When the rain has stopped
You must be waiting there, under the rainbow
All the stories I couldn't say, all the secrets I couldn't reveal
I want to tell them all today.
You must be waiting there, under the rainbow
All the stories I couldn't say, all the secrets I couldn't reveal
I want to tell them all today.
-
This one-shot is inspired by "U R", a solo track by Taeyeon.
It's an absurd, strange short story.
I don't think I ever wrote anything like this before so I hope you enjoy this simple piece of words arrangement.
The description above is inspired by the lyrics of "U R".
It's an absurd, strange short story.
I don't think I ever wrote anything like this before so I hope you enjoy this simple piece of words arrangement.
The description above is inspired by the lyrics of "U R".
__________
It's midnight.
She was playing piano.
He was looking at her.
No other sound was heard but the ticking clock and the piano. The beautiful melodies echoed through the night as if only two of them and the music existed in the world.
Then she finished her song.
He unconsciously brought his hands to give an applause, appreciating the play. She turned around to see the guest who had been silent since she touched the instrument.
He couldn't read her expression. She looked like she's surprised to see an uninvited guest at the middle of the night yet he got an impression that she had been waiting for him.
The latter sounded impossible.
"Do you like it?" she asked, smiling warmly to him. It's pretty much a rhetorical question.
"Yeah," he responded shortly, locking his gaze with hers. "It's midnight though. How could you enter this music room?"
His blunt words didn't make her feel offended. A sad smile was formed on her face, "I have my way. Anyway, say, do you know me?"
He blinked, confused. Should he know her? Because he didn't remember her at all. He shook his head slowly, still trying to dig his memories in case they actually had met before.
She let out a small chuckle, breaking their eye contact, "Of course you don't. Of course. I don't know you either, do I?"
It's so strange for her to ask that kind of question but, for an unknown reason, he didn't really mind.
Everything just felt right.
• • •
"They said there's a ghost here."
Her fingers stopped mid-air and the room was silent. She glanced at him but said nothing and neither did he. He continued again.
"They said a student jumped from the cliff. That cliff," he pointed at the closed window in the room. "It's dark right now, but there's a cliff over there."
She didn't show any interest about it.
"It's beautiful there," he continued. "I went there once before the sun set, after the rain stopped. I took a picture of rainbow."
Still nothing from her.
"Do you want to go there some other time?" he asked.
The question caught her off guard. She pressed random keys, producing unidentified music with only one finger, "No."
It felt like he had picked a wrong question but he was curious, "Why?"
She rested her fingers on the keys, finally had the urge to continue the first topic instead, "Did they tell you why the student jumped?"
"No," he shook his head, dropping his gaze. He stared at his left palm as if there's something interesting. "I didn't ask."
Seconds passed as she kept looking at him, waiting for another word to be spoken. He tilted his head slightly, still avoiding her gaze.
"I heard some people whispering when I talked to you at the corridor," he mumbled, feeling uneasy to talk about it. "They said it's strange. Why is that person talking to empty air? They whispered."
Horror was shown on her face. She stood up quickly and he finally looked up to see her. She took a step backward. She bit her bottom lip, clenching her fists.
He knew he shouldn't talk about it.
"Play it again," he requested. "The piano. Everyone can hear it for sure."
• • •
"Do you like rain?"
They were in the music room again, just like where he saw her playing the piano twelve nights ago.
It's raining outside. The room was a little bit colder than usual but they looked comfortable in their clothes. They looked outside through the wet window.
"I like rainbow," she answered, propping her chin on palm. A smile decorated her face, "Don't you?"
He walked to the window, drawing a curve with his finger on the foggy window. He murmured, "Do you think it will rain again tomorrow?"
"Maybe. Why?"
He returned his gaze to her, grinning, "Let's see the rainbow together."
"From here?" she looked confused but, a second later, her eyes widened as she could guess the answer already. "No..."
"Let's go to the cliff."
• • •
It rained again.
When the sun was going to set down, the rain almost stopped.
He walked to the door and opened it. Turning on his heels, he waited for her but she was still hesitating. He didn't ask why and she didn't tell him why.
"Do I really need to go there with you?" her eyes fell on the floor. "It could rain again..."
As the answer, he stepped out, letting the raindrops to fell on his hair. He smiled widely, "But there will be a rainbow that you like."
"That we like," she corrected his statement.
He just stood there, waiting for her to take a step closer to him. She finally did.
One step. Two steps. Three steps.
By each step she took forward, he took a step backward. When her feet had touched the ground, he turned around and walked on a few paces before he stopped again. She still followed him with small steps.
The strong wind was blowing. She was pushed by the wind, losing her balance. She was thinking to give up and returned.
He reached out his hand for her to take. She looked at him, unable to hide her emotion. It's obvious that she didn't want to continue but, when he nodded at her, she took his hand.
He embraced her hand gently, leading her towards the cliff where they could hear the sea already.
The rain had stopped. The gentle breeze blew over the cliff-top. The sun was going to set down.
She carefully took more steps forward, not letting go of his hand. She was near to the edge of the cliff.
He was the one who let go of their intertwining hands first. She gazed at the beautiful view in awe.
"Hey," he called her.
She turned around to see him. He made a rectangle with the thumbs and index fingers. It's as if he's holding a camera, having her in the frame.
"Perfect," he whispered, smiling from ear to ear. "There's you and there's a rainbow."
She gritted her teeth, knowing that she's on the verge of tears already. They're only standing metres away but it felt like thousand of miles already for her.
"I don't want to say goodbye," her lips trembled. A tear had rolled down on her cheek. "We're here already. Again."
He lowered his hands, standing still. The smile didn't disappear, "Then it will be me who is going to say goodbye."
"It's here," he took a deep breath with closed eyes. "The peacefulness of the world. The seven rays are dying the world more beautifully. You're here. I remember. It's complete."
She cried, "I'm sorry. I... I really am..."
"Don't," he heaved a sigh calmly. "It had been a long journey. We finally met. Why would you apologize?"
"Because I wasn't there to stop you."
"Because you're not meant to stop me," he reasoned. "You asked to see me, you let me remember what I had forgotten, and you're here until my end. You're meant to save me and you did it already. "
Still she cried so hard. "Will we meet again when there's a rainbow?"
"We will," his eyes were so gentle. "Always. Like what we always did. Under the rainbow."
She was not ready for the farewell. She would never be ready for another goodbye. There's nothing good in a goodbye for her even if she could hear him saying it this time.
Both of them knew it's the final one.
After all it's been a year. It's exactly one year today.
Tomorrow all the talk about the wandering spirit would stop. Tomorrow she would hope for another day that could never come.
"Goodbye."
He closed his eyes.
She closed her eyes.
• • •
It's just one second.
She opened her eyes.
The sun had set. The wind was blowing in silence. The rainbow was still there. The words were gone. The wave hit the cliff gently.
Only tears were still flowing.
There's nobody there but her.
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