PART 4
The flashing lights on the tree next to me pull my attention away from my phone. I thought that signaled the start of the light show, but to my relief it was only a brief flicker. I couldn't imagine the disappointment Sayori would have if she showed up late and missed the show. My attention drifts back to the phone in my hand, the last message I sent still on screen.
MC: See you in a bit!
Read 6:48pm
Our plan was to meet up at 6:30 in front of the Christmas tree in the shopping district, but it was nearing the 7:00pm light show and she was still nowhere to be seen. I breathe some warm air into my hands and rub them together. My breath wavers from my shivering so I rub my arms to warm myself up.
All around me are couples. Some holding hands, some linking arms, others are making out on the benches around me. In fact, every bench seems to have a couple on it except for mine, where I sit alone. Aware of this fact, I stand up and begin to look around for Sayori.
"She couldn't have forgotten." I think to myself. "She's been messaging me asking for directions all evening, she's just lost still. That must be it."
Still, we've gone to the shopping district many time before. As clumsy as Sayori is, I doubt she's completely forgotten where to go. But I can't shake the nagging feeling that she may have stood me up, that she's found someone better or worse, would prefer being alone to being with me.
Then, there was a click and a loud flash of light, as if dozens of people were taking pictures of me at once. I look up from the ground and see that the lights above are glimmering, turning on and off in waves and giving a feeling like you're under a glowing starlit sky. The hum of the crowd around me becomes more intense as everybody watches is awe at the lights display. But as glorious as it is, I can only focus on my sinking heart. Sayori missed the light show.
I knew I should've picked her up. I never should have left her alone in her house. I never should have come here without her. I can't believe I let her miss the one thing we came here together to do.
Suddenly, the lights all go out at once. I feel an itchy warmness cover my eyes as my vision goes dark, and my head is being pulled backwards and down.
"Guess whoooo~!" A voice behind me calls.
"Sayori!" I turn around.
"Aww... I was hoping it'd take you longer than that!"
Sayori is standing before me, wearing the matching earmuffs and scarf I bought her on our last date when she complained about the cold. Beneath it is a heavy winter coat which goes a way down her legs which are covered in black tights. Her knee-high woolen boots are damp. She likely took a detour through some snow and got lost.
Sayori's mis-matched mittens are resting on my cheeks as she holds them facing me. The Christmas lights reflect off the blues of her eyes as she looks over my shoulders at the display around us. I can't make myself look away from her to view it myself, but I also can't bring myself to care about what I'm missing out on.
After the show is over, we begin walking to a coffee shop where we had planned on spending the next part of our evening.
"So," Sayori tugs at my hand to get my attention. "How did you like the light show?"
"Ah," My attention snaps away from the directions pulled up on my phone, "Yeah it was great."
"MC-Kuuuun... You didn't watch it."
"I was there!" I reply "You saw me! We watched it together."
"You were looking at me the whole time, MC-kun. I saw you in me peripher- pefiria- periperi..." Sayori's face scrunches up.
"Peripheral vision?"
"The corner of my eye!" she smiles.
"Well, I mean... I was, uh..." I try to come up with an excuse, but Sayori's got me figured out. I scratch the back of my head and give her a nervous laugh.
I glance back down at my phone. "I think we take a right up here and it should be somewhere in that area."
I lead Sayori around the corner and check my phone again to see which side of the block the coffee shop is on. Sayori stops in her tracks causing my arm to lag behind me.
"MC! Look!" she exclaims with her free hand pointing out in front of her. "Skating!"
The park before us has a large ice-skating rink at the base of one of the biggest Christmas trees I've ever seen. A few dozen people are sliding around on the ice like so many ants.
"MC! Let's skate! I love ice-skating!"
When Sayori gets excited, there's no stopping her. And I can tell she's excited because she's dropped the -kun from my name. If Sayori wants to go skating, then I suppose we'll go skating.
"Alright, skating it is." I say, having already struck the coffee shop from our date itinerary in my head. "I'll go rent us some skates."
I'm returning from the skate rental with two pairs of shoes to find Sayori leaning over the edge of the rink, watching all the other skaters with her eyes twinkling brighter than the light reflecting off the ice. I didn't know her shoe size, so I got two sizes smaller than mine. I recall that one we were laying down together and she pressed her feet against mine. My toes curled over the top of hers, so two sizes smaller seems like a decent guess.
I hand Sayori her pair of skates and sit down on a bench to put mine on. After tightening the last strap, I check on her. Sayori is sitting on the ground, struggling to pull her boots on. Did I get a size too small?
On further inspection, Sayori is trying to pull the whole boot on without undoing the straps first. I waddle over and squat down as best as I can with skates on so I can help her out. When we're finished, I stand up again and waddle over to the rink.
"MC-kun... Can you help me?" Sayori is sitting bow-legged on the ground with her hands in front of her. "I can't stand up."
I let out a sigh and waddle back over to her and hold out my hands. Sayori takes them and starts counting. "One, Two, Three, Pull!" and I pull her up. She loses her balance and lunges into me, burying her face in my chest.
"I'm okay!" she assures me, steadying herself. "I'm ready to go."
It takes me a while to get my footing ready, but once I've built up a bit of momentum, staying upright becomes easy. I make a lap around the outside of the rink with one finger sliding along the wall in case I don't remember how to skate as well as I used to. When I make my way back to where I started, I see Sayori barely any further than she was when I left her. She's holding on to the wall with both hands and taking tiny steps, one at a time.
"Sayori."
"Y-yes MC-kun?" she says.
"Remember when you told me you loved to skate?"
"Yeaaah..."
"Sayori, do you know how to skate?"
"Noooo..."
I can't help but laugh. "Alright, take my hand."
I hold out my hand for Sayori to steady herself on. She pushes off the wall a bit and wraps herself around my whole arm. I can feel the warmth of her torso against me and her messy hair against my cheek. I slide around her as I pull her in closer, then rest my other arm against her hip.
"Alright, we're gonna start slow." I orient the two of us to face the inside of the rink. "Ready?"
She nods her head. I kick off the ice behind me and start to slide forwards. As we move, I can feel her pressing up against me even harder. Her legs are both facing inwards, so her feet get closer and closer together until she over-adjusts and her legs start to spread. Sayori sinks lower and lower as her legs get further and further apart.
"Ah! I'm falling!"
I catch her by the armpits and lift her upright again.
"Don't look at your feet. Find a spot on front of you and focus on moving towards that."
I put my hands on her hips and start sliding forwards. This time, Sayori is able to keep her balance by herself. We make a few gentle curves, moving back and forth across the rink. I make my way to the far end of the rink and turn to face the center. I start to slide forwards, building up speed until I can feel Sayori's hair blowing across my face.
Then, I let go.
Sayori hasn't yet realized I'm not holding on. I skate just behind her, watching her slide forwards on her own. She almost loses her balance, but sticks her arms out to the side and regains her composure.
"You're doing great!" I call out to her.
Sayori turns her head. "Eh?"
Suddenly realizing she's on her own, and having turned herself so, Sayori begins to stumble around on the ice. I rush forwards to catch her but somehow she manages to start sliding forwards. She's fast approaching a wall, but I'm able to grab her outstretched hand right before she does, pulling her behind me.
I slam into the wall with an audible thud despite my heavy jacket. Sayori rams into me afterwards, hitting her face against mine. Our collision knocks me off balance and we both tumble to the ground.
I can feel the cold ice on my back, contrast to the warm girl on top of me.
"Are you okay?" we ask at the same time.
Later that evening, the two of us are on the patio of the coffee shop, overlooking the rink we had just come from. She was drinking something with a hefty ball of whipped cream on top while I just had a black coffee to warm myself up.
"That was fun, MC-kun! We need to go skating again."
"I dunno, my tailbone still hurts." I say, rubbing my back.
"Awww... but I was really starting to figure it out!"
"I think you're too clumsy to ever skate."
"I'm not clumsy!" Sayori says. As she does, she takes a sip of her drink before jerking her head backwards with her tongue out. "Ahh! Id's still hod!"
A bit of whipped cream is stuck to her nose. She tries to lick it off but her tongue doesn't reach quite far enough.
I lean forwards and kiss it off of her nose. "See?"
"Well," Sayori puts her tongue back in her mouth "Maybe I'll just need to hold on to you a bit longer. Besides, it's your fault for letting me go without telling me first!"
I roll my eyes and blow on my coffee before taking a sip. "Whatever you say."
