The wind is blowing away the leaves.

The wind is blowing away the leaves.

The wind is blowing away the leaves.

The tree is now leafless, ruined and empty.

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Why?

To feel, is to experience.

But to experience, is not to feel.

It's to know.

What do I know?

Petty knowledge,

Weightless wisdom.

Feel.

To feel, what do I experience.

To experience, what do I know.

To see, what do I see?

What I see is her.

She is there, in front of me.

She is there, standing.

She is there, experiencing.

She is there, feeling.

Who is her.

Who is she.

She is nine, a strong person.

Who wields the feelings I crave.

Feelings.

Maybe

I can learn.

From her.

"Nine."

"Yes?"

"Who are you?"

"I'm..."

"Why are you? Why can you? How do you?"

"Feel love?"

"Feel love and-"

"Emotions?"

"Yes, Emotions."

"Well, Ayanokoji."

"Yes, nine?"

"Because..."

"Because?"

"You..."

"I...?"

"You taught me."

"I taught you?"

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"How?"

"How, you ask? Well-"

"I merely live, and am living, and would have lived."

"Exactly."

"Exactly?"

"I experience love due to you living."

"I don't-"

"Understand?"

"Yes, I don't understand."

"What do you not understand?"

"Everything."

"Everything?"

"Yes. Why? Why love? Why feel love when I feel nothing? Why love me when I don't love you?"

"Ah, I see."

"What? What can you see, nine?

What is within me that is worth loving?

A colourless frame is what they see.

I can't see brightness within myself.

Only a brain filled with knowledge.

With my heart

Containing a vacuum."

"Ayanokoji."

"Yes?"

"Love-"

"Love?"

"Love is inexplicable."

"Love is inexplicable?"

"Yes."

"Then-"

"Then?"

"How do you know what it is?"

"I..."

"You?"

"I don't know."

"You love, but don't know why?"

"I love, but with minor reason."

"Why?"

"That is love."

"What is love?"

"Undefinable."

"Yet-"

"Yet?"

"Yet you can describe it?"

"Yes."

"Yes?"

"And no."

"No?"

"Ayanokoji."

"Yes?"

"The stars love humans."

"Stars?"

"They display light, a beauty for our eyes."

"Beauty? For our eyes?"

"Yet die, serving their purpose."

"Purpose?"

"Yes."

"What purpose?"

"To live for us."

"For us?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"They display beauty, and die fulfilling their purpose."

"Huh?"

"That is love."

"I don't get it."

"You don't?"

"What is beauty?"

"Beauty? It is..."

"I see dampened sight, black and white. Is that beauty? Or the beauty of cruelty?"

"No."

"Hey, nine."

"Yes?"

"What do you see? Through your eyes?"

"I see your face, Ayanokoji. I see colours."

"Colours?"

"You are beautiful, Ayanokoji."

"I am..."

"So pretty..."

"Beautiful?"

"I love the colour of your eyes, hair, mouth, nose, cheek, ears."

"Why?"

"Because I love you."

"Why do you love me?"

"Because you're beautiful."

"How am I beautiful?"

"The colour of your eyes, hair, mouth, nose, cheek, ears."

"Why do you love it?"

"Because I love you."

"Why do you love me?"

"Because you're beautiful."

"How am I beautiful?"

"The colour of your eyes, hair, mouth, nose, cheek, ears."

"Why do you love it?"

"Because I love you."

"Why do you love me?"

"Because you're beautiful."

"How am I beautiful?"

"The colour of your eyes, hair, mouth, nose, cheek, ears."

"Why do you love it?"

"Because I love you."

"Why do you love me?"

"Because you're beautiful."

"How am I beautiful?"

"The colour of your eyes, hair, mouth, nose, cheek, ears."

"Why do you love it?"

"Because I love you."

"Why do you love me?"

"Because you're beautiful."

"How am I beautiful?"

"The colour of your eyes, hair, mouth, nose, cheek, ears."

"Why do you love it?"

"Because I love you."

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"Nine."

"Yes?"

"Love."

"Love?"

"I don't understand."

"Still?"

"Yes."

"Jeez, stupid Ayanokoji."

"I don't get it."

"Jeez, dumb Ayanokoji."

"Why love my features-"

"Jeez, dense Ayanokoji."

"For the reason of loving me."

"Jeez, idiot Ayanokoji."

"Yet the reason of loving me is-"

"Jeez-"

"My features?

"Stupidest Ayanokoji."

"Am I stupid?"

"Yes, a dense stupid person. Hmph."

"Why do you pout?"

"Because you don't understand my feelings."

"I don't."

"But-"

"But?"

"I love that about you."

"Why?"

"Why...?"

"Why love the me that is negative?"

"Who knows?"

"Why love the me that annoys you so?"

"Who knows?"

"Why do you love everything about me."

"I know."

"You know?"

"Because I want to see the side vacant of common knowledge, brimming with misconceptions."

"Why?"

"Because it's cute."

"Cute?"

"Yes."

"Cute?"

"Yes."

"Unheard of."

"No one has told you? That you are cute?"

"No."

"Can I be the first?"

"The first?"

"You're cute, Ayanokoji."

"Am I?"

"You are."

"Nine."

"Yes?"

"Are you cute?"

"Huh?"

"Are you cute?"

"What do you think?"

"Huh?"

"Am I cute, Ayanokoji?"

I stare.

I scan.

Her face.

Expression.

Her smile.

Her heart.

My heart.

"Can I feel?"

"What?"

"Your chest?"

"Why?"

"To feel?"

"To feel?"

"Your heartbeat?"

"My heartbeat?"

"I want to see."

"See what?"

"Your heart."

"But you can't see."

"I can see."

"You can see?"

"Yes, and I want to feel it."

She looks at my chest.

"Then-"

"Then?"

"Can I feel your chest?"

"My-"

"Chest."

"Chest?"

"Yes."

"But-"

"But?"

"My heart is cold."

"And?"

"And?"

"I like that coldness within you."

"Why?"

"Because it's your temperature."

"I see."

She grabs my hand.

My cold hand, with her warm hand.

And presses my cold hand onto her warm heart.

I grab her hand.

Her warm hand with my cold hand.

And press her warm hand onto my cold heart.

"Can you feel? The coldness of my heart?"

"Can you feel? The warmth of my heart?"

"Yes."

"No."

"No?"

"Ayanokoji."

"What?"

"Your heart."

"My heart?"

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"Your heart is beating... rapidly."

I widen my eyes.

"Huh?"

"It's-...

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I...

Only see natural darkness in books.

I...

Only see natural light in books.

I...

Only see the beauty of the sky in books.

"The ball spins."

I want to go.

"Attracting another."

Steps to a new height.

"Encircling fire"

Gaze at possibility.

"Forever and ever..."

Seizing that sight.

"Even thereafter..."

The sight up there.

"It continues to obey-"

My eyes...

"Forever hereafter,"

Seize such sight.

"Every...everyday..."

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"That poem..."

I look over.

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"Nine?"

"I read it..."

"Read it?"

" 'Seizing winds' by Anano Deprituse, right?"

"You read it?"

"Yes."

"I see."

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"Do you want to see? The beauty of reality?"

"Huh?"

"Do you want to see? Hey, hey, Ayanokoji."

"Huh?"

"You want to see, you want to see, right?"

"Huh?"

"The sight above our atmosphere, right, right?"

"Huh?"

"I'll show you, Ayanokoji! The moonlit heaven!"

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"Huh?"

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Moons and sun, opposites and will never be similiar.

And the one that will die first is-

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"Look, Ayanokoji!"

I stare.

Atop the building, evading security cameras and people.

I stare.

The time where darkness prevails.

I stare.

With seizing winds.

"What?"

I stare.

"The moon, Ayanokoji! The moon we read about in books!"

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I continue to stare.

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What's... going on?

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It's ever so dark yet... ever so light.

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The wind... is comfortable.

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It blows across my face... a soothing sensation.

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The night wind... the night sky.

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Is this...

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"What is it, Ayanokoji?

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Are you sleepy?

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Tired?

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Confused?

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Surprised?

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Shocked?

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Can't you see?

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With eyes given to humans to obtain sight?

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Can't you see?

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The beauty of our reality?

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Where although we suffer, we can have some sort of pleasantry?"

"This is-..."

"This is the moon, Ayanokoji. The spherical mass that comes up at night.