Seventh Memory: 9/16/13 Content: The glowing forest again, and my kouhai Ryouta, again. This goes just before the previous memory.
He's sitting or settled and speaking softly, agonized. "Hiyoko has been with me ever since we were children. We've been together so long, I just... Somewhere along the line, I started thinking it would stay like that forever. But it won't. It never would. It was all... just my imagination. All of it."
His eyes, dilated to their fullest, glisten with tears. Ah, how brightly his innocence shines to one as worldly and jaded as myself. He probably hasn't even realized that what he's feeling is love. I listen.
"I took it all for granted. I thought it would last forever. But that's not possible. I know Hiyoko better than anyone. I know what she loves, and what she hates. What she's good at, and what she isn't. I know everything about her. But... I don't anymore. Nageki... Nageki knows a Hiyoko that I don't. And not just in this dream. She spends more time in the library every day. If someday I stop being special to her..." His voice splits with emotion. "For that matter, maybe I just thought I was special to her... all this time, to her, I've been nothing but...!"
Something happened here and was not passed on, beyond the thought I have to pick my words carefully.
"What exactly do you mean by 'special'?"
In the pause as I considered, he's had enough time to master his voice again. "Something... irreplaceable? I don't really understand myself. But, at the very least... to me, Hiyoko is Hiyoko. And no one can ever take her place."
"So that's it?" It's a careful balance I have to strike. Can't be too warm, can't be dismissive either. "What were you ever afraid of, then? No one can ever be replaced, Ryouta. You will never stop being 'special' to Hiyoko, in that respect. It's as simple as that." He wavers and I add, "You don't think I'm trying to fool you or anything, are you?"
"That's... true, I guess, but that's not it," he mumbles. "I'm scared that I just won't be with her as much any-"
"Of course not. You can’t stay children forever." This shocks him. I smile, just slightly (not with lips). Cause: The irreplaceablity of a friend.
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Content: The glowing forest again, and my kouhai Ryouta, again. This goes just before the previous memory.
He's sitting or settled and speaking softly, agonized. "Hiyoko has been with me ever since we were children. We've been together so long, I just... Somewhere along the line, I started thinking it would stay like that forever. But it won't. It never would. It was all... just my imagination. All of it."
His eyes, dilated to their fullest, glisten with tears. Ah, how brightly his innocence shines to one as worldly and jaded as myself. He probably hasn't even realized that what he's feeling is love. I listen.
"I took it all for granted. I thought it would last forever. But that's not possible. I know Hiyoko better than anyone. I know what she loves, and what she hates. What she's good at, and what she isn't. I know everything about her. But... I don't anymore. Nageki... Nageki knows a Hiyoko that I don't. And not just in this dream. She spends more time in the library every day. If someday I stop being special to her..." His voice splits with emotion. "For that matter, maybe I just thought I was special to her... all this time, to her, I've been nothing but...!"
Something happened here and was not passed on, beyond the thought I have to pick my words carefully.
"What exactly do you mean by 'special'?"
In the pause as I considered, he's had enough time to master his voice again. "Something... irreplaceable? I don't really understand myself. But, at the very least... to me, Hiyoko is Hiyoko. And no one can ever take her place."
"So that's it?" It's a careful balance I have to strike. Can't be too warm, can't be dismissive either. "What were you ever afraid of, then? No one can ever be replaced, Ryouta. You will never stop being 'special' to Hiyoko, in that respect. It's as simple as that." He wavers and I add, "You don't think I'm trying to fool you or anything, are you?"
"That's... true, I guess, but that's not it," he mumbles. "I'm scared that I just won't be with her as much any-"
"Of course not. You can’t stay children forever." This shocks him. I smile, just slightly (not with lips).
Cause: The irreplaceablity of a friend.