Well, this one-shot is for our school paper, the Jr. Trinitas. (I'm the EIC! ☺) Oh well. Please, R & R.

The Memory of Silver and Sapphire

mischievous vignettes

 

Cold wind gushed through the night sky, its salient features reminiscent in the scenery. The cool breeze damps upon her, with teardrops slowly cascading through her cheeks. With her long, black hair flowing against the wind, she slowly walked down the lane – not wanting to be seen.

On top of the hill – amidst the grasslands and the night skies – is where she lay; where she stood. Upon reaching the topmost part, a place she frequently visits, she sat down and gazed through the stars once more – only to be left reminiscing.

I can see it clearly, she thought, I knew it wouldn’t work. These things were starting to get too much on him, she knew it’s probable. Whether or not it would succeed, chances are they won’t probably be happy anyway - - after all, she wasn’t worth the wait.

But why should I worry about that? These things are getting on my nerves. I haven’t got a single chance to be free, nor even be happy...

* * *

“Where have you gone off to now? You’re such...” he mumbled; he was running straight against the alley, with nowhere to go. He was exhausted, his mind a sudden wreck, his heart shattered to pieces. He felt a vague pang when he remembered that incident - a confrontation between her and her family.

“...a selfish dork...and a person,” he finished, “who seeks refuge amidst the sudden turmoil.”

He remembered it clearly – her hoarse voice, his terrible insults, their fathers’ medley, her mother’s... angst. Despite being engaged at a young age of sixteen, their parents seemed to be happy with the idea of them being married – even though in reality, both of them do not want to do so.

But earlier, it seemed that she was fed up with the entire plight surrounding her: she treated him badly, and loathed their fathers; she even renounced her mother.

“Follow her, son; she must have not been far away – you can still follow her,” said her mother. Her eyes puffy, her voice hoarse, and her expression pained; she inadvertently tucked his back, yet somehow, his feet had a mind of its own and he suddenly dashed away.

 Seriously, how much damage have you done now, you ungrateful fool?

He swallowed the thought. He may hate to admit it, but it is undeniably true:

Are these the results of arranged marriages?

* * *

She grasped the grass that was now intertwined with her fingers. The breeze was starting to get into her, and she unknowingly clutched it to her sides. Geez, why does it have to be so cold?

“Keh. He’d probably even be happy now that I am gone – after all, who am I to complain? I was stupid; probably the biggest fool of all. What entered into me, and why did I do those things?”

Yep, the wind had really gotten into her. She involved herself into a deep monologue, and somehow even the loudest of the sounds cannot disturb her.

“They’re all ganging up on me - - it’s so irritating! Why can’t I have my say on this thing?  Father, Mother, and even Uncle haven’t given me a nice amount of privacy; they just continued on goofing up around in my life, making it turn 360º to sudden drastic changes,” she brushed her hair away from her drenched cheeks, and continued, “but - - -“

She paused for a while. She wanted continue - no, she needed to continue. Yet, not even a single sound came. She was utterly speechless, as tears trickled down her rosy cheeks. A sudden pang of guilt struck her.

“- - Despite it all, is it really the right thing to do? I know, I’d hurt them so much that I could die, yet I just can’t control myself,” she said limply.

However, I knew I shouldn’t put the blame on them. I was just damned selfish.

She simply sat still, and continued gazing at the stars above. As she gaped at the spectacle, a heavenly body moving at the speed of light suddenly appeared before her.

A shooting star!

Her mind started to wander.

I... I wish he was here.

* * *

He ran so fast – so fast that his feet were starting to betray him – and went where his feet may lead him to.  He had no idea where he was, or where he was heading to – for the only thing on his mind right now was to reach her.

Rivaling the speed of a galloping tiger, he dashed upwards. He sped up, until he saw a shooting star – the same one that she had seen – and unconsciously, he rushed up towards it. ‘She must have been there, I know it,’ he thought.

True; he knew that all the occurrences that happened were caused by him – he just didn’t know how. He may not be that great, but he can easily know if he is the cause – they had been next-door neighbors for years now, after all. And besides, he is the only one who often makes her so violent: she hits him, and kicks him; they fight all the time. He just made teasing a habit; but if things may get even worse, it’s because of the numerous suitors chasing them. Well, he had to admit, she can make him fluster so often.

She was so violent; a stupid, macho and untalented girl who oftentimes jumps to conclusions!

That’s what he may say, but that may be otherwise. But now, it seemed so different. What’s with her?  As such, he tightened his grip onto something – an object that glistened in the moonlight.

Garnering all the strength he can muster, he screamed her name. It echoed towards the settling mountains, waiting to be heard.

* * *

Was she hearing things? It’s impossible; there’s no way he could’ve found out her whereabouts. It’s coincidental, really!

But what if it is true? A part of her was happy, and the latter was found to be upset. After all, she didn’t want to see the root of all her problems; she doesn’t want him to see her so vulnerable; and he’ll probably make her angry anyway - so, it’s now or never.

“What should I do now?”

Seconds passed. The resilient silence was then broken.

“You should probably try and talk to him – stingy!” a voice nonchalantly replied. She, in turn, was aghast – she turned around, only to find the unexpected.

“Oh. Hi there...” Great, now he’s here. If life wasn’t unfair enough, then I wouldn’t know what it’ll be.

He can sense sadness in her voice. She may had been angry at him, but he knew she was depressed enough not to be hostile. “Come on, you’re still mad at me? Let’s go home!” he suggested.

“But I don’t wanna - -” her sentence was cut short when he suddenly tossed something into her hands. He then sat down beside her groggily.

“There. It’s yours, keep it.”  She, in turn, raised an eyebrow.

“What is this?”

“It’s nothing special. It just came from my late mother,” he replied.

Huh? But why give me something so special? I can’t accept this!

She then remembered his situation.

His mother died 3 years ago; ever since then, they became next-door neighbors, with their goofy families having close relationships, even to the extent of joining the two in order to hasten the union of their families. However, he had never seen his mother even once in 10 years, until the time of her burial. The only thing she had left him with was that present of his that shined, even when darkness crept its way.

“But... but why? You can’t just give it like that,” she told him. She can now see the change in his expression, for he now appeared to be somewhat... melancholic.

“No buts – I’ll give it to you wholeheartedly. In fact, I’ve been meaning to give that to you for a long time now, but I - - “he suddenly paused. He was very nervous. He can feel the pressure slowly accumulating up inside him. Can he say it?

He opened his mouth, trying to utter a word; yet, no sound even came. Was it really this hard to do?

She looked at him inquisitively. Maybe he’ll say it to me now – he just wants to break up our engagement. After all, nobody wants to marry someone as bad as me...right?

She wanted to hit herself for being so selfish, so violent, so uptight, and so ignorant. Before she went berserk, she just wanted to make things easier for him first – after all, she was the cause of all his troubles.

“You see - -“

I’m sorry!

“I.. I wanted to say… well, I’ve been meaning to tell you this, but all I wanna say is that..t - - “

I knew it would happen… It may hurt us both but - -

“T- - thanks. Thank you for everything… I really mean it,” he said.

I’m so… huh?

With his face flushed, and his mind a sudden wreck, he looked at her intently. Bluish orbs met brown ones, and gazes were now locked. As soon as she saw those eyes – she knew he was sincere.

She then examined the item that was now clutched on her tight grip – it was composed of silver and sapphire; with the circular stone holder being the silver, and the gem inside being the sapphire – she then placed it above her heart, and asked him, “So, what’s with the gift?”

“Eh- - ? You still want an explanation?” he retorted. He flinched. Well, it seemed that he really was avoiding that question. However, she wasn’t the type to just leave it behind. What would happen if it’s some kind of a parting gift? 

“Of course,” she replied, “there’s got to be something if you’d given such a precious item.”

He was about to retort back at her when he realized that he may destroy another chance again; thus, he decided to go on with it.

He then gazed at the stars above.

“You see,” he started, “I thought it was kind of nice to give it to you, despite the fact that it is from my mother – my only possession of hers. I always treasured that necklace - seeing it made me calm, even as how ruthless I can possibly be. It can give me peace of mind; I can easily feel her presence when I hold it, even though in reality, she’s not even there.”

She sat there silently as she waited for him to finish.

“Whenever I take a hold of that thing, I can always feel that indeed, I am home. Heck, I kept that for a lifetime! But you see, upon seeing you being as lost as I did back then, I knew that you needed her more than me. Well, I just want you to know that there are still people who care about you – whether it may be your friends or your family – and that no matter what, they would still accept you for who you are. Personally, I think you should make amends with our parents; there’s no good on treating everything with violence…”

Those upwelling tears started to appear in her eyes.

 “..And whenever you see that necklace, I hope that in time, you would realize the important things you had in life, and come to treasure it, no matter how small it may be. Whenever you feel lost, or afraid, I want that necklace to serve as a reminder that there would always be a home waiting for you - - back to those people who love you...”

“To the people… who love me?”

He flinched for awhile. He then replied agitatedly,

“Yeah.”

Teardrops fell upon his gift – it glistened against the moonlight, beaming with so much radiance and splendor. A smile crept upon her face as she realized what had just happened.

“Thank you so much. You see, no one has ever done as sweet as that for me,” she told him.

His face flushed, he nodded weakly. “Y - - you’re welcome.”

They continued on star-gazing, until he cut it short when he stood up and recklessly held her hand, helping her to stand.

“Let’s go home now,” he insisted. She nodded hastily and followed him.

Back there… back at my home. But, I already found it.

As the moonlight glistened against the settling breeze, the two walked the lengths of the road to go back. May it be fate or just purely coincidental, it is clear that his and her circumstances made it possible to fix things, and even make it better.

 

And here's the corresponding poem to my story below, "The Memory of Silver and Sapphire". Enjoy! R & R!☺

HIS AND HER CIRCUMSTANCES

Suchi~~ :D

 

He was there, standing yet aloof;

She was fast approaching, her footsteps resounding through the floor.

A memory came upon them, a sudden gush of remorse,

Would they be able to overcome everything, if that everything is now gone?

 

“I can see it clearly,” she said to him, “and I knew that it wouldn’t succeed...”

Anguish suddenly gushed through, breaking his exemplary heed,

She ran beneath the night sky, tears chasing her placidly;

He followed her, and known her troubles won’t leave her that easily.

 

Meddling parents made their worlds revolve for entirety,

They met through their antics, yet somehow they felt estranged;

Nonetheless, circumstances made a pivotal turn for the deranged,

Both crossed each other’s paths, proving one’s compromising loyalty.

 

If love is really meant as a paradox, then it is indeed irreplaceable;

Ill-manners were not regarded, and were left to loiter on the pebbles.

He calls her names, she hits him twice, and they continued being ridiculous;

Despite it all, feelings were still left incomprehensible.

 

 

 

She was alone in her sorrows, reminiscing on tender memories;

He continued walking, and sees a shooting star cross the settling breeze.

She wished upon the star, and he correspondingly followed the trails,

Eyes met, gazes were locked – and they finally saw each other.

 

Yes, the failed wedding – both gasped at the notion,

Both were acting so peculiar, or so they thought.

Both are still children at heart, even though marriage is for adults;

A sudden marriage without their consent -- - how could that be great?

 

Odds or fate as it may seem, hordes of despicable personas appeared;

With the support of numerous fiancées, they were conspicuously annihilated.

Putting that aside, they finally spoke with each other;

Words let themselves speak, an instrument of relentless communication.

 

He stood up recklessly, and slowly took her hand;

He helped her stand, amidst the heavy winds across the skies.

She smiled in turn - - Yes! It would finally be alright.

For unbeknownst to them, fate weaves yet again: a story of their circumstances.