After dinner they walked hand in hand for a long time chatting until the could see a large park. Eizan led her into the park until he noticed a swing set off in the distance. “Do you want to go on the swing set with me?”

She smiled. “Sure.”

They made their way to the swing set and started to swing next to each other. They were giggling and chatting the whole time. Eventually the slowed down and were just sitting next to each other on the swings. “That was fun. I still like the swing set. It reminds me how much of a kid I still am.”

Mio chuckled. “Yeah.” She looked over at him and noticed the sad small smile on his face again. “When are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”

Eizan turned his gaze towards her. “Mio, do you love me?”

She smiled. “I thought that was a given at this point.”

Eizan chuckled. “Can you say it?”

She smiled. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

She sighed. “What’s wrong?”

“If I had to go somewhere for a long time, would you wait for me?”

She stared at him for a few seconds. “Are you going somewhere?”

Eizan chuckled. “You didn’t answer my question?”

She sighed. “That depends. Even though I love you. I don’t think I would wait forever.”

Eizan nodded. “I guess that makes sense. I couldn’t move away for ten years and expect you to wait for me.”

Mio tiled her head to the side. “How long are you going to be gone?”

Eizan shrugged and stared down at the ground kicking it with his foot. “I’m not sure yet. I’m really having a hard time with this. I don’t want to leave in the first place.”

“Can you tell me why you’re leaving?”

“I can.”

She sighed. “Well, out with it.”

Eizan chuckled. “Aren’t you being a little pushy?”

“You’re avoiding answering me.”

Eizan stood up and walked towards her as she still sat on the swing. He leaned down and kissed her on the lips. He stood back up and extended his hand. “Let’s walk for a bit longer.”

She sighed. “Fine.”

They continued through the park. Mio looked around noticing that it was getting rather late. The sun was closing in on the horizon and the sky had taken on a slightly orangish pink hue. They walked quietly through the park until Eizan led her to a park bench by a small pong. They both sat there for a few minutes with Mio finally leaning her head on his shoulder.

Eizan didn’t look down at her and inhaled a deep breath. He got a whiff of her shampoo as he did. He stared at the water as he spoke. “I can’t move back in with you for a while.”

Mio chuckled. “I figured that much.”

Eizan shook his head. “I think I need to clarify something. I’m moving away because of that.”

Mio sat up and stared at him. “We don’t have to live together you know.”

Eizan smiled. “Yeah, I know.” He turned and stared at her. The locked eyes. “The problem is those beautiful blue eyes of yours. I can’t control myself around them.”

Mio tilted her head to the side. “You’re not making any sense.”

Eizan giggled. “Yeah, probably not. The problem is were still kids. We should have never lived together in the first place. It’s dangerous to our futures.”

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Mio sighed. “I get that much. But why do you have to move away?”

“I can’t stay here. I’ll never be able to control myself for that long. And if us living together was any indication neither, will you. We will still have plenty of opportunities to be alone together and that’s not necessarily a good thing.”

Mio shook her head. “I think we controlled ourselves really well. We never actually did the thing you know.”

Eizan chuckled. “Yeah, we held out fairly well. We only really fooled around. But that’s partially because I made sure to hold myself back. You sure did try me though.”

Mio stared at him. “Did we really need to hold back that much. We are engaged after all.”

Eizan sighed. “I’ve been holding this back for a long time.” He shifted his gaze out towards the water again. “I had never intended to stay her for this long. I never expected to fall in love with you. It frankly set back my plans by a lot.”

“You stayed here because of me? Are you taking over your grandfather company already?”

Eizan shook his head. “I never intend to take over his company. His business deals are all too shady for me. I don’t like the way he does things. I plan to split everything apart and give it to charity. I don’t want a dime of his money. I’ll destroy the whole thing the second he gives it to me.”

Mio gasped. “That’s crazy.”

Eizan smiled mischievously. “Will you still love me if I’m broke?”

Mio sighed. “Of course, you idiot.”

Eizan chuckled. “I don’t think I could be classified as an idiot.”

Mio giggled and covered her mouth as she laughed. “You’re not stupid. But that doesn’t mean your not an idiot.” She reached up and stroked his cheek staring directly into his eyes. “I fell in love with you when I thought you were poor. Nothing will change if you actually are.” She puffed out her chest. “But if you think for a second, I won’t make good money, think again.”

“Is that why you’ve been reading all those finance and business books?”

Mio nodded. “After working with Alicia, I finally figured out what I want to do. I want to get into finance. Ideally, I want to be the CEO of some big company out there.”

Eizan smiled at her. “I’m glad you found your calling.”

Mio looked down at he hands that were clasped together on her lap. “So, when are you leaving?”

Eizan sighed. “Technically, I already left.”

Mio looked up at him. “What do you mean?”

He reached out and grabbed her hands. “I’m leaving my family behind. I have a little money stashed away. I’m not telling anyone where I’m going. Probably somewhere out of the country. I haven’t really decided yet.”

She shook her head. “That’s crazy. Your parents will freak out.”

Eizan shook his head. “I’m sure they will understand. Especially, mother. It might take Elise a little while to get over it though. Honestly, I’m more worried about you.”

Mio blinked as she could see the concerned look on his face. “I’m giving you until I enroll in college. I’ll wait until then. If you don’t show up by then I’ll take it as you’ve left me for good.”

Eizan sighed and rubbed the top of his head. “Damn, that’s going to make this whole thing hard.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cellphone and handed it to her.

She stared at the phone in her hands. “What’s this?”

“It has my new number stored in it. Just because I’m leaving doesn’t mean I don’t want to talk with you. You’re the only one who is going to have my new number. Keep anyone from finding out about it and don’t put my new number in your phone.”

She blinked. “Did you throw your old phone away?”

Eizan nodded. “I left it in my apartment.”

Mio sighed. “You’ve really put a lot of thought into this haven’t you?”

Eizan stared up at the sky. “I’ve been planning it for years. The pressure my family has been putting on me is immense. If it wasn’t for you, I would have already disappeared. You actually almost made me change my mind. I almost took over that bastard’s company. But I think my original plan is the best.”

“If you have been planning this for years, I know you have something planned. Will you tell me what it is?”

Eizan shook his head. “No, I don’t think that is a good idea. It’s better if you don’t know what I’m going to be doing.” He scratched his cheek. “But before college is going to be hard.”

Mio chuckled. “You better work hard then.” She leaned forward and lightly pecked him on the lips. “I’ll be waiting.”

Eizan grabbed her and pulled her into his embrace. “I’m sorry.” Mio’s eyes started to tear up as she placed her head on his chest. He knew she was holding herself back from crying.

She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “Do you really have to go?”

He nodded. “If we want to have a happy married life later. I do.”

She rubbed her head back and forth on his chest. “I’m sure I’d be happy no matter what.”

Eizan sighed. “Noone is truly happy being a bird in a cage.”

They sat in the park for a long time. The sun slowly started to go down and Eizan finally told her it was time to leave. Before he left, he told her to hold out her hand. She opened her palm as and looked at what he handed her. In her hand was a small gold ring. It was nothing fancy just a simple white gold band. She looked up at him with teary eyes. Eizan scratched his cheek and awkwardly said. “Since were engaged I thought it would be a good idea to get you a ring. Just something to remember me by.” He held up his hand and showed her he had a matching one on his left hand. “I got a matching one.” She blinked a few times staring at him in shock. “Is that ok?”

She suddenly hugged him. “Of course it’s ok, you dummy.”