TIME IS GOLD - BY LIM QIAN WEN (ONE SHOT)

I made this in 2006, when I was 14. This is my fanficiton of the cute series: Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch. It's actually scenes from two episodes of the series, but I modified it a little. It was supposed to be an essay and I thought of this. Still, I hope you enjoyed it. ^^

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(Kaito’s point of view)

 

“Time is gold. I know that now,” I thought as tears welled up my eyes.

 

A thick snowstorm brewed outside. From my window, it was clear that the snow was too thick for anyone to be walking on the streets tonight. In fact, my school trip was just canceled an hour ago because the snow made it impossible for the bus to move. Someone knocked on my door. I opened it to find my classmates, Hannon and Rina, standing outside.

 

“Kaito, where’s Ruchia? She’s missing!” Hannon burst.

 

I paused for a moment as a flashback played in my mind. It was the day before the holidays. We were in school.

 

“Ruchia, aren’t you going for the school trip?” I asked.

 

“Nope, I have something to do,” Her golden eyes looked down. I sensed disappointment from the both of us.

 

“Aww… that’s too bad. And here I thought we could sit in the bus together,” I teased, hoping she would change her mind.

 

“It’s okay. I’ll pack lunch for you to eat in the bus, okay?” She promised.

 

Yes, I thought. She had promised to come see me off. But she didn’t come, did she? Not after what happened.

 

It wasn’t exactly my fault. If only we hadn’t taken that stupid so called “Test of Fear”. To go into a haunted house seemed like a great idea at first. Ruchia had even agreed to come along until Seira wanted to pair up with me and started clinging on to my arm. That was when Ruchia suddenly got angry and took off, just like that. It wasn’t really my fault, more of Seira’s. Did she really come? If I were in her place, I would still be mad. I mean, I should have at least chased after her.

 

“Erm… Kaito? Are you still listening?” Hannon asked as I snapped back to reality.

 

“She was making a lunchbox the whole morning and went out with it. She said something about hoping you would like it so we thought she was coming over, but it seems that she isn’t here. That girl, where could she be? She even said she’ll be back soon, but at this rate, if she’s still outside, God knows what might happen,” Rina stated.

 

“I’m just worried about my best friend,” Hannon sighed.

 

“I’ll go look for her. You two stay here,” I said as I stood up from my seat.

 

“Are you crazy? It’s too dangerous,” Rina objected but I didn’t listen. My mind was made up. If she was out there because of me, nit’s only natural that I should get out there and find her.

 

I grabbed my snowboard from my closet. I put on my boots and put on my coat. With that, I opened the door and stepped out. I’m going to find her, I thought. No matter what. God forbid anything to happen to her.

Rina and Hannon stood outside my house, sending me off, seeing that they could not change my mind.

 

“Good luck,” Hannon whispered.

 

I nodded as I took off. I made my way to where the school bus was. It was kind of hard to tell where was where as the snow was thick and it clouded my vision.

 

“Ruchia! Ruchia! Where are you?!” I shouted, calling out her name numerous times, hoping she would answer. I would never forgive myself if anything were to happen to her. I cursed myself for being so careless.

 

The snow was getting thicker by the minute. My vision was getting more cloudy. I could have knocked into a lamp post, if there was one. Where could she be? I slid swiftly through the snow, calling out her name. Kaito, a voice popped into my head. It was sudden but I was sure I heard her. It was her voice. Then, I saw it. The pinkish light. I shoveled the snow with my board, digging towards the pink light. Afraid I might hurt her, I started digging with my bare hands. Even though it hurt and my hands were starting to get numb, I didn’t care. I need to find Ruchia, I told myself repeatedly. My hands felt something soft and warm. At last, I found Ruchia. She had been under a pile of snow. The pink light from her shell-shaped pendant faded.

 

“Ruchia! Ruchia!” I called her several times, cradling her in my arms, praying she would wake up.

 

I could hear her silent breathing. It was a miracle she was still alive. She was shivering. The weather made it impossible for me to carry her home. I spotted an abandoned shed nearby. I cradled her in my arms and carried her into it. Inside, I found some matches and lit a small fire. I took off my coat and wrapped it around her. She was still shivering. I hugged her tight, praying to God repeatedly for her to wake up.

 

“Ruchia, please open your eyes,” I begged her. “I’m so sorry. Why? Why did you have to do all this?” I cursed myself. It was my entire fault.

 

Her golden eyes opened and stared into mine. I was relieved at this point. She moved her lips as to speak.

 

“Kaito,” She whispered. Her body was weak. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t give you the lunch I promised,” At these words, I felt like I was stabbed by a million daggers of guilt. She had thought I had flirted with another girl. She wasn’t angry. Instead, she was even apologizing for my mistake. What did I ever do to deserve a girl like her? She was like a Goddess to me and I didn’t realize it all this time. Tears of relief and guilt welled up in my eyes as I smiled.

 

“You dummy. You didn’t have to come. Your homemade lunch is nothing compared to you. Don’t ever scare me like that. Next time you want to do something that dangerous, drag me along. There’s no point in living if you weren’t here. Don’t you understand?” I blurted, out of my anger at her risking her life like that and my foolishness. She nodded weakly. I realized I was being too harsh. “It’s alright. I’m here now. Everything will be fine. I’m here. I won’t let you do something like that again.” I smiled.

 

A tear rolled down her pale cheeks as she smiled. She let sleep claim her exhausted body as she nodded.

 

I brushed her hair back and brought my lips close to her ear.

 

“I love you,” I whispered softly, as I kissed her forehead.

 

“Time is gold. I know that now,” I thought as tears welled up my eyes. I was brought to realize this only when I was about to lose my only loved one. Father and Mother have long been gone and she was the only one I had left. It was going to be different now. It was all going to change. This I swore upon myself. I’ll cherish each golden second we share together. I’ll let her know that I love her always and I’ll never let her forget that fact. I’ll never let her forget that she was everything to me and that I’ll protect her and love her always, at least until time runs out.

 

-The end-