TEARS

first TEARS

 “Akira. There’s a person out there, “ I whispered, excitement ruffling my brow.

“What?! That’s crazy! What are they doing out there?”

“I don’t know, but I’m totally not losing to them.”

Without even another word, I let go of Akira’s hand, as if I was letting go of my past and charged in ahead of the rain. Hearing the faint callings of Akira, which I completely dismissed, I simply ran to the darkness-encroached human-shaped cloud. I knew that it would take him a few minutes to steel himself, in order to come after me, and I wanted to see what this new world was, completely ridden with clouds. And who this person was who stole the idea from me.

The air stung against my skin, and it was bitterly sweet as the cold draft got drastically, sickeningly through every part of my body, as if there wasn’t a space that could be sparred.

I drug my freezing body through the drenching rain, a permanent and determined smile etched across my face. The clouds above me whispered their destruction serenade and I danced to the beat with the sound of my high tops hitting the pavement. There was only the wind, only the clouds, only the heart beat which was ringing in my ears as my hair plastered a definitely muffler of sound around them. And there was only that dark shape which was slowly forming in front of me.

As it got closer, I felt the space move and then slowly, as I tracked it with my eyes, I realized. It was coming towards me. With my heart ramming inside my practically invisible clothes, I reached out my hands, as if gesturing the opening of something broken and healed at the same time. With utter confusion, I felt the beginning of tears well up inside of me and finally, my hands reached something soft and warm, comfortable. And yet, my momentum utterly overpowered me and I crashed into the body.

For moments, while still attached to the unknown body, laying on the wet and freezing pavement, I let out a laugh which was drowned out by the echoing thunder. And yet, laughter is for the self just as much as for others.

Laying in true chaos, I finally looked up at who I had just attacked. And yet, his face was anything but formed through the darkness, and yet, had a definitive look of just a cloudy mass. With a huge grin on my face, I felt the tears let loose. And within seconds, I could feel the uncertain boy, reach around me and pull me closer to him.

Every fiber of my opposing mind and judgment was denied in that moment.

“Why are you crying?” my crazy new stranger with the face of a cloud asked in my ear. Of course, in that given situation, that should probably be the furthest question to be asked, and yet, for some reason, it seemed like he already understood the answer.

“Because, aren’t clouds just the best? They seem to be the only thing that make me so crazy-happy, crazy-sad, crazy, in general.” I whispered as I watched the wind crash about me.

“Then, shall I be your cloud?” he asked. It was an absolutely insane question, from an utter stranger with an uncertain face. And yet, shockingly cold, embraced by a moist and airy sky, slightly feverish from the sudden exertion, I had lost most of my inhibitions.

“Sounds like fun,” I muttered, slowly sinking in a dizzying world.

“I will leave some day, you know. Not because I want to, not because you’ll have had enough of me, but because it must be done.” His voice was just like the wind, hard to hear unless you truly focused on it, and yet, blisteringly apparent if do.

“All clouds go away eventually,” I announced, feeling the tears and rain quickly filter together, as if they were the same thing all along.

“Well, then… I shall be yours, and you shall be mine.” And just as simple as that, he bent over and licked the rain-tears from my check, sending another shock to my system, which seemed to suddenly wake me up from my stupor.

“Wait, what?” With my brain back into full-inhibited phase, as the rain started to slowly diminish and the clouds started to break up, the cloud boy’s face fell into focus.

“Oh. Wait. You’re…? I’m…” As I tried to detached myself from his embrace, much against my own aggravation, my shoe caught in between in knee, and with a spiraling decent, I twisted around, trying to brace myself, and yet, with painful irony, I simply fell right back into his outstretched arms, as if he was waiting for the moment to hold me again.

“Your first tears,” he announced, making his debut with labels, his face a mere centimeters away from mine, which caused all functioning ability to cease within that moment. And at that moment, Akira finally decided he was a man.