The trees repeated his words to one another, until it finally reached its intended recipient.
Upon hearing his voice, Kaori’s memories were all corrected. In that moment she relived every dream and recalled every connection where her thoughts met his and the many impossible conversations they’d had. Those memories that she had forgotten, now warmed her heart, but the void in her chest couldn’t be filled. Not only did they bring every joyous scene she experienced with him, but they also brought the sense of distance between them. Tears dripped from her eyes one by one, each screaming for him not to leave her. His scent, his smile, his voice, it had all returned, but he was gone. Those memories were so sweet, but poisonous at the same time. His assurances, his compliments, his company and his promise; it all made her sad, because her connection with him had broken, but there was also something reassuring about them. Even if they only signified what she lost, they made her hopeful. It was like she wasn’t alone anymore, because he was with her.
“Ren,” she murmured, smiling softly. “I remember.”
“Kaori?” he repeated, realising that she was replying to him.
“Ren?” she said shakily, looking around for him.
“Kaori!” he exclaimed, frantically looking about as he slowly walked in the direction that might lead to her. His feet carried him passed the dark trees, each one he crossed lit up. It was like a million candles were lit at the same time on the surface of the barked maidens, as if they were given new life, revitalising the dark forest.
“Ren!” she cried, leaving her seat and beginning to walk on the same wide path as he did. Around her the same phenomenon of the luminescent trees took place.
“Where are you?” He increased his pace and looked around trying to find something distinctive to refer to.
“I’m here. Where are you?” she said, running across the road.
“Where’s here?” he exclaimed, however, before he was given an answer, the unmistakable feeling of being drawn towards something by the most delicate piece of string wrapped around his finger became apparent. Kaori raced with the faint tug guiding her forwards.
Soon enough they neared one another, but they didn’t stop until they finally passed through the other. That was when it became blatantly obvious. The red thread that bound them to the other, tugged on the smallest finger of their hands at the same time, urging them to stop.
“Kaori?” Ren stopped quickly looking over his shoulder.
“Ren?” She found nothing as she turned.
“I can hear you, but…” he uttered, taking a step forward.
“I can’t see you,” she said, taking another.
“But you’re…” he whispered, reaching out to the person he could feel was in front him.
“There, aren’t you?” she murmured, doing the same.
The pair mirrored one another, as they stood among the now brilliant forest trees that danced with their bioluminescent glow.
In the final moment of silence as their fingers met, something extraordinary happened.
ChapteR 24
Ren! He jumped up, sitting in an upright position on his bed. He panted as he collected himself. His eyes grew wide and alert, something was wrong. They registered a room with pale walls and wooden flooring, furnished with a desk, a mirror, a cupboard and a set of shelves. Everything pointed at the conclusion that he was awake, down to the very last detail. He was completely conscious, so the thought of being in a dream was a little out of the question. Yet, the truth was that he had woken up in a room that wasn’t his. It was all different from what he was used to. With that in mind, the thought of him actually dreaming became all the more plausible.
He sat completely still, with a blank expression and his lips parted. He turned his head slowly noting everything he saw, until he stopped at the school uniform hanging by the window. It was nothing like his, it was plainer and most importantly, it belonged to a girl. His eyes narrowed and his brows fell. Although the sight of it was enough to tell him that he was losing his mind, he didn’t react. Something inside him failed to react. Instead, he simply looked down. What he saw didn’t strike him as odd either. The pair of breasts attached to his body underneath his t-shirt seemed all too real. His interest lay solely with the soft scoops that appeared on his body.
Without a thought in mind, he reached for them, knowing what they were, but the act of believing what they were was a different question altogether. Paying little attention to the strangeness of his surroundings, he focused primarily on proving whether they were real or not.
He cupped the breasts attached to him, realising that they were tangible. He fondled them as though they were his own. He gently massaged them and studied their texture, finding that they were indeed a part of his body.
“Kaori,” A woman’s voice came from the corridor on the other side of the door, leading to the room he was in.
“Kaori?” she said once more, coming closer to the room.
“Wow, this is realistic as hell,” Ren said, rationalising the strangeness of the room and the pair breasts that he was currently fondling, as being part of a dream.
“Kaori?” Aiko appeared, opening the door, finding her daughter groping her chest. “Oh, you’re awake,” she said, catching eye contact with Ren, who still didn’t stop touching himself. “Finally realized that you had boobs?” she smirked.
“Yeah, they’re so firm and perky,” he frowned.
“They’re quite pleasant, right?” Aiko said, nodding in agreement. “Anyway, Kaori, there’s breakfast on the table,” she added, ready to leave. “‘Kaori?’ me?” Ren whispered, finally stopping his bosom-massage to point at himself.
“I don’t see another Kaori in here, do you?” she said, grinning. “If you don’t hurry up, I’m starting without you,” she left for the kitchen.
Without question, he heeded the woman he had never seen before. He escaped the blankets and rose from the bed, slowly walking to the mirror. It was the final test, to see whether he truly was dreaming. He reached the mirror and what he saw was something bizarre. His own face wasn’t looking back at him. Instead, it was a girl’s face. She had messy long black hair and soft brown eyes that looked into his. He cocked his head to the right, watching the girl in the mirror mimic him. It finally hit him. He had woken up in a body that wasn’t his.
In order to confirm his speculations, he took off his shirt and with it off, he was now staring at the bare chest of the girl in the mirror.
“What the hell is going on!” he exclaimed, with eyebrows almost jumping off his face as he instinctively leaned forward, innocently leering at Kaori’s body.
He did his best to get dressed in the school uniform that hung in the room. Thinking that he had made himself presentable, he appeared in the kitchen.
“Kaori?” Aiko said, raising one eyebrow. “Have you forgotten how to wear your uniform?” She rose from the table and adjusted the height of his skirt.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Ren said, fronting a smile.
“Anyway, let’s have some breakfast,” Aiko said as they sat down.
“I’ll be finishing work early today, so I’ll be seeing you after school,” Aiko explained.
“Right, school,” he murmured. Even though this is a dream maybe I should go. “Should I go?” he asked, standing up from the table.
“If you don’t go soon you’ll be late,” Aiko replied. He nodded and left the table. He put away his dishes and then disappeared into Kaori’s room.
He reappeared in the hallway with Kaori’s school bag. “I’m going now,” he said, putting on his shoes.
“Wait, Kaori!” Aiko exclaimed. “You can’t be serious…” she added, looking mystified at her daughter’s artfully messy bedhead.
“What?” Ren scratched the back of his neck.
“C’mon, I’ll help you do your hair today,” she said, sitting him down in the kitchen. She found herself a hairbrush and began the deed. “I can’t remember the last time I did this,” she said, smiling li
ghtly.
“Hey, can I ask you a question?” Ren began, cautiously.
“Sure,” Aiko replied.
“You know school?”
“Yes?”
“Where is it exactly?”
“Kaori, are you feeling well?” She frowned.
They shared a short exchange as she gave her daughter basic instructions to get to school. She couldn’t help but think, is she feeling alright?
Ren left the apartment with a simple yet elegant hairdo, compliments of Aiko, as he followed her instructions.
He wandered about in an unfamiliar city, on an unfamiliar street, but the many students, who were wearing the same uniform as him and walking alongside him put him at ease as he followed the crowd, reaching a crossing.
“Hey, Kaori!” Nora said, waving to him among the other students standing in wait for the lights to change.
He pointed at himself and looked over his shoulder to see if she was waving to someone else. “Me?” he said, with a blank expression.
“Yeah, who else, dummy?” she smiled.
“Oh, hey,” his voice was slightly shaky. Before they could start conversing, another member appeared to join their little group. Another person he didn’t know.
“Hey, Mei,” Nora said.
“Hi,” Ren said, making a mental note of her name.
The moment Nora’s name was mentioned, he made a point of remembering that too. When the lights turned green, they made their way to school.
He looked up at the school building, they arrived at. It was so different from the one that he was used to. So, this is my dream school?
He followed closely behind Mei and Nora and reached a set of identical lockers. He took one glance and knew right away there was no way he could guess. It’s a dream, but why don’t I know which locker is mine?
“Um… Nora?” he murmured, turning to the girl who had opened her locker with such confidence, while fetching her indoor shoes.
“Yes?” she answered.
“Which locker is mine?” he innocently asked, fronting a sweet smile.
“Are you serious?” Her brows narrowed.
“Kaori, are you feeling okay?” Mei said, leaning in closer.
“Well… just humor me for a little, okay?” he said, avoiding eye contact.
The two girls exchanged glances and then showed him to his locker. They carefully observed him as he wore the pair of indoor shoes that lay inside.
“Lead the way,” he said, smiling, doing his best to hide the fact that he had no idea which class he was in.
They walked across the school corridors, effectively leading him to the correct classroom.
He walked into the room and took his usual seat, every student that was casually talking to their neighbour froze as they realised the strangeness of his actions. His facade broke.
“Kaori?” Mei whispered.
“Yeah?” Ren said, returning her gaze.
“That’s not your seat…” Nora explained, narrowing her eyes on him.
This dream is too realistic! I even have an assigned seat in this dream! He looked around the room and noticed every pair of eyes glued on him.
“Oh…” he said, standing up from the chair, cautiously. “Where do I sit?” he smiled innocently.
“Kaori? Are you sure you’re fine?” Mei asked again, this time, unconvinced by her strange amnesia. She leaned in closer and drew her hair back with her hand, while doing the same to him. His face quickly grew warmer as she leaned her forehead against his, with her eyes closed. He stood flustered by how close she was. Her facial features, as he now noticed, were remarkably delicate and soft.
“No, you don’t seem to be sick,” Mei noted, withdrawing her forehead, leaving him slightly lightheaded and giddy.
“Anyway, your seat is next to mine, right here,” Nora explained.
“Oh, thanks,” he said, sitting down on the chair next to the window.
For a moment, he endured the scrutinising leers of Nora and Mei. “I’m fine, really, I’m just a little… out of it—that’s all,” he explained, fronting a smile.
However, the two girls refused to give in to his playful demeanour.
“Good morning class,” Mr Banson said, walking to the room and drawing everyone’s attention.
I can’t believe, even in my dreams I’m at school… when am I going to wake up already! He leaned his face on his hand while he looked up at the clouds. The class after homeroom got his attention.
Nora and Mei showed him to the art room. They sat next to each other. In front of every student was a wooden easel stand along with blank canvases, and a mirror.
“Today, we’ll be painting self-portraits,” said Miss Hino, the art teacher. And the class did as they were told. Every student quickly looked into the mirror and recognised the face that looked back at them. It was different for Ren. Instead of himself, he saw a girl in the mirror.
Who are you? Something about her seemed familiar, it was like he had met her before, but he didn’t quite know where. She was pleasant to look at and something about her demanded he draw her. And so he did.
With a pencil in hand, he mapped out her face. The thin lines that provided a flawless structure was quickly achieved as he knew that their art class wasn’t as long as he’d wanted, forcing him to battle for time.
The sound of the graphite tip rapidly being shaved down against the canvas resonated in the room of silence. His passion was boundless, his zeal, the same. The empty space, around the planned facial features were enclosed with an outline of her head and her eventual hair. He referred back to his mirror image and made adjustment where they were needed, producing a replication of the reflection he saw. Her lips, her nose, her eyes; she was all there on the empty canvas, waiting to be given substance.
He enriched her features, giving subtle guidelines and shades which translated to how they were to be painted. His hand heeded his every order and recreated his imagined vision with the graphite pencil. Soon enough, he completed the naked, most intimate parts of her face. And so he was ready to finally give her substance and paint the delicate features that he so willfully recreated. He left his stool to fetch a few tools.
“Kaori, where are you going?” Mei asked, following Ren with her eyes as he ran off.
“I think she’s just going to get something,” Nora replied.
“I wonder, how far she’s gotten,” Mei said, leaning to the side, trying to get a glimpse of what had been engraved into the canvas. Nora did the same, as she too was curious about what had been drawn. Their eyes widened as they saw the blueprint to what would be a stunning painting. They saw a feminine face that lay imprinted, waiting to be given life.
“Kaori…” Nora’s lips parted and her heart almost stopped for moment.
“This is—amazing,” Mei blinked furiously as though what she saw wasn’t real.
“Thank you,” Ren said, startling them. He returned, with a colour palette and a plastic mug filled with water, along with a couple of paint-brushes. He put down the cup and held one of the brushes between his teeth as he sat down, while holding the other steady in his hand.
“Were you always this good?” Nora asked.
“It’s prob’bly jus’ becau’ it’s a dre’m” Ren replied, with the brush in his mouth.
“A dream?” Mei frowned. She exchanged glances with Nora. They shrugged and then attentively returned to watch their neighbour begin.
With the brush in hand, he painted Kaori’s face. The tiny hairs were soaked in cyan paint and drawn across the canvas, dyeing it with its hue. The artist created a texture with the bright colour, intentionally going beyond the point of no return, ignoring the intimidation of painting with colour.
He, after establishing a cyan foundation that highlighted her facial features, courageously delved deeper into his repertoire of colours and mixed a little bit of a darker blue with the cyan already on the brush. The mixture was gentle and pleasant. He used it to capture and describe some of the darker e
lements of her face.
He replaced the colourless brush in his mouth with the one carrying the cold hue. Equipped with the other, he ventured into a different mix of colour schemes. He dipped the brush into the small smidge of beige on his palette and without hesitation applied it to the canvas. His smooth strokes characterised the surface of Kaori’s hair and showed off its gentle gloss.
He withdrew his brush and gently soaked it in a light yellow and reapplied some of the paint around the glimmers. Then, once happy with his endeavour, he continued dancing around the surrealistic colour scheme only he was accustomed to. In the beginning it brought question marks to both Nora and Mei. Their raised eyebrows soon fell as they couldn’t help but lean in closer, almost as though they were being drawn into his rhythm.
He artfully gave form to the illustration with a myriad of different colours.
Ren swapped between his brush of cold hues and the one of warm tints. Slowly, but surely, he decorated the canvas and captured Kaori’s essence.
Nora and Mei were completely mesmerised. Their eyes couldn’t look away and their muscles stiffened in anticipation. The pair of them sat like still statues watching the painter work. Ren did his best to make good on the time he was allotted for the class. A few passersby were soon sucked into his zone. His classmates now became his audience, that watched closely as he did the only thing he knew how.
Miss Hino soon noticed the small crowd gathering around the illustrator, she walked over, subtly looking over the shoulders of her pupils, who froze as they noticed their teacher watching so closely as they were clearly slacking off, but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she remained silent and watchful as she gazed at Ren, who so delicately stroked the canvas as though caressing a baby with the tiny hairs on the paintbrush.
The young artist paid no attention to his audience or rather he didn’t even notice them. He was far too focused on his craft. The art of making the girl he saw in the mirror came to life the same way he saw her.
His audience, peering over his shoulder, patiently awaited the final product of the marvelous painting. Moments later they were given what they waited for. The artist carefully constructed a monotonous background to fully highlight the enchanting presence of the girl starring in the piece. He successfully achieved what not many had—he had shared not only his skill, but also his passion, his fixation and his desire to paint her.
String Theory Page 12