybe you’d have the red thread thing and everything!” she exclaimed, leaning forward almost as if she was about to take off like a rocket.
“That only happens in movies, I really doubt it’s that dramatic,” he said, bursting her bubble of wonder.
“How boring!” she cried as the train arrived.
“Tell me about it,” he uttered, following the stampede into the train along with his sister.
“I bet that when you meet your soulmate it’ll be beautiful,” she said, hoping that she could ignite the flame of belief in her brother.
“Sure, and when that happens you’ll be the first to know,” he replied, clearly being sarcastic.
The train carried them across Trine’s streets on the metal rails, stopping here and there to allow passengers to escape the train doors, leaving the vehicle empty for just a moment, until another crowd of people flooded every seat and every inch of the floor in the vehicle.
String Theory Page 2