First Friend

[The next few days were nothing short of pure torture for Hina. She had been chased away from several alleys by the night guards, who complained about street orphans loitering around.

She also ran into other street kids who were not very welcoming. They would yell at her to leave their spot and called her a monster for her ugly golden eyes. Hina had pleaded with several of them to let her stay for a while, but the world is a jungle and every man must fend for themselves alone. She had learnt that fact the hard way as she got a beating from the bigger kids. She felt as if the world had forsaken her.

She had walked for a long time, resting at random public benches and even stealing some bread and an apple from the marketplace. She felt like such a terrible child. Her mother had told her that children who stole and did bad things would be slaughtered. The thought frightened her but her stomach argued otherwise. She promised to repent after this one time. She would never steal again.

The night air was freezing. Hina rested her chin on her knees, squeezing her tiny body with her arms. The night was young and the illuminating streetlights had been decorated with seemingly never-ending hues of floral paper lanterns, which lightened up the entire city.

It was the norm that was used to start off the Asahi lantern festival.

The festival was annually held during the monsoon seasons in the imperial city of Asahi. Inns were always fully booked and the streets were filled with countless tourists and foreigners, dressed in the most colourful clothes. The festival ran through for a week, with unending events and a display of fireworks.

The aromatic smell of freshly steamed buns, the rich scent of burnt meat combined with the refreshing waves of laughter swirled around Hina, who watched from a distance like a castaway. It was all alien to her; such buzzing happiness and peace. She watched as children held hands with their parents, strolling through the busy streets with candies in their hands and a smile on their faces.

"Mummy let's play there!"

"I want to get a pink lantern too!".

Their happy voices filled the streets of the imperial city. She too wanted to celebrate the lantern festival with her mother, walking hand in hand and eating delicious foods together.

"Look at that girl! It's you again!"

Hina turned to see the same children that had hit and chased her away from the quiet alley she was previously at. They were two boys and a girl, all of who seemed to be older than she was.

"We told you to stay away from here didn't we?" One smirked wickedly.

"You're a monster so go away!"

"The adults won't give us any food if a monster like you keeps sticking around!" They laughed at her and called her names, pushing her off the alley and onto the busy roadside.

Hina was too drained to argue with them. She got up and walked away, ignoring their insults. She clashed shoulders with a stranger and fell, bruising her hands and knees as they collided with the ground.

"Are you okay?"

She didn't answer at first, unaware that the voice was talking to her until the figure tapped her shoulder.

Hina flinched as she looked up from her reverie to see the boy, who was now kneeling beside her. He had such dazzling beautiful hair and shiny eyes paired with long delicate lashes.

"....." she just stared at him, not replying to his question.

"You seem injured..." he awkwardly touched his hair as he looked at her with remorseful eyes.

"I'm sorry for pushing you. I was not looking properly" he slightly bowed his head to apologise.

"I'm fine. It's okay" she finally spoke.

[Why is he saying sorry?...] his attitude was very weird to Hina. No one ever apologized to her.

"Are you here alone?" He asked inquisitively, tilting his head to the side as he stared at her. He looked like an angel.

"My mother left me here..." she suddenly said, not wanting to dive into the topic any further.

The boy slowly assisted her up and she realised he was much taller than her. She wondered what other children ate that made them so much bigger than her.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to..." he replied understandably.

Hina remained silent, not sure of what to say.

"I know this is sudden but...do you want to be my friend?" He abruptly asked such an odd question. The situation was a bit suspicious to Hina who never had friends. No one ever wanted to be her friend so why now? What did he want? Indeed he was an unusual character. Saying sorry and now asking to be friends.

"Why do you want to be friends with me?"

"Hmm... because I like your eyes. They're pretty and rare" he replied confidently.

Hina didn't know if she could believe his words. Everyone told her she looked ugly with her eyes, even her mother. He was undeniably strange but for some reason, his reply made her feel warm.

[My eyes are beautiful?]

"If you become my friend, I'll buy you tons of food"

"...Really?"

"Yes. So what's your answer?"

Hina contemplated for a while. She knew she couldn't trust strangers but he looked like an angel. Plus, he was the first person to ask for her friendship. He also offered to buy her food, so she had nothing to lose.

"En...okay" she finally mumbled.

He smiled at her words and offered her his hands.

"Then let's go"

The two walked through the streets, pushing through the bustling crowds.

"Let's go there" he referred to a street food joint that had mitarashi dango(pickled plum) displayed on sticks and the two rushed over.

"Can we get two each?" He asked

"Of course! Here you go!" The seller handed two to Hina who was in a daze. It was her first time seeing such amazing food on a stick! It looked so delicious.

"Do you like it?" He asked her with a childish smug on his face.

"Yes, it's sweet!" She exclaimed, licking her lips as she ate on.

"Oh, my~ I'll give you an extra because your sister is so cute!" The seller presented them with another plum as they left.

They had stopped for some dorayaki and chicken skewers; all of which Hina had eaten with so much thrill. It was her first time tasting so many savoury and sweet foods. She secretly stuffed some into her food wrap for a rainy day as she didn't know when she would get to eat some again.

"Eat slowly," the angel boy told her. He handed her some water to drink as he noticed she was choking on her food.

"Okay, thank you" she smiled at him, carefully holding onto the water bottle with her small hands.

He kept staring at her; her tiny hands, her small mouth that seemed to eat everything at once and her beautiful golden eyes. She had appeared out of nowhere when he wasn't in a good mood. Today of all days. But for some reason, she reminded him of himself. That sad and detached look in her eyes were akin to his, it made him curious about her.

He wanted to ask her about her eyes, her injuries, her mother, all of it. However, they had just met and he didn't want to force her to talk about anything that could make her uncomfortable.

"Wow! There are so many stars today too!" Hina suddenly exclaimed, stretching her hand towards the sky as if to pick a star.

"Yes, there is" he looked up and noticed.

"It's so beautiful.." she trailed off, watching the stars with a distant dreaminess to her gaze.

"Yes, it is" he smiled at her.

The freezing night air suddenly felt so warm and Hina was engulfed in a sense of familiarity and sweet comfort, by the smiles and happiness that filled the bustling streets. This was how it felt to have a friend. This was the feeling she had longed for; a feeling of belonging.

_____

Hina held onto the boy's hands as they wandered across the parkways. She spotted some children lining up in front of a shop to buy something that looked like the clouds. The angel boy noticed and asked her,

"Do you want to get some cotton candy?"

"Cotton candy?"

"Yes, that's the name"

In an instant, he was back with a huge blue and white fluffy cotton candy in his hand, waving the cane at Hina with a smile.

"Here," he handed it to her, gazing closely at her childish reaction.

"Wow! It looks like clouds on a stick!" She softly exclaimed. He chuckled lightly, telling her to eat it slowly.

Hina felt like she was in a dream of some sort. The most beautiful dream she had ever had. In this dream, she had a friend, she got to celebrate the festival and eat as much as she wanted. It was the happiest she had been in a long time and she hoped this dream wouldn't end.

"Do you want to see something special?" He asked her.

"Something special? Where?"

"Follow me" he replied, leading her away from the crowded areas to the golden fountain at the City Park.

The two sat on a bench in front of the water fountain, taking a break from the rowdy night.

"Why did your mother leave you here?" His question jolted Hina. She wasn't expecting the subject to come up again.

"Ah...because mother said she didn't want me anymore.."

"....why did she say that?"

"Well...because father said he didn't want anything to do with me.." She explained in a sullen mood. Still, it felt easy for Hina to tell angel boy about these things. She wondered if it was because she knew they wouldn't see each other after tonight. From his pristine appearance to the amount of money he had spent, he was certainly not a street kid. Like a dream, she would wake up tomorrow morning and he would be gone.

"Well, that's their loss" He told her, his hair sparkling under the night light,

"Since neither of them want nothing to do with you, do I get to have you all to myself?" He asked innocently with a smile spread across his beautiful face.]