The Kiss
Today, she had once again seen a post regarding Your Name; it appeared that the novel had ended. But this time there was an interesting detail, a single line accompanying the praise.
'The main characters switch bodies and never meet properly until the end?' Rogue wondered how a romance would work like that. How would they develop feelings without meeting each other? Was it even possible?
'If I switch bodies with someone, would I be able to…' Her eyes glanced at her gloved hands and the fabric that covered her entirely aside from her head.
There was only one way to find out. And she did find out.
Rogue read the novel in one sitting. From the first body switch to Taki struggling to save Mitsuha to them forgetting each other and finally meeting as adults.
The words of the post were true; Taki and Mitsuha didn't have a proper meeting until the end. Even if the world tried to tear them apart, they met again against all odds.
'Lucky them…' Rogue's heart tightened at the 'I Love You' scene; even then she kept reading it over and over, from morning to night like she was in a trance.
It had gotten to the point that Mystique had to kick her door down and drag her out to eat something. But no matter where she went, Rogue's eyes only saw that flickering blue screen and the words on it.
A love that didn't rely on physical touch. Love was much more than that. But love like that wasn't common.
'Is it possible for me?' Rogue found herself back in the room, voices echoing in her head on repeat.
The voices told her it wasn't possible, that she would never be loved, that it was better to just give up. Was that true? Deep down, Rogue herself had believed that to be true.
But what of that ache in her heart? Was it wrong for her to long for love? She couldn't find answers to her questions, but her mind calmed down as that longing became stronger, turning into something overwhelming.
However, when she sat down to reread Your Name, she noticed a new work from the same writer.
5 centimeters per second, two chapters were already uploaded when she wasn't looking. It was hard to know what genre it was with the title alone, but she didn't care much for that.
'If it's anything like the first one…' She clicked on the first chapter on instinct.
Unlike Your Name, this one was more detailed. The opening scene talked about cherry blossoms looking like snow.
"It's how fast cherry blossoms fall, five centimeters per second."
Seeing the title mentioned from the start, Rogue wondered what it looked like. She had never seen cherry blossoms herself. But through the text's detail, she could understand and get a feel for what Cherry blossoms were.
Imagining a wave of pink petals falling like snow, she had to admit that it looked picturesque. She watched Akari and Takaki talk about other things, rain and clouds, and how much they move per second.
It was a quiet moment, with Akari running ahead and Takaki chasing after her.
What followed was also their daily life: small conversations and interactions. There was even a moment when Takaki held Akari's hand as they ran away from the class.
Even as she imagined that, Rogue didn't close her eyes; she didn't feel uncomfortable. Because in the corner of her heart, she knew it well; these two belonged together.
But good things weren't meant to last.
"She's moving away, huh." The world was trying to separate them, this perfect love story, right in front of her eyes.
"Takaki, this is Goodbye, isn't it?"
'Please, say something…' Rogue's grip on the mouse tightened, the fabric of her glove screeching on the grey device.
But there wasn't much twelve-year-olds could do when the world itself conspired against them.
As the chapter ended with Takaki's silence, she leaned back, letting go of the mouse for a moment.
There was a deep urge in her heart to turn the computer off and get back into bed, but Rogue remembered Your Name. That perfect love story that braved everything the world threw at it.
Finally, with a deep breath, she clicked on the next chapter.
The words followed Takaki going through his new term of middle school for half a year, trying to adjust to a world without Akari. Rogue could understand that feeling; it was still in her chest.
Would it really not go well for them? She hoped it worked out; she really did.
Her eyes gained a little light when Akari's letter was mentioned.
And the moment they started to exchange letters, Takaki's world started to gain more color. To him, Akari was the sun he had always followed.
But they were about to drift even further; Takaki was moving to an island off the coast in his third year of middle school. It was much farther than the three-hour distance between them.
Three hours. That was the distance between them at this moment, and it had already done its damage. What would happen if that distance was increased further?
'Of course they can cross that.' Rogue watched as they planned to meet despite how busy they were.
However, the day they had promised to meet started with rain. Even then, Takaki left the house with the letter he personally wanted to give to Akari.
Rogue read about him changing lines, about stations, exits, and changing more lines. At one point she wondered if it had to be this complicated. Couldn't the writer just let these two have their moment?
'Just let him go, please.' The building frustration in her heart almost exploded when the train got delayed because of the snow. The same snow she found charming at the start, because of the cherry blossoms, had now become the target of her anger.
But what did the snow care for her or anyone's feelings?
Before reaching Oyama station, he was hit with several delays. Then he had to wait at Oyama because of more delays. The breaking point came when Takaki lost the letter he had written, with so much effort, for Akari.
Rogue almost turned the computer off, but a deep sigh later, she started scrolling again. As much as reading the loss Takaki felt at the moment pained her, he didn't stop, so she didn't want to stop either.
However, the train stopped en route because of heavy snow. Rogue had to watch Takaki struggle as the meeting time he had agreed on with Akari had long passed. Even then, he didn't turn back.
'Even if there is a little chance that Akari is waiting for him, he'd go there. No matter how futile it looks.' Watching someone resist against the world, something deep in her chest moved as her mind became deathly calm.
When Takaki finally reached Iwafune station, over 4 hours had passed since the agreed meeting time. But he searched the platform under the snowfall, finally finding Akari in the waiting room just past the ticket gate.
'They both stuck it out. They proved their feelings even in the worst of times.' Rogue was grateful she didn't stop, because Takaki and Akari hadn't stopped believing in each other.
The result of that was the beautiful night that followed.
Imagining them crying, Rogue felt her eyes sting hard, but she pushed through and read further. As they shared food and talked about their days, even with everything that had happened, it just reaffirmed how much they should be together.
And as they left the station, stopping by to watch the cherry blossoms Akari had mentioned in her letters, the topic of snow came again. It was the same snow that had become an obstacle in their meeting, almost destroying everything.
But at this moment, under the same snow, the two kissed.
Rogue didn't look away from the words; to her surprise, she was unable to look away in that moment. Her gloved fingers touched the flickering screen, tracing the words in that line, trembling slightly.
Her heart didn't ache; it felt hollowed out.
"Must be nice…" She muttered as tears that she had been holding back all this time finally dripped down her face.
...
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