String Theory

by Daniel Kolade

  The pair of siblings stood at their usual spot in the train next to the windows and watched the world outside of the sprinting vehicle pass by.

  “Ren?” Kena said, gently pressing her hand against the window as she stared intently at the city.

  “Yes?” Ren replied, following her gaze.

  “I think it would be amazing to meet someone in my dreams,” she uttered, smiling at the vastness of the urban setting. “I mean, they could be anywhere in the world, and you happen to only meet in such a close space. A dream.”

  “Yeah,” he said, feeling the warmth in her words.

  “But I also think it would be sad,” she added, losing her smile and adopting a melancholy expression.

  “Yeah?” his pitch rose.

  “Because, you’d forget when you woke up. The person you met and the conversations you had, all of it. Gone,” her voice was flat, and her gaze, empty. “I think… I think that would be really lonely,” her words dripped one by one from her lips, vibrating against his eardrums, through the sound of the chattering voices and gentle bumps of the tracks, until it sank deep into his heart.

  Unable to fully grasp the relevant words, he thought about the girl he’d seen in his dreams and wondered if she was real or just a figment of his imagination. Now more than ever, he felt like finding an answer was actually important.

  The train stopped and Kena said her goodbyes and left along with the horde of people. The silent doors closed, after another pack had entered and occupied the train spaces.

  I wonder if she’s real? Ren thought, brooding over the pair of lips that he remembered. I wonder who she is… he agonised over the mysterious girl. His stop finally arrived and by the skin of his teeth, he snapped back to reality with only a moment to escape the train through the rushing pedestrians.

  His walk to school was seamless and quick. It didn’t take him long to arrive at his school. Somehow, it looked more like a university rather than a high school, with its grand window panels and its iconic architecture that offered a mixture of slants, beams and pillars.

  After taking one look at it, his admiration for its architecture had diminished and paled in comparison to the miraculous aurora of his dream.

  He walked in through the front doors and navigated his way to his locker, where he saw Maves.

  “Good morning,” Maves uttered, smiling at the restless soul approaching him.

  “Good morning,” Ren replied, his voice clearly expressed his sleepless night and stressful morning.

  “Not feeling it today either?” Maves asked, grinning at the boy as he opened his locker and replaced his shoes with his indoor ones.

  “You could say that,” Ren admitted.

  “At least you came to school on time,” Maves said, grinning as they walked across the corridors to their classroom among the sea of students and trivial chatter.

  “If I’m too tired to focus then I may as well not be,” Ren explained, failing to see the bright side of his situation.

  “Yeah, that’s true,” said Maves, stopping at their classroom. His companion, however, had failed to notice and continued on for a few more steps until he was grabbed and led back to the right door. He had passed it by without even batting an eye. “You really don’t know up from down today, do you?”

  “I’ve just got a lot on my mind I guess,” Ren replied as they walked into the room.

  “What’s up?” Tanford greeted them upon their arrival to their assigned desks.

  They replied and took their seats.

  “How are you doing?” Maves asked.

  “Better than yesterday,” Tanford replied with a smirk.

  As the two of them spoke about whatever assignment they were given, Ren silently retrieved his notebook along with his sketch pencils and opened a new page after the drawing he’d made the day before. With his pencil in hand and his ears plugged with earphones, he ventured into the land of the pale stillness and ambient gray lines, where he sought to give form to the void. His delicate graphite strokes produced light scratches on the page as the young artist employed the utmost of his skills to recreate the lovely scene that had been etched into the back of his eyes and saved in his memories.

  His friends watched him in silence as the entire world disappeared and only the frozen page he tried to bring to life mattered. Miss Flois walked in and with her presence the room fell silent and the students all turned to face her, except one.

  Ren remained absorbed by his art. The wonderful experience of allowing the imagined photograph to trickle onto the page, through his fluid movements and his incredible precision, was divine.

  First, he depicted, with help of his imagination, himself and the girl in his dreams as they sat timidly and enjoyed the serenity of the night sky and the huge fissure of rosy hues running across the ether. Then, as he drew what truly interested him, his pencil detailed the lips of the girl’s face as precisely as he saw them. Everything else about her seemed to disappear into the obscurity of his memories. The distorted frame only allowed him to capture this one detail.

  Through his intense focus came an overpowering authority that crushed his stream of consciousness and restrained his thoughts, forcing them to wither and disappear in the presence of his teacher.

  “Ren!” she said, after pulling out one of his earphones. He looked up in dismay and shuddered at her smiling facade. “Give me your phone,” she demanded.

  Without saying a word the boy surrendered his phone and noticed his audience of classmates, all with their eyes glued on him. “Thank you, you’ll get it back after class, and try to pay attention,” Miss Flois said, walking to the front of the room and continuing the lesson.

  After recuperating from his heartstopping confrontation, he looked down at the drawing he made, scrutinising every corner, shade and line. He turned the page and glanced at his previous work and noticed the exact same problem. Something was missing. He quickly drew his pencil and wrote on the first page, depicting his dream, Who are you? and then he turned back and wrote, Are you real? on the second.

  His channeled thoughts embodied the wonder that he had as he looked down at the picture and realised it lacked the same, blood boiling, heart-skipping experience that the actual situation it depicted carried.

  He remained completely captivated by its fundamental flaw that seemed irreparable and definite. Minutes seemed to turn into seconds and hours into minutes, until the bell rang and the lesson was over.

  “Ren, it’s lunchtime,” Maves said, standing up from his chair. “Ren?” he repeated.

  “Oh, yeah?” Ren replied, looking up at him, shaking off his swirling thoughts.

  “It’s lunchtime,” Maves emphasised.

  “Already?” Ren cringed, wondering where all the time had gone.

  “Hmph, you didn’t pay attention to class at all, did you?” Tanford uttered, standing next to them, looking unimpressed.

  “Uh—not so much,” Ren admitted, rising from his desk.

  “C’mon, don’t worry about it, I’ll show you my notes,” Maves said. “Let’s go have lunch.”

  “Thanks man, I really appreciate it,” Ren uttered, reaching into his bag, trying to find the lunchbox he never packed in his morning frenzy. “Damn.”

  “Forgot lunch now too, huh?” Tanford smirked, reading his disappointed expression.

  “Yeah,” Ren admitted, feeling his stomach grumble.

  “Don’t worry, you can have some of mine,” Tanford said, offering some of his lunch.

  “You can have some of mine too,” Maves added.

  “Really? You guys are real lifesavers!” Ren smiled.

  They left the classroom and entered the highway of rushing students. They ended up sitting at their usual spot, which was on the roof.

  “This is what we got,” Tanford said, looking down at the open lunch boxes that Maves and he brought. In one, there was rice and a series of side dishes that was composed of steamed vegetables and some cooked beef and egg. In the other was a series of n
eatly packed sandwiches and sweetbreads.

  “Here you go,” Maves said, after they divided some of their lunch for Ren on one of the box lids.

  “Thank you,” Ren said, accepting their kind generosity.

  “You’ve really been into your drawing lately,” Maves began. “Is that what’s been hanging over you?” he added while they enjoyed their food.

  “Something like that,” Ren admitted, shying away from revealing the true reason of his restlessness.

  “Hey, when are you working now again?” Tanford asked, nearly stuffing his face with his sweetbreads.

  “Tomorrow,” Ren replied.

  “Okay, all in favour of going to a cafe?” Tanford glanced at them.

  “Sure,” Maves replied.

  “Yeah, I’m game,” added Ren.

  ChapteR 6

  What did he say? Kaori thought, waking up from her dream. She clutched her chest and gently bit her lip. She relived the experience and once again saw the boy who starred in her mental motion picture. A giddy smile broke out as she imagined him. With her face flushed, she threw herself onto her pillow, screaming with her legs kicking in glee. The very thought of him being her soulmate was enough to make anyone excited. However, a problem quickly reared itself—every feature of the boy’s face seemed to be gone. It was as though the memory data had been erased or damaged during its input. Only his lips remained. His slow-moving lips, which spoke words that no longer enjoyed the sweetness of sound.

  Why can’t I remember? She thought, lifting herself up from the pillow. She gazed at her reality and for the first time, it seemed like an obstacle that she needed to overcome in order to retrieve the memory she’d lost. She pondered and brooded over her hazy dream.

  “Kaori?” Aiko exclaimed. “Kaori?”

  The repeated chant was drowned out by her thoughts. She remained seated on her bed, venturing, diligently, inward. However, the sound grew louder and louder, slowly carrying her back to the land of the conscious and living.

  “Kaori?”

  “Yes!” she replied, finally responding with an appropriate answer to her mother’s calls.

  “Breakfast.”

  “Oh, right,” Kaori thought, quickly rising from her bed and putting all her wonders to rest. Finally on her feet, she quickly began her morning routine without fail.

  She appeared in the kitchen, fully dressed in her school uniform. “Good morning,” she said, sitting down at the table and putting her phone facedown next to her.

  “Good morning,” Aiko replied. “Still having dreams about prince charming?” she squinted with a twinkle of mischief, hiding in her eyes.

  “What? No!” Kaori said, quickly turning away before she served herself breakfast.

  “Sure about that?” Aiko began. “I could have sworn that you were mumbling about a boy named…”

  “What? Really!” Kaori looked up with sparkling eyes.

  “No, I’m just kidding,” Aiko admitted. “But I least now I know you were dreaming about a boy,” she added, cleverly alluding to the co-star in her daughter’s dream.

  “Ugh,” Kaori looked away, ignoring her mother.

  “Anyway, the food you made yesterday was delicious,” Aiko said, changing the subject. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” Kaori smiled.

  “I won’t be working as late today, so I’ll see you after school,” Aiko explained, excusing herself from the table and clearing her dishes.

  “Really?” Kaori replied, surprised by the revelation.

  “Yeah, I caught a little shorter shift today, so I’ll be home early enough to talk about your dream guy,” she said, playfully pestering her daughter.

  “Oh god,” Kaori muttered. “Just go!”

  “Okay, okay, I’m going,” Aiko said, casually strutting out of the kitchen. After a short pause her voice echoed from the hallway, “I won’t be mad if you bring this dream boy home one day!”

  “Just go!” Kaori cried, and with those words, the apartment door was opened and quickly closed after Aiko left. Alone at the table, Kaori was only allowed a second to enjoy her breakfast in peace, until her mother came bursting back into the apartment.

  “Make sure you aren’t late for class,” Aiko said. “The clock is ticking!”

  “What are you talking about, I have plenty of time,” Kaori replied and drew her phone. The display read a set of numbers that seemed all too worrying. It was almost too little time to deal with the trainwreck of a hairstyle she had woken up with.

  “Why didn’t you say anything!” Kaori exclaimed, finally feeling the panic.

  “Too busy, teasing my daughter!” Aiko winked. “Anyway, see you tonight!” she added, and left the apartment once more.

  Alone again, Kaori quickly made herself ready, almost halving the time she would usually take. Once done, she looked at the apartment to make sure nothing was burning or out of place. After she had confirmed everything was as it should be, she left.

  She jogged across the route she usually took to school and noticed how empty the street was. The eerie sight only compelled her to push herself, until she was running at a speed nearing a sprint. It didn’t take too long for her to reach the familiar crossing where a pair of students were waiting for the lights to change. The two girls at the crossing turned to the panting girl as her scrambled dash came to a stop.

  “Hey, Kaori!” Nora and Mei said, waving at the girl slowly staggering towards them.

  “H-Hey guys,” Kaori gasped for air.

  “Overslept?” Mei said, as Kaori joined them at the crossing.

  “Yeah,” Kaori noted. “I don’t think my alarm went off…”

  “Oh, that sucks,” Nora said. “At least you’ll make it to school on time,” she added.

  “Did you happen to have another dream with Mr Lover Boy?” Mei asked, slyly studying her face.

  “I did,” Kaori said, coyly turning away from the gaze.

  “Ho ho ho, the true culprit rears its head,” Mei added, squinting at Kaori like a mischievous gargoyle.

  “That’s not it!” Kaori turned back with a darting gaze.

  “And? What happened?” Nora asked, expecting the story to come pouring out. “Did you talk to him?” she leaned in.

  “I did,” Kaori admitted, taking advantage of the now green traffic lights to distance herself from her curious friends.

  “And?” Nora and Mei stalked her like a pair of imps.

  “I remember something being said, but I can’t remember what,” Kaori finally revealed. Her honest words shot the inquisitive zeal of her friends as they both quickly let out sour groans.

  “That’s it?” Mei muttered.

  “C’mon there must be more to this story,” Nora uttered, hoping something more climactic would lift up their spirits. “Right?”

  “Well, we sat down on a ridge and enjoyed a scenery of stars, snow and auroras,” Kaori revealed in a quiet tone, with a soft smile.

  “Auroras?” Nora’s eyebrows rose and fell. “Really?”

  “Yeah, it was like the sky had cracked and a curtain of light was drawn across it,” Kaori explained, brightening as she recalled the moment.

  “Wow,” Mei uttered. “I want to meet my soulmate too!”

  “This is so unfair!” Nora added.

  “We don’t know yet if he’s my soulmate,” Kaori uttered, shying away from the notion. We could be wrong.

  “Kaori?” Mei said, looking unimpressed at her. “Really?”

  “You never know,” Kaori said, looking down.

  Nora giggled at her bashfulness.

  They finally arrived at their school courtyard. The trio walked in, making their way to class at a steady pace. The talk of Kaori’s soulmate continued as they took their seats.

  “Good morning, class,” Mr Banson said, walking into the room.

  “We’ll talk about this during lunch,” Mei said, facing the front.

  “Okay,” Nora and Kaori agreed.

  While trying to pay as much at
tention to class as possible, Kaori was plagued by her wandering thoughts. Who is he? she wondered, looking out of the window and admiring the sailing clouds floating across the ocean sky. Is he real? she thought, trying to seek an answer in the peaceful ether. However, the sky only allowed her to relive the marine coated world of her dream with the faint rosy alpenglow. The midnight world and all its tranquility was a sight and experience to behold forever, but what truly made it wondrous was the connection between herself and him. It had all been set—the sky, the snow, the nature and the world, all of it. It was the most romantic experience she’d ever known.

  Her heart tickled in her chest and her ears grew warmer. The lunar glare and the silence. The stillness and her acquaintance. The mystification and the panic. And, finally, the soundless words and gentle smiles.

  Her thoughts swirled with the experience of her daydream. She smiled for herself as she remained glued to the harmonic view.

  “Kaori?”

  Completely enveloped inside her reverie, she failed to take notice of her teacher’s voice addressing her.

  “Kaori?”

  The voice seemed like a far of whisper that somehow dissolved among the pool of thoughts and wonders floating about in her head.

  “Kaori?”

  Little by little, her echoing name wormed its way through to the forefront of her attention.

  Nora and Mei turned and called her name, trying to get her to respond.

  Her romantic daydream was shattered, giving way to her classroom and all her classmates sitting around her. She finally realised that she was seated at her desk.

  “Kaori?” Mr Banson looked puzzled at the girl, who remained fully awake but somehow not present.

  “Yes!” Kaori jumped up out of her chair and stood up, ready to answer a question that hadn’t even been posed yet.

  “Are you feeling alright?” he asked, showing concern.

  “Yeah,” she uttered, slowly sinking back into her chair as she noticed that every pair of eyes were aimed at her.

  “Be sure to pay attention,” Mr Banson said. “Now…”