Summer: A Salty Snow That Warms The Hidden; Soul PT. 4/4

I groaned as I stretched, packing away the few things I had brought with me.

"Everybody's gone home already, right?" Hiro asked, leaning against a nearby umbrella.

The sun was now setting, our beach-filled adventure at an end. The last to leave was Prez, waving us a constant goodbye as she slowly walked to the nearby bus stop.

"Yeah, it's just me and you left," I said, slinging my bag over my shoulder. I then turned towards my bike, still half-buried under the sand. "I really don't know how I'm getting back though…"

"Oh right, your bikes wrecked now." Hiro tugged it out the sand and gently placed it in front of me. "Seriously, how did you even manage that?"

"Well, it was old to begin with, but I guess pedaling as fast as I could for an hour takes its toll. The fall didn't help." Besides the bike chain having snapped, the seat had cracked in two, and the handlebars had bent almost beyond repair, along with both tires being flat. "Maybe it can be fixed?"

Hiro just shook his head. "Easier to just get a new one. Unless it means a lot to you."

"I've had it for so long, but it kinda a shame that it's busted." Yep, that bike holds a lot of memories for me, both good and bad.

I remember a couple years back in middle school I used this bike to get away from home. My mother's mother was visiting, and Lachesis was out of town that week. So, I simply got on my bike and left. I was gone for the entire week she was there, and I spent it near the farmlands.

There was a nice old couple that took me in for the week, and I remember that was probably one of the happiest times I had, far away from my family, meeting people who didn't know anything about me or my problems.

One night, I wasn't able to sleep for whatever reason, so I decided to take a walk in the nearby fields. The night sky was brilliantly lit up by the greatest number of stars I had ever seen, and a full moon accompanied them to light up the world.

It was a beautiful scene that helped solidify the memory of my time there, and I ended up falling asleep underneath that night sky, gazing at the sky I saw once and would never see again.

Because after that, there was only darkness…

YOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULT!

I felt myself drifting away from the picturesque scene as I slowly fell back down into the dark pit, the cold enveloping me as I drifted further and further…

YOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULT!!

I suddenly found myself on a grainy surface, and I started to panic when I heard a familiar voice.

"Ah, I see you're finally awake then."

I opened my eyes to see Hiro sitting next to me on the sand, gazing out at the darkening sea while absentmindedly drawing in sand.

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

He snorted. "Please, remember what happened last time?"

"That was an accident and you know it!"

"Yeah, yeah whatever."

I sat up and looked down at the sand. "…Sorry."

He looked at me before responding. "How often?"

"Every day now. Occasionally more."

"Tch." He made a clicking noise with his tongue before sighing. "Come on, let's go home already."

He gave me a hand up, and we both looked back at the sea before walking up the sand dunes, towing along a broken bike.

I've known Hiro since sophomore year, and he's what I would consider my one and only best friend. He's always willing to help me, regardless of how the situation looks. He's a tad bit strange at times, but he's an overall good guy.

I glanced at him as we walked back towards the bustling city, and he seemed to be deep in thought. Of all the people I've met, they always tend to ask me sooner or later what happened to my family, and I've always responded painfully, it always bringing back dreadful memories. But Hiro's different. Not once has he asked me a single thing about my past. I asked him about it one day, and he said the most shocking thing.

"The past makes you depressed, and thinking about the future gives you anxiety, so the best one to think about is the present. That goes for you especially Depra. I won't ask, but I'll be here if you need to talk."

I was stunned. I later found out he was quoting what someone else said in an anime, but the feeling was still there. He really was a kind person, the kindest I've ever met.

A slap on the back brought me back to reality, and I had found we were getting closer to the urban area of the city.

"So, how has your break been so far?"

"Oh, that. It's been fine, I guess. I've been mostly sleeping though, both outside and inside."

"So, in other words, you haven't done anything substantial yet."

"Gh!" The words struck straight to the point, and I frowned at his statement. "Yeah, I guess I haven't huh?"

"Good, then stay over at my place for a while."

"Huh? Where's that coming from?"

"Duh, so I can absolutely destroy you in games. Also, so I can make sure you're watching the anime I've recommended."

"Hey, I've gotten better at that racing game!"

"Famous last words."

I rolled my eyes, and Hiro started to chuckle. "Man though, we really are far away from my house. I forgot how long it takes."

"How did your sister get home?"

"She went with her friends, so she got a ride from them. She's also sleeping over at their house for a while, so it'll just be me for about a week."

"Is that why you asked me to come over? So you wouldn't be lonely?"

"Nope, it's so you're not lonely."

I gave him a light punch in the arm, but, nonetheless, appreciated the gesture. "I don't have clothes though, so are we stopping by my house?"

"We're about the same size, so you can use my stuff. Worst comes to worst we'll go shopping for you."

Now that I think about it… "We are the same height, aren't we?"

He grinned. "Yep, we sure are. You used to be a lot shorter than me, but you managed to catch up to me yah sly dog!" He messed with my hair before laughing, and I couldn't help but laugh too.

"Still, I wish your sister was there too…"

"I'll kill you, you know that right?"

I gave him a slight shove. "Um, what was the word again? Ah right, siscon. Mr. siscon, I have no interest in your sister. I just really like her cooking is all."

He glared at me. "I'm not a sister lover thank you very much! Also, I asked her ahead of time to make meals for two."

"Ah, so you were planning to ask me for a while then?"

"Don't think too deeply on it man. I just know you eat trash every day."

While it was true that I was eating junk every day, I also knew that I hadn't eaten anything homecooked in a long time. And his sister's Luna's cooking was godtier, so I wasn't about to complain.

"Well, lucky me I guess."

Hiro smiled at me before nodding. "Good, then I'll race you to the house then?"

"Like hell I'll race you!"

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I yawned as I collapsed onto the bed, having borrowed some of Hiro's pajamas.

I was in Hiro's house, more specifically inside the guest bedroom. I would normally sleep in the same room as Hiro, but he said I could have the room since his normal guest will be gone for a while, whatever that meant.

I sprawled out on the comfy bed, looking at my arm before I realized I had almost forgotten.

I stared at the phone number on my arm, starting to fade from the sea and having taken a shower a couple minutes before. Crap, I need to call this girl.

I grabbed my phone from my bag and entered the number in before pressing call.

The line rung for a bit before it answered with a click.

"Is that you Depra?"

"Um, yeah."

"I said later today, not almost at midnight!" I pulled the phone away from my ear as she yelled at me.

"…Sorry."

I could hear her sigh before she continued. "Well, at least you remembered. What took you so long anyway?"

"I'm staying at a friends house, so it took us a while to get back, since I brought my broken bike with me."

"Broken bike?"

"It broke when I rode it to the beach."

"I see. Well, now that you've called, let's get to the main topic at hand. I just found out I'll be out of town for about a month or so, so we won't be able to hang out until the end of summer break."

"Oh, okay. Well, whatever works for me, so just call me when you get back, I guess."

"No, this is the part when you tell me when you're free!"

I frowned. "But I'm always free?"

"But you're not-! Ugh never mind. I forgot how you are." What was that supposed to mean? "So, I expect us to keep in touch now that we have each other's numbers then, okay?"

"But I don't really do-!"

"Not allowed."

I got cut off when she said that, and I started to scratch my unkempt hair. "I'll do my best then."

"Good. So, I'll talk to you later then, okay?"

"Ye-yeah, sounds good."

"Alright, bye Depra!" and before I could say anything else, she had hung up. I stared down at my phone for a bit, confused at what just happened.

"Why are girls like this anyway?" I muttered to myself as I plugged my phone into the charger. She was rather weird, but not in a bad way though. A breath of fresh air so to speak.

The door opened, and Hiro waltzed in, yawning. "I would stay up longer, but today wiped me out, so I'm going to bed."

"Oh, okay. I was just about to too."

"Alright, then see you in the morning."

"I think you mean afternoon."

"So you do get it then." He gave me a small wave. "Night Depra."

"Night Hiro." He closed the door behind him, and I was left in the room alone.

I fell back into the bed, the memories of today still fresh in my mind. "I really had a lot of fun today," I murmured as my consciousness started to fade into a peaceful slumber.

Oh right, that girl's name. I just remembered. I grabbed my phone and made a new contact, saving her phone number before entering in her first name.

I put it in before turning off the nearby lamp, bringing the only light in the room from the night sky,

Still, what an interesting name she has. Those were my last thoughts before the clutches of sleep finally took me away.

Pandora…