Ink of Hearts

I don’t know how I came here. When I opened my eyes, I was already here. Everything in front of me was plain, void of everything. All I saw was white and all I could hear was my breathing.
Below me is white, above me is white, in front of me is white and behind me is white.
Where am I?
I have no idea. That’s when I started walking because I want to find out where I was.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
I haven’t stopped walking ever since I came here but my heart was having a steady rhythm. It became my lullaby, my song, my distraction.
I haven’t stopped to sleep or rest because I felt no reason to do so. I felt perfectly fine. So I continued walking.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
How long have I been here? I have no idea. There’s no way to tell the time. I just kept walking.
Thud. Thud. Thu-
Ow!
What the-What’s this?
It felt cold when I touched it and it was hard when I braced it with my hands. I tried to continue walking forward but it seems it wouldn’t budge no matter how much I tried to push past it.
How could I know where I am if this stupid thing is in front of me? I mean come on! Look at the other side! It actually has a color! It seems to be green and there’s cloud and there’s a sun and there’s grass! Unlike here, everything is white.
That’s not fair!
Frustrated I punched it again and again because I felt nothing whenever I do even if a color red started to show so I did it again and again until whatever that is in front of me started to have a red-colored mark.
Yet nothing happened. Stupid obstacle! I wonder what this is though. Hmm…what was that saying again? If you can’t walk straight at it, go around it…or something like that.
So I did just that. I kept a hand on the obstacle and started running to see where it ends so I could go to the other side. Hopefully I would find it sooner.
I found something after running for I don’t know how long. Unfortunately it wasn’t the exit that I wanted.
It was someone like me but was sleeping on the other side.
Who is this? I then kicked on the obstacle since ‘someone’ was lying against it. At first there was no response, heavy sleeper I guess.
Kick! Nothing.
Kick! Still nothing.
Kick! A response!
For some reason, I started getting excited. Maybe it’s because I thought I was alone all this time. I started knocking on it and when I did, I was met with curious silver eyes. The ‘someone’ stood up then said something. I heard nothing so I shook my head to show it.
‘Someone’ tried again with a seemingly louder volume but still nothing. Maybe there’s really no voice.
The look of frustration was there and it looks similar to mine when I saw this stupid obstacle! Hehe it feels weird to see someone mimicking the same expression.
Then I saw something strange being shown right in front of me. It was long and lay on a pale palm. There was a smile like the ‘someone’ had found the exit.
‘?siht tuoba woh, em raeh t’nac uoy ecniS’
Huh? I don’t know what this stranger is trying to say. I guess the stranger saw my confused look since the strange words were crossed out before the stranger started writing once again.
‘Sorry about that. I forgot that this was a glass and I accidentally wrote words that were backwards in your own point of view. I asked if this is good enough since you can’t hear me.’
Ah! So that’s what this stranger is trying to tell me. I nodded my head but right after I did, something fell on top of my head. Ouch!
I then heard a knock and when I looked back, something new was written.
‘Oops sorry! I didn’t meant to hit you! I just wanted to give you something to write with!’
Something to write with? There was an arrow after the last word pointing downwards.
It was that same cylindrical object that stranger used to write with. It was red.
‘s’tahW What’s this?’
Writing words that the stranger can read is quite hard but I got used to it often.
‘I’m not sure. I just found it in my pocket.’
‘You’re weird.’
The stranger huffed and cheeks were puffed and rounded. It looks…cute…I guess?
‘Hey! Is that a way to thank me?’
Hmm…I guess I shouldn’t call someone that helped me as weird.
‘Why should I thank you?’
‘Well because now we can talk to each other!’
There was a toothy grin when the stranger wrote it and I felt something warm across my face but I dismissed it away and instead wrote my reply.
‘We’re writing, not talking.’
Then it disappeared. I kinda miss it.
‘Hmph! Stop being such a negative thinker!’
‘Hey! I’m not a negative thinker! I just pointed out the truth that’s all!’
I copied what the stranger did. I puffed my cheeks and the stranger laughed. I wonder how it sounds.
‘You’re the weirdo one here, reddy~’
Reddy?
‘What’s a reddy?’
‘It’s your name!’
What?!
‘Stop giving people weird names!’
‘How could I not give you that? You’re all red! Your hair is red, your eyes are red and your clothes are red too! Good thing your skin isn’t red.’
‘Oh yeah? Well I’ll call you whity since everything about you is white even your skin!’
After that, we just kept on insulting each other with whatever we can come up with. We continued it until the whole thing we were writing on became filled with our writings. We had to move to the side where it’s empty and started at it again.
‘Can you draw?’
I asked her that after we sat down on one spot after countless of times of standing and changing since we would write every single time we can.
‘What should I draw?’
‘Me. I want to see how I look like.’
With a concentrated face and some errors since it’s not easy to draw backwards, a picture was made. It was a person with short red hair, red eyebrows, red eyelashes, red eyes, a red shirt, red pants then white skin. Actually the ink of the stranger’s pen was silver but there was a label of the word red on what’s supposed to be red.
‘There! Draw me next!’
Then I did.
It was someone with long silver hair, silver eyes, silver eyebrows, silver eyelashes, and a long silver dress that ends by the knees. I learned that the stranger was a girl and I was a boy.
‘What’s your name? I’m tired of calling you whitty.’
‘You can call me Shiro! Yours?’
‘Then mine will be Akai!’
The another round of writing along with drawing commenced. I guess it’s been a long while since we first met. Along the way, I started noticing certain things about her and me.
There would be times that when she writes, I would want to know how her hand feels. Is it smooth or rough? Hard or soft? Then when she pulls back her hair to write better, I would want to run my fingers through it. Will it be smooth and soft too?
What I wanted the most, however, was not the touch. It was the sound.
I want to hear her voice whenever she laughs. I want to talk to her, I want her to tell me with that voice of hers instead of writing and lastly, I wanted to hear her speak my name with the use of her voice.
Knock. Knock.
‘Are you okay? You seem sad all of the sudden.’
I let out a sigh. I can only imagine.
‘Not really.’
‘Is there something bothering you?’
I looked at her and saw that she was frowning. Should I tell her? Maybe I should.
‘It feels cold here.’
I wanted to feel her heat. I imagined how it would feel when I put my palm on the glass and she laid her own on top of mine. But all I felt was the coldness of the glass.
It was driving me insane!
‘I want to be with you.’
She gave me a small smile that made me want to caress her face with my own hands but I couldn’t and it made me madder with want.
‘But you are with me.’
‘Not when this stupid glass is in the way!’
What should I do? I haven’t found the exit yet I already feel so desperate!
‘I want to touch your hand! I want to feel your body against mine! I want to run my fingers through your hair! I just want to be beside you and not on the other side.’
I watch in horror when the pen can’t write clearly anymore. I had to write the same letter again and again resulting for it to turn darker and thicker.
I tried to write again but this time nothing came out of it anymore. I felt frustrated and angry so I threw it on the stupid glass and it made her jump. I found out why. It left a crack.
‘What are you doing?’
Instead of answering her, I motioned for her to stay back and she did. With gritted teeth, since I don’t really know what would be the outcome along with the pain, I kicked it with all my might and instantly my leg went through causing for me to lose my balance.
The sound of glass breaking occupied my ears along with a gasp that I knew didn’t come from me. There was only silence. I was dumbfounded.
My leg is…on the other…side?
It took minutes for it to register but when it did, I didn’t hesitate to pull my leg back and kick another new hole then I started punching it until there was enough space for me to go through.
Should I or should I not?
“Akai!” My breath hitch in my throat when I heard it. I was about to look at her but something came crashing down on me. I rolled on the grass and when I stopped, I found out it was her.
“Shiro…” My voice trailed off because I really didn’t expect for it to happen yet now it did, I don’t really know where to start but it seems like she does.
I felt something on my lips, it felt soft like a pillow.
She was kissing me and I’ve also decided that this is also where I’m going to start.
“You idiot! That scared me! I thought you were going to hurt yourself!” When she pulled away to scold me, I already miss the feeling so I just kissed her again instead of replying.
“Hey! Just because you kissed me doesn’t mean you won’t get away for scaring me.” Her voice was melodic just like how I imagined.
“I’m sorry. I was just so desperate.” She then looked at me in surprise then spoke once again. I’m going to like speaking to her from now on.
“Wow! Your voice is really deep just like how I imagined.”
“You also imagined how I sound like?”
“And how warm your hands would be and how your hair would feel through my fingers.” I then let out a chuckle. We were so similar with each other.
We stood up and we held each other’s hand. My left hand to her right one.
“I love you Shiro.”
“I love you too Akai.”
We really don’t know where to go after that but I never let go of her hand. When I tried sleeping, I would hug her and feel the heat that I have been craving. If we would just sit down and look at the sky, I would run my hands through her hair and confirmed that they were smooth.
All in all, I was just glad that I was able to write to her or I wouldn’t be so desperate to break that stupid glass.