The sound of light footsteps gently moved through the hall as Mei found herself, once again, making her way through the passage to the terrace. As the familiar ebony doors came into view at the end of the hallway she hesitated; unsure of whether to continue. What are you waiting for Mei? She asked herself. That guy I saw here yesterday… I know that he said those flowers belonged to him, but that doesn’t mean he would be here every day right? If he really has been coming here every day security should have noticed by now.
Reassured, Mei gripped the handle as before, gently nudging the door open. A familiar yet completely unfamiliar scene greeted Mei as she looked out. The familiar marble terrace greeted her as it did yesterday, however today it seemed to have donned a brilliant cloak of gold, bathed in the colors of the setting sun. Mei looked up at the vast golden-yellow sky highlighted with occasional streaks of red, pink and purple. Was it really possible that this was the same sky that turned black at nightfall and blue in the morning?
“You’re here earlier than yesterday.” A familiar voice called out from beside her. Turning towards the sound Mei found herself facing the same boy she had met yesterday busily tying what appeared to be some sort of wire around several small vines. Her eyes travelled along the wall, marvelling at the splendor of the roses, before returning to watch the boy. She remained frozen in place as he completed his task, turned around and faced her directly.
“Not the talkative type are you?” He asked casually, his curious blue eyes studying her face as she stared evenly back. After a moment he seemed to reach a decision, sighed and averted his gaze. “OI COMMONER! What are you doing gawking there? Say something! Do something! Just don’t go running away like you did yesterday. I’m not an ogre you know!” He hollered suddenly, looking back at Mei hoping to find a reaction.
Mei started suddenly at his sudden outburst but otherwise made no other movements. Wh-what’s with this person? She wondered startled. Before she could open her mouth to respond she watched as the boy suddenly burst into laughter.
“Wh-what’s with that reaction? That’s the best you can do? Or are you already astounded by my brilliance?” Striding over to the nearby bench as Mei pondered his last comment, the boy took a seat and motioned for her to do the same.
At a loss of what to do next, Mei complied but chose to remain standing. After a brief moment the boy rose to join her. Now that they were standing next to each other, Mei noticed that the he was only slightly taller than she was and, assumedly, around the same age.
“So…” the boy looked at her uncertainly before answering in a sudden outburst again. “ARGH! I’m not good with being sensitive about my way of speaking and all. I’m Takaaki. You can just call me Aki for short.” He waited again for a response.
Mei simply stared at him. Takaaki? That’s certainly a Japanese name. She realized, her own lavender eyes scanning over his gentle blue eyes and silver-blonde hair. Judging from his preference for conversing in English and his British accent, she wondered how the boy in front of her could possibly be Japanese. Then it dawned on her. It’s because I don’t look like I’m Japanese either.
“Mei.” Aki blinked as he realized she had just spoken.
“I’m sorry, wh-”
“Mei. I’m Mei Yamauchi.” She replied evenly in English. Now it was his turn to look at her in surprise.
“Yamauchi… but then you’re Japanese?” He asked her uncertainly.
“Three-quarters Japanese.” Mei said with a shrug. “My mom is half French. I take after her.”
“Interesting.” Aki said for a lack of other words. “I guess that makes you similar to me. My mother is British while my father is Japanese.”
“uchi… Miss Ya…?” “Yamauchi-sama!” “MEI!!”
A panicked look spread across Mei’s face as she heard the sounds of people calling her from through the open windows and, of course, the door in which she had come from. Oh no. If they find us here not only will I be in big trouble, but he might be too! She realized. She glanced back at Aki to find him staring back with an unreadable expression.
“I absolutely must leave now… goodbye.” Deciding that she had no time left to question him, Mei gave him a stiff bow and turned to leave.
“W-wait!” Aki called, snapping out of his daze as she reached the door. Mei turned back to glance at him. His eyes were hesitant. “Will we meet again?”
“I’ll try.” Mei replied softly, flitting through the doorway as swiftly and stealthily as she could.
- – -
Aki = a kid with uncontrolled mood swings. I didn’t want it to be like that, but apparently that’s how it turned out. I really hope it will become clearer later… this entry took me over 4 hours to write so I can’t exactly scrap it and start over…
Filed under: Tale in the Moonlight Tagged: | Aki, Mei, Story, Writing
