It seems endless. Like a dream. We follow her up.
Ringo opens a door; smaller than the one they entered by just as pretty. Standing on the other side stands a girl with long shaggy hair.
“Yeah,” her voice sings, “Kiss, kiss fall in love!”
I clap. So pretty, her voice is like it was back then.
“Pretty,” my voice speaks without permission.
She jumps a bit and turns. Her eyes sparkle as she saw us.
“Yuki!” she cries. She turns to Ringo, “You brought her here?”
Ringo shakes her head no.
“Then, why are you here?” she asks me.
Should I tell her, I came to see him before they put him in the ground? Should I lie? I don’t now how to answer her.
“Yuki came, that’s the important part,” Leon speaks up.
“Who are you?” Ichigo asks bluntly.
I laugh. She really doesn’t change.
“His name is Leon,” I giggle. “He came with me.”
She looks at him hard, “is he from America?”
“I have a name,” he states.
Ichigo comes closer, embracing me in a hug.
I smile.

“I want a medium size fries and soft drink, coke please,” Ichigo asks the person taking orders.
“I would like a salad please,” Ringo says, unsure if she was allowed to have it.
“Um...can I just have a milkshake?” I ask. The lady nods as she punches in our orders.
She looks at Leon, slowly and badly she asks, “what, would you like, sir?”
He sighs.
“I don’t want anything.”
She turns back to us, “that will be twenty-three ninety-four.”
Ringo takes out a twenty dollar bill and a one dollar bill, getting six cents back.
We head over to sit down at a table.
“How are you?” Ichigo asks happily as she sits down next to me.
“Nothing much, just not sure what I want to do still.”
“Don’t worry you still have a lot of time left,” she smiles, “who knows maybe you can be the guitarist for me.”
I haven’t played or even touch a guitar since I left here…do I still even know how to play?
“Maybe…” my voice trails off.
Our order gets called so we get it. Ringo and Ichigo giggle over the small information I give them. They start to tell me what they have been up to. My mind shuts down, drifting off in its memories.
***
I run around the yard, “Satoshi! Catch me!”
Giggles escape my lips.
He runs after me, brown hair flying behind him.
“Don’t run so fast, Yuki!” he pants.
“Never!” I giggle running faster.
The ground didn’t seem like it was under me anymore, I was flying.
“Watch out!”
My head jerk towards the warning. My foot hits something. Ouch. My body flies forwards. My face kisses the ground.
“Yuki?” he’s worried. “Are you okay?”
Yeah.
“Yuki? Answer me.”
I’m fine.
“Why aren’t you answering?”
I am…I’m fine.
“Yuki?” he’s crying.
My body lifts. Tears are falling on my face.
“Yuki?” I look at him. “She’s not moving…” he voice trailing.
My mind shuts off.

Footsteps…I hear footsteps.
“Will she be okay?” a voice enters.
Open! I order my eyes.
“She’ll be fine, it’s nothing serious,” another voice.
Who are you?
“But she’s not waking up,” the first voice.
“It’s okay, she will later,” the other voice.
What’s going on?
“Satoshi, what exactly happened?” the first voice.
I fell.
“She was running, I told her to watch out,” Satoshi’s voice.
“Why did you let her run? You know that she will get hurt!” the first voice is yelling.
It isn’t his fault, it was all mine.
“I didn’t-” Satoshi is pleading.
“I don’t want to hear it! You knew that she would fall, that she isn’t normal!” the first voice roars.
I’m fine…I’m normal.
“But…mother-” Satoshi is pleading.
“Please, Satoshi,” mother says, “you’ve done enough.”
Open, eyes.
“Ma’am, she’s waking.”

***
“Come on Yuki!” intrudes my mind.
“Hm?” I look up from the table.
Ringo motions me to hurry up.
“Oh,” I pick up the trash around me and throw it away.
“Are you okay?” Leon asks quietly as I pass him.
I nod. I am okay…right?
“Oh!” Ichigo turns around to look at me, “you need to come to this club tonight with me!”
“Club?” I ask.
She nods.
“Ichigo, you’re not talking about-”
“Hush,” Ichigo brings a finger to her lips.
Ringo shrugs, and looks at me smiling weakly.
What is going on? A surprise?
“Oh, okay?” I say unsure.
Both giggle, knowing what was going on.

“Yuki, this way!” Ichigo smiles.
“I can’t believe you!” I cry.
Ringo looks at me with pleading eyes, her mouth moves “sorry.”
“This could be our big break,” Ichigo beams with delight as she peeks to the crowd.
“Big break?” I choke out the words. I turn to Ringo, “I thought you wanted to be a hair stylist!”
“I still do,” Ringo says in her defense, “but we always did want to try and make it big together.”
“I don’t believe this, I just don’t!” I scream. “I haven’t played in over two years, what makes you think I remember?”
“Yuki,” Leon’s voice breaks into me, “I heard you play the piano a lot at school, the music is still in you.”
“Besides, you’re only here for two days, I don’t think it would hurt any if you played with us just this once,” Ichigo pleads.
“Just once, for old time sake,” Ringo smiles as she holds out a Hello Kitty guitar. “It’s just how you left it.”
I look at the guitar. I haven’t seen it in a long time. They took care of it.
“Fine,” I grab the guitar and start to tune it.
“Already tuned,” Ichigo smiles.
“So you just figured I would?” She nods. “Well, you thought right, I guess.”
I start strumming softly.
“Ready?”
“What song are we playing?” I ask.
Ichigo smiles, “remember how to play ‘Super Rabbit’?”
“Yeah,” I smile. I had too, it was my favorite song.
“Okay,” she turns to Ringo, “ready?”
Ringo nods, so do I.

Leon watches as the show.
A lady with short golden hair smiles at him.
“Hey, handsome,” she smiles at him.
Leon looks away from Yuki, Ichigo and Ringo, and his eyes land onto the lady next to him.
“Why don’t you talk to me?” she asks as she leans on the bar.
Leon looks back at the stage.
“Don’t tell me,” she giggles, “your girlfriend is on the stage right now.”
He doesn’t say anything.
“Well, does that mean you don’t have a girlfriend?” she asks, inching closer to him.
Her hand touches his.
“Don’t touch me,” he grunts through his teeth.
She backs away a bit.
“What?” her eyebrows frown, “what the hell is wrong with you?”
Leon stands up and looks at her, “you.”
He gets closer, he was basically breathing on her. His eyes look up and down.
“You’re what’s wrong with this picture, unless you want to get hurt then leave me,” Leon breathes.
The lady frowns and walks away, “your loss,” she says.
Leon looks back at the stage.

“Whoa,” Ichigo sings as we gather in the back, “that was thrilling!”
I smile and start to shake my head as Ringo unplug the amps.
“It’s all thanks to you, Yuki!” Ichigo continues, “We haven’t played like that in a long time.” She takes my hands into hers.
“You were great,” she smiles.
“You really were,” Ringo pipes in, putting her bass guitar away. She waves at the drummer from another group that filled in for ours.
“I guess,” I say as I take off my guitar. The strap was scratching my shoulder.
They clap their hands, and we move out of the back.
“Leon!” I call to him.
He looks up.
“Hey, you guys were great,” he says as we approach him.
“I know, right,” Ichigo jokes.
Ringo smiles and sits down as another band sets up.
“You weren’t bored were you?” I ask poking his cheek.
“Without you?” he asks smiling at me, “no of course not, I had a peaceful time.”
“What?” I stutter. He didn’t mean it did he?
“Silly,” he says patting my head.
“Don’t pat my head,” I frown.
Ichigo giggles, “You’re still the same, Yuki.”
“Of course, she hasn’t changed since we met her that fateful day five years ago,” Ringo gives me a hug.
“Shut up,” I say smiling.

We go back. Back to my place, I guess I can say. The place I grew up in. The only place I can actually call home.
“Yuki,” Ringo opens the door, “your key is still in the bowl you left it in.”
I don’t turn from my window.
“I know.”
“Leon is sleeping.”
“Okay.”
“Do…do you want to talk about something?”
“Not really.”
“The reason you came back was Satoshi, right?”
“Yeah.”
“He’s dead?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
Ringo falls silent.
“You know, we care about you even if it has to do with him.”
“I know.”
“So if you want to talk-”
“You’ll be there,” I turn to smile at her. She’ll always be there, and I know it.
“Okay,” she leaves.
***