The sound of the Rain

3. New life

Finishing early meant Alyia had time to enjoy early spring in Tokyo. On her way back home, there was a city park with small lakes connected by a slow stream and blooming cherry trees. Alyia loved watching cherry trees while they were in full blossom. Her mother was a busy person most of her life. When they moved away after the divorce, her mother became even busier in order to support herself and the child, but during the cherry blossom season, she always made a day or two free so they could go together to enjoy the view. Two years ago, her mother got sick and her health slowly deteriorated, and last year her mother already couldn’t enjoy the season.

The cherry blossom season was at its peak and although the scenery was warm and dazzling, Alyia couldn’t enjoy it to the fullest. Seeing blooming cherry trees brought back the memories of her mother together with sadness, which made her feel cold regardless of the clear sky and warming sun.

Alyia sat for a moment, remembering times she spent alone with her mother. She was never very good at making friends. So far, the boy she left behind here in Tokyo when they moved was her only friend. After moving to Osaka, she had difficulties getting close to other kids, especially since she joined them during the school year. They had already grouped with one another, creating bonds, and Alyia couldn’t convince herself to get into one of those groups. She always felt like trying to steal their friendship. High school wasn’t better either. She had already separated herself from others to the point when she became almost unable to speak to others without feeling anxious. In the end, she just locked herself with her stories, which she scribbled on papers.

The sun moved high in the sky and Alyia realized she should go back home and start her work. The editor gave her just two weeks to finish the first story, and she wanted to finish the second as well before the academic year starts. This left her with only three weeks to finish the stories she had right now on her plate.

When the academic year was behind the door and she knew that within a few days there would be an entrance ceremony, she felt relieved. She finished most of her work and scheduled her meeting with the editor to submit her work. Alyia knew he would give her a few more stories, but since her school had the priority, she would give her more time for those, but getting extra work meant extra money to spend. Not like she was a huge spender and Alyia was still a girl and from time to time she found something she liked and wanted.

Finally, the day of the entrance ceremony came, and she tried her best to look beautiful.

“I can do it.” She bolstered herself, looking in the mirror. Alyia always puts her hair into a bun on the side. She did her hair this way after hitting her head several times when leaning backwards while trying to get some rest after hard work. When she wore a ponytail or made a messy bun at the back of her head. For this reason, she placed her bun on the side, so she would stop accidentally bumping her head during the day.

For most of the days, she used just matte lipstick and mascara. When going out, she put a thin layer of makeup to unify the color of her naturally pale skin and applied an almost invisible blush to add liveliness to her cheeks. Alyia always aimed for a natural look which suited her the best. For today’s ceremony, she picked a simple floral vintage pink dress below her knees. Because of her pale skin, she tried to avoid any kind of dark and heavy colors which would create an unpleasant contrast and make her look sickly. Although the dress suited her, she didn’t feel very comfortable. Too many days she spent in her sweatpants with baggy shirts, so wearing dresses became something unique. She puts the dress on two or three times per year on specific occasions. It was almost like putting on a yukata for summer events, but in yukata she at least felt comfortable.

When meeting with the editor, she went in jeans and a blouse. Such clothes felt natural as well, and they were quite convenient for public transportation. Alyia recognized that the woman in the mirror looked beautiful. She didn’t lack self-confidence about her appearance, but she didn’t know how to work with her natural beauty. The other issue for her was the attention she got while being dressed nicely, but today was different. Today she aimed for attention. Not from young men. No. Alyia tried to look the same as those young women she saw on the streets in groups. She wanted to find a friend or two with whom she could not only study but also spend some free time. Alyia dreamed about going out with girls, sitting in the café, slowly sipping hot drinks and freely discussing anything. It wasn’t something special, but for Alyia, it felt almost like an impossible task.

Lacking social skills was a serious handicap. One day she would have to go job hunting, organise her daily life, deal with colleagues and boss and many other situations that required decent socializing. Alyia, as she was now, lacked even the basic skills.

Although she didn’t feel confident wearing a dress today, she looked at herself one more time, nodding to herself as she tried to gather courage. The first task she placed in front of her was to choose a seat somewhere within others and start a conversation. Introduction should be something easy, or at least she thought so.

The moment Alyia arrived at the bus stop, the bus was already waiting there. She just quickened her pace to be sure to get there before the last passenger got on so he would not leave right in front of her nose. Alyia got on the bus and took a free spot to sit. Her college was closed. Within twenty minutes, she stood in front of the main building.

Entrance ceremonies were usually simple. The top scoring student from the first-year students made a short speech right after the headmaster welcomed everyone on the school grounds and officially started the academic year. After that, most of the students just went to the main office to pick up some necessary documents they needed, and those who got to live in dormitories went to arrange payments and as well pick up keys. Alyia just had to wait until the speeches were done, pick up the papers and leave. The classes were going to start officially tomorrow, so other than this, she had nothing else to do there.

The half-empty room used for these kinds of school events offered enough seats to choose from, but Alyia had already looked around, searching for someone who would sit alone and most likely would be easier to approach.

“Good morning. Is the seat beside you empty?” Alyia approached the girl, who gave out similar vibes. The girl wore a simple dress, below her knees with a pleated jacket. She looked kind of nervous, which gave Alyia courage to come over and join her.

“Ah, sure.” The girl seemed a bit shocked but replied to Alyia with a gentle smile decorating her stiff face. Although she tried her best to look friendly, Alyia knew this girl had most likely the same social distancing issue as her.

“I am Chisaka Alyia. Computer science.” Alyia introduced herself politely while taking a seat right beside the girl. She felt shy, but seeing her having the same issue, she encouraged herself, knowing that there are others with the same issues.

“Takara Riko.” The girl blurted out.

“Nice to meet you.” Alyia nodded to her, keeping her smile and trying to keep her composure as well. ‘I can do it’ echoed in her mind. Other people were pouring inside the room and soon the seat on the other side became occupied too.

Alyia started a conversation with Takara Riko and, in the end, she got to know that they were going to be in the same department. It meant that she would meet Riko daily during the classes, which made her ecstatic. During the little chit-chat they had now, she figured out that Riko might be a good person and they could really become friends. Alyia also offered that they should already form a team. For sure, they would get some teamwork and having already someone in the group meant less stress later while searching for the other members.

Riko followed Alyia to the department office, where they needed to pick up the documents. Alyia invited Riko to walk with her after the ceremony for a while so they could talk a bit more. Once she started the conversation and found the common topic they could talk about, Alyia realized that keeping a conversation going wasn’t that difficult as it seemed a few years ago. Either way, she got the friend she wanted to made as well as the first member of the group for the class tasks.