seasons by wave to earth

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The morning sun painted the sky in soft hues of pink and orange, the day Mei's final year at school would start.

The distant sound of rain tapping against her window with long intervals reminded her that Kyona's unpredictable weather was in full swing once again as she sat at her desk, waking up from a slightly restless night as she peered out of her window. The storm from a few days ago had left behind a tranquil aftermath, cleansing the town of the heaviness it had previously brought upon it.

Uncle Ryu had been upset. The rain was so bad and sharp on the skin that poker night had been postponed.

A knock on Mei's bedroom door tore her away from the window. Aunt Hana poked her head inside, her face already made and her slim figure already dressed over her slippers. She carried a glistening, wooden tray that Mei and Ryu had made together years ago, in Mr. Young's woodworking shop.

Every time Mei laid eyes on that tray, the scent of wood and fire returned to her, alongside the memory of the splinters Mr. Young had removed from her trembling fingers with a needle. She'd been nine years old and Ryu had carried her all the way home, as if she'd been gravely injured.

Hana treasured that tray like none other. She treasured all the gifts Mei had given her: pinecones, dried leaves, twigs, pieces of cloth and drawings made with empty pens and scratchy pencils. Even the crafts Mei would take home from school. They adorned the house like they were the greatest things the family had ever owned.

"First day," Hana mused, stepping inside. "How do you feel?"

Mei sat at the desk as Hana put the tray down. She'd prepared the ginseng tea, riceballs, steamed vegetables and peeled tangerines for breakfast. All of Mei's favourites peered up at her, waiting.

"It doesn't feel like anything, just like any other day."

"Maybe that's for the better. You should enjoy it while it lasts." Hana started making Mei's bed, straightening out the comforter and fluffing her pillows. Then she sat on the floor as she watched her niece eat, a hand supporting her head. "I heard about what happened at the store."

"What happened?" Mei asked, her mouth full.

"Your uncle said he suspected someone of stealing. A kid. Did you know him?"

Mei's mind drifted back to the stranger she had encountered at the corner store a few days earlier. She hesitated before responding. "I... don't know him. He came in to buy a chocolate bar, but Uncle Ryu thought he might have taken something else."

Hana's eyes were gentle as she observed Mei. "And what do you think?"

Mei put down her chopsticks, her thoughts momentarily tangled. "He was in and out so fast. I don't know."

But she did know. Nobody would travel through a storm like that for a mere chocolate bar, whether it's their favourite or not.

Mei recalled the way he fisted his hand in the pocket of his hoodie and his lack of words or protests when Uncle Ryu called him out. She didn't know what compelled her to lie for him, but she couldn't say that she regretted it.

Hana gave her a knowing smile, as if she could read Mei's thoughts. "Well, you've always had a good judge of character. If you feel like he wasn't stealing, then I trust your intuition."

Mei swallowed her guilt and nodded, grateful for her aunt's understanding. Hana had a way of making Mei feel valued and heard, even when she wasn't entirely sure of her own feelings.

"Are you excited for your last year of school?" Hana asked, her tone soft.

Mei's shoulders lifted in a half-hearted shrug. "I'm just allowing it to happen."

Hana chuckled, her fingers reaching out to brush a strand of hair behind Mei's ear. "You're so much like your father sometimes. He used to say the same thing. I'm just allowing it to happen."

Aunt Hana and Uncle Ryu had an agreement, Mei knew, to slip her parents into conversations, ideas and plans. They made such an effort to keep the relation between them alive, but Mei couldn't have a relationship with her parents without... well, her parents.

Hana, like always, seemed to know what she was thinking about. "I know it's not the same, Mei, but they love you so much. Your father had to make a difficult choice back then, and he believed that leaving you with us was the best thing for you."

Mei nodded again, her throat tightening with emotion. She knew Hana believed what she was saying, and she didn't dare share her contrasting ideas on the matter.

As Mei finished her breakfast, Hana rose to her feet, walking over to the window to gaze outside. The rain had slowed to a gentle drizzle, and the town seemed to have awoken from its slumber.

"It's a new day, Mei," Hana said softly, her eyes fixed on the horizon. "Who knows what it might bring?"

With Hana's words lingering in her mind, Mei finished getting ready for school and set off, her umbrella in hand as she navigated the wet streets.

There was much to think about. For now, Mei directed her dark eyes to the sky and made note of how fast the clouds passed by, but the morning lacked the wind that normally accompanied it. She wondered if she would need her umbrella, but fate was funny. Whenever she left it at home, it would pour, and whenever she took it with her, droughts crossed over Kyona like a sick joke.

Far ahead, further down the hill, Mei noticed a familiar dark head bobbing up and down. She knew immediately who this was: her best friend since she moved into town, Minnetta.

"Netta!" She called, fastening her pace. The steepness pulled her forward, until she found herself having to keep up with her legs instead of the other way around.

Her friend turned, a toothy smile overcoming her flushed face. "Mei-Mei!" She called back, high-pitched and matching her friend's energy.

Mei collapsed against her, laughter brewing in her chest. She always felt younger when she was by Netta's side.

"What do you think of my hair?" Netta asked, twirling a strand with her fingers.

Mei studied the glossy half-up-half-down atop Netta's head, but nothing stood out. "I love it," she said.

Netta seemed satisfied. Her smile brightened as she slung her arm through Mei's, dragging her further down the hill. She seemed ready for the new year, Mei noticed, in a way that she could never relate to. Netta always seemed to know what was coming.

The school was like its very own gated community, nestled between the mountains near sea-level. It merged with the kindergarten, so that every afternoon the noises of children shrieking and playing pulled Mei and her friends from their concentration.

It didn't help that their classroom was positioned over the courtyard, directly in line of the sun. In the afternoon, right before the lunch bell rang, Mei would be blinded by the golden sunrays that would reflect from the lake's surface, deepening her drowsiness as it mixed with her hunger.

She suspected it would be no different today. As she took her seat, she quietly observed the faces that entered her classroom. Their slim bodies were all dressed in the same uniform until the sight blurred in front of Mei's eyes. She recognised all of them. They were the faces she'd also met when she moved into Kyona all those years ago.

But one face unblurred her sight. Mei recognised him immediately. The sharp angles, the angry eyes, their light color. He was the boy from the convenience store, the boy she'd lied for.

Whoever he was, he hogged the attention of more students than just Mei. Behind her, her friends Juliana and Chisa nudged each other, just as they hissed at Netta when she returned from a trip to the bathroom. "Who is that?" Mei pretended not to know.

Which was an act she couldn't hold up for long: in what seemed to only be a split second, the stranger caught her eye, seemed to recognise her, and swiftly switched directions to end up right in front of her table, towering over her confused form.

The entire class seemed to suck in a breath at the same time Mei did.

He dropped a money bill on her table. "For the other day," he said.

Mei hesitantly reached out her hand, her fingers just barely touching the paper. "You already paid for the—" She stopped herself, remembering the fist in his pocket, the receipt she held in front of Uncle Ryu's eyes, and the lie she told. So he really did steal something that day.

She wasn't sure if it mattered. At least he paid for it, although belatedly. She pressed her lips into a firm line as she stuck the bill into her backpack.

The stranger stepped away as soon as she did and took a seat in the far back, by the window that looked out over the lake.

It took a few seconds for the excited chatter to return. Mei's friends wasted no time.

"What was that about? Do you know him?" Netta near squeaked, leaning in close.

Mei stole a glance at him and looked away quickly, shaking her head. She felt embarrassed at the attention the girls were giving her. "He came into the store a few days ago."

"Maybe I should get a job in Uncle Ryu's store, too," Chisa sighed wistfully.

"I don't think I've ever seen a boy with a buzzcut like that," Juliana piped in. "My Mom disapproves of shaved heads. She says hair is valuable like gold. One time, she insisted on having my fortune told with it. The lady put on gloves and plucked just one strand out like a blade of grass."

The three girls' hands shot up to their heads as if they could feel the sensation as Juliana said it.

"What came out of it? The fortune telling?" Chisa asked.

Juliana shrugged lazily, propping her chin up on her palm. "I don't remember. She did finish by telling my Mom I had lice, though. I spent that entire summer with my head in the sink, but it turned out to be dandruff."

"I think it's cool," said Netta.

"The dandruff?"

"The buzzcut." Netta's eyes returned to the stranger, who by now had to know that people were talking about him, but gave no reaction.

Mei laughed at the exchange, quietly agreeing with Netta. It was definitely cool. The buzzcut. And the person it belonged to.

"Why do you think he moved here?" Chisa asked, lowering her voice. "It's our last year of high school. And there's no university here."

"Not everyone has plans of going to university. He might like the mountains," Netta suggested with a shrug of her shoulders.

Chisa disagreed. "He doesn't really come across as someone who appreciates a nice scenery."

Despite the fact that the stranger had claimed arguably the best seat in the room, with the best views and a safe distance from the chalkboard, he hadn't looked outside even once. Instead, he put a pen to a blank sheet of paper and was endlessly scribbling, his gaze absent.

In a whim, Juliana reached out her arms and they landed on Mei's shoulders, startling her. "Mei-Mei, let us come to work with you after school," she near-commanded.

"The chances of him returning are very slim, you know. There are lots of other convenience stores closer to school," Mei reminded her.

But Juliana shook her head. "Him coming to Uncle Ryu's store the other day has to mean that he lives close by to you."

The other two girls, Netta and Chisa, seemed to be sold immediately. They were coming to work with her, whether Mei liked it or not.

In the front of the room, they heard the sharp noise of chalk on chalkboard. Their homeroom teacher had entered in the meantime: a stark young man with the thickest glasses in the world. The students often joked about how Mr. Ohara was practically blind. He didn't mind it.

He waited for silence when he turned back, then cracked a smile. "It's good to see you all back," he said. "I even see some new faces. Or one new face, at least."

It took Mei a second to realise who he was talking about.

"Would you like to come up here and introduce yourself?"

The boy obviously had no intention of doing so. He remained seated and gestured vaguely to his leg. "I have an injury," he said.

Mr. Ohara nodded. "Ah, I see. Then I'll introduce you," he said. "Everyone, Ren moved here for his senior year. Let's all welcome him nicely and help him out, okay?"

The students nodded, their excitement palpable. Mei couldn't really blame them. She remembered what it had been like when she was the new kid. Her peers were obsessed with her for a good two years before she found some peace.

"This year is quite different from the others," Mr. Ohara continued. "The National College Entrance Examinations are in May, and as per school policy our primary focus this year should be preparing for the exams. But I'm your favourite teacher for a reason." He grinned, turning back to the chalkboard.

Mei watched as the words 'Community Service Initiative' appeared at the end of Mr. Ohara's piece of chalk. As it became clear what he was writing down, the class groaned as one collective. After all, the project was something nobody was particularly looking forward to.

The community service initiative was an infamous assignment for last-year students. On top of their regular schoolwork and preparing for the NCEE's, students would have to pair up and organize a community service project to devote their free time to during the year. It was a good idea, and it genuinely brought on some great initiatives, but complaints about this project still trickled down the chain of grades.

Mr. Ohara leaned his weight onto his bookstand. "Next week you and your partner will hand in your proposals for your community service project. Lucky for you, I've taken the liberty of pairing you up myself."

The groans increased in volume. Mr. Ohara, as he often did, looked unbothered. He adjusted his glasses on his nose and retrieved a sheet of lined paper from his leather messenger bag, clearing his throat. "I'll name the pairs now."

But he really was their favourite teacher for a reason. Mr. Ohara had been kind enough to pair his students with their friends. Juliana and Chisa were paired together. As were Netta and Kenzo, an unassuming boy they'd been classmates with forever. As for Mei...

She kind of felt it coming. Mr. Ohara looked up, his gaze falling on the boy in the back. "...And Mei and Ren."

For some reason, her stomach dropped.

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