Our Time Together

Staring into the mirror, the girl looked into her reflection, her eyes held a rather distant feel, as if the girl in the mirror was someone else. Hesitating for just a moment, she continues to adjust her bangs, before inspecting all aspects of her outfit: a red yukata, custom fit just for this day. She reaches out towards a pair of glasses, but pauses her hand before deciding not to take them along with her.

Making sure she has everything else accounted for: a watch, her wallet, and a small hand mirror. She opens the mirror up to check one last time before heading out the door.

Together in a room sat a boy and a girl, the room was quiet except for the sound of a pencil repeatedly being toyed around with by the girl. The boy on the other hand sits in silence, aside from the noise of a mechanical pencil hitting the paper. 

“Hey, quick hypothetical question, when someone tells you that you’re moving a meeting that was originally planned at 3 pm forward an hour, is that meeting at 2pm or at 4 pm?” The silence, as well as the girl’s concentration, was broken by the comment of the boy. She paused for a moment deliberating over her answer, before finally coming to her answer.

“4pm”

“Huh, I could have sworn you would say 2pm, seeing as you’ve been sitting here 2 hours already.”

“There’s nothing fun to do after cram school, so I waited for our meeting since I wanted to be punctual, unlike you who showed up 5 minutes late.”

“And you sat here flicking a pen for 2 hours?” 

“Precisely.” She points the pen towards him in a jokingly serious manner, solving the case for her dear Watson.

Shrugging his shoulders, the boy gives in to her antics and just sheepishly smiles. “Apparently I heard that the answer people give is based on their understanding of time, so I thought it’d be interesting to get your opinion on it.” This comment piques the girl’s interest, but she doesn’t show that in her expression; she sets her pen down on the table as she looks into the windowpane.

“Is that so? Sounds like an interesting conjecture; just so you know though, I hate fortune-telling and personality tests, all those superstitious claims are just garbage disguised to scam people’s hearts.”

“You would know best I suppose.” He lets her comment slide through as he brushes it off with his hand. “So I heard that those who answer that the event takes place afterward think time is stationary, and they themselves move through time, while those who think the event takes place before believe that they are the ones who are stationary, and time flows through them.” 

“Hmm...I see.” The girl nods her head as she holds her chin.

“What do you see.” 

“I see that you’ve been watching too much trash online. You should really get out more.” She stands up, exuding a figure as if she’s about to pummel him with the battering pen in her hand.

“Settle down, mom.” He replies with a smirk on his face. Appeasing her with his words, he continues. “I honestly want to get your thoughts on this though, we’ll do something together later on.” 

“Who said I was doing anything with you?” She bonks him on the head, causing him to act as though recoiling in pain as he stumbles in his chair. Proceeding to sit back down, the girl takes a quick glance out the window before returning her gaze back.

“To me, events are approaching me, my input has nothing to do with how fast or slow they end up coming. They always end up arriving.”

“Hmm...I guess that’s true.”

“Well, what do you think? If anything, you’re the one with the more interesting perspective. After all…”

“Yeah yeah, I only have a week to live. I heard it before.” He brushes her off to which her expression sours.

“Precisely, yet you still continue to go to school, are still currently doing homework, and continue to not make a big deal out of it.” Her mad expression caused the boy to feel a little guilty, but he didn’t let that show her.

“I mean, we all end up getting there eventually, why does it matter if mine comes a little earlier? Besides, it’s not like I can even feel it; all I have to go off is your word.” She makes an awful expression, but she proceeds to sit back down as she makes an attempt to understand his position.

“Don’t you have a bucket list or anything?” 

“No, I wasn’t really an ambitious person.”

“Is there really nothing?” To this question, the boy taps his chin with his pencil, trying to scrounger up some sort of thought that will make these last couple days meaningful for him. “There is a festival coming up…”

“You’re going.” She commanded.

“I have a dinner planned that day though.”

“Did I stutter?”

“I might want to take a nap at that time.”

“I’m dragging you along.” He smiles back at her.

“So it’s a date then?”

She turns her eyes towards him, glancing upwards above her silver tinted glasses, holding her gaze there for a second before turning her face away towards the window as she looks at her own reflection in the glass before finally responding.

“I guess it is.”

“Did you end up waiting long?” Her voice calls out to the figure standing beside a tree. Compared to the girl, his blue outfit contrasted her red. Checking the time on her wristwatch, she smiles as she starts to tease. “Looks like you were the one who got here early this time?”

“I just have nothing after cram school, that’s all.” The two of them laughed at their own responses together before the two of them started to walk around together. Visiting all the random stalls, picking up some cotton candy, and other snacks randomly scattered around the place, the two of them spent their time together. A small respite for the two of them to be free of the approaching appointment that would end up cutting it short, that was what the girl considered this; please let this moment last forever.

That thought ended up getting cut short by the boy’s comment. “No glasses today huh.” She glanced towards him and felt a bit embarrassed that he asked; even though it was her goal for him to bring it up, somehow it still made her face a little red. 

“Yeah, I decided not to wear them today.”

“Must have been distracting then, the numbers.” She made a wry smile at his comment before replying.

“Just a little, there was a time when I didn’t use to wear those glasses, so I’m used to just pretending they’re not there.” He nods in understanding as the two continue to walk through.

“Even so, one day left.”

“Yeah...it’s only one more day.” The atmosphere turns a little heavy as her expression darkens a little bit, turning her face away, but the boy keeps a smile on as he pokes her cheek; this gets himself a funny look from the girl, as she brushes his arm off, but her mood noticeably lightens from his action as he triumphantly wears his smile. The only action she can formulate in response is another smile.

“We can have hundreds of those interactions in that time frame, let’s not waste it on any moping around?” Brushing her bangs from her face, she nods in affirmation.

“Yes, you’re right.”

“So anyway, how do I die?”

“Oi.” Punching him in the shoulder for ruining the mood, the boy continues to brush it off with a laugh as her upset expression wears off quickly. “Well, it is weird how you didn’t ask earlier, but I can’t exactly answer that.”

“Is it some kind of self-fulfilling prophecy sort of deal?” His mind wandered to stories of Delphi and Odysseus.

“No,” she quickly dismissed his thought. “My power just doesn’t work like that.”

“Come to think of it, have you ever explained it?”

“I don’t remember you asking.” She smirks at him as he shrugs his shoulders; continuing on, the two of them find an area to sit down on before continuing on this conversation. “So what do you want to know?” She asks after sipping a bottle of water he handed to her a while back.

“Just share the things you think are important.” 

“Very vague.” Looking upwards towards the leaves of the trees, she starts to formulate her response. “So essentially, there’s a number above a person’s head giving the time of death.”

“Like date month year?”

“Actually...I guess it’s more of a countdown really, like a timer I suppose.” She says avoiding his gaze by staring at the treeline; I suppose it’s to avoid seeing the number, the boy thinks to himself.

“And this time counts how much a person has left?”

“Yeah,” she nods in response. “Old age, being hit by a car, asphyxiation, heart attack, stroke, suicide. No matter the cause, it always results in certain death when the timer reaches zero.” 

“You seem pretty experienced with this.”

“Thanks, I’m not called the Cat Killer for nothing.” She smiles wryly are her own nickname, gained from picking up cats near the end of their lives. Inwardly laughing time herself, she remembers the times she got bullied in middle school for this repeated act.

“Have you ever tried killing them before the timer?”

“What a cruel thing to say.”

“It’d allow you how to know if you can change fate though.”

“I thought I told you I hated superstitious nonsense like fate.” Trying to reject the concept, she understood in her head that her very existence reaffirms it, and yet she couldn’t bear to hear it from his mouth. She glared at him aggressively, the only result was a confused look left upon the boy’s face. Slumping her shoulders down as she rests her elbows on her knees, she replies despondently. “Something like that, ending a life before it’s time. It’s just not something I can do. Maybe that’s why fate gave me this power, because I don’t have the resolve to fight it.” 

Feeling a bit remorseful for his response, he sits beside the girl and reaches over to tap her shoulder, but stops himself, instead opting to hold her hand. Her face tightens for a second before she relaxes as the two sit in silence for a while. The one to break the silence was neither of the two, but the wristwatch on the girl’s arm beeping. 

“I guess it’s about time.” The girl stares as she picks herself up the bench.

“Time for what?”

“It’ll be a pain to explain, so just come with me.” Not giving him any time to respond, she holds his hand firmly and drags him off the bench. He stumbles forward a bit as the girl drags him through a series of bushes and trees, and after a long hike with no explanation, she finally stops and allows him to form a rebuttal, that is until he sees their current position.

Standing atop a tall hill the two of them are given perfect vision on the entirety of the venue. The hustling of the crowd seemed like just colors at this distance. His focus is broken by the sound of something being launched catches his ear, glancing up, he sees a bright like shoot towards the sky as the fireworks burst into a colorful light, as he looks towards the side, he sees the young girl looking at the sky. In his mind, he saw a memory mirroring this scene; a young boy and girl, staring up at the sky.

“It’s been 7 years hasn’t it.” His eyes focus back into the present as he asks the girl next to him, to which she quietly smiles back.

“You finally remembered.” The backdrop being lit by the light of the fireworks, her lips grinning ear to ear and her eyes that shone brighter than the night sky, the expression on her face was something that he would remember for the rest of his life. 

“Was this all just an elaborate ploy to get me to come back here?” After the fireworks ended, the two started heading back down the mountain. “This whole power to see people’s deaths.” 

“You make it sound more awful than it is.” Fiddling with her watch, she checks one last time in the small mirror before grabbing his hand, using it to help her climb down the ledge, but the slope was a lot steeper than they thought, resulting in her foot slipping and her sandal breaking. Feeling a bit worried about her, he found a place near the side of a road for the two to sit on. After she was seated, she started to check the mirror again before putting it away.

“What’s with the mirror?”

“Oh you know, just checking my time of death.” 

“Come on, you said that silver doesn’t allow you to see those times ages ago. You already admitted to this all being an act.”

“Yep, you found me out. I’ve been lying this entire time. Congratulations!” She applauds the boy for his cunning and wit causing him to smile wryly back. “Do you want a prize for discovering my deceit?” 

“I thought I won something, but it turns out I just received sarcasm.” 

“No, I’m being serious. Close your eyes for a second.”

“What are you.”

“Ah, you’re taking too long.” She grabs him by the collar and pulls his face towards hers, sealing his lips with her own. The boy, initially stiffened, gradually accepted it as he pulled her in close to himself. Holding the moment, the two of them share this one last memory before releasing. “So? How was it?”

“Maybe I need another, you know, to really analyze it.”

“You’re a real dork you know that.” She retorts with a soft smile. “close your eyes.”

“Is this really necessary.”

“Do you want this kiss or not?” The boy relents as he closes his eyes, the girl wraps her arms around him as her face comes close to her, but the only sensation is the sound of an alarm going off and her voice telling him the words. “I’m sorry...I’ve run out of time.” Before he even had time to open his eyes, she pushed the boy away from her firmly as she ignored the sound of a horn drawing ever close, and the glaring headlight becoming ever stronger. Giving him one last smile as she held the memory of their time together for the rest of her life.