69. Walking with the Moon

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With a companion, everything about the School Festival changed. What I had perceived to be a poorly constructed tent that students sold food items from no longer appeared shabby, and instead, I started being able to perceive the effort that was put into them. It was odd how one's perspective can be altered that much by simply having a companion.   

Walking with Luna, I noticed that she always had a content smile on her face, one that expressed a sense of joy for life. Although it wasn't particularly dazzling like that of Irina's, Luna's smile was quite comforting to see. It was at that moment that I sensed that she was like the polar opposite of me. Unlike me, she was like the bright side of the moon, always shining in the light with great confidence in her own abilities. Her clear amber eyes were never obscured by any sense of impurities, and seemed to always peer into the positive aspects of life. She seemed to be always able to see the light, whereas I lived in the darkness.

Every motion of hers were imbued with great authority and confidence, and was made with great fluidity and vitality. Even then, she was blessed with the gift of gentleness that I was only able to notice after standing a short distance behind her and observing her interactions with others. She always spoke in a caring manner, and numerous times her facial expression softened when approached by admirers.

"Is something the matter?" she asked after noticing me staring in her direction as we walked down the hallway of the lecture building that was filled with streams of guests and students calling for customers to visit their classrooms. All in all, there was a great sense of vitality in the youthful feeling that was able to be sensed.

"Nothing," I calmly responded. "It's just that you're not like how I had imagined you to be."

"Really?" she chuckled. "What's my image in your imaginations?"

"Someone who's extremely demanding, tough-minded, and very confident in oneself," I said.

"Is that so?" she laughed. Her laughter was imbued with such great amount of emotion and melted my heart upon hearing it. It seemed to have the ability to lower one's guard, which it did for me. "I must've had a bad first impression on you."

She continued laughing, probably mocking herself for the failure at creating a positive first impression. I didn't mind listening or even watching her laugh and smile. It was quite calming, and oddly enough, it made my mind quite peaceful and filled with joy. Her laughter stopped shortly after, and for a second there, I felt as if I had saw a look of grave sadness and melancholy on her face as she frowned.

"I'm not as strong as you might've imagined," she whispered, and immediately, as if it was a mere illusion, that frown of melancholy vanished, allowing for that confident smile to return.

"Huh?" I was shocked by that sudden change in her countenance, irritated by that brief display of sadness in her. It pulled at my heart, making me feel quite uneasy. My bland facial expression slowly steered towards one of sadness as I was still haunted by that brief image of melancholy she had displayed. The world around me seemed to have silenced itself or my brain had chose to filter out the noise of life from all around and became extremely bland in color. The bright colors of the decorations no longer appealed to me, and everything appeared to be the same shade of black.

"What's that sad look for?" she smiled. "Are you sad that I wasn't the kind of person you've imagined?"

Her simple words and smile brought me back to this world of color, dragging me out of that dark abyss of despair that I, too, was slowly slipping into. It was strange how much power she had over my soul, but... it wasn't a bad feeling.

"Maybe," I whispered and smiled. I was surprised at what I had chosen to say to her for it seemed to disobey my character.

"That's mean," she chuckled as we continued our walk down the hallway.

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