Heartstring

The time before the beginning

"Hi Hyasha, long time no see, do you remember the face," I walk continuously towards him with tears in my eyes saying "Zu- Zu- Zuko;" following which I rub my eyes and ask him "Is this real, are you back." hearing my almost crying self Zuko replies "Yes, I'm back;" hearing which I drop my bag and run towards him and as I reach, I hug him so tightly I almost squeezed his life out of him; Zuko is one of my best friends from childhood; he and his family used to live near the school, so I used to go with them to play every day after school; those times are some of my most precious memories we originally met because of our fathers being college friends. After I let go Zuko says "Lets go inside, go pick your bag;" to which I nod and pick my bag. With an uncontrollable smile on my face I walk towards the house; and as I open my door the wiped tears roll down again uncontrollably, as I see Nari; she is Zuko's first cousin and my other best friend from childhood. We all used to go to the same school; her house was right besides Zuko's house both their fathers are brothers and worked in same firm as my father; we all met during a business trip. Up till then I had no friends in school as I used to be engrossed in art and people used to make fun of my hobby; on the business trip I for the first time talked to any of my classmates outside of school; and to my surprise they were the one of the few people who did not make fun of my hobby; all the time I spent in school my hobby was labeled as 'Gross' or 'Stupid' and I was always secluded in group activities; but these two gems were appalled to see my art and even asked to be models in my drawings; which made me happy, but I was scared to talk to them, because I thought this all would end as soon as we start school again; but my worries and insecurities were all gone when both of them reached out to me at school; to do things I had never experienced till now, like group activities and having lunch together. Before I knew it, with passing time we became best friends and every day of school seemed better than ever.

As soon as we enter my room, I ask them to sit on the bed as I pull the chair from my study table; as soon as we sit Hayaka brings in some snacks and drinks for us; and then I kick her out of my room because I had a huge catching up to do; as soon as we finish our snacks, I start the conversation by saying "So.. you guys are back here or what, I couldn't think straight when we were outside;" hearing me, they both look at each other and back at me, then Zuko says, "We are back... We are back to where we belong;" Hearing him say that, I felt like crying again, but I hold back. Further I ask that how did they come back and when did they arrive, to which Nari says "We came here because of our fathers' work;" as they continue to tell me all about how all the parents invested in franchising of some famous food business; and when they were thinking where to open the franchise, they decided this place is the best so when they arrived here a week ago they learnt that there is already one food shop present; after which they gained the joint present here and opened a second one. Listening to which I ask them "What is the name of the shop?;" to which Zuko replies "It is called 'KK FamRes';" hearing him say I in shock say "Wait, the 'KK', Me and my friends love that place;" Hearing me say that with their eyes wide open, both of them stare at me with a slight moment of silence; following which Zuko says "Wait, you really meant it?;" which is followed by Nari who says "You having friends is a big shock to us;" as she giggles; offended by this I say "What is wrong with you guys?;" to which they unanimously say "Sorry;" which is succeeded with a burst of laughter by all of us. After we quiet down a bit I ask them "What school are you guys attending?;" as I finish my question Nari answers "We both are attending Nashikima academy;" hearing her reply bursting with joy, I say "I was scared for a second, that you guys were in a different school;" As I finish Zuko says "Remember middle school?;" to which we talk about the time during middle school. I still remember it as clear as day, I was excited to start every day in middle school, from morning the moment I woke up I was ready to meet Zuko and Nari, as soon I reached school I used to rush to my seat which was behind Zuko and besides Nari; we used to pass notes around during class, go to the cafeteria during lunch, and as soon as school was over, we went to Zuko's house to play. Until the end I enjoyed my time with them; it has been around two-and-a-half years since I last met them; I never forget the final time we spent together; It was just after the mid-exams got over, they informed me that they will soon be moving due to change in their fathers' jobs, they told me that they have exactly one week left; so we clearly made plans for a complete week without leaving any day free. The first day we all decided to watch a whole lot of movies at Nari's house which had a Home theater, where we spent hours together watching and laughing till we fell asleep; which was followed by the second day, when we all went to candy shops and toy shops all around the neighbourhood shopping for things to give each other as birthday gifts because we won't be able to celebrate our birthdays together, after shopping for the whole day we went to our homes because we were tired from roaming around all day; the next day we went to an arcade where we played different games, from crane games to classic video games, we ended our day at the arcade by taking pictures in in the photo booth; next morning we all meet in my backyard where I with my father's help set up the large inflatable pool that was in the storage for the past year, right after they arrive we change into our swimsuits to have a fun time in the pool, after floating around for a while I bring the water guns from the store so that we all could play around, when were tired of the water guns Hayaka who woke from her nap joined us to play; as soon as hayaka came we all started to swim around the pool splashing water over each other, after getting tired we slept on floats inside the pool till night. On the following day we all went to the aquarium that was near the game center we spent a few hours looking around in the aquarium, playing various games and watching a variety of different fishes; after getting bored we spent the rest of our time in the game center, playing in the ball pit, followed by indoor basketball and ending the day with pitching tent. Tired from all these constant activities we decided to do a sleepover at Zuko's house because everybody had gone to check out their new house, we arrived as soon as the day started; first we played video games for hours, followed by cooking our own food, which was certainly difficult because of Zuko, the only one of us who didn't know how to cook which caused him to do many mistakes that is why we spent almost two hours just to cook fried rice, after doing all of this we went outside in the backyard to play tag, when we were tired we all thought of watching movies with popcorn; as soon as we started watching the movie Zuko and Nari passed out and before I knew it I too slept. Next morning I wake up and realize that this will be the last day they get to spend here; I go on thinking what we should do for the last day; after thinking a while I decide to take both of them to the town over because they have never been to a zoo before, after a while Zuko and Nari wake up and we prepare ourselves food; soon after which everyone arrives back to which I see as a chance to ask if they are allowed to go to the next town with me; as soon as I got the parents' permission; we went to the station and waited for the train, after completing our time at the zoo; we came back home and stayed at Zuko's house talking till we slept in the almost empty room; finally we woke up on the last day sat as we watched the whole place get swept clean, soon the time to say our goodbyes came and oh did I cry my heart out; after running out of tears and calming down we exchange the gifts we bought for each other and say goodbye for the last time as they leave I wave.

As we continue to talk in my we hear a knocking near my window; so Zuko gets up to see that is going as soon as he opens the window Mimi jumps into my room crashing into Zuko; as she gets up she looks around the room and comes towards me to ask "Why aren't you coming for dinner, and why aren't you answering the phone?" as soon as she finishes I say "Wait, before that why did you jump into my room suddenly, also I guess my phone is out of battery and can't you see I have people over?" Mimi calms down and looks around and sees Nari sitting on my bed and a knocked out Zuko on the floor after which she greets and apologises to them for the intrusion; she then looks at me and goes "Who are they?" answering her I say "They are my dear childhood friends;" hearing me Mimi says "Oh great let's invite them to dinner too;" After which we move to Mimi's house to have dinner where Hayaka was already seated with Unci and Sho; I look at her and say "If you were here why didn't you come and call us;" hearing me Hayaka replies "Well, I wanted to see how Mimi would react." Following which dinner was served; while eating everyone was properly introduced to each other, after finishing we take our leave; at the front of my house as we are about to say our goodbyes Nari says " Listen Hyasha let's make a plan to meet tomorrow;" hearing to which I reply "Yeah sure I have nothing planned tomorrow; we can go to someplace nice. I will text you tomorrow about it;" after which we finally part.

Next morning it is a Sunday, I wake up at the same time as I do for club activities; but soon after breakfast I go get ready for my day with Zuko and Nari. A few hours later I meet up with Zuko and Nari and we leave to go to karaoke; after finishing our beverages and singing; we leave the karaoke to go visit the nearby mall where both of them look around for school essentials; after completing with the shopping I text in the group where I, Hiro, Kiro and Kamane talk; saying 'Guys I'll meet you at KK;' after a while I see others arriving at KK, with them Saya also tagged along; looking at her I remember the promise to meet her at clubroom today as soon as I realize I rush towards the group and grab Saya to take her farther behind the group to say "I am so very sorry Saya, something came up, and I completely forgot about our promise, I would've texted you, but I got busy and it never came to my mind I promise you I will make up for it; " hearing me say all this Saya says, "Hyasha it is okay, things like this happen to everyone... and umm... I ask you to keep this promise in mind;" listening to that I smile and say "Yeah, for sure;" after I complete my talk with Saya, I return to the group and introduce everyone properly. Three months have passed since Zuko and Nari are well settled into the school, Saya and I have been hanging out more often; and today we all are visiting the summer festival; as I climb up the stairs with Hayaka, I hear the group's voice and as soon as I reach the top I see-