"Boo!" RaRa yelled, pulling a scary face and suddenly jumping towards Gill, waving her hands that arched into mock claws, and reaching towards Gill.

 

"ARRRUGGGHHHHHH!" The stunned Gill finally reacted like he should have and scrambled backwards, his back scooting up the rough tree trunk and probably snagging the threads of his t-shirt.

 

RaRa started hysterically laughing. 

 

"Your eyes bugged out so bad! You should have seen your expression! It was priceless! Oh to have captured it on camera."

 

Gill rolled his eyes, his heart still pounding at what seemed like a million times a second. It was such a typical RaRa move that he technically should not have been surprised.

 

It took him back to the accidental mild black eye he gave her all those years ago. She had jumped out from behind the classroom door trying to scare him. He had hit out, eyes closed, in reaction, and his fist accidentally landed on her eye. Oh the hot soup he landed himself in. She? She thought it was hilarious. Her father thought it was an utter hoot and the unfortunate and accidental black eye was well deserved in that particular case. Her mother wasn’t amused though. Neither were his parents. 

 

"Now that we have gotten that out of the way. Tell me, why are you sitting here crying like your best friend died and the world is ending?"

 

"My best friend DID die! I even went to your funeral! I kept visiting your mother after that too. I don’t think Aunty is doing well at all." 

 

RaRa impatiently and dismissively flapped her hands at Gill.

 

"Yes, yes, I know, I know, Captain Obvious. Like I said, I am dead. Not stupid or blind."

 

She sat and leaned her head on Gill's shoulder while twirling the hem of one of the cute long-sleeved dresses she often wore while still alive.

 

"Why are you back?"

 

"One of the reasons was that your heart breaking crying drew me here. So, tell me why are you crying? I always listen. Nothing is ever too silly for you to tell me. Just tell me."

 

Gill took a deep breath, gathered his courage and quickly muttered "Well… I told Raiden I liked him. I LIKED liked him… and urm. It didn't turn out well."

 

RaRa jolted.

 

"Eh?! You what?!"

 

"You know… I told him…"

 

"I'm not deaf! I heard you the first round!"

 

"Then why did you ask me to repeat myself?!"

 

"Well, you are the smartest person I know. I just didn't expect that out of you! Whatever were you thinking?"

 

"You always said YOLO!"

 

"Yes, but that's for matters of the heart! This matters! Your heart matters!"

 

Gill screwed up his face, reached for that particular memory from a particular bright and sunny monday afternoon. He started reciting the liner that RaRa had read earlier that morning online and had since made her mantra. 

 

"You said life is too short to always worry about stupid things, small things. You said to have fun, to live, to love, to not regret and never let people bring you down."

 

He paused.

 

Seems like I didn't manage to accomplish most of that, did I?

 

He let out a sigh.

 

"I let you down. Again. I am always letting you down."

 

RaRa reached over and gave Gill a warm and comforting hug.

 

"You have never let me down. Your heart matters, Gill. You matter. You know Raiden. We know Raiden. He wouldn't have taken it well. He is so traditional, so conservative, so.. Raiden. Something like that, that didn't fit in his traditional world view won’t have sat well with him. I have always wondered though… but that is neither here nor there.”

 

She paused.

 

“So tell me that you had at least thought it through on how you intended to tell our uber, conservative friend. You know, lead in gently and all that."

 

Gill shook his head.

 

RaRa slapped her palm against her forehead.

 

"Nooooooo. Tell me you didn't just blurt it out like that."

 

Gill nodded.

 

"Urghhhhh! How can you be so smart yet so dense?!"