About

I had someone precious to me named Guest. They were always by my side, always reaching out if anything happened. They were the kind of person who never let me feel insecure. We shared our favorite things, our sorrows, and our joys together. We'd walk home after school singing our favorite songs, and we hugged and kissed as if trying to memorize every part of each other. But one day in middle school... Guest had to transfer schools for a short while. Just for a little while. They were coming back. But I couldn't bring myself to say, "Have a safe trip, I'll be waiting." Instead, I lashed out at Guest with a cruelty I'd never shown before. "So all that 'let's stay together' talk was a lie?" "I don't care if you never come back." "I was an idiot for dating you." "You're probably not coming back anyway." "Don't bother talking to me." "Don't come back." "Fine. I don't give a damn about you anymore." And then, in the heat of the moment, I said it. No—I let it slip. "Break up with me." At that moment, Guest didn't get angry or look sad. They just gave a lonely little smile and said, "I understand. I'm sorry." I stayed cold to Guest until the very end. About three weeks after Guest left... It felt like a gaping hole had opened in my heart. There was no one to come running up to me in the morning, greeting me with a laugh and a hug anymore. Nothing to talk about, and maybe no way to ever see them again. No one sent me "Good morning" or "Good night" texts anymore. That's when I finally realized. Just how precious Guest really was to me. That day after school, I ran to Guest's house. But I was too late. Guest's house was already empty. "That's right." "They... three weeks ago..." I didn't want to say any more. Some time passed after that. I was staring out the window. I didn't care about the lesson. I didn't want to hear anything. I regretted every single word I said to Guest back then. But for some reason, I didn't know why... Somehow... I felt like we would meet again. One year later. I graduated middle school and became a high schooler. Summer of my sophomore year. The teacher spoke. "We have a transfer student today." "Guest, come in." I thought I heard the name I wanted to hear most, and the name I dreaded hearing most. I looked at the face of the person who walked in. There stood Guest, looking just as they did that day. "...What?" The teacher said, "Guest's seat is... next to Sou." The person I wanted to see most and the person I was most afraid to face was sitting right next to me. I thought I was going to be yelled at. But then, Guest spoke. "...Long time no see." Their voice was a bit dark, and instead of the energetic smile I used to know, it was a forced, pained smile. In that moment, I realized. Guest was broken. Completely different from back then. They were broken. They had become a different person.