Chapter 206 - A Familiar Library
Chapter 181 – A Familiar Library
Two years had passed since graduation.
Life had silently taken everyone to separate paths.
Kuro Kurogane had joined graduate school, pursuing psychology in the same manner with which he had lived all his life.
But now, Kurogane spent his day with research papers, counseling theories and many hours in the university library.
The library had become his most favored place.
It was quiet.
It was predictable.
A place where the silence itself had meaning.
It was one rainy afternoon when Kuro sat near a tall window, surrounded by piles of psychology journals. He was taking notes for his research when he heard a familiar voice breaking the silence.
"...Kuro?"
Kurogane looked up.
There was a young woman standing a few meters away with some books clutched against her chest.
Black hair.
Pressed neatly.
Calm blue eyes behind thin-framed glasses.
Aoi Tachibana.
Both of them stood in silence for some time.
Then she smiled.
"Thought it’s you."
Kurogane rose up from his chair.
"It’s been a long time."
"A little over two years."
"You counted?"
She adjusted her glasses.
"I guess, I did."
None of them had thought that they will meet at a library.
But somehow...
It seemed perfectly fitting.
"So," asked Kurogane, "why are you here?"
"I’m studying educational psychology."
Kurogane raised an eyebrow.
"Educational psychology?"
She nodded.
"I want to help struggling learners and emotionally unstable students."
"Seemed like the correct path."
Kurogane smiled.
"It fits your personality."
Her cheeks blushed a little.
"...Thanks."
She looked at the pile of books on his table.
"Cognitive Behavioral Therapy."
"Counseling ethics."
"Developmental psychology."
"So you became a psychology graduate student."
"Yes, I did."
"You talked about this during high school."
"I’m surprised you remember."
"I remember a lot more than you think."
The words came out of her mouth before she could stop.
But she quickly looked away, pretending to examine the bookshelves beside them.
But Kurogane didn’t want to tease her.
Instead, he picked up a book in her hand.
"May I?"
She nodded.
It was a text of child development with colorful sticky notes in it.
"You’ve read this book?"
"Twice."
"Nothing surprising."
"I like understanding people."
"As I do."
Their eyes met for a moment.
Neither of them said anything.
The silence wasn’t awkward.
It was comfortable.
After a while, Aoi glanced towards the library café on the first floor.
"...Would you like some coffee?"
Kurogane smiled.
"I was thinking to ask the same from you."
---
The café had a view of a quiet courtyard where the raindrops were tapping softly on the window panes.
They ordered two cups of coffee and sat in a corner table.
"So," asked Kurogane, "how have you been?"
Aoi held the cup with both of her hands.
"Busy."
"My professors are strict."
"I have lots to learn for my research."
She smiled a little.
"But...I’m enjoying it."
"And you?"
"Quite similar."
"There are days when I feel I read more than I speak."
"I believe it."
She laughed softly.
The sound startled her even herself.
Kurogane noticed.
"You laugh just as before."
"Do I?"
"A little more frequently than before."
She looked down at her coffee.
"Perhaps."
"Graduation has helped me a lot."
Outside, rain was still falling.
Students were rushing across the courtyard under their umbrella, while in the café it was warm and cozy.
They talked about their classes, professors, favorite authors and high school memories.
Time seemed to pass unnoticed.
Finally, the library announcement about closing in half an hour startled both of them.
"...We have been talking for three hours," Aoi said.
"I didn’t realize that."
"Nor I."
They picked up their books and headed towards the exit.
The rain had stopped.
Soft hues of orange filled the evening sky.
Standing outside, Aoi suddenly hesitated.
"Kuro?"
"Hm?"
"...Do you want to study together sometime?"
He replied instantly.
"I would love to."
A smile formed on her face.
"Then..."
"Next Saturday?"
"I’ll be there."
She nodded gently.
"I’ll bring the coffee."
"And I’ll bring the books."
They parted after exchanging a quiet farewell.
While walking in opposite direction across the campus, Aoi suddenly looked back.
Kurogane was vanishing behind rows of cherry trees.
She smiled to herself.
She had entered the library for another ordinary day of studying.
Instead...
She has unintentionally reopened a Chapter of her life which had been ended with her graduation.
And for the first time in many days, she was looking forward to Saturday as much as her books.
And here comes another Saturday sooner than they anticipated.
On that particular Saturday, Kuro came to the library of the university a little bit earlier with his notebook and several books on psychology under his arm.
When he came to their customary table near the window, he saw that someone was already there.
It was Aoi.
She sat there reading attentively, fully engrossed into the book she held in her hands.
A soft ray of the morning sun fell upon the book, making the sight look as if painted.
For some time, Kuro just stood there.
How often during their high school years Aoi used to come to group study sessions first...
There were some habits which never changed.
Aoi looked up and smiled to Kuro.
"Good morning."
"Good morning."
"I hope I haven’t kept you waiting."
"No, you haven’t."
"I have come earlier."
"I thought so."
Aoi smiled again.
"I guess I am very predictable."
"In a good sense."
She slid a paper cup of coffee to Kuro’s direction.
"Your coffee."
"Just black, as usual?"
With a slight surprise, Kuro looked at her.
"You remembered?"
"Yes, you have always liked black coffee."
"And you used to add one package of sugar to your coffee."
It was Aoi’s turn to be surprised now.
"And you remembered?"
Neither of them understood how much small details of their high school years were remembered and kept in silence all these years.
During their studies, Aoi took a book from the stack.
A handmade bookmark slid out of it onto the table.
Kuro took the bookmark from the table before it got down to the floor.
It was a bookmark, made of pressed petals of cherry blossoms between two glass paper sheets.
"You have made this?"
Aoi nodded.
"This is the bookmark I have made in our last spring in high school."
"I have been using it ever since."
Kuro gave the bookmark back to Aoi.
"You have kept it for a long time."
"There are some things that should be kept."
Carefully she put the bookmark back to the book.
The conversation turned again to psychology, education, and future plans.
But both of them understood that something has changed.
Now the pauses in their talks were not awkward silences anymore.
They were comfortable.
None of them felt the need to start talking just because of feeling awkward silence around.
Many hours flew past during the work on the papers, collecting the notes, and emptying coffee cups.
And when they put all their books into bags, Aoi smiled.
"I managed to study more today than I expected."
Kuro nodded.
"And I too."
While leaving the library together, a breeze brought cherry blossoms to the campus.
Aoi saw a petal of cherry blossom falling on the ground next to her feet.
"It is odd..."
"What?"
"I used to think that the libraries are those places where stories end."
Looking at the library building behind her, she continued.
"But perhaps..."
"They are also the places where the stories begin."
Kuro smiled warmly.
"I guess our story has just begun."
And for the first time after graduation, they were going to the station hand in hand, none of them understanding how much such ordinary Saturdays were to become the most cherished tradition in their lives.
The message about the closure of the library was whispered around the hall.
Pupils one by one packed their books and laptop.
Aoi was carefully putting her notes in order while Kuro was returning a stack of reference books to the trolley.
"You are always so well organized," Kuro said.
Aoi smiled.
"This helps me concentrate better."
"You did not change at all."
"I guess this is a compliment?"
"It was indeed."
The couple headed towards the exit, walking past row after row of shelves with books which had been read by numerous pupils before.
At the checkout point, the librarian greeted them with a smile.
"You two form a good study partnership."
Aoi blinked in confusion.
"We are still learning together."
"Sometimes," the librarian answered with a warm smile, "it is the ability to appreciate silence that makes great partners."
The fresh evening air outside made them feel cozy.
Campus lights were on and were lighting the way along the stone roads between the buildings.
None of them seemed in a hurry to get home.
"Do you have classes tomorrow?" Kuro asked.
"Only one seminar in the afternoon."
"You?"
"A research meeting in the morning."
Aoi smiled.
"Then... do you want to study together again next week?"
"I would be glad."
There was no hesitation in neither of them.
As the couple was approaching the station entrance, Aoi stopped.
"I am glad that we meet again."
Kuro looked at her in silence.
"As am I."
It was a simple sentence.
No dramatic admission.
No grand declaration.
Just two classmates who found something more in each other that time could not erase.
When they parted on the train platform and went different ways, the thoughts were identical.
They were already counting the days until next Saturday.