𝐌𝐈𝐃𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐑𝐔𝐄𝐒 - 𝐒. 𝐊𝐈𝐓𝐀

𝐎𝐍𝐄

ONE
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      In the middle of the time where the Sun had sunken down as the Earth revolves, the Moon rises up along with its dark hues bleeding onto the sky. Sayo Kai would find herself resting on the wooden chair, with its cold surface touching her skin clad in thin fabric when first sitting down along with the cold fragile bottle clutched between her palms.

The clouds that flew above and within the Earth's atmosphere held an empire of vibrating air molecules that formed into one whole space that wasn't entirely empty – dense, as its waters weighed down over time before its liquids would flow up again.

It was a never-ending cycle that Sayo would always witness, from the moment that she could see then down to the moment that she was able to hold memories that were confined inside the small space of her mind. Each of these holding a certain flame that sparked the muscle caged within her fragile bones, burning its insides and gnawed each time her mind reminisced about all those times.

And her heart would ache while the sky would cry along with her.

Sayo could feel each of its exhausted whispers that were conveyed through its harsh winds, warning each oblivious being that it wanted to stop. That maybe at one point, it could pause itself and release the heavy weight caged within its body, then not having to receive more once again right after.

Sayo took a sip – the strong liquid trickling down the tissues of her numbing throat – maybe it would happen one day, but that day wasn't the present.

-o-

Friendships weren't something that Sayo was able to maintain, and the sole reason for it was because she could never seem to find herself giving a hundred percent for someone who she was sure would only give her half. It was a peculiar exchange between two people, with one holding a full glass, while the other only held half.

One of them would be left satisfied, and the other would be left thirsting for more water. Because maybe – just maybe, if they decided not to give their everything, then they would have had enough for themselves as well. They wouldn't have been left suffering.

      But humans live to please others whilst already knowing that in the end, they would end up with nothing but a cracked heart that had dried up from the constant giving towards others. Heart turning hollow with its insides inverting to become its exteriors to wistfully present that it had nothing left to give.

      It gave life to everyone; and everyone but itself.

      Sayo had this peculiar habit of capturing every single moment that caught her eye, into a single image automatically morphing into an art coming from her chipped plastic phone. Its lenses' quality was quite horrifying with how grainy the images always turned out, but it was not like she could afford a proper camera when her small family of two barely even had the money to purchase one.

      Seeing the image inside the small square gadget between her palms was already enough to relieve her from the prodding feeling that poked against her heart. Capturing how the Sun would rise and set was enough to become a breath of fresh air that freed her from the suffocation of responsibilities – responsibilities that tied her down but she had no choice but hold on to.

      "Sayo-chan, it's your turn to clean the classroom for today."

      One of her female classmates approached her seat while Sayo only gave her short nod before looking down at her phone once again. It had been the fifth time this week that she had been asked to clean, and though she minded, she didn't want to cause any misunderstandings between her and her peers.

      "Ah, yeah." Sayo muttered.

      "Great! Well, get to it then when you're done using your phone." Her classmate chirped, and who she wasn't sure of what her name was—maybe it was Gian? Rian?

      "Okay, Rian-san."

      "It's Gian, Sayo-chan." Her classmate interjected quickly, and Sayo didn't miss the slight pull in her high-pitched voice that let her know that she was already quite annoyed at her mistake.

      Whoops.

      Sayo once again looked up from her phone shortly, giving her classmate who was smiling down at her with her eyes twitching slightly, a blank look. Sayo held back a chuckle at how funny the expression was on her classmate's face at the moment, before she turned her head to look at Gian's group of friends who watched the scene with faux-concern over their friend.

      "Ah sorry, Gian-san." Sayo corrected herself, emphasizing her name with a bored tone.

      Gian huffed lightly, turning around to head towards her group of friends that were chatting idly amongst each other, and no doubt, whispering about the previous scene that they had just witnessed.

      Sayo only allowed the corners of her lips to quirk up at the instant form of mini entertainment that clouded her other thoughts for a moment, and for that, she was thankful for Gian's funny expression and words. She let out a sigh; it lasted for a moment, but the silence that came after the chatter was rather unbearable.

      By the time the last few students had left the classroom, Sayo stood up from her seat then began wiping the chalk board with an eraser, its white dusts falling onto the wood that were meant for holding the chalks' remains. She placed the eraser back down over the wood and went over to the back of the classroom to pick up the broom, then began sweeping the floors faster.

      She heaved a sigh; she needed to get home already.

      The weather was fairly warm today with the month of June being known for its days being filled with the Sun shining against the concretes, affecting the liquids and the air (though only slightly) each year. And Sayo loved the way the warm light embraced her skin compared to the cold hands that she would silently hold at home.

      Sayo sighed once she was finished with sweeping then immediately turned to aligning the chairs properly, though along the way as she walked towards the first row of chairs, she glanced up to see a figure slowly walk past their classroom's door that was left opened.

      Faint brown eyes were able to capture her dark ones; with theirs holding a guarded look that masked their emotions while Sayo's pupils dilated unnoticeably. For a few moments, she felt her heart steady and slowdown from its usual rapid pumps that caused her to go out of breath.

      Warm air escaped her lips when she experiences the rare feeling that comforted her. It only lasted for a moment, but it felt like a lifetime when she felt all of the weight on her shoulders completely disappear. It was almost like the sudden short encounter with this human being, brought her a blessing that informed her that it was going to be alright.

      That she could let go of these unnecessary thoughts that were the ones pulling her down.
Sayo blinked before shaking her head, catching a glimpse of light-grey strands that turned to black on its tips, disappearing across the hall.

      Sayo raised her brow; what the hell was that?

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