Arisa’s Past, Part 2
My relationship with Yuuki kept getting better day by day.
With Yuuki sitting next to me, we did more than just talk; we even played together during break times.
On our days off, I started going over to his house to hang out.
The thing I liked most about spending time with Yuuki was reading books together.
Maybe it was partly to help me overcome my weakness in Japanese since I had said I was bad at it, but I loved listening to Yuuki read aloud.
I loved the stories he read in his gentle voice, spoken only for me.
I probably spent a long time just watching Yuuki’s profile as he read.
“Yuuki. Let’s always stay together.”
“Yeah. I hope we can always be together.”
We had become close enough to say things like that.
Yuuki taught me many other things as well.
He connected me with other kids.
Shy and with looks that were different from everyone else, I had hesitated to talk to others, but he pulled me out of that loneliness.
He actively included me in his circle of friends.
I even gained a number of girl friends I could at least talk with.
Everyone who had treated me like an outsider began to change, and thanks to Yuuki taking me out and saving me, I was no longer alone.
“I never knew Arisa-chan was like this.”
“I want to talk with Arisa-chan too.”
“Sorry for saying such horrible things.”
Yuuki cleared up the misunderstandings about me, and those who had been cruel began to apologize, which brightened my heart a little.
I think Yuuki must have been working hard behind the scenes for me.
He convinced a lot of the other kids that I was not a strange person and tried to connect us. At every event and group activity, he helped bridge the gap between me and the others, so my reputation improved a lot.
I, who had been alone since preschool, gradually came to have people I could call friends.
On the other hand, the time I spent talking with Yuuki decreased, and sometimes I felt a little unhappy about that, but at the time I think I was just caught up in it.
I had never had so many people around me before. I mistook having friends for being happy.
Because of that, I overlooked the most important thing.
If I had only Yuuki, I would have been happy.
I realized it too late. It was too late.
If only we had kept spending those two-person moments together. If only I had cherished Yuuki more. If only I had noticed.
“Let’s always stay together.”
If I had truly tried to keep that promise.
I never would have made such a mistake.