The door closes, bringing the space back.
My heart thumps in my ears.
We’re going out, that’s all that it is. Just two friends going in town to have a good time. Nothing more.
My feet drag me across the floor. Taking me down the stairs. My heart light, fluttering, with the thoughts of what today might bring.
I turn my head, eyes catch the mirror. I look different than I did when I left here. My eyes brighter, more alive. But yet, coming back I didn’t feel that way. I feel died.
Why did I come back? Did I come, just to prove a point? What point was it? I don’t belong here anyways. I’m not needed.
“Yuki?” a voice intrudes my thoughts.
I jump at the name. My eyes tore away from the mirror.
“What are you doing?” Leon asks.
“Nothing,” I smile. “Just looking at myself in the mirror.”
He laughs. “Why? You’re not that pretty to look at.”
My heart falls. “What?” I half cry.
His hand flicks me on the head. “Guys don’t really like girls who think so much of themselves.”
“I don’t care. Who needs guys?” I turn away, fluster about this.
His hand grabs mine, pulling me with him.
“Let’s go.”

Silent. The silence loves greeting us, and it doesn’t love to leave.
I walk beside Leon. My eyes watch the passing ground: brown leaves, a small pebble, dried up gum, another leaf.
I bump into Leon. My foot slips a bit, causing me to become unbalanced. Ground was coming to greet me. It stops. I could feel a hand holding onto my arm.
“Yuki, I know you’re a klutz, but did you just trip over nothing?” he teases.
“Shut up.” I frown.
It’s not like it’s my fault.
He laughs softly to himself. “Hold on to my hand,” he says.
I look at his offered hand, his smiling face.
“Okay,” I softly say.
My hand touches his. His warmth, fills my body.
His hand is soft. My eyes, look at our hands. He, holding tight, making sure not to let it fall out. Yet, light enough not to hurt me.
“Something wrong?” his voice asks.
I blush, looking straightforward again.
“No, nothing,” I answer quickly.
Silence visits us again. This time, I let it stay. It didn’t bother me.

“What should we go do now?” Leon asks, as we sit down on a park bench.
“Well,” I start thinking of what we did. “We already, did everything I planned out…so I guess whatever you want.”
“Why don’t you tell me, what you want to do?” he throws the question back to me.
“Ugh, you know I hate making a decision.”
“I know.”
“Then why do you keep trying in making me make one?”
“Because, it’s your turn to choose, what to do. My treat.”
I look at him. Was he serious?
“Why?” My eyes look at him, trying to figure out what’s he planning. “What’s the catch?”
Leon laughs. “No catch.” He throws his hands in the air. “I just didn’t think it was fair, that we only do what I want.” His face looks serious.
“Oh,” all I manage to say.
“Well?” His head tilts up to the sky, his hands folded together resting between his legs.
“Um,” I didn’t know what to say. “I don’t really care what we do.”
He laughs, turning his face to me. Strands of his hair falls across his face, making him look playful.
“Really?” he asks, running his fingers through his hair pulling them back behind him.
I nod.
“Okay, then.” He stands. “Lets go watch a movie.”
“Movie?” I ask. My brow arch up.
Why a movie?
“Yeah.” His hand moves down to me, waiting for mine to grab a hold of it.
“Okay.” I reach to grab. Allowing him to help me up.
We move through the park, hand in hand.

My eyes move over the posters that hang outside.
Which movie? There’s so many to pick.
I look over to Leon. He is looking at a monster movie.
“Um,” I start but the stop.
He looks at me. “Did, you say something, Yuki?”
I shake my head. “No.”
“Did you pick a movie, yet?” His eyes run over other posters near by.
“No,” I look at the monster poster. I hated monsters. “Did you?”
“Kind of,” he replies.
“What?” My heart falls as I think of watching a monster movie.
“This one.” He points in front of me. “Stardust,” he reads.
“A romantic-comedy?” I ask.
I didn’t know he was a romantic type.
He nods.
We walk over to the counter, and he pays for our tickets.
The pictures on screen, moves pass my eyes. Guy falls in love with girl. Girl denies him, unless he gets her a star. My mind turns off, but my eyes watch.

***
Satoshi? Why aren’t you talking?
My eyes move towards my friend sitting next to me. His eyes watery, staring at his hands.
“Satoshi?” I whisper.
“Yuki,” my Mom’s voice emerges loudly from the driver’s seat. “Don’t talk to Satoshi.”
Why Mom? Why can’t I talk to him?
I look away. My eyes move back outside.
Why? Why so quiet? I fine, Mom.
“Yuki…”my Mom says sweetly, “When we get home, there’s stuff we need to talk about.”
Stuff? What kind f stuff?
I nod. I know she can’t see me, but I nod. Didn’t feel like talking. Not anymore.

We are home. Back to where I had fallen. Back before Mom got mad.
“Come on you two,” Mom orders.
I follow. Not wanting to disobey her. Afraid of getting in trouble.
I step outside. The ground sturdy under my feet. I stand. The wind embraces me, as if it hasn’t seen me in a long time.
“Yuki, come on,” Mom’s voice calls me.
I look at the front door. Satoshi and Mom already there. I nod, and move towards them. My feet take slow steps. I try to move them faster, wanting to feel the ground move under my feet. But they move slowly.
I want to talk. To find out, what’s wrong.
Mom’s face is sad. Fallen. Something, is wrong. Did I do something wrong? Mom?
A silent river of tears falls from my eyes. My vision blurry.
“Yuki?” her voice soft. Caring.
“Hm?” I look up. My arm wipes away the falling tears.
“Is something wrong, sweetie?” she asks.
I shake my head.
No. Nothing is wrong Mom.
I look over to Satoshi.
His head hangs down. His brown hair, covering his face. I can tell what his face looks like.
“I’m sorry,” I say finally.
Mom’s hand touches my head. Her touch warms me up. Tears fall again.
“Its okay, sweetie,” she says lovingly. “It’s okay. We just have to have a talk.”
I nod.
Okay. A talk.

***

People’s head hurry around. In a rush to get somewhere. Where? Did they know where they were going? Did they know it all ends in darkness? Did they?
My eyes move around the area.
Where is Leon?
I sigh.
The sun greets everyone with its blinding rays of light. The roads buzz with cars moving.
I smile.
Life here always seems busy.
“Yuki,” Leon’s voice intrudes my thoughts.
I turn to the area I heard the voice. I break into laughter.
He was a foot or so taller than everyone around him. It’s hard not to see him.
“What?” he questions me.
“Nothing,” I smile brightly. “Just realized, how out of place you look here.”
“Hah.”
I got a thump on the forehead, for saying that. My hands cover the injured spot.
“Hey,” I frown. “That’s not nice.”
“I’m not nice.” He looks away.
You, not nice?
I wanted to tell him otherwise. But he was no longer listening.
“Well,” I say breaking the silence that greeted us momentarily.
“Well, what?”
“What now?” I ask. “Do you want to go home?”
He shakes him head.
“Then what do you want to do?”
He shrugs.
I playfully slap him. “You could at least think of something.”
“Let’s go to the park.”
Park? “Why the park?”
“Yeah.” He looks back at me. His eyes seem sad. They didn’t have emotion in them. Why? “The one you told me about before.”
I nod. I couldn’t say no.
I brush my skirt down, and look at the sky. I haven’t been to the park for years.
“Come on,” I say happily.
He holds out a hand. “I don’t want to lose.”
“Lose me?” I ask confused.
“Yeah, you’re pretty short for a Japanese person,” he laughs.
“Jerk!” I slap his hand away. But he grabs mine.
“Come on, you going to show me it or what?” he smiles.
The emotion in his eyes is back. I smile.
We walk. Silence stays. I allow it. I didn’t to break it.
Hand in hand, we walk. Stores passing us. People turning, looking, wondering. I smile as I turn to Leon. He really was something to see. He was a perfect picture type of guy. He hair short, cut in layers. His sea-green eyes, staring off into space. His height, tall.
My hand is squeezed. He looks at me. I snap my head away. I blush. I had to be blushing. I was just caught staring, gawking at him. He must think I’m strange.
“Um,” I start.
“Hm?”
“Leon, we’re-”
“Yuki?” a voice cuts me off.
I turn. Who is it? Who knows me? Who remembers me?
A guy. Tall, slim. Hair raven black, let loose around his shoulders.
“Yuki,” he says again. “It’s you Yuki?”
“Who are you?” I ask.
He points to himself, his face falls. “It’s me, Yuki. It’s Daisuki.”
Daisuki? Daisuki!
“Yeah,” he smiles. He must know I remember.
“I haven’t seen you in forever!” I squeak.
“Hah! Of course, you moved to America, before I got a chance to say good-bye.”
I look at him. His soft, loving smile. Still the same. Always loving.
“You look good,” he says.
“Thanks.”
My hand hurts. It’s being squeezed. Leon? Is something wrong?
“Who’s your friend?” Leon asks harshly.
“Oh, this is Daisuki,” I say. “We met back in middle school.”
“Yeah,” he laughs. “You were a little fighter back then.”
“I was, wasn’t I,” I giggle. “I haven’t thought that in a long time.”
“Yup,” he pauses, “You were called the palm-top tiger, right?”
“No!” I smile. “I was called the palm-size tiger.”
“Same thing.”
I shake my head.
“Yuki, you were shorter than you are now?” Leon asks.
“Yeah,” Daisuki says to him. “She was like a foot and a half shorter.”
I punch his arm. “Was not.”
He laughs.
I look at Leon. He didn’t seem happy. What’s wrong?
“Leon?” I start.
“I thought you were going to show me that park,” he snaps sharply at me.
I withdrew. Why is he acting like this? Did I do something wrong?
“Yeah.” I turn back to Daisuki, “Nice seeing you again.”
He nods. “We should meet up later, and catch up. Do you live in the same place?”
“Yeah.”
I wave bye, and walk off with Leon. I look up at him. What was he feeling? Was he mad at me? Why is his hand holding mine tightly?
“Leon?” my voice quietly asks.
“Hm?” was my only response.
“You’re hurting my hand…” my voice trails off.
His grip loosens.
The rest of the walk, silence heavy followed us from behind. Making sure we couldn’t talk. Choking us.

“We’re here,” I say finally breaking the silence that surrounds.
The swings ride the soft wind, going: back and forth, back and forth. The grass nicely trimmed, flower petals from the near by sakura trees fell around.
“Pretty,” he dully comments.
“What’s wrong?” I ask sharply.
“Nothing.”
I frown. He wasn’t in a good mood anymore.
I walk towards the swings pouting. I give up. If he wants to be that way then go right ahead. I had it.
I sit. It greets my body with a creak. I push back a little, letting my body swing: back and forth, back and forth, a bit. My hair bounce around my face, giving me a bit of a breeze.
I sigh.
Why did he have to be like that. It’s not fair. I didn’t do anything.
My eyes close.
I’ll try and clear my mind.
I felt my swing get pulled back. I open my eyes, my hands grip on the chains tighter. I was higher.
“Wah!” I cry.
Laughter explodes from behind me.
Leon!
His hands push on my back, making me go higher.
“Stop,” I plea. “Stop it Leon!”
“Why?” he asks.
“Because!”
I come to a halting stop. Leon’s head hangs over mine.
“Thought you wanted to go higher,” he calmly says.
I shake my head.
He smiles. “Sorry.”
I smile. “It’s okay.”
His head comes closer.
“What?” I ask.
“You’re blushing.”
My hands move to my hand. “Shut up.”
Leon grabs my hands, and pulls them away. “It’s cute.”
“Cute?” I ask sounding out ever syllable, like I didn’t know the word.
“Yes, cute.”