S is for ...

S is for... Smile/Seafarer/Stay/Sky/Still

She wore an S-shaped pendant. People always assumed that it was her initial, since her name was Shien.

She never said anything to dispel their misconceptions. After all, if people wanted to jump to their own conclusions, why hinder them?

He knew the meaning of that S. But he could keep secrets better than a dead man, so there was no point in asking him. As if you could get that close to him anyway. He was as cold as ice. But most people, they didn't know. They couldn't, because his coldness was hidden below his gentleness.

She always said that he was so gentle because he had a heart of ice. He would only smile his usual enigmatic smile in reply.

His smile. That was like the tip of an iceberg. She would think of the poems he wrote whenever she thought of his smile. They revealed yet concealed, and she could never know what he was really thinking.

He told her that sometimes, even he himself was unsure. But it was ok, because that element of uncertainty made life interesting. Not as interesting as her, of course, he would tease her.

"Me? I am just a girl, I am nobody special." she would shake her head shyly.

"But you are special to me, and you know it." he would reply sincerely while gazing into her huge hazel eyes. The way he could be so flippant one moment and so serious another never failed to astound her. She was deeply attracted by that indescribable quality of his, some attribute that drew her like no one else could.

She would never forget the expression on his face then. He looked very contented, as though he were a seafarer who had found his harbor. Deep inside her heart, she was happy that she could be his harbor. Even though he had not told her that he loved her, the way she loved him.

But ships are not meant to stay in port forever, are they?

He left without telling her the three words that she wanted to hear. He left silently with the dawn, without a word. He left while she was still dreaming. He left her behind, with only their shared memories. And that S-shaped pendant. And three words scribbled on a piece of Post-It.

For you, Shien

She put the pendant on, and wore it the way he used to, the way he was wearing it the first day they met. In Shinjuku Gyoen on a fine Spring day, when the cherry blossoms were in full bloom.

"That's a nice pendant you have on" she remarked.

"Thank you. I am Seiji, and you are?" his husky voice contrasted sharply with his boyish good looks.

"I am Shien." she replied.

That was how it began, with a smile. He came the way he left, like a gust of wind, leaving behind the sky.

On the radio, that Aoyama Teruma song was playing. ~あなたのこと　私は今でも思い続けているよ いくらとき流れていこうと　I'm by your side baby いつでもSo. どんなに離れていようと　心の中はいつでも一緒にいるけど　寂しいんだよSo baby please ただ　hurry back home...

Somewhere out there, the sky still waits silently for the wind's return.

~~~
On the cruise ship, the bartender in the ship's bar smiled when he listened to the radio. It was her favorite song.