Shielding my eyes from the shining sun, the song I sing echoes to you
And becomes the lazy wind of dawn
"So you're telling me that... for whatever reason, you're brought to a magical world. You were there for about a month and you learned some magic... and then suddenly when you're in this strange empty scroll, you're brought back here?" Ilya asks while eating the cake we baked together. We're sitting on her bed at the moment. The way we're spending our time together... this really feels nostalgic...
...but why is she here at all? I still remember the day Ilya died... I could never forget that day. And yet, why is she here with me as if that never happened at all? Everything else is just like how my home world is. A normal world without magic. Assuming time passes at the same rate in the magical world and in mine, I haven't gone back in time at all. It's really as if the world was going normally, as if the memory of that accident is merely my illusion...
"Ouch," I said without thinking, feeling a slight pain at my right ear. I see Ilya is pinching it, looks like she's mad for some reason...
"Listen to me when I talk. So that's what you told me right, Aize?"
"Uh... yeah," I nod. "I showed you some magic right? It's real." I never told her that she was dead in my memory though.
"Even if you say that... it's just hard to believe, you know?" Ilya says, pouting. "Ah, whatever. You're here with me and that's all that matters, right? Say ahh~"
I pull her hand holding the fork and put the cake in my mouth. As I'm eating it, I feed her from my portion. She's really like the real Ilya... I can't tell the difference at all. I'm beginning to doubt the reality of my memory... damn it. This is hard on me...
"Aize..." Ilya says, holding my hand tightly. "Something's worrying you right? It shows on your face, you know."
"I never thought I could hide it from you. I mean... you're Ilya," I say, lying down. I trembles slightly, the emotion is tearing me. It's trying to swallow me, the denial.
"Promise me you'll talk about it, okay? I don't want you to go off on your own and say you dealt with it later."
"Yeah, I will. Thanks, Ilya," I hug her. This tenderness, this warmth, this frailness, this scent... they're all just as I remembered it...
***
"Ahaha... it's been a while, Aize! What's up, you haven't visited for a while!" Dad laugh heartily over the dinner. Ilya is sitting beside me, eating silently. Sometimes she would glance at us and blush. We all know she's not good at dealing with crowds (yes, 3 people, 2 of them are her parents and 1 is her lover is a crowd to her) so it's something we're used to. We know she's happy and that's all that matters.
"Err... something happened at my home so I couldn't come..." I say, fidgeting.
"Ah I see... your family huh..." Dad sighs. "How is it now?"
"As usual..." I try to switch the topic. "Anyway, how about Dad and Mom? Ilya's all right when I wasn't here?"
"Gee, Aize! Don't ask that!" Ilya suddenly hits me. "You two too, don't tell him, okay?"
"What's wrong with letting him know? I thought you two keep no secrets from each other?" Dad pushes on. Mom is just smiling beside him.
"Ugh... that's true but it's embarrassing..." Ilya slumps down. After a few seconds she puts her meal down and leaves the table, blushing heavily. "F-fine! If you must tell him then just do it already! Aize, I'll be waiting in my room so hurry up and come, alright!?"
"Ahaha... there she goes..." I say, following her with my eyes as she goes up the stairs. This is also one of the thing we're used to already. It's very Ilya-like, to quote myself from a few years back.
"So, what happened during the month I didn't come? She looked all okay when I met her three days ago..."
"She was really worried when you didn't come for the first two days. We tried to contact you but couldn't. She waited all day in front of the door to see if you'd come... of course, she didn't go to school at all. You know she won't go without you," Mom begins.
"She became more bitter as days pass. Then after around a week she stopped waiting in front of the door. She went back to her room, crying how she's worried that she couldn't contact you. All her autistic habits came back in full force, she was locking herself in, she didn't even talk to us at all. She barely ate anything either, so it was really troubling us."
"I see... so she just went out on her own when I met her at the park?" I ask, confused.
"Yup. She suddenly dashed out and didn't even look at me. She just told me that she was going there... and then she came back with you, all happy."
"You wouldn't believe how bitter she was, Aize," Dad says, grinning. "It was worse than she was before she knew you!"
"Hehe... that means she really loves me. It's a good thing, right, Dad?" I ask back, returning the smile at him.
"Hah, that's how my son should be! I'm relieved to see Ilya and you together, Aize. She's a needy one, but I know you can always make her happy."
"Her happiness is my wish, Dad. Leave it to me."
"So Aize, if you're done eating, go to her room. She would be mad if you take too long," Mom smiles at me.
"Ahaha... considering how she went off all flustered earlier... I'd say I'll be hit either way..."
"True that. Hahahaha!"
***
"Hey there Ilya... you shouldn't leave just like that, you know..." I say as I enter her room. Right after I closed the door, I feel her hugging my back.
"You're late, Aize. Late!"
"Yeah yeah, I'm sorry," I apologize while turning to face her. "You're not hungry? Mom kept some leftovers if you want to eat..."
"Hmph, later. So Papa and Mama told you how I was when you weren't here?"
"Yeah, and it made me somewhat happy," I sift through her soft hair.
"How so? I'm really bad, autistic too. I'm inconsiderate about others' feelings... how can you be happy about that?"
"Well... when I heard about it... I felt it clearly that you really love me a lot... I feel really special, you know. I love you, Ilya." I kiss her lips, it's a short but deep kiss.
"H-hmph, you're really messed up like that. Who else is stupid enough to date someone autistic like me anyway?" Ilya tries to push me away after the kiss. She's blushing heavily and her push is really soft.
"It's because I'm the only one in this world who is great enough to see how wonderful you are," I hug her and push her on the bed.
"Stupid," she says, trying to back away from my gaze.
"Call it awesome," I say, not backing down. Then an idea crosses my mind. Time to put the magic I learned to some use... I charge my index finger with an electric sagitta magica and poke her waist.
"O-ouch!" she moans from the shock. "That's unfair Aize, using magic now among all times..."
"And you know how I'm going to use it on you, right?" I grin, filled with desire.
"Hehe," she grins back at me.
Please, protect the drifting and lost people,
whose birthing lives are still in awakening dreams...
