The night lights of Easter Boulevard lit up the streets as it welcomed guests. While the lights shine the brightest, the moon just appears to be ready to shine. And speaking of shine, the three friends shine their way through the streets buying, well, things that can fill their stomachs.
"Okay, but first, we deserve a treat." A hungry Jody hurried to one of the stalls.
"Wait up!" shouted Brittany. "Don't just leave us with the crowd coming at us!"
With the crowd coming in as fast as the river flows, as well as stopping by every stall, they finally find a table to eat.
"Let's eat!" as the three girls chomped down every single street food they could fill. The waning crescent shows up as it smiles its figure to the crowd, just like Jody, smiling after finishing 15 small trays of takoyaki.
"I know you haven't had lunch, but please save your wallet." A concerned Dory pats Jody's head.
"Ehh, but I can't even resist…" Hungry Jody munches while talking. "...Eating such delicious flavors from this food stall. Think I should get-"
"Op, op, op… Okay, no more" Brittany seals Jody's mouth with her finger. Sounds like your typical three stooges eating in a random night market: the logical, the gluttonous, and the neutral, but they're really smart when it comes to each other.
"Say, Brittany, why were you scrambling earlier? You were like a duck finding its own nest." As Dory asked the question of the evening, the thoughts sped up into the race track. Her heart unexpectedly flutters as it rekindles something that was burned years ago.
"I-it was.. it was…" She couldn't fathom how to complete her reply. She never felt so stunned to talk about it and see the guy whom he known for so long. As she was struggling to find the words in her box of thoughts, Jody interrupted.
"Is it Brian?" She asks while stuffing takoyakis in her mouth. Brittany's face froze as she nodded to them that it was, indeed, him. "Why and how would I know? 'Cause your face says it all, girl. You haven't moved on from him, have you?"
"HOW COULD YOU—" She stood like she was ready to fight. Her crashout almost made a commotion, but surprisingly, she calmed down easily this time. She really is not the best at handling her emotions, as they have known her for years.
"If anything, I bumped into him at Esau earlier, and I asked him out on a date because of some silly thing I did. Now, I think and I fear I may have—"
"Pause." Dory blurted out with hands stretched out to signal to stop talking.
"Okay, I think we already know what you felt for him back then, but what does your heart say today?"
With no hesitation, Brittany replies wholeheartedly:
"I still do! But my high-school self is still afraid of being rejected by him and him alone." Brittany reminisces about graduation day. She continues. "I'm actually happy he accepted the offer, but I am torn between my feelings and moving on."
The chattering from other people was loud. The feeling of wanting to start over is really high for her, as if the two could find the perfect words to give her. Her eyes were about to produce tears, coming out, and it was understandable for the bottled-up feelings she was having.
As she was about to shed a tear, Dory's arm wrapped around her broad shoulders. It was soft and comforting like a mother's kindness.
"Look, if anything, whatever you decide, we'll just support you. It's not like the end of the world. Go to that date, and just go with the flow." Dory with a supportive Dory answer to Brittany.
"Dory… Okay, I will think about it." Says Brittany subtly.
"If he hurts you, I'm gonna stick this chopstick into that filthy rat's heart-" Jody fires up her own self with the defensive motive,
"No!" but the two denied her to do so.
The lights shone brighter, the people added to the spectacle, and the time had peaked for the night market. The girls hurried towards the exits as the streets crammed into oblivion. The walk towards home had never felt cold, but the camaraderie was there to temporarily warm up.
Dory rides the train first, while Jody and Brittany wait for theirs. Brittany waits, her foot tapping the floor— literally making her the undisputed overthink romantic.
"Say, you don't mind answering this question, right?" Jody with a serious face
"Sure…"
"Don't you ever think he likes you?"
The heart beats 3 times as fast. The memories kicked in on everything that happened on that important day. The eyes were twitching like nothing wants to be entered into the mind. With one single exhale, Brittany answers.
"The train comes to the right destination."
The sound of the rails grew louder as the train came into view.
"You sure are a wizard with your choice of words," Jody replies with her arms behind her head.
The night was not so bad after all for them, but what about Brian?
He didn't have the best of sleep. Waking up in the middle of the night, in his pajamas, he pours himself a cup of tea to try to doze himself to sleep. While warming up the tea, a picture gazes upon him. He could not help but stare at it too. The recollection was inevitable for him. It is not the prettiest nor memorable one for sure, but for him, it's a means to make him somewhat have a lighter mood, or maybe a renewal.
"You know, it was some 7, 8 years ago the last time we saw each other with our batchmates. Of all the places, it was at Amandine where we bumped into, and of all the people, it was you? How could this be, Brittany?" He sighs heavily, like a weight has come off his chest.
"If anything, my feelings stayed the same; I'd like to catch up with everyone."
He sips into his green tea, staring at the waxing crescent, reminiscing about every good memory. The tea was comforting to his heart just as the blanket was to his cold body. Out of the blue, he receives a message from Brittany.
"Hey, does 2 pm on a Saturday sound good?
"Yeah, that's alright! See you at Astra Terminal?"
Brittany saw the message but did not bother to reply as she fell asleep after seeing it. Brian did not bother waiting for the reply.
The memories of old are stored in their hearts, and it seems neither could let go of that one day that could shape their futures before the current events. What could this mean before they meet with their own ghosts?