String Theory

by Daniel Kolade

  A little bit later, the art class ended and Ren was the only one that had finished his self-portrait, the rest had only reached the barebones, structural stage. Miss Hino told him to come back at the end of the day to pick up his painting.

  The remainder of the school day vanished without a thought. Ren returned to the art room and picked up his work in a portfolio bag. He walked home with Mei and Nora. He took the same route home as he had taken to school, however, just as he thought they would turn the next corner, Mei suggested a different route.

  “Why do you want to take this way?” Nora asked.

  “I thought it would be fun to take a detour every once in while,” Mei smiled.

  “And where will this detour lead us?” Nora raised her eyebrows.

  “Mt. Fannis,” Mei’s smile deepened.

  “What? Why?” Nora frowned.

  “Mt Fannis… mmm,” Ren repeated, cocking his head to the side.

  “Because there’s something I want to get off my chest,” Mei revealed, leading them up a slope.

  “Which is what exactly?” Nora adjusted her glasses, slyly pursuing the topic. Ren’s interest was piqued as well.

  “You’ll find out,” Mei said, cleverly avoiding the question.

  “I guess we will,” Nora smiled softly.

  “How far is exactly?” Ren asked.

  He was given an ambiguous answer, “Not far.”

  They hiked up the path lined with a stone wall on their right and a thin forest of trees standing all around them, watching their ascent to the vista. One after another they marched up the slope, with their school bags in hand, plus Ren’s borrowed portfolio bag.

  “Right, Kaori!” Nora looked over her shoulder. “That painting, you made today… It’s amazing!”

  “Yeah, I can’t believe you did all of that in just one class,” Mei added.

  “Thank you,” Ren smiled, tipping his head back with his eyes closed.

  “You’re crazy, that piano performance, and now this,” Mei looked up at the dark trees.

  “Piano performance?” he frowned. “Hey, wha—”

  “We’re here,” Nora said, stopping at the plateau, where one could overlook the city and enjoy its urban beauty with the sky complementing it.

  “We made it,” Mei said, taking a moment to breathe and let her shoulders sink.

  “Wow,” Ren murmured, glancing at the lit up city below them. He hadn’t noticed how dark it had already gotten, until he saw the gleaming brilliance of Pented shine against the blanketing twilight of the sky. Only a few stars survived the light pollution and were able to remain visible to the naked eye.

  Without saying a word, one by one, after letting the scenery sink in, they walked towards the fenced vantage point where a wide bench stood with a roof supported by four pillars. Ren was the last to shake off the hypnosis and begin moving. He walked after Mei and Nora, stepping down the small set of stairs that led from the seating area to the forefront of the vista.

  They leaned against the railing, and for a moment, in silence, they watched the moving city. It was the kind of silence which wasn’t eerie, but rather the kind which was comfortable and tender.

  “Ah!” Mei screamed at the top of her lungs, leaning forward past the railing, keeping a firm grip to prevent herself from falling over. Ren and Nora jumped at the sound of Mei’s cry.

  “What is she doing?” Nora whispered to Ren.

  “I don’t know,” he shrugged, completely baffled by the girl next to him.

  “When I dream tonight, I want meet a cute boy!” Mei wailed again. “I want to meet my soulmate!”

  “Oh, that’s what she’s doing,” Nora smiled, realising why she wanted to come all the way up here. Without warning, she turned to the city and did the same. “Me too!” she yelled at the top of her lungs.

  Ren looked at the girls, screaming their hearts out, hoping that they would reach someone, but as he turned to the city, feeling the same urge to blurt out his thoughts, he found himself empty. There was someone he wanted to reach, but he didn’t know who. All he could do was stare out into the abyss, hoping that it would reveal the answer, hoping that it would show him who he wanted to so dearly reach out to and hold. But nothing happened.

  ChapteR 25

  The subtle sound of the unfamiliar alarm rang in Kaori’s ears, disturbing her pleasant sleep. She cringed, twisted and turned, until she threw her arm in search of the annoying device. She tapped the table next to the bed, completely ignoring the foreign surface she felt underneath her fingertips. All she cared about was putting an end to the irritating noise.

  Fortunately, she was able to get her hands on the pesky gadget. With a firm grip on the phone she turned it towards herself, barely opening her eyes enough to see where to swipe on the screen in order to silence the disturbing sound. She succeeded in putting an end to the loud overbearing punishment. She lay the alien smartphone down, paying no attention to the fact that it wasn’t hers.

  However, after a moment of laying comfortably underneath the warm covers, contemplating whether to get up or not, she reached for the phone again. She picked it up and tilted it towards her. She tried her best to make out what was on the screen, but it seemed impossible as all she saw was a blur. After reluctantly straining her eyes, she was able to catch a glimpse of the time displayed on the screen. She lay the phone down and retreated back under the covers.

  She knew full well that it was time to get up, but the temptation to stay in bed was far too enticing. After indulging herself, she guiltily sat up and hung her legs down the edge of the bed. She rubbed her eyes and gazed at her feet, but what they saw was something different than what they were used to. The small pair of feet that were normally attached to her legs were no more—a pair of larger ones had taken their place, yet the sight of them didn’t shock her.

  She looked up and noticed the foreign furniture around her. She gazed at the room, finally realising that it wasn’t hers. The uniform that hung next to the window confirmed her suspicions, as it was meant for a male student. With the sun’s warm glare shining in, it was blatantly clear that she had woken up in someone else’s room.

  “Where—” she whispered, but stopped immediately, realising the sound of an unfamiliar voice. She quickly looked around to see who the voice belonged to, and since there was no one around, there was no one to find.

  “Where am I?” she asked herself, maintaining her composure, but the sound of the foreign voice startled her. This time, however, she knew where it came from. She quickly put her fingers on her Adam’s apple and let out a faint grunt. The vocal cords vibrated and confirmed her thought.

  She grew aware of how strange her legs and feet were now. Along with the rest of the foreign items in the room. She quickly tapped her chest in search of the pair of breasts that she was familiar with, but instead she was greeted with a harder, flat surface. Hoping that she was wrong, she looked down at her legs. Was there something between them? She contemplated whether or not to make sure, and, in the end, she did as her curiosity commanded. Her hand was sent downwards, slowly descending towards the targeted area.

  “Ren,” A girl’s voice called from the other side of the door.

  “Ren?” The voice grew closer.

  The door opened as Kaori’s hand reached its destination. Kena walked in only to see her brother with his hand on his crotch, while wearing a pondering expression on his face.

  “Gross! What are you doing?” She yelled, hiding her eyes behind her hand.

  “Ah!” Kaori screamed, raising both her hands, as though a gun had been pointed at her.

  “Breakfast is ready,” Kena quickly said and did her best to leave the room, shutting the door behind her with one hand still over her eyes.

  “Oh god…” Kaori uttered, feeling her heart thump in her chest as though trying to escape the shame. She covered her face and hid her flushed cheeks, but just as she was ready to die of humiliation, she realised that she had been called by a name she was someho
w familiar with but had no recollection of. “Ren,” she repeated, looking up at the room around her.

  She mustered up some courage to find answers for something even more vital than the strange object attached to her body. She rose from the bed and marched towards the door, opening it and escaping the room. She walked out and opened the first door she saw and realised immediately that it wasn’t the bathroom.

  “The bathroom is the door in the back, honey,” Hima said, instinctively from the kitchen. She frowned for herself as she realised what had just taken place.

  “Thank you,” Kaori replied.

  “See, Ren is not feeling alright today!” Kena explained to her parents in the kitchen.

  “He’s probably just half asleep,” Gin said.

  Kaori escaped into the bathroom and quickly found herself in front of a mirror. The reflection that she saw wasn’t what she was normally used to, or what she expected for that matter. Instead of her own face looking back at her, it was now a boy’s.

  “What? Who are you? Why am I a boy?” she asked herself, cocking her head to one side.

  “Ren! We’re starting!” Hima chanted, from the kitchen. Her voice broke Kaori’s focus on the bizarreness of what she thought was a dream. This must be a dream… right? She left the bathroom and returned to Ren’s room. She wore the school uniform, though rather reluctantly. She appeared in the kitchen, and took the only empty seat.

  “Good morning, finally awake?” Gin asked, smiling at his son.

  “Not yet,” Kaori smiled softly, thinking that she was having the most hyper-realistic dream possible.

  “Maybe some breakfast will do the trick,” Hima suggested. The idea of eating in a dream quickly interested Kaori and without question, she served herself some breakfast and enjoyed Hima’s cooking.

  Kena watched her closely as she ate. There was something about her brother today that she couldn’t shake off. Something was different about him. The smile, the way he spoke, the posture he adopted while sitting. Somehow for the first time in her life her brother seemed cute.

  “What the hell is going on!” she screamed, looking down at her food, trying to make sense of the strange features that she felt more suitably would describe her friends rather than her brother.

  “Something wrong?” Kaori said, tilting her head to the right. Even his attitude was different, it was like it had become slightly lighter and less bullish.

  Kena shook her head. What’s wrong with him today? she thought. To her, it was like everything that he was made of, was all suppressed and another set of features had taken their place. He was a completely different person.

  Breakfast was completed rather quickly, with Gin leaving the apartment first. Kena and Kaori after finishing their food and putting away their dishes, prepared their school bags and arrived at the front door.

  “We’re leaving now!” Kena said.

  “Have fun at school!” Hima replied.

  On the other side of the door, Kaori laid eyes on the skyline of Trine. She froze in place, looking at the horizon of glassy buildings stretching towards the cloudless sky. The reflective surfaces gleamed with the sun’s rays.

  “Ren?” Kena uttered, looking up at her brother who was captivated by the urban scene. “Ren?” she said once more, pulling Kaori back to reality from her trance.

  “Yes?” Kaori replied, turning to the girl next to her, who had a suspicious expression on her face.

  “Let’s go,” Kena said.

  “Right,” Kaori responded and before she knew it, she was among the very buildings that she was admiring. Following closely behind Kena, among the many pedestrians, she enjoyed the festive back and forths of the vehicles on the road and the great amount of foot-traffic on the sidewalks which was far more than what she normally experienced. She listened to the sounds of fragmented conversations as the speakers passed her. The movement of the city made it feel so alive. This is so realistic! Kaori thought, soaking in the tangibility of the environment.

  She arrived in one piece at the train station with Kena as her guide. The pair of them stood at the platform where the train they were taking would stop.

  “Where’s the school I go to?” Kaori asked, innocently as they stood waiting for the vehicle that would carry them off.

  “What!” Kena exclaimed, surprised by the strange question. “You forgot?”

  “Yeah, something like that,” Kaori smiled, avoiding eye contact.

  “Are you feeling okay?” Kena leaned in closer, taking a moment to closely examine her.

  “Yeah,” Kaori responded with an assertive nod.

  “Okay…” Kena said, still not fully convinced.

  They got on the train that arrived. As they stood by the windows, Kena explained how to get to the school. She wasn’t all too familiar, but her instructions proved valuable.

  “Wow,” Kaori said, watching the urban scene closely, as the train ran across the rails. “It’s so cheery here.”

  Her wide-eyed excitement only heightened Kena’s suspicions. However, her stop soon came and she was incapable of continuing her investigation. She left the train and glanced back. What if—Her eyes widened as she saw her brother waving to her. What if that’s not… Ren. A chill slither down her spine. The train accelerated, leaving her behind and carrying away the person she assumed was an imposter.

  Kaori was left alone on the packed train, waiting nervously for her stop. When it finally came she got off, standing at the platform. She took a deep breath and did her best to follow Kena’s instructions. Luckily she found other students wearing the same uniform as herself.

  Although, she arrived at school by following the other students, she was faced with another problem, indoor shoes. She looked across the seemingly endless sets of lockers. She frowned as she glanced from left to right and watched all the other students walk confidently to their locker.

  “What’s up, Ren,” Tanford whispered, mimicking her posture. “What are you looking at?”

  Kaori squirmed as she realised someone was standing next to her. “How come you’re standing here? C’mon,” he said, leading her to a set of lockers. “So, how are you doing today?” he uttered, releasing her and squatting down to his locker.

  “Um, I’m okay,” Kaori replied, fiddling with her hair.

  “Hey,” Maves said approaching them.

  “How are you feeling today, Maves?” Tanford asked.

  “Pretty okay, you seem chipper,” Maves replied, opening his own locker and trading shoes with the ones that were in there.

  “Yep, I had a good morning,” Tanford explained, grinning at him.

  “Um… I seem to have forgotten which locker was mine…” Kaori began, avoiding eye contact with them. “So…”

  “You forgot?” Maves frowned.

  “Yeah,” she answered, scratching her neck.

  “How do you forget something like that?” Tanford added.

  “A lot on my mind?” she smiled, hoping that she could get away with such a vague explanation. “So…”

  “This one,” Tanford and Maves pointed at the locker that was hers.

  “Thank you,” Kaori said, grinning at them. She opened it and made the trade. They made their way to their classroom. Kaori, however, was far too distracted by the new environment and walked too far.

  “Ren,” Maves said, stopping her before she continued. “You’re still half asleep, aren’t you?”

  “Yeah, sorry,” she followed him into the classroom. “Um… where do I sit?” she asked.

  “What do you mean, where do you sit?” Tanford said, looking puzzled.

  “You forgot that too?” Maves leaned in, to inspect her.

  “Sorry,” Kaori replied, averting her gaze from theirs, while fiddling with her hair.

  “You sit behind me,” Maves explained, leading her to her seat.

  She sat, next to the window and looked across the classroom, filled with students. Her eyes moved from one new face to another. This dream is amazing.

&
nbsp; In preparation for the lesson, she retrieved a notebook and a pencil, she found in Ren’s bag, and opened it and flipped through pages. The first couple were simple notes for different classes. They were sloppy, and perfectly demonstrated the level of interest entertained by the author. She continued flipping through the book, and soon more and more doodles appeared on the pages. She stopped at the first completed drawing that remained etched on the page with the question, Who are you?

  She looked at the drawing that was so delicately crafted. It depicted a girl standing beside a huge cherry blossom tree with its petals fluttering in the air. The amount of precision and skill was breathtaking. The only problem was that the girl’s face wasn’t visible. It was impossible to know who she was. The question signed on the page remained without an answer, but Kaori remained curious about the mystery girl.

  Even when Miss Flois walked in and began homeroom, she was still fixed on the work. She leaned on her hand and let her eyes fall gently on the graphite stains. It was impossible to decipher who it was, so instead she simply admired the piece.

  “Ren?” Miss Flois said.

  “Ren?” She said again, abandoning her post and approaching the student who failed to pay attention.

  At that moment, the page after the first drawing was discovered. Uncharted lands were explored and a second illustration was uncovered. This one seemed more recent and somehow more familiar. Kaori noticed the signed question on the page before the notebook was snatched from right under her nose. Are you real?

  She followed the hand that drew the book from the table.

  “You can get it back at the end of the day,” Miss Flois said, fronting a grin.

  Kaori, on the other hand, remained silent as she realised her misstep and the impressive authority projected by the woman who confiscated the notebook. It seemed to carry so many questions and wonders. Kaori sat unable to utter a word in defence, she let her homeroom teacher take the puzzling thing away from her. She remained fixated on the exterior of the item that seemed vital to the dream that she was in. However, after accepting her predicament, she looked around and noticed that every face was aimed at her.