09-27-2007, 04:43 AM
I wrote this back in 10th grade for a Practical And Creative Writing assignment (yes, that was the title of the class). It was supposed to be a short story, but it's not all that short^^;;
Gomen nasai if it's too long, please bear with me >3>
I was being rushed to finish it, but I was all "It can't end that quickly!!", so it kinda drug on...
Anyway, I hope you like it! <3
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Hearts Of The Same Star
In a small, present-day Japanese town known as the Village of the Stars, people live normal lives. All children and teens share one school, Kibo Academy. Open-air markets line the main street, and Japanese houses line the minor roads. Tsukiko Ayaki, a 17 year old petite and shy girl, walks herself to school everyday. And that day was no different. At least not yet.
Once arriving at school, Tsukiko said hello to her friends before going to class. The day went on normally, and the dismissal bell finally rang at 3:15. For Tsukiko, the walk home was no different than the walk to school. But on that day, there was to be something unexpected. While passing the park, she couldn’t help but notice a group of guys standing by the swings talking. She had seen these boys at school, in the same small group. But for some reason, one of them caught her eye, a boy named Kyohei Takami. According to Chihiro, head of the school newspaper and Tsukiko’s best friend, he was an 18 year old that was taking college prep classes, had an outstanding GPA, and was surprisingly single. Tsukiko didn’t understand why, that day, he made her bright purple eyes sparkle, or why her heart fluttered. When he noticed her, he smiled, which made her turn and hurry past the park to her house. She ran in the door and sat down against it, letting out a sigh. “Tsukiko, is that you?” Her mom’s voice rang from the kitchen. Tsukiko stood up and took her shoes off. “Yeah mom, I’m home,” she replied. “I’m making dinner. You should go take a bath in the meantime,” her mother insisted. “Alright,” Tsukiko grabbed the phone and went to her room. After getting her stuff and filling the tub with hot, bubbly water, she lightly stepped into the tub and got comfortable.
Her eyes were only closed momentarily while she let out a sigh. Tsukiko then grabbed the phone she had brought with her and dialed Chihiro’s number. “Hey, this is Chihiro, may I ask who’s calling?,” her voice echoed through the phone. “Its me, Tsukiko,” Tsukiko’s soft voice replied. “Oh, hey Tsuki-chan, what’s up?” “Nothin’. Hey, what do you know about Kyohei Takami?” “Kyo-kun? Well, he’s at Kibo Academy for college prep, his GPA is 4.0, he’s crushed on by almost every girl in the upper grades, he has his own place on Hirono Street, and his personality is unmatched by any guy in the school. Is there a reason you wanna know?” “Uh, no, just curious,” Tsukiko started to blush. “Ah-hah, you have a crush on him, don’t you?” “N-no!” “You want me to find out more ‘bouts him? I can find out if he likes you without invading his privacy!” “No! Don’t do anything! I was just curious.” Tsukiko knew the tone Chihiro had very well. She knew that when Chihiro got excited about something, she would do whatever it took to get info. “Uggh,” Chihiro gave up, “Fine, keep your secret. My mom just yelled at me for talking too much. I guess I’ll talk to ya later. Bye.” “Bye,” Tsukiko turned off the phone. “It was just a meaningless smile,” she thought to herself as she sunk down into the water and blew bubbles on the surface.
After draining the tub, Tsukiko was in her room with a towel wrapped around her when her mom called, “Tsukiko, come here for a minute.” “Coming,” Tsukiko replied as she tightened the towel. She walked out of her room and down the hall. “What is it mo--,” she paused after turning the corner. Directly in front of her stood Kyohei. She blinked and stood frozen as her drenched black hair dripped down her back, causing chills. A scream was stuck in her throat. She only got a little, high pitched squeak out. “Um, you dropped these,” he held out a pair of glasses. She looked at the glasses and thought, “How did I drop ‘em? I could’ve sworn I left them on my dresser.” “Uh, thank you,” she took the glasses. “Don’t worry about it. See ya ‘round school,” he waved as he walked out the door. “You should be more careful,” her mother said as Tsukiko was walking back to her room. But the thought of him seeing her in a towel wouldn’t leave her mind. Once she got to her room, she just fell on her bed face up. “Uggh, why did it hafta be him?,” she thought, “If it was someone else, I woulda screamed, grabbed the glasses, and ran back here. Why did I freeze?” After putting her pajamas on and eating dinner, Tsukiko went to bed with the thought still on her mind.
The next day, after arriving at school, Tsukiko told Chihiro what happened. “No way,” Chihiro’s response was just as Tsukiko expected, “In a towel?!” “Yup,” Tsukiko said. “Okay, if he acts normal after that, like nothin’ happened, he likes you,” Chihiro explained. “What? How do you figure?” “Well, its Kyohei. With any other guy the image would be burned into their memory.” Tsukiko blushes, and Chihiro continued, “With Kyohei, it wouldn’t matter if you were in a bikini, he’d talk to you like normal.” “Let’s say, hypothetically speaking of course, I liked him. How would I know if he didn’t like me?” “Well, I know you like him now, ‘cause you pulled out that hypothapica… or whatever it is. Anyways, if he didn’t like you, he woulda never brought you your glasses.” “I guess you’re right,” Tsukiko admitted. “Ah-ha, so you do like him!” “Maybe a little……only a smudge……I guess he’s okay…………alright, I’m totally crushing!” “Yes! And Chiro-chan is right again!” Chihiro often spoke of herself in third-person, and used her common nickname. “You wont tell anyone, will you?,” Tsukiko asked. “Come on, Tsuki-chan. I may love to dig up info, but I don’t spill it.” “I wasn’t actually worried,” Tsukiko smiled.
On the way home, Tsukiko passed the park, expecting and hoping to see Kyohei and the other guys. But no-one was there. “Hey, Tsukiko,” she suddenly heard her name from behind her. She turned around to see Kyohei running up. “Oh, hi Takami,” he had stopped in front of her and let out a big breath. “No need to be formal,” he smiled, “Just call me Kyohei.” “Um, okay. Did you need something, Kyo-kun?” “Uh, I was just wondering……would you like to go stargazing Saturday? A group of people from school are going. I just thought you’d like it. I’m surprised Chiro-chan hasn’t told you, she’s probably going to. If you’re busy its okay. I just though…” Tsukiko smiled, “I’d love to.” “Okay, I’ll come get you at eight. We’ll meet the others at the big hill.” “See you then,” Tsukiko smiled as she started walking toward her house. Once she got home, she ran to her room. “Hi mom, I’m home,” she said as she passed the kitchen. She dropped her bag on her bed and grabbed the phone. She dialed Chihiro’s number, and Chihiro answered, “Hey, Chihiro here.” “Chiro-chan, its me,” Tsukiko responded. “Oh, Tsuki-chan, I was just about to call you.” “Really? Why?” “Me and some other people are going stargazing Saturday night.” “I know, Kyohei just invited me on the way home.” “Oh my God….” Chihiro paused. Tsukiko was worried, “What is it?” “He likes you! Its so obvious! All right, Chiro-chan scores another one!” “You really think so?” “No, I’m bluffing. Of course I do. No wait. I don’t think so, I know so. Have I ever been wrong about things like this?” “Not that I remember.” “And how long have we known each other?” “Let’s see……I was three when you gave me a cookie ‘cause I didn’t have a lunch, so………its been 14 years.” “Ha ha, yeah I remember. You tried to say you already ate it, but I knew better. Okay, you want me to come over Saturday and help you pick what to wear?” “I’m sure I can manage. Well, I’ll talk to you later.” “Bye,” Chihiro hung up. Tsukiko flopped onto her bed and hugged her pillow, “If he does like me, the next two months will be the best.” Tsukiko was referring to her last two months on Earth. She had an abnormal disease that was incurable. Her doctor told her she only had two months to live. Instead of being depressed, she decided to live happily like nothing was wrong. The last thing she wanted was for people to start feeling sorry for her or have sympathy, so only her mother and doctor knew.
The following day, Friday, was just a normal day. But when Tsukiko woke up on Saturday, she put on a pink kimono. She planned to spend the day shopping for a new kimono to wear to the stargazing event. Once she had her sandals on, she took her matching handbag and left to the open markets. She stopped at a stand that sold kimonos, hair clips and combs, and sandals. While paying for a kimono and a few clips, Tsukiko heard a familiar voice. She looked to her right and saw Kyohei a few stands down. He looked up and noticed Tsukiko. “Hey, Tsuki-chan,” he walked up to her. “Hello Kyo-kun. What’re you doing here?,” she asked. “Just doin’ a bit of shoppin’. What about you?” “I thought I’d get a couple new kimonos.” She could feel her heart beating, “Uh……I gotta…..um, go. Nice talking to you,” she took off. “Nice talking to you…too, I guess,” Kyohei was puzzled. Tsukiko stood under a big cherry blossom tree with her bag, “That was close. What’s wrong with me? Come on, Tsuki-chan. Get it together.” She kept repeating that line in her head, then bought a few more kimonos and went home. She had four hours until Kyohei would show up, so she decided to spend that time picking a kimono and fixing her hair.
Tsukiko’s doorbell rang and she looked at the clock. It was 7:58. “Nice timing,” she smiled. Her mom answered the door, “Oh, hello.” “Hi Ayaki-san. Um, Tsukiko and I were going to go stargazing with some friends, and I just came to….” Tsukiko’s mom stopped him, “Its okay, Tsuki-chan already told me.” “Oh, okay.” Just then, Tsukiko came down the hallway in a black kimono with small pink flowers and small green leaves on it, and a matching obi. Her hair was pulled back on the sides with pink and green clips. Kyohei stood there for a moment. Tsukiko walked up to him. “You look nice,” he managed to say. “Thank you,” she smiled in return. “Are you ready?” “Yeah,” he turned to Tsukiko’s mom, “I’ll have her home before too late.” “I’m not worried,” she waved them off, “Have fun.” The whole walk to the big hill was silent, except for a few small-talk questions. When they got up the hill, Tsukiko sat next to Chihiro and Kyohei sat between Tsukiko and one of his friends. “You should sit closer to him,” Chihiro whispered, trying to convince Tsukiko. She could tell that Tsukiko wasn’t going to take her advice, so she slightly nudged her toward Kyohei. Tsukiko’s fingers lightly brushed Kyohei’s and she blushed. Noticing Tsukiko, Kyohei took hold of her hand, causing her to blush more. Everyone was oblivious to what was happening, except Chihiro, because they were trying to make out constellations.
At about 11:00, people started walking home and Kyohei took Tsukiko home. “Um, I was wondering, would you like to hang out Monday after school?,” Kyohei asked when they got to Tsukiko’s front door. “Sure,” she smiled. “Okay. Well, good night.” “Good night. Make it home safely.” Kyohei waved good-bye and Tsukiko went to her room. Her mom was already asleep. She put her pajamas on and went to bed, quickly falling asleep.
After Monday, Tsukiko and Kyohei hanging out was a normal thing. And they were both used to Chihiro’s little “get them together” tricks. One day, during the last week of Tsukiko’s two months, Kyohei was at her house so they could study together. Tsukiko had gone to use the bathroom, and Kyohei was looking at her history notes. Suddenly he came across a page that had “Last Will and Testament”, in Tsukiko’s handwriting, written at the top. “I’m back,” Tsukiko said as she entered the room, “Uh, is something wrong?” Kyohei turned toward her with the notebook in his hand, “What’s this?” “It’s a will,” Tsukiko explained the obvious. “I can tell that much. What I want to know is why a 17 year old optimistic girl is writing her last will and testament.” She sighed and sat on her bed, “I’m sick.” So, you can get better like everyone else does, right?” “No,” she shook her head, “it’s a disease, incurable. According to the best doctor in the town, this is my last week alive.” Kyohei sat in shock, then said, “Why didn’t you tell me?” “I didn’t think you needed to know.” “What kind of excuse is that?! I’m your friend, aren’t I?!” “Of course! Why are you making such a big deal?!” “Because I love you!” Tsukiko’s cheeks got blood red. Kyohei walked up to her, placed a finger under her chin, and lifted her head. “I love you, Tsukiko Ayaki,” he said again. Tsukiko’s eyes started to water and she smiled, “I love you too.” They shared a gentle kiss. Kyohei went to the living room to get some tissues. When he returned, Tsukiko was laying on the bed. “Hey, you can take a nap if you want, but you should wipe your tears first,” he told her. “Tsukiko. Tsuki-chan? Hey, wake up,” he tried to wake Tsukiko, but she wouldn’t open her eyes. He checked her pulse, but he couldn’t feel any sort of rhythm. He grabbed the phone and dialed the number of the ER. When a woman answered the phone, he knew exactly what to say, “I have a 17 year old girl that passed out and has no pulse. I need an ambulance quickly to 173 Kokoro Street.” The woman said an ambulance was on the way and not to panic. When the ambulance arrived, Kyohei sat next to Tsukiko’s still body on the way to the hospital, and didn’t leave her room once they got there. “Do you know of her disease?,” the doctor asked Kyohei, who nodded. “Seems today will be her last,” he continued, “She should come to in about an hour.” “Thank you,” Kyohei said, and the doctor nodded and left the room. Kyohei sat next to her bed for what seemed to be forever, then Tsukiko opened her eyes and whispered, “Kyo-kun…” He opened his resting eyes and said, “Don’t strain yourself too hard by talking.” “Don’t worry. I couldn’t think of any other person I’d rather spend my last day with.” Kyohei then laid down facing her in the hospital bed. “I was really lucky to meet you. And even luckier to be loved by you.” “But I’m leaving you,” she said sadly. “No,” he disagreed, “You’re just going to wait for me in a better place. Just relax.” She smiled, and closed her eyes for the last time. Kyohei smiled back and closed his eyes, also for the last time.
A few hours later, two doctors were talking. “It seems the young man had an unknown illness that not even he knew about,” one said. “At least they died happily together,” the other responded. One large funeral was held about a week later for both of them, and it seemed every student in the upper-grades was there. Especially Chihiro.
Owari (end)
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