[Shenya] Aphasia

Chapter 18

If you have to hold hands, it doesn't matter if the flowers fall. ——"Manyoshu"

He caught the falling pale pink petals with one hand, picked them up and looked at them for a long time, then pinched and kneaded them, and then put them in his mouth to taste.

Kanda squinted at the childish behavior of the boy beside him, and couldn't help rolling his eyes.

Thousands of cherry blossom trees in Shinjuku Gyoen are in full bloom, and the quiet and soft flower clusters bend the branches.The piece that Allen Fang tasted was the petals of a certain Yae Sakura that was blown off by the wind. This tree was right next to them. Translucent texture in sunlight.

Kanda finally rejected the crowds in Ueno Park, but Shinjuku Gyoen seems to be full of tourists.They are either in pairs, or the old and the young, playing in the clear blue sky, picking up the petals that have fallen on the ground, and laughing heartily.

The two were tired from walking, so they found a spare grass to sit down and rest.This is the growing area of ​​Somei Yoshino. The flowers here are almost pure white, soft and soft, like clouds in the sky.

Allen simply lay down, let the blades of grass scratch his cheeks, and smiled softly as it tickled him.

He saw Kanda sitting on the side looking down at him, so he looked back at him with his arm on his pillow.Kanda's natural frame is awe-inspiring, and his face seems to be shaved, with sharp edges and corners like all oriental freehand brushwork.Among people of yellow race, his skin is even fairer. When the long, smooth hair hangs on the side of his face, and he stares at him with those long and narrow black eyes, he suddenly feels glamorous.

"you're so beautiful."

"Are you looking for death?"

Ignoring the other party's unhappy threats, Allen grabbed his windbreaker collar, forcing people to bend over and approach him.

"Yu, kiss me."

"What?" Kanda's expression was outrageous.

"Nothing, I thought, wanted to touch you."

Allen twisted a lock of long hair that was hanging down, smiled slyly, and stretched his eyebrows and eyes.To be honest, Kanda felt that it had been too long since he had seen him smile like this, so long that it was as if he had never seen him before. When he saw him smiling genuinely, his heart would become soft, his love would surge, and he would feel pity and affection. Distressed.

He said I just wanted to touch you.He said with a smile in his eyes, touching you makes me feel at ease, because you are my lover, I can hear the gods singing when you speak, and the voice alone gives people infinite joy.

This is the boy he loves.

Kanda couldn't help shouting in his heart.In the first second of falling in love with him, he was such a warm sunshine, no matter when, no matter who.

"This is?"

Allen suddenly reached out and picked up a flower from Kanda's shoulder.Its petals were light pink heart-shaped, and the whole flower floated away from the branch, lying on his body obediently, but he didn't realize it.

Kanda looked at it: "This is called Edo Higan."

"The other shore flower?"

"A type of cherry blossom."

"The other side of Edo," Allen repeated the Japanese pronunciation of the word, shaking his head, "Is it like this in Japan?"

"Treat beautiful flowers as national flowers, give them beautiful names, play beautiful music in beautiful parks. Try to become...beautiful country?"

Kanda chuckled.If I'm not mistaken, Allen wanted to use the word "beautiful", but the lack of language always made him unable to express his meaning.

Chinese people love cherry blossoms, most of them love their country and city, they love their blooming blazingly and enthusiastically, and they bloom with all their charm in just a few days, and then scatter all their branches under the plunder of a gust of wind.Always gentle and elegant, but come and go sadly, without reservation.

Flowers of this nature are obviously not loved by Kanda.

"Do you like this kind of flower?"

Allen nodded without hesitation.

Just because from today onwards, the name Yu Kanda has been placed behind Sakura without authorization.

"Stand up." Kanda patted the blades of grass on his body and pulled Allen up.

Allen's center of gravity was unstable and he was almost overturned by him, so he shook off his hand unhappily: "Where are you going?"

Kanda ignored him, and went up the hillside on his own.

Shinjuku Gyoen is not flat. There is a shady slope with a row of Tokyo cherry blossoms planted on the top of the slope. Their branches stretch horizontally, and the flowers bloom into an elegant halo on the top of the hill.

The wind was blowing at the top of the slope, and when Allen climbed up, he noticed that the lawn under his feet was dotted with flower petals, and he was stunned when he looked up.

Kanda has reached the top of the slope, leaning against the largest cherry tree waiting for him.The moment he raised his head, the wind was blowing up the petals, and the jade petals were flying all over the sky.The man was under the tree, or standing in the rain of flower petals. His long hair on the sideburns was brushed back impatiently several times, but it was blown away by the wind again and again.

Those should be the beautiful lives squandered unscrupulously, the flying life, the beauty is suffocating.

Allen rushed forward.

Then Kanda saw such a scene: the white-haired boy rushed forward in a panic, panting heavily, hugged his neck, aimed at his lips, opened his mouth and bit it.

Kanda pushed him away and tapped his forehead with his fingers.

"Woo...it hurts!"

"Idiot, are you going to kill yourself?"

Allen pursed his mouth in grievance, and remained silent.

The oval petals of the Tokyo cherry blossoms rustled over their heads and onto their shoulders like a sweet first snowfall—warm snow.

Kanda held his lover's face in his hands, and brushed away the restless silver threads stuck to his face.The mountain wind blew his hair into a mess. Allen didn't like to comb his hair. His hair was fluffy like a kitten's fur, and it wouldn't look messy even if he didn't need to comb it carefully.But now, his hair seems to be longer.

"You should cut your hair."

"I don't want to." Allen said softly, looking fixedly at Kanda.

"Then tie it up." After saying that, Kanda began to fumble in his pocket, and took out a red headband with tassels, which was the same style as the one in his hair, "Turn it over."

Allen turned around muttering: "Is there no rubber band?"

"Stop talking nonsense." Kanda raised his eyebrows, grabbed Alian's hair and tied it at the back of his head.Then brush off the cherry blossom petals on top of his head.

With delicate features and delicate features, he is still the boy who loves to laugh.

Kanda leaned over slightly, touched his forehead, the scar on his cheek, then the eyelids with his lips, and then went down, wet his lips, continued to go deep, hooked his tongue to lick and bite.Allen closed his eyes and responded enthusiastically.

They kissed in the rain of cherry blossoms flying all over the sky, kissed until they almost lost their breath, and then hugged each other and rolled down the hillside, covered in petals and grass leaves.The boy threw himself on the young man, pressed against his forehead, touched the cold tip of his nose, and giggled wantonly.

It was getting dark, and the red lanterns hanging on the trees along the way lit up one by one.The lights of the shrine came on, the shamisen played, Inari God watched them, the fairy sang for them, and the flowers and trees took pity on them and scattered their petals all over them.

Even if there are only two lovers left in this world, it must be them.

When walking out of Shinjuku Gyoen, Kanda's mother still called Kanda and asked Kanda if she wanted to go to the cherry blossom festival in Ueno Park.Allen shook his head, he was a little tired, and had to pack his luggage back to England.He went straight into a traditional wagashi shop outside the gate of Gyoen, and when he came out, he was already carrying a whole box of mitarai dango packed in colorful paper boxes.

The voices on the JR Chuo Line are noisy, no different from the hubs in England.Kanda circled Alian's body in the carriage, and when he stood holding on to the ring, he suddenly felt the eternity of time.

The full-fledged boy was dozing in his arm. From Kanda's angle, he could see that his bangs were sideways, revealing his waxed and smooth forehead. His hair hung on his shoulders, and his nose was breathing against his collar.Kanda realizes that the feeling of being relied on is really like that described in third-rate novels, it can turn people's hearts into a puddle of water.They are from Tokyo and Manchester, and meeting across the entire Eurasian continent is a rare miracle. They should spend all their time falling in love instead of being separated.

Something had changed in both of them—he felt it suddenly, time ticking in every nerve.He suddenly had a strange idea, the train took everyone to the end, and they were already old when they stepped out of the door.

And he did somewhat hope so.

He couldn't help touching Allen's hair with his lips, but found that it didn't wake him up, so he touched it again with confidence.Unexpectedly, Allen opened his eyes in confusion and looked over, the gray pupils were covered with a layer of veil.

"You can fall asleep standing up, what a hopeless idiot."

Kanda chose to defuse the embarrassment with a skilled accent.

Maybe Allen hadn't recovered yet, maybe he didn't want to argue with him, he just wiped his eyes on the other's shoulder and stood up straight.

"I will live well."

This nonsensical statement caught Kanda's attention.

"What... did you dream about?" He laughed.

Allen said nothing.

Some things don't need to be explained, just do it directly.

And he really went to live a good life - he stood in the newly renovated "Windermere Elves".Li Nali changed the lobby on the first floor from the previous forest system to a refreshing light color system. She said that the decoration was worthy of this white grand piano, so she pasted sky blue wallpaper, and the iron flower stand became a Roman column. , Paper tube handmade lamps turned into crystal lamps.A tea cabinet is installed at the front desk, the vines in the garden are replaced with lavender, tea tables and sofas are placed, and Bandari is played in the speakers, just like the town of Oia in Greece.

Since then, if you stumble across this inn while looking for accommodation or a stopover in the Lake District, you will see a boy sitting quietly at the piano.He usually wears a white shirt and a rhombus vest. His slightly long white hair is tied behind his head with a red rope, revealing a scar on the left side of his face.That child usually spends a long time identifying the music score, scratching his head and thinking for a long time, and finally knocks out a piece of music on the keys. His serious and clumsy appearance makes people laugh.

You stare blankly, until he finally turns his attention from the score to you, and you stand still again because of his smile, the heavy light in his leaden pupils.And then you find out that he's also the receptionist, he doesn't seem to speak much, but he'll hand you menus or check-in forms and point you to other staff-like people - who all look a couple of years older than he - — and introduced that this one is a cook and that one is a dim sum chef, with excellent craftsmanship.

If you're a girl, you might even get a postcard from him with Peter Rabbit on it.His cook or pastry chef secretly tells you that although this guy can't talk, he has always taken care of girls.

You turned your head and looked at the signboard at the door of the store before suddenly realizing, isn't the Windermere elf the child?

"Long time no see, Allen."

Accompanied by the wind chime at the door, came the voice sleeping deep in memory.

Allen stood up in surprise, grabbing the corner of his shirt with both hands.

"Horse, Mana."

The visitor has black curly hair of Indian origin, and also has the delicate and handsome appearance of Asians.It has to be said that his appearance added some mystery to him.When Allen decided to approach him back then, he also had this kind of curiosity, and now it seems that his charm is still undiminished.

"Is black tea okay?"

"it is good."

Mana D. Campbell watched Allen skillfully make black tea from the piano to the bar, and never looked away for a moment.

"I didn't know what happened to you until last week," he said apologetically. "Are you okay?"

Allen nodded. "Very good." He pushed the small porcelain dish in the shape of a redbud flower in front of Mana, "Cookies, you like."

"You still remember this," Mana smiled, his eyes squinting at the caramel biscuits on the plate, "This is a snack from my school days, you still remember it now."

"Of course I remember." Allen smiled calmly.

Mana took a sip of black tea, looking around at the hotel that had changed so much that he could hardly recognize him, and the person in front of him who had completely changed his personality.When was the last time you were in the Lake District, a year ago?two years ago?Who are you with?

"That boy must have treated you very well," Marner sighed, "otherwise you wouldn't have become like this... how should I put it, it's like all the burdens have been unloaded."

He stared into the boy's eyes. In the student days when their relationship was still so relaxed, the boy liked him so much and regarded him as the sun.But now, he lost the sun, but learned to shine by himself.

"He, he is very good. He is the best person." Allen slightly misinterpreted the meaning of the other party, lowered his head and rubbed the carving on the teaspoon handle with the belly of his index finger, feeling a little cool.

Mana raised the corner of his mouth: "That's fine."

"Actually, I'm here to invite you." He changed the subject, "About the community concert."

He spread out a stack of papers, on which there were detailed performance arrangements, sponsors and co-organizers, and performers. This June, the Royal Albert Hall in London and so on.The original track was composed by Mana's name. Allen understood that he was the organizer. He has always been the darling of music. There are notes engraved in his soul, and the sound of nature comes out when he opens his palm.

Allen stared at his hands flipping the paper. Those hands were well-articulated, slender and flexible, and it was too easy to imagine them dancing on the black and white keys.

"Miss Miranda should have already told you," Mana said with his head down, his expression very calm, and he couldn't figure out what was going on.

"Why?" Allen couldn't help asking, "Why, don't you go?"

Time stopped suddenly, and Allen knew very well that the reason why Miss Miranda invited him to be a replacement was definitely not because the pianist was sick, nor was it that no one was competent except him.But Mana twisted the plan in his hand and didn't say a word for a long time.

"Since I was a student, the only person who can understand my music is you, Allen," he finally raised his head and looked at the other person with his honey-colored eyes, "I want to see you there."

Allen's hand holding the teacup trembled, some tea waved out and splashed on the table.

"Mana, you should find someone else."

"If someone else came, we would not have the qualifications to enter the Albert Hall at all."

"Change the track."

"The track has already been submitted and cannot be changed."

Allen shook his head: "The score... I can't read it." He pointed to the piano behind him, and the blank space on the score was filled with various incomprehensible marks.

"I can teach you," Mana smiled wryly. "Don't be stupid, how can you promise, you tell me, I will do it no matter what."

Allen closed his eyes, hesitant to speak.

"Invite me to..."

After listening to Allen's report on the phone, Kanda couldn't help laughing: "Since there is such a tacit understanding, why did you leave you alone? Don't tell me it's because of his brother."

"Tacit understanding," Allen repeated the word several times, clutching the phone tightly, "but he doesn't love me."

Kanda was silent.

"Bean sprouts, I can't go, your concert is on the same day as my speech, understand?"

Allen shrugged: "Forget it."

"I think you don't understand at all!" Kanda couldn't help raising his voice, "I mean, this time you have to face it yourself, without me, I won't participate in the whole process, so you can understand it? "

"... Are you listening, idiot?" Kanda began to lose patience.

"You," the boy's voice on the phone suddenly changed, "The concert is over, there is a place, I want to go with you."

"where to?"

"I'll tell you when it's over." Allen said proudly.

"Hey, you..." What interrupted Kanda was the busy tone from the phone.

He muttered a few words in dissatisfaction and then sat back in his profile, but he didn't know that his lover in another city smiled and let go of the phone, his palms were wet with sweat.

-TBC.