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THE 1998 REPORTS have occupied your work table, even messier by then, as you tried gathering your old newspapers and those ones pinned on your board. You had gone awake, wide-eyed, merely accompanied by the warm light from the little flickers of your desk lamp and the voice on the radio to mess your mind even more that it already was.
You had recently found an article published on the date December 17, pasted on the side of it was a picture of a young man named Rin A-kio. Knowing there was a ninety-five percent chance it could be him, you asked. "You are Rin A-kio, aren't you?" you looked straight at the cassette player, holding the article in your hand.
RADIO: "I was Rin A-kio."
You glimpsed back at the document just to see the picture of him again, but in all of a sudden, the image appeared to be erased. It was gone, like an undeveloped polaroid film lingering in the hand of a failed photographer.
RADIO: "Don't try to find me. I'm already here and I can tell you so much than what the newspapers can."
You glanced back at the radio, "Then tell me about yourself."
RADIO: "Rin A-kio, born on September 18, 1974 in the town of Ben San Alley, Illurealm," he paused for a while, "died at the age of 24 in the morning of December 17̷̧̺̘̙̐̀̀̆̓͗̕ͅ. I was once a young man filled to the brim with hopes and dreams. You know I was once, I was once there; but now I'm gone and I have accepted that a long time ago—the world is still as beautiful as it is even without me in it."
Your heart sank.
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⟲ BEN SAN ALLEY, 1991
"Holy sh–" he flinched and cursed, never really expecting to see someone else sitting on the roof of the house next to them. He had been so used to being alone so much at that place, because who in their right minds would stay late at night to risk their lives just to stare at the moon?
"What the f—" she'd flinched and cursed too, perhaps they were both too mesmerized by the beauty of the moon that they were late to notice each other's presence. Fate had decided to let them stumble across each other on a Wednesday night upon their house roofs; the perfect spot where they can gaze at the moon as it soars in the night sky staring back at them.
"Hehehe," the boy smiled sheepishly. "Hi there neighbour, Kio here."
She amusedly grinned at cooed at him, "Hello to you too, Kio." She hugged her knees and took a sip from her coffee as she watched the tinge of pink stain his face. "Aww, you're so cute, I would've pinched your flubby-dubby cheeks by now if only my arms could reach you," she even made grabby hands at him, completely thinking that the boy was only 12 years old with his baby face and perhaps the absence of light. She had to guess once, but she guessed stupidly.
A-kio reminded her so much of her late little brother, and looking at him made her heart ache once more, knowing that her baby brother could have been so much more. "How old are you?" she asked.
"I-I'm seventeen," he rubbed his nape and answered in a shy voice.
"Oh my god!" she exclaimed and snorted before almost falling down from the roof, trying to keep her shit cool. "I thought you were just–"
"13 or something?" the boy chuckled and moved to the side to fully face her. Now that she can completely see Kio's features, she finally noticed that he was really just the same age as hers. She just hoped that the ground—or whatever entity was there in proximity—would just show up and swallow her whole.
"I-it must've been the absence of light. Ugh, this is so embarrassing." She cleared her throat and mentally cursed herself a couple of times before continuing on rambling, "I should've just let myself fall off the roof," her cheeks blushed furiously as she put her empty cup down.
"No, it's okay. I get that a lot, most of the time so..." he puffed out a breath and fiddled with his fingers, "may I know your name?" He knew that line hadn't come out as smoothly as he had planned, but too bad, he'd already vomited it.
Her brows raised, "Oh, yeah sure — my name's Michiko." She smiled again, "And you're Kio, right?"
"Yup, that's me."
"What's a boy like you doing here at this time?" she asked.
"I don't know actually. Just admiring the night sky, I guess?" He pressed his lips into a thin line and looked above. "How about you? What's a girl like you doing here at this time?"
Her cheeky smile slowly went down, "I'm here to keep myself sane. The moon calms me down," her reply had him concerned and thinking. "Are you in some kind of trouble?" he asked and she let out a little chuckle before answering.
"No. I am the trouble."
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"Yan Michiko. She was the most beautiful trouble I had ever seen, then I knew I had to have her or I'd die a bachelor."
