Yes this is a story for Sumi's birthday! Happy birthday madam! --- CHIAROSCURO CHAPTER I Quite honestly, at this point, she barely put any attention towards even this very event which shook the peace and tranquillity of her small country suburb. It had happened, however, and that was certainly something. But nobody could truly blame her at first for not reacting extravagantly - of course, she barely knew the boy. His death came only as a shock of sympathy for her - the shock of sympathy and sadness all humans have for the death of another, even if not known personally. But, beyond that, it did not affect her too emotionally. She did not know him personally, after all. And indeed, why would she? She was an introverted young lass, most definitely. She was new to this town, despite having lived here for a good year now. Still a newcomer to the nuances and assets. Her shyness and bookishness did not help. A very bright, intelligent girl, but she kept to herself. The manners and kindness of a saint, but she did not let anyone see this. Though indeed, through these layers and bulwarks of multitudinous distance, she held a budding flower of loneliness within the ornate bohemian chambers of her heart. She knew she had little friends here, if at all. The girl was frustrated greatly with this fact, but she tried not to mind it. Even she, this angel of serenity and quiescence, wished for some company. But even then, her distance from her peers kept her from making any direct emotional connections with them. She poured out her emotionally-charged heart straight upon her sleeve in her poetic dramaticisms and beat readings. She cried torrential downpours whenever something bad happened to those which she cared about. Yet through this, to those her age - in her class, in her town - she was as taciturn as a black marble statuette. It was indeed, for this very reason, that this girl, her long and curly auburn hair sailing the harsh breeze, stood for the uncountable time in her usual location of contemplation. She stared at the great empty field - broken up here and there by enormous electrical towers that symbolized the points of civilization in her thoughts - before her through her thick-rimmed glasses, her mind in the midst of a deep ponder. She enjoyed thinking about things. It was to say that her own mind was, and had been, her closest friend for a good while, and this empty field outside her home on the edge of the boondocks provided a vestige of contemplation for herself. Her thoughts were her friends. They had always been and would continue to be. The breeze would always rush by as if an enormous aircraft were by her being, or flying overhead. She was used to it, however. She never minded it. She was not cold. Her long hair would drift in the air as if surfing the levanter. Indeed, this breeze seemed to be the only thing that would calm her and her thoughts. Usually. Sometimes the breeze would be vicious and she would not be able to even stay amongst this blueglass field any further. She thought the day on which this happened was arbitrary. In truth, it was impossible for her to see the proper reason by herself. The sun was high in the sky. It was noon time, and all was silent save for the swift breeze. The young girl sighed and sat herself down upon the soft cushion-like grass. She turned her gaze to the enormous electrical towers off in the distance before her. They were like harsh metal skeletons of cubist trees, imposing and ethereal, grim reminders of the isolation of her country town and the structures that always brought her thoughts back to the ground. Electrical grounding towers, she would muse. She liked them, though. They were stable and always omnipresent - just like the world around her. She bit her lip. Almost like the world around her. These towers did bring forth a memory for her to ponder. The death of the boy. Not that she particularly had any deep-rooted caring, but the circumstances were simply odd. As she shifted her legs into a more comfortable position, her boots moving around the grass, the girl thought of the incident that had happened this morning. Finally, a day where she was awake earlier than usual and would not be late. A day where all of her projects were completed on time, her homework was set, and they would be leaving early. Midway through her morning toast it was that she received a text on her phone from a project partner who had the consideration to tell her that a student had died close to the property and school was cancelled for the day. She had dropped her breakfast in surprise and sympathetic sadness, at first. Later on, the school had called her home. A free day on the one day she was completely and utterly ready. She had found out later that the boy in question, a student in her grade that she barely knew, lost his life the day before, most likely in the midst of the enormous storm that had struck the previous afternoon and all of the damage it caused. What scared her more so, however, was how close the boy had died to her proximity when the girl had been running home before. She had been shaken by both the death and the fact that it happened. But now, she could only contemplate in her usual location. It was fairly peculiar, though. Probably the biggest event that had happened in her country town for a while. It was a true shame that it had to be the death of a youthful young man, however. The girl brought her knees close to her chest and retrieved her phone from her coat pocket. It was a small tablet of an object, simply a fanciful touch-screen which at the moment bore bright and loud letters to signify the time - "12:59 PM". She expected that her mother would be calling her soon. What a punctual lady. She would return straight from work and tell her to get home soon, even more so considering the incident that had happened. The girl let out another sigh as the wind continued to blow her long hair as if a cape before her being. The scene seemed almost magical, but what was instead present was herself deep within the middle of her typical thought processes. What was she to do for the week, then? The school had been shut down for a good seven days. It was a true shame, as well. It was, at least, good however, that she would have time to herself for an entire week. Almost as if she would receive a sort of break or holiday from the stress that bombarded her constantly. Ring. Ring. Ring. The girl, her thoughts shattered and interrupted, picked up her phone and answered the call. "Sumi, are you there, dear?" "Oh, hi there mom. Good to see you're back already." "Yeah, okay. I heard about what happened. Get home right now, please. Lunch is gonna be ready soon anyway and it's already past noon hour." "Right, thanks mom. I'll be there in a jiff." The girl was about to end the call but she was interrupted by her mother saying something else. "And one more thing, sweetie. You've got seven days off, right? I want you to do something instead of just sitting your butt down in front of the computer or in the field some ways from the house. You've gotta start knowing people, right? You can't just live a hermit forever." The girl was silent through this entire ordeal, and instead of replying to her mother's comment, simply cut the line. She raised herself up, the breeze continuing as normal, and turned herself around, her back to her thoughts, her front to the reality of her small country town. Far off in the distance, strides away, were the abandoned train tracks that served as almost a border for her little domain - her own small country of nothing but her ideas she ruled over and the imposing electrical towers - and the inclement yet silent business of her little town. Even further past the train tracks was the small street that bore her home - indeed, this house of hers and her mother was directly on the border of the town. This town, in itself, was almost like an island - surrounded on almost all sides by empty field and connected only to the enormous highways traversing the emptiness of the state through roads in the north. She missed the city so dearly. She ran across the empty field towards the train tracks, the rush of the breeze driving her striding legs further forward and furiously faster. The sun continued to cast forth its bright rays and phalanges across the windy, empty plain, but the first signs of afternoon cloudiness had begun to wake out of their morning hibernations and continue their day in overcast dances. She did not like the afternoon or even evening outside too much - these times seemed to bring out her worry and reality even more, and she was not a fan of it. She stopped at the train tracks, catching her breath. Here, however, she heard a voice call out to her. "Ah! Hey there!" She turned around and saw a boy, sitting on one of the tracks, a sandwich in his hands and a large, silly smile on his face. His bright blue eyes were intently staring at her. She turned around and glanced at him, a bit dumbstruck and nervous to find someone else here. Usually nobody her age wandered around this part of town. In fact, it seemed like she knew this boy from somewhere. Perhaps she had seen him down by the market earlier. "Oh, uh, hello." She said, nervously. "Who- who are you? I've never, uh, seen you 'round these parts." The boy laughed. "Oh! Well, I don't think I need to tell you my name just right now. This is pretty much the first time I've been around here, though. It is really nice. The breeze is a bit too much for me, though. I'm pretty surprised nobody else comes by around these parts, honestly." "Well, it's at the edge of the town, right? I wouldn't think that anyone would like to come to this boring place." "Boring! How can anyone find such beauty boring!" The boy took a bite out of his sandwich. "Not boring enough for me to eat lunch here." The girl smiled. This boy was fun to speak with, something that she had not seen with the other boys in the town whom she was simply nervous over. She seemed more comfortable with him. The boy stood up. "I think it's about time I head off, though. I saw you running like a marathon runner from down further in the field. Are you off somewhere as well?" "Y-yeah," the girl replied. "I have to get home. It isn't that far, though - just down the road there. D-do you live nearby?" The boy placed the last of his sandwich in his mouth, and after a bout of chewing, finally replied. "Uh, sort of, I guess. I mean, I'm from this town - which, haha, I guess should be a given since I'm out here. Hey, my home is down by that way as well - well that is, I need to take this road. Why don't we walk together, then?" "Oh, uh, sure. That's okay." The girl looked down at her shoes in embarrassment. Walking with a random boy. What would her mother say? The boy and the girl walked together towards the girl's home. It was but a very brief walk, and the two were able to exchange brief banter with each other. The girl constantly smiled to herself throughout the entire ordeal. She had not spoken with someone so closely for absolute ages. When they reached the front step of the girl's home, the boy was ready to leave. "Oh, hey! I need to ask you something, though. If that is okay." He asked. "What is it?" "What is your number? We should stay in contact sometime." The girl was surprised. A boy was asking for her number, and on casual terms! This was an absolute first for her. She fumbled with her phone for a quick moment, noting how her contact list was mostly empty save for her mother and a few project partners. She gave the boy her number. "Thanks, uh - what is your name, anyway?" "Oh! S-sorry! My name is Sumi! Are you gonna tell me your name yet?" The boy smiled. "I'll text it to you, along with my number." And with that, he went off the in the opposite direction, towards his home. The girl sat down on her step for a second, glancing between the boy and her phone. She had made a friend. Hopefully. Did she actually make a friend? It almost seemed unreal. In her daze, she heard the sound of a sharp clink on the pavement. Glancing back upwards, the boy had disappeared completely, but what was left was a small object scintillating in the bright sunlight. She leaped off of the step and ran over to the object - a strange necklace of sorts, bearing a solid black stone sphere that was somehow able to reflect the light rather well. She concluded the stone must have fallen out of the boy's pocket when he was walking. Putting it in hers, she decided that the first thing she would do tomorrow would be to give this necklace back to her new friend. Just then, she received the text. It was from the boy, and bore a short statement, simply saying "You know, I love plum sandwiches. I'd be pretty privy to you calling me Plums right now. It's a nickname people give me." The girl smiled.
I already told you what I think of this, but I still think it's extremely lovely and awesome. I love the style in this story. Also, it was so obvious that Plums was the mysterious boy xD. Can't wait to read more What~
oh goodness. you know i adore your writing jkdngslajksg wait chapter one does that imply more?? kaslkdjgas oh shoot. :I well!! anyway this is wonderfully written oh gosh i am in shock haha.
