Weeping Willow

After that day, she disappeared.

Nozomu was nowhere to be found at school. I spent the rest of the first week being my normal lonely self, with the occasional interruption by Taiki.

Eventually, I tried responding to her first text.

"Hi."

I figured that she would at least respond to me to make fun of my unimaginative text.

Instead, there was no response.

I should be glad. That troublemaker was ruining my future with her reckless actions. With her gone, I'm now able to focus on making my way through the rest of high school, all for the sake of getting a degree from a good school. I'll be set for the rest of my life.

So why was I starting to feel... depressed?

During that weekend, I made a visit to the park.

The town park was an oasis to me. It was a large, never-ending area full of grand trees and sweeping fields. Small wildlife scurried from tree to tree, and birds sang their hearts out. Crowds were always minimal, so there was always an abundance of benches and trees to sit at.

I arrived at my usual spot, a weeping willow that's near the edge of the park. I pulled out the novel that I had been working so hard to read through.

Just as I was about to read the first word for the day, a refreshing disturbance occurred.

"Oh, so you're still reading that book? What was it called again?"

I never gave a thought to answering her question. I had my own questions burst out.

"What happened to you? Why did you disappear? Are you messing with me?!"

"Nothing happened to me. I didn't disappear, you just didn't look for me. Messing with you? Maybe."

Nozomu's responses infuriated me. But at the same time, I felt a sensation of relief and joy.

Joy? Since when did I start feeling joy?

"So, you're back to torturing me?"

The blonde-haired beast-in-disguise sat down next to me.

Only, she sat down close. Closer than the amount of comfort that the mindset of puberty would allow.

As my mind began to compile all of the different outcomes associated with close proximity, the girl with bright blue eyes began to speak again.

Only this time, her tone seemed to change.

"What are our purposes in life? What are we destined to do?"

I stopped attempting to start the novel and gave thought to the question.

"We graduate from high school. We go to college, or a vocational school. We study and earn degrees. We make livings off of our degrees. We live comfortable live-"

"No. You're wrong."

The girl with blonde hair got onto her knees, climbed onto me, and pinned me against the tree.

As she brought her face close to mine, my mind began to panic and shut down, leaving me void of any physical or vocal response.

"There are only two kinds of people in this world: the one who becomes the legacy, and the one who is forgotten."

Those words left me in absolute shock. The deep weight of those words began to eat away at my insides.

Before I knew it, the black hole was back in my stomach.

Breathing started to get more difficult. My mindscape was melting away. The thoughts started to make their return. I was hope-

"Whenever you have a panic attack, just think of me."

Everything froze.

All I could see was Nozomu's incredible, angelic smile.

Immediately, the despair began to fade. A ray of light began to fill the hole, like the sun bringing a new morning to the world. Positive thoughts flowed through my mind.

An arrow of hope had pierced my heart.

On that day, I began the first step in beating one of my greatest enemies.

I stared in awe at the angel of a girl that was still on top of me. I had completely forgotten about our prior conversation.

Then it hit me. I suddenly knew how to describe this girl.

"Nozomu, you remind me of a princess."

The now-declared princess didn't appear to take that too well. Redness began to appear in her face. She then raced to get off of me.

"I- uh- why would you call me a... princess?"

"Oh, so that title bothers you?"

"Maybe just a bit."

"Then from this day forward, you will now be known as Princess."

"Whyyy? Can you stop, Glasses?"

"You started this war."

"I don't remember starting a war."

"That's probably because of your limited brain capacity."

"Am I an idiot to you?" said Nozomu, as she began to shed tears.

I saw through her simple act, and was about to shut her down, when someone appeared behind her.

"Nozomu, it's time to go. We've been looking for you."

The princess immediately stopped her act. She closed her eyes and rose from the ground.

Without saying goodbye, she turned around and faced the person now in front of her.

"Yes, brother. I'm right behind you."

I wanted to say goodbye, but I had forgotten to.

On the suit that the brother was wearing, there was a family crest.

I spent the rest of the time at the park contemplating. Where have I seen that crest before?