Drawn to Her
by Manille
I’ve waited for weeks for this exact date. And thankfully, it seems as if I came just in time. Crappy as it may sound, it’s the loveliest day of the year. The loveliest day of the year in the loveliest spot in the city.
"It really is beautiful."
Thankfully, my companion agrees with me. Of course she should. She’s the reason why I came here in the first place, right?
Well, just as spring arrived this year, I had marked off my calendar for the time when the cherry trees would be in full bloom. And here they are, heavily laden, bursting with pink blossoms, the petals being carried away by the fresh morning breeze. As my eyes follow these petals floating on air, sometimes twirling around, as if dancing, I see her again.
The cherry blossoms seem to revolve around her as the wind blows her long coffee-brown locks away from her face. She is smiling; her cheeks are even flushed in a pink hue I love so much. She actually looks like a princess. A fairy. An angel.
It reminds me of why we are here in the first place.
She starts walking towards the pond in front of us. The water is crystal-clear, with sunlight pouring on it, making the water scintillate like a thousand diamonds strewn all over the water. I hear her giggle softly, at something I still can’t understand what.
She just finds the simplest things in the world amusing. And I find that amusing.
Funny, isn’t it?
I look above me. Cottony altocumulus clouds dot the jade-colored sky, while an occasional flock of birds darts through. Look like they have come back when they’ve realized that winter is over in this part of the planet. I inhale deeply, savoring the sweet spring scent hanging in the air, obviously brought about by the cherry blossoms.
Lovely.
We are now sauntering on a grassy slope on the bank of the pond. Behind the pond are more trees, more cherry blossoms, more grasses. And further beyond is the rest of the city.
Another gust of wind carries her hair near my face. And again, my attention is drawn from nature to just one part of it.
The most breathtaking part I know.
Yes, the easy, complacent feeling one gets every time spring approaches blends easily with this girl beside me. For she gives me that kind of feeling too. Even if it’s paired with a painful pleasure inside my chest, I feel some kind of serenity inside. Even if it’s just a simple gesture like a smile, or a look in the eyes—or even just the mere presence of her, or even just the thought of her.
Like nature before me, the sight of her washes me off my feet. The light in her sepia-tinted eyes reminds me of the stars in a cloudless evening. Her gracious smile that brightens up her face is like the sun sending forth warmth all over the earth. Her touch is like the soft breeze caressing me softly, sending chills of pleasure all through me.
I stop when I see her turn to face me. I blink; I must have turned pinkish. She just caught me staring at her back. Me! And I don’t blush!
She gazes at me searchingly. "What?"
"What?" I ask back, shrugging and chuckling softly at myself.
She rolls her eyes and smiles back. "Can we sit down for a moment?"
I glance at the ground. We are surrounded by flowers—pink, red and purple, bursting with life. I look up at her again. "Why not?"
Her smile widens as she flops between the flowers. She is surrounded by them. She looks even more radiant with them.
Not that she’s fragile, like the flowers. Well, in a way, she is.
She’s just a mixture of contradictory characters rolled into one. Smart yet guileless, strong-willed yet soft.
But she’s what she is.
And that’s enough.
We are bathed in a comfortable silence, occasionally broken by the rustle of leaves and the hum of the birds. As I lie down on the grass and stare at the sky, I ponder at what I really want to say. There are so many words to say, so many things to tell her. But there are times when there are too much that you cannot bring out everything.
I look at her again. She is now facing me.
"What?" I ask, cocking an eyebrow.
"What?" she asks back.
It’s my turn to roll my eyes. What, what. Our conversations today always start with them, I notice.
I suddenly become aware of her innocent, curious gaze on me.
I stare back at her. Our eyes meet—light brown on dark brown. And I stare at her eyes long. So long that my heart feels as if it is forcing its way out of my chest; so long that I find myself trying to gasp for air.
Sometimes, there is no need for words. All I have to do is look at her. And then she looks back, saying that she understands.
So what am I talking about? I’m not the guy who likes to talk about these things—even in detail. I can get disgustingly soppy, yeah. I admit that. I cry openly.
Sometimes, I even hate to think about it.
But can I help it? No.
You see, that’s what Keiko does to me. This girl who always makes me pissed off when someone tries to make her cry. And when I am the one who makes her cry, it doesn’t only scare the hell out of me. It kills me.
Why? Because it’s she whom I trust, whom I pour out my feelings to, whom I….
Care for. Whom I love.
I am mushy, huh?
With a grunt, I sit up. I stare at her more. Then out of nowhere, I get this impulse—I suddenly embrace her.
I feel her stiffen against my body, but soon after, she leans her head comfortably on my chest. Her long, soft brown hair smells of flowers—if it’s shampoo or the flowers around us, I don’t really know.
"What is it now, Yusuke?" she murmurs, a bit sarcastically, but gentle all the same, with her voice muffled against the fabric of my shirt.
I sigh. "I don’t know," I tell her truthfully. "I just thought you’d want it."
"Oh." She snorts, pulling herself away from me. "Well…okay, sure…maybe I do." She giggles, throwing a purple bloom at me. "Since when did you get the guts to hold me like that?"
There she goes again, with that sarcastic humor she loves to throw at me. But you know what? Over the years-long acquaintance with her, I have practically gotten used to it. For me, it’s just an integral part of this girl being Yukimura Keiko.
Or maybe it’s just that everything about her never ceases to amaze me.
I wrinkle my nose at her. "Well, it’s since I found you looking like a little girl around a bunch of flowers…I couldn’t resist." I grin, though I know it isn’t the usual cocky grin I give to everyone…including her, sometimes. But my smile today must be something that only she can make me put out, even if she doesn’t know it. "Okay, so you looked sweet."
She blushes a bit. "Stop flattering me, okay?" she tells me pointedly, though I can tell she is secretly delighted.
"If what I’m saying is true, would you call that flattery?"
A lopsided smile forms on her pink lips. "Okay, Yusuke. What is it that you really want?"
I smile again. Being my friend since childhood must have given her some sort of a psychic ability when there is something I want to say.
"Well," I start, shoving my hand into one of my jacket pockets. "I just…want…to thank you."
Her eyes gaze back at me, those trusting brown ones, sparkling with a hint of suspicion.
"For being there for me when I need it…and even if I don’t."
We both chuckle at the silliness of the statement.
I take her left hand from her lap and squeeze it gently, securely. "Well," I continue. "I also want to thank you for loving me as what I am. And for making me feel loved. And for making me love you."
I feel my cheeks warm a bit. A guy could really flush in moments like these.
But I really don’t care.
"And basically for just…being…Keiko."
I bring my other hand from my pocket, finally revealing my purpose for waiting for this day, for bringing both of us here. It is a small velvet box.
Keiko’s eyes widen. She looks back and forth from the object to me.
I flick the box open. The sunlight that strikes the blue gem is the first thing I see.
The sapphire—her favorite color, I know.
"Keiko, will you…" I feel my heart flutter as I say it. "Will you marry me?"
Her eyes move with emotions I couldn’t distinguish. Her lips part open slightly as she gasps.
Several moments pass.
"Will you?" I ask again, this time with my voice trembling.
All of a sudden, I feel myself being thrown onto the ground. Recovering from the shock, I shake my head.
I see her face close to mine, that lovely face.
And then I feel her lips on mine.
She can probably feel my heart beating hard. This girl can surprise me so much from time to time again that it’s a wonder I have known her since childhood. Finally, I close my eyes, succumbing to her kiss. Though it is truly driving me nuts.
I feel her break away. I open my eyes, and I see her eyes again.
She smiles teasingly. "Does that answer your question?"
My eyes widen. What happened? I find myself asking internally. Then, as comprehension dawns on me, I realize.
I realize what I have always known before.
I smile mischievously. "You naughty girl," I grumble. Then I press my fingers on the sides of her waist. She screams out loud and tumbles to the ground, laughing hysterically.
I stand up at the same time she does. "I’m gonna get you!" I yell.
Still laughing, Keiko runs away from me, but I am faster. I grab her waist and hoist her up. Cheeks flushed and hair flying, she looks down on me, grinning as she slips both arms around my neck.
I spin her around. Faster and faster. My laughter is drowned by her screams. "Yusuke, put me down now! I’m getting dizzy!" She clutches at me tighter.
When I myself feel dizzy, I set her down, but my hands don’t leave her waist. Neither do her hands leave my neck.
"You are always full of surprises, aren’t you?" she asks, eyes twinkling.
I don't answer her question. "I love you, Keiko," I tell her instead.
"Me too. I love you too."
Her demure gaze is set on me again, and this time I am the one who makes the move. I seal my lips on hers.
You know, I had always thought that my life was nothing but an endless search for a destination.
Now I know that I have my destiny here. Right in front of me.
And she’s been here for as long as I can remember.
My best friend, my only love.
Being with her is enough.
Being in this peaceful place, with the breeze fluttering our hair, and with the feel of her lips and body, and the feel of being loved by one Yukimura Keiko, is enough to make me, Urameshi Yusuke, the luckiest guy in all of the universe