Nagareboshi

Have you ever wondered how shooting stars feel as they burn up after coming in contact with Earth's atmosphere? I know that they don't have literal feelings, but just think about it for a second...

It must really hurt.

It looks like it does.

I bet it feels like getting your heart broken. That long, debilitating pain can be associated to the long journey of the star as it burns. Then when it is reduced to dust, that's the point when you start to pick yourself up again.

Trying your best to get back to the heavens.

Just like my current situation.

I confessed to a girl I like at school and got turned down, quite harshly too. She told me she'd never think twice, it's just a straight no. No explanations whatsoever, just a big no and then she left the classroom. This happened only 2 weeks ago.

So yeah, I'm trying pick myself up as I prepare for school.

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I arrived in front of the school gate. I was met with a pathway adorned with the fallen cherry blossoms, like a pink carpet leading the students to the entrance of the school. The school is just as fancy as the accidental decoration of the pathway. With high quality facilities and great teachers, getting accepted by this school means that you're on your way to become a successful person.

After adoring the sight that's in front of me, I slowly made my way to the shoe lockers. There, I see a girl standing beside my shoe locker. The way she handles herself just screams 'refined'.

"Good Morning, Ryou."

The girl greeted me with a very soothing voice.

"Good Morning, Mayu."

I replied half-heartedly.

"Hmm, what's up? Feeling down?"

She fixed her smooth, black hair into a short ponytail with a black colored ribbon.

I just nodded and reached for my school shoes inside the locker.

"Are you still down because of the rejection?"

"Well, yeah..."

I sighed.

"Well, if there's anything I can do, just talk to me, okay?"

She gave me a gentle pat on the back.

"Yup. Thank you."

I smiled and made my way to my classroom.

Mayu is from a rich family, that's why she handles herself quite differently from the rest of us. To others, she's unapproachable because of the aura she gives off. But if you get past by the intimidating aura she gives off, you'll learn that she's a very approachable person. In fact, she's the first one to talk to me ever since classes started. She even offered to give me a tour around the campus to which I agreed. Since then, we became friends and hang out whenever we get the chance to.

It's been three years since then. She saw me at my worst, I saw her at hers. We've been there for each other in our highs and lows. Too bad she's in the other classroom.

Morning classes passed by without any problems. I spent most of the time just staring outside, looking at the beautiful cherry blossoms. My seat beside the window made me feel really lucky to get it.

The bell rang, telling us it's time for lunch. As I was taking my lunch out from my bag, I felt someone pulling my sleeve.

"Hey, Ryou. Let's eat lunch together."

I find Mayu standing beside me, putting her lunch box close to my face.

"Sure, hold on I'll just get my lunch."

I continue to search for my lunch box in my bag. Not long after, I felt someone's hand on my head.

"Umm, Mayu. What are you doing?"

I finally found the lunch box and pulled it out of my bag.

"I'm trying to fix your hair. It's already gotten this long, and it's all over the place. Just keep your head still and I'll fix it for you."

"A-all, right..."

I can feel the boys inside the classroom stare at me with jealous eyes as Mayu tries to fix my hair.

Please stop staring at me, I can feel it slicing through me.

"There, much better!"

Mayu leaned over my shoulder and put a hand mirror out in front of us. Just the right distance and angle for me to see my hair.

"Oh, thanks!"

"You like it?"

She smiled.

"Yeah!"

"Well then, let's go to the rooftop and eat lunch."

She picked her lunch box up from the table where she put it down before fixing my hair.

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The moment we arrived at the rooftop, we were met with the beautiful rooftop garden our school has. Lots of students go up here to eat lunch and just look at the different flowers around them.

After securing a spot for Mayu and I, we sat on the ground started eating.

"Hey, Ryou. Do you remember the rumor?"

"Rumor?"

"Yeah, the one that involves a shooting star."

"Oh, yeah. That one."

Last month, there's suddenly a rumor going around our city that says ' If you see a shooting star while sitting in a certain park, wait for a week and confess your love to the person you like'. Apparently this results to your love being reciprocated. The first week of the rumor going around, that park was filled with students waiting for a shooting star. Eventually, the numbers decreased as they realized how stupid it is.

But sometimes, that's exactly what a person needs.

Something that gives them courage.

Something to hold on.

I take the last bite and finished my lunch.

"Yeah, what about it?"

I said while packing my lunchbox.

"Well, I passed by the park and saw one a few days ago."

She finished her lunch and started to pack up as well.

"Ooh, are you going to confess to someone now?"

I teased her a little bit.

"Yup."

Her honest answer caught me off guard, I dropped my lunch box.

Mayu looked at me and laughed.

"Did my answer surprised you that much?"

I composed myself and picked up my lunch box.

"It's just…the first time I heard you talk about romance."

"Hey, I'm a girl too and I also fall in love, okay?"

She pouted.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm sorry. I was just caught off guard. Anyway, who's the lucky person?"

"I prefer to stay quiet until I've confessed."

She smiled and stood up.

As if on cue, the wind blew hard and the ribbon holding her ponytail had become undone and got blown away by the wind. Exposing her silky smooth, black hair.

Then the school bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch break.

"Let's go?"

She offered her hand.

"Yup. Let's."

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I spent my time staring outside once more and not paying attention to class. But instead of thinking about the rejection, what Mayu said earlier has piqued my interest more. Because it's the first time I heard about it, or anything even close to it. When talking about our problems, it's almost always me talking about love life and romance. That's why I was surprised to learn that she actually has someone that she likes.

I spent the whole afternoon classes thinking about this, but I couldn't find any answer. With the bell ringing, I also gave up on it.

I'll just wait for her to talk about it.

The students shuffled to leave the room after a presumably very boring afternoon session. I'm not sure, I didn't listen to the lectures.

After packing my textbook and notebook I put up just for decoration, I stood up and looked outside one last time.

The rays of the setting sun is hitting the cherry blossoms, giving it a slightly noticable different hue.

It's beautiful.

After looking at them for a short time, I turn to face the door of the classroom. I see Mayu standing outside. I slowly made my way towards her.

"Want to walk home together?"

She said, the moment I stepped outside of the classroom.

"Yeah, sure."

I replied with a smile.

Obviously, walking with Mayu by your side will attract you a couple of eyes. Actually no, all the male student body will look at you like they're your sworn enemy. But that doesn't matter right now.

We passed by the school gates without anyone trying to kill me, so I guess I survived the day.

"So, what do you want to do?"

She doesn't usually walk home because she always has someone to pick her up. So I figured out that she has something in mind.

"Ah, wow. I got found out quick."

She laughed.

"How long do you think we've been friends?"

"Hmm, I guess going to the mall would be first."

"First? You mean there's more?"

She just smiled in reply.

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We arrived in front of probably the most prestigious mall in the city. Even I have only been here once.

And yes, it's also because of Mayu.

The mall's as popular as ever, with people from other cities going here just to check out the mall and it's surroundings. Yup, this mall is not just popular because of the diverse shops it has, it also has a very aesthetically pleasing plaza in front of it. Complete with a fountain and the benches around it. The kids can be seen playing around the fountain and the parents are just sitting in the benches talking to each other.

"So, what are we going to do in the mall?"

Mayu smiled and said,

"Shopping!"

She grabbed my arm and dragged me inside the mall.

This is only the second time and the way it felt when I was entering the mall, is still the same. It felt like entering a different dimension. One that's filled with a lot of people with welcoming smiles, and to top it all, this mall has different sections in different floors.

This mall is truly heaven for heavy shoppers.

The first thing that met us was a warm smile from one of the clerks near the entrance, greeting us good afternoon.

Mayu looked at her smartphone, presumably to check the time and then looked at me.

"Let's go to the clothing stores!"

I didn't even get to say anything, she just dragged me to the second floor and went inside one of the clothing shops.

There, she released my arm when we got inside and then she drifted off somewhere.

I let out a deep sigh and looked for a seat inside the store.

This always happens when she goes to shop for clothes. Now I just gotta wait for her to finish.

Looking around, this is the first time I've been in this shop. And they have everything that you need. From formal wear to casual wear, both male and female. Everything is here, and it's not just simple clothes, these are all top brands. Hell, there are even clothes here that don't even look like clothes. They're like costumes for cosplay. Well, technically they're still clothes but you know what I mean.

A little while later, I see Mayu approaching me while holding two different outfits. A pink dress on her right hand and a black one on her left.

"Can you hold this?"

She hands me a pink dress.

"I'll go and fit this one, wait here."

She goes to the fitting room.

Uh, there's like the clerk right beside her, why'd she make me hold this one for her?

After a while, the curtains rustled and it slowly opened.

"How does it look?"

Mayu spun slowly.

I held my breath as I try to compose myself in front of her great figure. She looks so elegant in the black dress, I'm literally speechless.

"You look nice!"

I said awkwardly.

"That's it?"

She raised one of her eyebrows.

"Uhh, you…you…Okay, look. I'm just speechless, okay? I don't know what to say. But you really look great in that dress."

Apparently, this comment satisfied her. She's grinning like a little girl.

We spent about an hour in that shop, just looking for stuff Mayu wants. She went in and out of the fitting room like a possessed woman, trying almost everything she set her eyes upon.

And as you may have already guessed, I'm carrying her shopping bags. About 5 shopping bags now, and she shows no signs of stopping.

"Hey, Ryou. Let's go to the third floor."

"Third floor, hmm."

I put my index finger on my chin.

"If I remember correctly that floor has like, hobby shops, right?"

"Yup!"

And so we proceeded to the third floor.

One of the things that people don't know about Mayu is that she actually plays a lot of video games. She goes crazy on their merchandises as well.

We found ourselves inside the most popular shop for gamers, where they have everything from very old consoles to the latest ones. Old games, new games, the merchs, everything here is complete. This shop has everything game related.

Mayu is jumping from shelf to shelf looking at figurines of her favorite JRPG characters.

"Look! Look! They have Terra from FFVI!"

Her eyes are sparkling, filled with happiness as she goes around the Terra Figurine inside the glass case.

"You really love Terra, don't you?"

"Of course! Her story's just captivating! First, she searched for herself, who she truly is, and then after that she..."

She stopped talking and looked at me.

I shot her a confused look because of her sudden stop, but she just smiled and started talking about something else.

Terra's story from FF6 involves a lot of introspection. I'm not really sure as to why Mayu is strongly attached to Terra.

After a couple of rounds looking around the shop to…you know, not regret any purchase you'd make by checking everything out the shop has to offer, Mayu bought the Terra figure that she admires so much.

"Ah, finally! I've been looking for this one for soooo long."

Mayu hugged the figurine she just bought.

"Glad you found it."

I smiled.

"Mhmm!"

She nodded cheerfully.

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After walking around the mall aimlessly, we went out and decided to go home.

Mayu called her driver over to pick her up, so I'm left alone walking home.

What's really puzzling me right now is her interest in someone. Hmm, just who is this lucky person?

On my way home, I passed by the famous park where countless of hopeless romantics thought that seeing a shooting star will fulfill their dreams.

Huh, I'm a bit tired. I guess I can just sit in here for a bit.

I walked towards the nearest bench and sat down, looking up at the great city view and also the night sky.

Clearly insane.

As I utter these words to myself, a thin line of light ran across the night sky.

"Uhh, you're kidding, right?"

Suddenly, I heard a feminine voice behind me.

"I don't think so."

I turn to where the voice originated and found a tall, beautiful woman wearing jeans and a pink t-shirt. She has a mature aura so I figured that she might be older than me.

"Uhh."

I'm at a loss for words.

"Ah, don't mind me."

She moved and sat beside me.

"Who are you?"

I asked her as I give her some space in the bench.

"Yuuki."

"Ah…"

Well, this is awkward.

"You?"

"Ah, I'm Ryou."

"So, Ryou. You heard about the rumors, right?"

I'm guessing it's about the shooting star thing.

"Yeah, what's with it?"

"Apparently, it's true."

"Huh. So you mean I should just go ahead and confess after a week?"

"No."

"Uhh. I believe I'm lost."

"The rumor isn't just about confessing. That's where they get it wrong."

I scratch my head trying to figure out what she's saying.

"But isn't that what the rumor is about in the first place?"

She looked at me with serious eyes.

"Nope, Ryou. It's lost in translation."

"Lost in translation?"

"It actually means that 'someone' will confess to you. Not you confessing to someone else."

"Huh?"

I tilted my head to the side and gave her a confused stare.

"Yup. That's what the rumor originally was."

"So you mean, someone will confess to me?"

She just nodded her head in response.

"That's weird. How did the others misinterpret it that way?"

"Someone did it. Confessing to someone after seeing the shooting star actually gives the opposite effect."

"So you mean they'd get rejected?"

"Yup. You just have to wait, and not take the initiative."

If what she's saying is true, then Mayu's confession will just be shut down. I need to do something. I don't want to see her get hurt. But just to be sure...

"Are you really positive about this?"

"Yup."

"Just how positive?"

"101%"

"That's an overstatement."

"Actually, an understatement."

"You're THAT sure about it?"

She nods and stood up.

"Yup, anyways, I already spent too much time outside, I'm going home now. See you around, Ryou."

"Ah, but I have more questions!"

I rushed outside of the small park.

She turned towards me one last time.

"Also, Ryou. It's WITHIN the week not AFTER a week."

Then she continued on her way.

What a mysterious girl…

Ah, crap. That's not the first thing I should worry about. How should I save Mayu's confession? I didn't know that rumor was actually wrong!

I sat down and covered my face with my hands in an effort to make myself focus more to the problem at hand.

Then it hit me.

If I confess at that day and I get rejected, she would be too tired to confess to the guy he likes. This can save her confession, and probably the best case scenario would be her crush confessing to her the same day but after I get rejected.

Seeing as this is the only way to save her confession, I called her phone.

"Mayu? Are you busy?"

"Nope. What's up?"

I stopped for a while because another idea popped into my head. What if I just told her about the real rumor?

But it didn't take long for me to realize that it would probably be dangerous to do that. The rumor actually having different interpretations would mean that there would be something bad happening if I told her the rumor. I don't have a lot of information and it's too risky to gamble right now.

I'm doing it the way I know how. The safest way.

"Uhh, Ryou?"

She called my name for a second time.

"Ah, sorry. I just wanted to ask when did you see that shooting star?"

"Hmm…About 6 days ago? Tomorrow would be the 7th day."

Well, isn't that perfect.

"So you're confessing tomorrow?"

"Yeah!"

"Alright, good luck!"

Then I dropped the call.

Crap, she seemed really excited and looking forward to it.

I'm really sorry, Mayu. But I'm going to butcher your confession tomorrow.

I'm really sorry.

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Before the sun even rose up, my eyes were already opened. I got a goodnight's sleep last night to prepare myself for this day.

Prepare to crush myself for the second time, and also crush Mayu's confession.

Damn, it's like suicide.

But not really dying.

I sat up and prepared for school.

I need to be early to prepare myself. Even if the confession would be after classes!

And so, I did just that. I was one of the first people to arrive at the school. I sat down on my chair and concentrated.

Breath in, breath out. It's a big day.

I know I'm doing this for her but I just got my heart broken and now I'm pretty sure it's going to happen for the second time. Ah, this will hurt real bad.

I can guarantee you that.

I sat there for hours until the bell rang.

School started.

Of course, I didn't pay attention again. I had other things troubling me. I waited, waited, and waited until lunch break came.

Hearing the bell that signalled the start of the lunch break, I hurriedly grabbed my lunchbox from my bag and rushed out of the room to find Mayu.

I went straight to her classroom to check if she was there, but I couldn't see her.

I asked one of her classmates (girl of course. The men would just ignore me.) if they saw her.

"Mayu? She rushed out of the room as soon as the lunch bell rang."

Oh, crap.

"Thank you!"

I dashed out to the entrance and head to the most popular confession spot in school.

The tree in the middle of the school garden.

I arrived in front of the garden, gasping for air.

And when I laid my eyes at the big tree in the middle of the garden, I saw her.

Standing in front of the tree and looking at it.

I rushed over there. This had to be the only chance. I know it's now what I entirely planned but I don't really care about it now. I know that if I missed this chance, Mayu will end up hurt by the end of the day.

It's better if I'm the one who gets hurt.

I'd do that for her.

Even if it's the last one I'd do for her.

I arrived in front of the tree and behind Mayu.

"Mayu!"

I called her, still breathing rapidly.

She turned around.

"Ryou?! Why are you here?"

She looks surprised.

Of course she would, I mean, I'm not even the person she's expecting.

"Look, Mayu. I know today is a big day for you, but please hear me out on this thing."

It's time.

As I opened my mouth to tell her what I wanted to say, words just stopped coming out.

It made me think of what I just said to myself earlier.

I'd do that for her. Even if it's the last one I'd do for her.

Even if it's the last one I'd do for her?

That sounds like…self sacrifice.

And self sacrifice is a form of love.

Hold on, do I actually love her?

I asked this to myself, but deep inside, I know the true answer.

Yes, I do.

With the clouds of doubt cleared from my mind, I started to speak again.

At this point, I don't really care if I get rejected. I needed to tell her how I truly felt.

The objective has changed.

I looked into her hazel colored eyes.

"Mayu, I know you're not going to believe this and you'll just tell me that I'm getting ahead of myself-"

"Hold on, Ryou."

She cut me.

She let out a deep sigh as if preparing herself.

"Continue."

I sighed deep as well.

I can't back down now.

"Look, Mayu. I love you."

As I uttered these words, tears rolled down Mayu's cheeks.

"Ryou?"

She took a step forward, closing the gap between us.

"Ryou, you know, you're unfair."

"Unfair?"

"Yes. Very unfair."

I'm puzzled.

"Why am I unfair? I'm confused."

"I went here to prepare myself for later. I was losing hope. I didn't know how to approach the situation. I didn't know how to actually confess my feelings to someone."

She paused for a bit to wipe her tears.

"I told myself, 'you can do it!' repeatedly to convince myself to do it. All that work, just to confess my feelings."

She took another step forward, she's now right in front of me.

"All of that for nothing."

I raised my eyebrow, still confused.

"For nothing?"

"Yup."

She raised her hands towards me and held my hand.

"Because you did all the work for me."

Then she smiled.

Probably the brightest smile I ever saw.

It's a genuine smile.

But not just a smile.

It's from the one I love.

I broke free from her hold and hugged her as tight as I could.

"Mayu, I love you, I really do."

"I love you too, Ryou."

After a while, I pushed her body away gently.

I looked into her beautiful eyes once more.

"The rumors… they were wrong."

"The one regarding the shooting star?"

I nodded my head.

"The real rumor says that within the week, the person you love will confess to you. The current one that's circulating where you are the one who'd confess to the person you love would actually produce the opposite effect."

I paused for a while.

"The original objective of this confession was to just stop you from confessing to the guy you like so he'd be the one confessing to you. But in the middle of my confession, I realized just how important you are to me. Just how I didn't want to lose you, and what I'd do for you."

She wrapped her arms around me.

"And look where we are now. I guess you fulfilled my star unknowingly."

She smiled at me.

"And you fulfilled mine as well."