Soul Spark

3 - Crow And Dove

They walked through the street. Kaito never had this type of experience, but he was strangely excited about it, he wanted to know the answers to his questions. And Yume tagged along, looking almost shy, but excited to tell more about herself to Kaito. They talked their way through the streets.

And they ended up at an ice cream booth...

“Let’s take the vanilla one! Please please please pretty please!” Yume pleaded.

“You know you can just...order it, right?” Kaito asked.

“Ah, r-right, sorry.” She quickly recollected herself. “I’ve been here before, I’ve almost always gotten the vanilla one. It’s so good.”

They both got a cone for themselves, and they found a small table at a nearby café to sit down at. Yume was biting on the ice cream with excitement, the brain freeze hit her hard but the flavors struck her tongue with even more power. Kaito slowly nibbled at his own cone.

“So...”

“Ah, right!” Yume said, her excitement slowly morphing into a slight sense of fear. “Well, you see...”

She took a deep breath.

“Well, you might laugh at me for this, but...I wanted inspiration from it for my poems.” Yume finally admitted. “I’m a...poet. Hah, if I can even be called that. I write poems...”

“That sounds...interesting.” Kaito said, almost forgetting about the ice cream altogether. “Do you publish them?”

“I post them here and there, but they almost never get enough attention. And most of the time they fall out of the algorithm because people prefer to read straight up sexual stuff instead...”

“And you got inspired by what I wrote?” Kaito asked. “Can I see them? The poems?”

“Well, they’re not really that good, they’re uhhh...mostly my pastime. I...” Yume laughed it off. “Sorry, we’re here to talk about your writing, not mine. Anyways, uhm...”

“Why are you ashamed?” Kaito asked.

“I’m...” It caught Yume off guard a little.

“It’s what you wrote, right?” Kaito asked. “Shouldn’t you take pride in it?”

“It’s a bit hard to do when there’s nothing to show for it.” Yume said. “I haven’t achieved anything yet, and it seems like everyone is missing the meaning of my poems...and I can’t just make it obvious, you know?”

“Do you think I can understand them?” Kaito asked.

“Well, considering that you wrote what you wrote, I think so...” Yume said with a saddened smile. ”Hah, I just realized...this...this falls in line with it, right?”

“Kind of...” Kaito said.

“I’ll read you something, okay?” Yume said, pretending to search through her phone to read it. In reality, she knew them all by heart. “Just...beware, I’m still an amateur.”

“Ahem....”

“The sky appears so empty, bleak,”

“It makes my heart ache with a smile.”

“I know the stars that make people laugh,”

“The moon won’t tell me where they are.”

Kaito took a while to analyze the poem in his mind, and he didn’t exactly like the conclusion.

“It’s about...sadness, isn’t it?” Kaito asked.

“Huh?” Yume was taken aback a little.

“I’ve been really good at breaking down stories or poems in school. This one feels like it’s about sadness, more specifically, the type of sadness that comes from not being like others, right?” Kaito said. “Hey...Yume?”

Yume started tearing up a little.

“Did I...say something wrong? I’m sorry, I-” Kaito quickly shut himself up. “Is...everything okay?”

“Ah, s-sorry...I must’ve...” Yume found herself at a loss for words. “This is...so embarrassing, isn’t it? Hah...I...”

“These poems mean a lot to you, don’t they?” Kaito asked.

“Why did I ask that? Normally, I would’ve tried to calm her down.”

“Ah, right, because she appreciated my own ideas. It only makes sense that I do the same for her.”

Yume leaned her head on her elbows, trying to wipe her tears from underneath her glasses.

“I like writing poems...” Yume said. “But I rarely, if ever, enjoy it when someone reads them...”

“S-sorry, I-”

“I enjoyed this moment, though.” Yume smiled. “Thank you for understanding me.” ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novelfire(.)net

For the first time in his life, Kaito felt something strange. Somehow, everything around him gained weight, and started looking just a little more colorful.

“Understanding...?”

“I...did that?”

Yume continued enjoying her ice cream, distracted by its complex flavors. In the meantime, Kaito zoned out for a few seconds.

“What is this feeling of...wanting to be told that again?”

He looked at Yume as she finished her cone and slowly looked around, as if waiting for the world’s approval to stand up and leave.

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

“Why do things feel strangely alive now? It’s like...it’s warm.”

“It’s like I’ve been drawn into something.”

“It’s like I’ve been freezing my whole life, and I’ve finally been welcomed into a warm cabin...”

“Hey, Yume...” Kaito slowly spoke up.

“Hm?”

“If you need more inspiration for your poems, then would you like to...spend some time at the park after this?”

“Eh? The park?” Yume asked back, a little surprised and flustered. “Sure, sounds good. Maybe writing something about nature could be fun...”

And the two went along their journey.

They slowly explored the calm yet cheerful and lively terrain of the park. Flowers were blooming, the sun was shining down upon them, caressing them with its warmth and honesty. Children played around, aimlessly running and tagging one another, or comfortably sitting in the grass and either gazing at the puffy clouds or enjoying a basket of homemade sweets.

Kaito and Yume walked along the thinner paths of the park that branched away from the wider ones, they were much more calm and less crowded. They listened to the birds’ chirping and the noises in the background, and most importantly, they listened to the warmth.

“So, did you get anything yet?” Kaito asked.

“Hehe, not exactly. That type of stuff doesn’t just get unlocked because of something. It just...kinda comes to you.” Yume replied. “But the nature here is pretty.”

“It is.” Kaito nodded.

“Do you come here often?” Yume asked.

“Sometimes, but only when I’m by myself.” Kaito replied. “It’s a peaceful place for reading.”

“You like reading?” Yume asked, her curiosity obvious from her expression. It even made her look cuter, at least in Kaito’s eyes. “I guess I should’ve expected it from someone like you, hehe. What type of stuff do you read?”

“I like classical literature a lot.” Kaito said. ”I also like historical writings, autobiographies, that type of stuff. It’s a good way to spend time.”

“You don’t read any romance?”

“Not really.” Kaito replied. “Never found the appeal in that type of stuff.”

“Huh...honestly, good for you.” Yume said. “They say romance books set wrong expectations in people when it comes to relationships...”

“Yeah, I’ve heard that opinion too.”

“Any specific fiction that you like?” Yume asked.

“Some fiction is fine.” Kaito said.

“Any poetry?”

Kaito paused.

“There’s this one poetry author that I follow.” Kaito said. “They write some really neat stuff, and I let them copy my homework.”

“Oh come on!” Yume said, slightly blushing. “I’m...glad you really think that way though. Hey, I also know someone who writes.”

“I have a grueling suspicion that I know that person.” Kaito said. He paused for some more, looking into the fields. Yume noticed it.

“Hm? Did anything catch your attention?”

“Do you think that a grass blade...can understand a flower?” Kaito asked, looking at the patches of grass with lonesome flowers across the path.

“Hm? What kind of question is that?” Yume asked, but seeing Kaito’s concentration, she continued. “Well, it’s a pretty philosophical one.”

“I mean, if you look at this place...” Kaito explained. “Look at the ratio of grass per flower. And look at how flowers differ so much from the rest of the grass. Say, if those two had consciousness and feelings like humans, how would they interact?”

“Well, it’s a bit hard to imagine, but...I get what you’re saying.” Yume said. “They look kinda similar, but they’re different. I think only flowers can really understand other flowers.”

“Right...but what if there’s no flowers close to one?” Kaito asked, fascinated at the sight of nature.

“Well, then it’d be a really sad flower!” Yume said with a smile.

“Yeah...it would.” Kaito slowly said.

“...”

“The flower that blooms with grace...” Yume began.

Kaito attentively turned to look at her. She was admiring the flowers too, and she looked so damn peaceful.

“It asks for its petals to show its way.” Yume continued. “Maybe one day, its colorful soul will meet one like it to show it life’s way.”

“How’d you like it?” Yume curiously asked. “Don’t be too harsh, I just made it up on the spot.”

“It was...” Kaito wanted to answer, but something in Yume captivated him more than her speech. Not her face, not her body, not even the noise in the background. Kaito felt like at that moment, he saw her as a flower.

“Geez, could’ve just told me it wasn’t the best.” Yume pouted a little.

“No, it was...beautiful.” Kaito said, the confusion he couldn’t recognize finally being put to rest by his desire to get his thoughts across. “It was one of the best poems I’ve ever heard.”

“R-really?” Yume asked, surprised. She wasn’t smiling anymore, she was genuinely caught off guard.

“Yeah.” Kaito slowly replied. For an instant, there was nothing between them, they looked at each other as if anything else besides them was a mere void.

“Ah! S-sorry...am I keeping you here for too long?” Yume asked in a light panic as her watch made some noises. “You should probably be at your place, studying...”

“I can study whenever.” Kaito said. “I’d much rather stay here. But if you need to go-”

“I...kind of do. I’m sorry.” Yume said. “But here.” She showed Kaito her phone. “I can message you my poems if you’d want to...it’s up to you, of course...”

“Sure, I will.” Kaito said, still burning from the warmth he wasn’t accustomed to. “Hey, since I helped you come up with stuff, I think we should meet up more often.”

“Sounds like a good idea.” Yume smiled.

“Then, see you.” Kaito waved, slowly walking away.

“See you too!” Yuma waved, faking a smile. Kaito took his leave...

But Yume stayed. She looked at the grass and the flowers again, now with a much more emotionless expression. She took a deep yet slightly shaky breath and slowly walked away.

...

Kaito laid on his bed again.

“What was...that?”

“What was up with me? I was not acting like myself.”

He thought of the poem, the park, but most importantly - the words that she said while enjoying ice cream.

“Thank you for understanding me.”

“Thanking me...” Kaito thought, probably overthinking it, definitely wanting to overthink it. “It means that she doesn’t get understood often.”

“I can see right through it.”

“Like...”

“A flower.”

He took a deep breath.

“Professor Fedor...you weren’t rambling. You weren’t rambling at all.”

He took his phone out after hearing it buzz in his pocket. To his surprise and, strangely enough, to his excitement, it was a message from Yume. It was neatly formatted. Kaito read through it.

“Glancing at the sky as the flowers see their way,”

“I sometimes get jealous of their scent and shades.”

“But the burden a delicate flower bears...”

“Its own brightness will cause it to whither away.”

“Interesting...” Kaito said to himself. “A burden...?”

“Something’s bothering her, isn’t it?”

“What could it be?”

“Maybe...something has happened that I never thought would happen in life.” He thought with a light smile. “She really is similar to me.”

Kaito didn’t start a deep and thoughtful conversation with her about it. He just told her that he thinks it’s a really well-written poem. On the other hand, they ended up talking more about literature, so much more that they didn’t even notice how the moon had already risen...