‘’ Throughout all my life I’ve never truly thought about what I had; I lost everything despite having everything in my grasp; maybe if I just realized it sooner, maybe I would’ve gone a different path.’’
Buildings surround the kingdom with knights stationed all around, making for a very well-guarded kingdom with people shopping with peaceful smiles on their faces.
A boy with red hair that almost resembles the crimson flower, or perhaps blood itself; pure blue eyes that’s almost as blue as the limitless ocean; a short 15-year-old boy wearing white clothes that go up to his stomach with buttons that cover his skin; black pants that also cover both of his legs.
‘’ Man, it's as lively as ever, really making me forget just how quiet it can really be. Well, then what to do?’’
The boy with the red hair walks while looking around, searching for something to keep him occupied. After walking for a while, he notices a little girl standing in front of a stall, all flustered with her brown short, tied-up hair and brown clothes that are ragged and old. Though he’s watching her from behind, the boy with the red hair wonders about the girl, so he heads to her.
The girl with the brown hair silently looks at the products in front of her, the pure red apples hanging by the threads to show; her eyes glittered. She clearly wants these pure red apples; she knows it's quite delicious, yet she restrains herself from looking away from them and walking away at an alarming speed.
Aki sees her from afar and runs to her. In a futuristic-esque kingdom, only they mattered and only they knew each other in the midst of this bustling kingdom, a place where it's never boring for one who visits, yet for residents it says otherwise.
After running for quite a bit and they managed to build quite the sweat for each other, the girl finally stops walking, and Aki also stops gasping and panting for air. The girl looks behind her to Aki, gasping for air after all that running.
‘’ Hey Aki, you see, at nighttime the stars apparently shine the brightest around here, yet in a few years once we grow up, we’ll be busy all day and moving every day; we’ll almost never be able to see the beautiful stars today’’.
Completely brushing away the red apples that she clearly and desperately wanted and changing the topic to the bright nighttime stars and growing up and working every day with little rest to be had, she smiles a sad yet somehow reliving, almost contradicting herself.
Aki is speechless to even talk, almost taken away by her peerless beauty. He reaches out to her, but it doesn’t reach her; nothing did, will, or has ever reached her.
Aki knew this well, and yet he still tried to reach out to her, try to comfort her or something, maybe try to tell her they’ll always be together, but even he knows it won’t work.
After a bit of thinking, Aki finally finds the right words to speak to her.
‘’ Hey Amy, I do matter of fact believe that no matter how old or how rough work gets, we’ll still see the beautiful stars, just maybe not the way we wanted.
as stars are supposed to mean eternity, no? I’m sure come even a millenia and they’ll still shine bright, brighter than any star can shine, that much I can say for sure, so in the meantime, why don’t we just take it all in as much as we can so that the memories we create aren’t wasted and can be remembered for as long as we can live? forever, no matter how old we get’’.
Amy was completely taken aback; her eyes completely widened, almost as if she hit gold for the first time or she managed to work enough money to choose where to live.
It was a complete surprise coming from Aki himself, whom she deemed almost like a little brother who understood little about the world. While in some cases that is true, I guess he can come up with cool lines like this.
Aki walks over to her. The wind somehow hit right at this moment, and their ragged clothes were fluttering; it almost looked magical. This particular spot is known by little, thus making it the perfect place to do something alone without anyone noticing, and so Aki hugged Amy tight, her widening even more, almost tearing up as if she were desperately.
For a long time she longed for this despite being 17, the same as Aki. She hugged him back, their warmth touching each other. After a bit, they pushed back, tears flowing from her eyes. She somehow felt relieved, almost as if a huge weight was lifted off her shoulders. She felt free like a bird.
I want to be free; that was the wish Amy wished when she was merely 6 years old, trapped in this futuristic-esque kingdom draining her of any freedom, always being ignored and belittled, always having to deal with the stress of longing for freedom that may as well never come.
Her parents abandoned her due to her unique way of thinking, thus adding more to her list of things she wants to get rid of, and that’s where she meets Aki, who’s almost on the same side as her; having lost his parents at such a young age, he wanders around without a single care.
almost as if looking for a reason to live that he had once lost all together, and that’s how they met in an unlikely matter that they would be even friends. Amy approached him first, and that’s how it started between them
Amy always protected Aki from everything else—fights, thieves—and always taught him how the world works, at least mostly to her knowledge. That’s how they mostly survived through this harsh and cruel world, yet despite that, they still somehow managed to find some sort of solace from it.
Simply being with each other, they managed to survive together. However, even they knew they’d eventually get separated one day.
‘’ Hey Aki, I wonder what lies beyond this futuristic and unfair kingdom.'' Amy said so whilst looking at the big wooden gate in front of them, knights, merchants, traders, and aristocrats simply passing to and fro going about their own business.
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Aki was so mesmerized by this scene that he couldn’t utter anything, the sunset illuminating them. At this point, Aki looked at Amy. Her brunette brown hair fluttered in the wind. Aki blushed due to how beautiful she is. Amy looked at him with an angelic smile. He couldn’t answer her question, even though in truth he wanted to get out of here with her in his arms. He wanted to spend a domestic and married life with her despite knowing full well how cruel war can be and how losing someone important or precious to you is a simple everyday life in this world, yet somehow he desired it: a simple and cozy life, no bloodshed, no violence, just a peaceful life.
‘’’ Hey Amy I want to get out; I want to experience the outside. I know wars are happening, but I don’t want to lose you too.’’ Aki knew full well what it meant to lose someone, to regret having not saved anyone despite being close to them; he knew full well, yet he still said it to her because, in actuality, he loved her with his heart and his heart was laid bare in front of her.
He knew it was a mistake; nevertheless, he still did it, even though he might regret it one day. He still said it regardless.
With a pained expression like a knife slowly twisting someone's innards, Aki was desperate, scared, and lonely. He lost his one connection, and now he didn't want to lose his only love in this cruel and unforgiving world.
Amy bewildered with wide open eyes. Being older than Aki by 2 years, she didn’t expect him to confess here since she took him for the wussy type who couldn’t say more than less. She trembled this time; she’s the one who’s speechless. Having witnessed this confession in broad daylight, she looked with a sad expression. She can’t bring herself to say yes because she believes it won’t work out, and so she replied in a very expected yet sad way.
‘’Hey Aki, thank you, but I like it here, and besides, we're safe; there’s no harm here; there’s no need for us to leave whatsoever.’’
Aki somehow saw this coming, not being the confident type he expected the worst and got it yet he still felt hurt like his heart was forcibly grabbed out of his chest; he was speechless; he hated himself to even propose such an idea; he couldn’t hope to experience even a fraction of what this world has to offer to simply stay here, caged like a bird without anything to experience the outside; he longed to see forever here till the end of time.
Hurting to see him this way, Amy simply walked past him with a sad smile on her face. Aki was looking down with a gloomy expression. He can’t stop her ideology and thought process because he too knows how safe it is here, and they’re likely to live the peaceful life he wanted but to simply stay here caged forever.
I don’t think so. I refuse to stay here caged forever. I want to be free; it's my only reason to live. I want to keep moving. Staying in one place just doesn’t do it for me. I don’t feel comfortable being in the same place here forever. Someone or something, please. I want to be strong. I want to be free.
Aki was walking on the road next to him. There were big houses clad in wood and iron hued a silvery color, the ground zigzagging between brown and silvery, and the plants all green in color. It almost looked out of place with how beautiful the houses were on the zigzagging ground, yet nevertheless, it still looked beautiful. Slowly growing up with a gardener's tender care, Aki stopped and looked at the green plants growing. He slowly moved his fingers towards it, simply stroking it.
He wished his parents were still alive; he wished they would stroke him like this and make him grow up with tender and gentle love and care away from all the war and bloodshed. He bit his lip painfully, knowing full well that life is far gone forever and he has to move forward.
‘’ I can’t accept that; there’s no reason for any of these wars to bring no benefit nor good, so why? Do people still wage wars just to satisfy their own self-glorification?’’ he pondered deeply, and yet he still couldn’t come up with an answer. Try as he might, he brushed off the plants and yet again continued his walks wherever his legs led him.
The stars shining brightly in the night sky, unbeknownst to them, the ongoing war and bloodshed, the many lives lost, the lands being ravaged, houses being burned, and executions. Without a care In the world, the stars still shone brightly, and Aki simply kept walking until he reached his legs, finally stopping walking, and his home appeared in front of him.
His house wasn’t even in his mind; he simply kept walking to god knows where just until his gloominess faded away and he found a reason to smile. He was already tired of everything and wanted to put a lid on it and just rest, put it all away from him, and just simply rest for all he can until something finally takes him away from his pain and troubles, or perhaps forever.
Aki walked up to the doorknob and used his keys to open until somehow his door opened itself without the need for keys. Surprised, he quickly went in and checked for potential robbers. He started downstairs. The house is a two-story building with four rooms in both.
His late parents lived until their eventual doom, leaving him alone. He grieved for days without end, and after meeting Amy, he finally started slowly healing her brattiness. Her gentleness and care for him gave him a reason to continue on, losing that would perhaps even throw him into something much worse than simply grief. He might just end it all at the tender age of 14, a mere kid who has a future to live for.
Aki searched everywhere; thankfully, no one was there on the first floor, and thus he headed to the wooden stairs, heading to the second floor slowly so as not to make noise and attract the robber so he could capture him. To his surprise, on the second floor, on a round table, there was a simple letter in a folded letter. He unfolded it, and the contents were as expected directed towards him, and it was from none other than Amy. From when or why she did it is a mystery to him.
Hello Aki
There’s something I wanted you to know before I get to it I want to apologize for barging into your house without permission beforehand I understand how rude I am, now to get to the point I don’t much left to live so i wanted to say this right now, I want you to explore the world in my behalf don’t hold back because of me I understand the frustrations your going through I chose to remain here till my demise I don’t expect you to understand but I just want you to know one thing the dead only die when they’re forgotten so I have a small please don’t forget about me, I know how much pain your going through I wish I could alleviate that pain and just stay by your side however I guess fate had different plans so if you're reading this then perhaps I may be gone from this world I’m sorry Aki i truly do love you so live on for me and don’t stop until you’ve explored the whole world itself I’m sure if it's you then its definitely possible so goodbye Aki
Amy
Reading this, Aki broke down. Tears ran down. He knew something about her that felt off, yet he didn’t bother to question it. He just simply wanted her to be by his side as if nothing happened. He wanted it, yet now it's gone. The one thing he wanted his whole life—someone who would love him and accept him—yet now that one person who brought warmth to his life is now gone.
Yet again, he couldn’t do anything about it. He fell down his will to live, slowly draining away. Nothing in his life mattered anymore—not Amy, not his long-lost parents, not this stuffy kingdom, not this warm two-story house—nothing mattered anymore. He just simply laid down without the motivation to do anything at all. He couldn’t even grieve. He just silently laid down without a shred of life in his blue eyes, his red all a mess, and after a while he closed his eyes and cried himself to sleep.
As much as he hated it, he woke up in the morning. Time still keeps on ticking even after losing someone important to him. He slowly got up grumpily and remembered her letter: ‘’I want you to explore the world on my behalf.'' Don't hold back because of me.'' And so he found light once again. He would become an adventurer and would fulfill the one wish bestowed on him until one day death does him part. No matter what got on my behalf. Don't hold back because of me.'' And so he found light once again. He would become an adventurer and would fulfill the one wish bestowed on him until one day death does him part. No matter what got in his way, he would still move forward regardless of what he lost and what he would gain in the future.
Aki Debut End