[Scene 1: Days of Silence]
After the quarrel, Aya and Ryu did not talk to each other. In class, Aya kept smiling in front of everyone, but inside her heart there was an emptiness. Ryu sat on his seat and kept looking outside the window.
Meko asked Aya many times:
"Are you really this much worried about him?"
Aya gave a faint smile, but there was a burden in her heart.
"Yes… because I have seen in his eyes what no one else has seen."
[Scene 2: Loneliness in the Library]
One day after school Aya went to the library. The room was almost empty. Suddenly she heard a voice—Ryu's. He was sitting in a corner talking to someone on the phone.
"No… I am fine. You don't need to worry for me."
His tone was harsh, but the voice was breaking.
"I cannot come back home. This is my decision… that's all."
Aya was startled. She did not want to know, but her ears were forced to listen.
Ryu hung up the phone, and bowed his head on the table. At the sound of Aya's footsteps, he was startled and immediately sat straight.
"You… since when have you been standing here?"
Aya got nervous:
"Sorry… I did not mean to listen."
Ryu took a deep breath and looked away.
"Well, now that you already know… then listen."
[Scene 3: Bitterness of the Past]
Ryu slowly began to speak.
"My mother left us many years ago. My father was always busy. I became alone… and to hide that emptiness, I chose anger."
He paused, then gave a faint smile, but in his eyes sorrow was hidden.
"In the previous school everyone considered me a delinquent, because I did not want to go near anyone. Actually… I was afraid that if I trusted someone, they too would leave me."
No words came to Aya's lips. She just silently kept looking at him.
Ryu said softly:
"That's why I also told you that your smile is false. Because I did the same within myself… I always kept a false face in front of people."
[Scene 4: Aya's Answer]
Moisture came in Aya's eyes. She gathered courage and said:
"Ryu… maybe you hid your smile, but I did not. Yes, I stay happy for others, but that does not mean everything is false."
She stepped one step closer.
"And if you think everyone will leave you… then remember, I will not leave you."
For a moment surprise flickered in Ryu's eyes. He looked away toward the window, but on his lips there was a silent smile of gratitude.
[Scene 5: Foundation of a New Bond]
That evening Aya and Ryu left the library together for the first time. A light breeze was blowing in the corridor, and the school was almost deserted.
Aya thought in her heart:
"Ryu's past is painful, but inside him a beautiful heart is hidden. And maybe… maybe I am the one who can break his loneliness."
Ryu looked toward the sky and thought in his heart:
"I wish Kawashima… you keep your word. Because if you truly do not leave me… then maybe for the first time I can trust someone."
📖 End of Chapter 6.