132 Opposite Poles Attract

Our walk in the rain was conducted in silence as we hid from the rain underneath the umbrella that forced us to be close to the other. Even though the pouring rain made wet the world around us and caused the temperature to dip to a shivering cold degree, I felt oddly warm as I walked beside Luna. I felt an odd satisfaction from earlier when she had told me that I'm more than a friend to her. It was a feeling that I appreciated and relished greatly as it seemed to once again urge me to explore the world outside of my prison cell.

The rain continued to pound hard against the concrete paving of the city, but it no longer sounded as if it was merely the simple sound of rain droplets making contact with the ground. Rather, it seemed to resemble a round of applause, as if applauding the fact that a weight had been lifted from my shoulder. Yet, if this sound were to be an applause, then the play that they are applauding for must be a tragedy. Like every tragedy, the ending will always be painful to the heart and leave behind devastated characters. In this tragedy, the main characters are Luna and I, and in the end, I will be the one left in devastation. Even though I already knew that the ending, which will be coming up soon, will be a sad one, I still want to enjoy this simple feeling of joy that I felt while spending time with her. Let every memory that I form with her be carved into my brain, let it be burned into my skull and never be forgotten. This is the time that I walked alongside my dear moon, the one celestial beacon of light in the dark nighttime sky that I so often gazed up to from the barred windows of my prison cell. This, is the memory of the time that I spent gazing at the moon before the moon lost its shine and disappeared entirely in the night.

I glanced over at her, feeling a sad sense of joy. Ironic, I know, but that is what I felt at the moment. If it were not for the knowledge that the moon will one day fade from the nighttime sky and won't be there to sing a lullaby, then I believe I would still be able to fall asleep while bedding alone. The moon is my calming requiem, singing a calming song of peace and hope to me as I slowly fall into my deep slumber.

The city appeared to be darkened by the sudden storm, leading to the warm and cozy light from the storefronts to be even more emphasized. In addition, more cars were on the road than usual, making it so that the sound of car tires driving atop wet roads extremely frequent. However, none of that was of a bother to me. As long as I can walk beside her, that's all to me. At that moment, I didn't cared anymore if I were just a simple friend. As long as I can walk beside her for eternity, then that is all to me. However, that wish will not come true. Luna will eventually die in the near future, and this road that we walked together will be left to be continued by me and me alone. Would her soul be with me I do not know, but I would hope that it did because even though I won't be able to see her, she would be able to see me. Well... that might be a bit too much to ask for. If she were to accompany after death, then it must be someone that's more important to her, someone like family or someone like her lover. Come to think about it, I still do not know whether she's dating someone...

I snuck a peek over at her once again with that question nagging my mind, but I was unable to inquire her. I lacked the courage to do so and if I were to ask her, then that might be the very step that would push me over this final boundary that I've set for ourselves. Even though I might be more than a friend, that can mean plenty of things from a boy that she has a certain degree of liking for or simply someone she believes could understand her, I cannot become anything above this. I must not cross this line with her, and our relationship must remain pure and innocent. Nothing ever must happen with us and nothing should. It's my duty to walk with her until her very end while also protecting both her and myself at the same time. Therefore, for both of our sakes, I must not allow anything to make the inevitable goodbyes any harder for us.

"You want to get something warm to drink?" Luna asked as we passed by a cafe.

"Sure," I smiled in a complying manner, hoping to be able to fulfill such a trivial wish of hers.

The two of us then entered through the front door of the cafe and was immediately greeted by a blast of warm air. Looking around, I saw that the cafe was pretty packed with plenty of young adults sitting about, either studying for their own finals or simply spending time together. It's something that was to be expected when entering such a fashionable and modern looking cafe whose primary target consumers were young people.

"I'll have a hot chocolate and a cheesecake please," Luna ordered as she handed her menu to the waiter after we were seated in a window booth.

"I'll have a blueberry muffin and coffee," I ordered as well. Then, the waiter walked off with our orders.

"Coffee?" Luna smiled as she rested her face on her hands. "You're oddly mature."

"That's just childish to think anyone who drinks coffee is mature," I jokingly responded.

"I know," she laughed. Then, that laughter turned into a soft smile. "But I'm so glad that you're in a better mood now."

"O-oh," I awkwardly responded.

"You know I was kinda worried back when we were at your house," Luna continued. "And I knew immediately after I said what I had said that you were different. Weird, isn't it? We've only known each other for a short amount of time and yet I felt as if I've known you for a while now."

I smiled as I looked down at the light brown coffee that was placed before me by the waiter and not at the muffin. "I know," I whispered as I gazed at my reflection on the surface of the beverage as the fluid settled. "I feel that too."

"But oddly enough, we don't know each other all that well," she said with a smile on her face.

This statement got me thinking. She's right. I don't know her that well and it might be the same for her as well. I do not know what's her favorite color, favorite genre of music or movies, or any of the other stuff about her. I don't know much about her other than the existence of this disease of hers. We're still basically mere acquaintances to each other and not someone that can be considered a friend. Yet... for some reason, we felt as if we had known the other for quite some time already.

"But I guess it must've worked then," she continued. "If we feel like we've known each other for ages, then that means the memories we shared with each other are extremely memorable."

"Right," I nodded.

"That's good," she smiled. "That means before I die, I'll feel as if I lived for a longer amount of time then I had."

"I don't think that's how it works..." I sighed. "Do you have anything that you want to do before it... you know... ends?"

She closed her eyes as she scoured her brain for her wish list. "There's that one thing that you denied..."

I blushed as I recalled that night, frowning as I looked away as I was ashamed and embarrassed for my own cowardly nature.

"I don't blame you," she laughed and continued as she saw that I was feeling uncomfortable. "Thinking back, I might've been to aggressive and rushed things a bit."

"..."

"As for anything else..." she thought. "Well there's always going to the beach, but the weather's still too early for that." She looked out the window and sighed. "And I don't know if I'll be able to make it until summer. Then I guess maybe just spending time with friends and people that are dear to me?"

"T-that's it?" I asked. "Nothing else that you want to do or experience?"

"I can't just think up those stuff when you tell me to," she complained and pouted her mouth. "I've never really thought too deeply about this kind of stuff before since... life is still life, you know? Even though I know I'll die soon, I want to live life as it is, which is life. I don't need anything to over the top or spectacular. All I need is a calm and relaxing life until the end of it all."

Why is it that you are still able to smile in that dazzling way? I didn't understand that smile she had on her face. It was hard for me to comprehend what was going through her mind since I would never know what it would feel like to be nearing death, but... I smiled in response. Although I felt confused and uncertain inside, I know that I must smile at the moment to let her not worry about me. I've already been too much of a burden already for her, so this is the least I could do.

"So after we eat," I said. "Where do we need to go?"

"We're not going anywhere," she said as she popped a small piece of the cheesecake into her mouth and had a happy countenance because of it. "Buying stuff for the student council's just a lie. I've quit before we even went on the school trip."

"W-what?" I exclaimed, mouth and eyes wide open in surprise from this sudden announcement.

"Like you know," she explained. "It's kinda rude to just die all of a sudden and leave the student council in a mess."

"I guess you're right," I sighed.

"I called you out here just to talk," she continued the explanation. "Just the two of us."

"..." I simply observed her in silence as I listened to what she had to say. It was oddly interesting to me how this girl thought, almost to a mesmerizing degree. She's just so different from me that I felt as if part of her was rubbing off on me and making me more and more like her, although it was only a little bit. Maybe this is the reason why I was attracted to her from the first place. Opposite poles attract after all...