“Here, ice cream for you.”

“Thanks.”

The boy takes his ice cream in silence, while the girl is just glancing over his face and looks away, enjoying her ice-cold snack on her frail hands.

 

It’s raining outside the convenience store as their eyes can see. The two figure was standing still inside the store, taking a shelter. The hard drips of water making a slight echo mixes with the current store playlist. It’s just another third-rate song anyway, so they don’t bother with it much. Apparently, the store’s cashier doesn’t really have good taste.

 

The umbrella is sold out, along with any raincoat available. The boy suspects that he saw the last stock available being bought by a middle-aged man in suit the moment they entered the convenience store. Pretty much, their luck isn’t particularly good this time.

Since they’re taking shelter inside, it’s weird for the girl to not buying anything. So, she decided to purchase something icy for their mouth.

 

“Why an ice cream anyway? I thought we should have something warm when it’s raining,” the boy asked.

“I just never had it for a while. I also don’t know about the norm if it’s raining, you should eat or drink something warm. Where you heard that?” she answers with her eyes glued on the heavy fall of water droplets.

“Common sense.”

“You’re just a smartass kid who actually feeling insecure when you meet someone who actually smarter than you.”

“Shut up.”

“If you don’t like it, just pay my ice cream back.”

“Nah, I’m good. Thanks anyway.”

“See? Smartass.”

The boy not answering back as the girl is done with her remarks. The cashier who happens to see the two students figure in the door of his store is just shrugged, and going around to check on the stocks available.

 

There’s no further conversation. Only a never-ending rain’s melody, paused playlist since the staff isn’t really around to keep the song playing from the computer and a chilling air conditioner. The girl can’t help to think if the staff himself really got a temperature issue since it’s raining outside, yet he still turns the conditioner on.

The tickling time goes by, but there’s no sign of the rain to dissipate. The boy’s thought is long gone flying around the cumulonimbus clouds and beyond. Trying to find a specific answer.

There’s something that he can’t really understand.

 

“Why we can’t express our feeling to another person?”

The girl clicked her tongue upon hearing that. Apparently, she almost finished with her ice cream as she listened to the boy. “What is it? Your thoughts popping out randomly like always?”

“Yeah. But I’ll appreciate it if you answer that straight,” answers the boy without really looking at the girl.

Still, the girl stares at the boy with an impassive face for a bit. And then, she goes back on her ice cream before she bites it all. “What happened with your head? You got amnesia or something? Everyone knows that expressing our true feeling will be lethal for us.”

The boy isn’t answering, just biting his ice cream slowly and wait for the girl to continue her answer.

“We will die if we express our feelings through words and any form of communication—”

 

“—since humanity has been cursed by a broken-hearted witch, and that’s permanent,” the boy finishes her sentences.

 

Hearing that, the girl nods. She walks towards the trash can and tosses her stick away and going back to her initial position, waiting for the boy to finish his ice cream.

“There’s a weird part. We can still convey our feelings, but it’s only a feeling of hate or discomfort.”

While the feeling of love and affection is absolutely forbidden for humanity, said the boy’s inner feeling.

Still, there’s no need to rush. They won’t go anywhere soon since the rain is still pouring down like a waterfall. The girl glance around if there’s something they can sit upon.

There’s a small chair on the corner of the store’s terrace. At that moment, she decides that the chair is her property now. Hence, she sits there immediately.

The boy following the girl after—so they could stay close, even if the boy doesn’t sit. There’s an unknown feeling deep inside the boy’s heart, but he can’t really understand it.

Since most people afraid of that kind of feeling.

“Don’t you feel lonely?” asked the boy.

“About what?” she replied nonchalantly with her hand holding her chin.

“About the world where one can only muster the feeling of hatred.”

 

The boy successfully got her attention as she looks at him with a straight face.

This is the world where human can’t express their feeling of love. To begin with, humanity planted a prevention method—never to convey your feelings since the witch’s curse is real, and focus on another matter.

So, everyone has been taught since they’re small that an expression of love and affection is absolutely forbidden.

 

It’s the last bite of the ice cream as the boy throws the stick away on the trash can. Then, he walks closer to the girl with his meaningful gaze. “Is it lonely, isn’t it. Even for parents, a family can’t really assure their children that they’re important to them. One can’t say that another person really matters for them. Hence, there’s a lot of misunderstanding and feelings that don’t reach. Don’t you agree?”

The girl doesn’t really have the right words to reply. But as she’s ready to answer, the boy continues.

“To begin with, does the curse itself exist? We’ve been taught to believe the curse, that to do the taboo would be a nightmare to us. Really? Can you really believe that? We’re living on the age of the internet, and yet there’s no single article nor news about the damage of the witch’s curse. Don’t you think this is actually just an empty superstition?”

“Wait. Just wait a bit. What are you trying to—“

“I don’t believe the curse. And I will say those words dearly.”

 

There’s no stopping. The girls finally stand up as she is bewildered with the boy’s precise words. “What are you saying now? Get real, the curse really exists!”

 

She doesn’t understand a bit about the boy’s intention. Little that she knows that he got this unbearable feeling on his chest. Something that is definitely forbidden for humanity. A reason why the boy is sticking close to her all this time since they meet—

 

“I actually have a feeling for you, you know? And it’s not a hate feeling which everyone expresses quite often.”

 

—it is the cause of the witch’s curse.

 

“Hey, do you know what I’m trying to say?”

The girl looking at him with a disbelief gaze. She covered her mouth and actually don’t want to guess what is this boy trying to do. She shakes her head, pleading the boy so he won’t go any further than that. But, his feeling and mind altogether able to break this person’s shackles on common sense. So he will be a free individual and not bound by the fear of a stupid fairy tale curse.

 

“No… Don’t you dare...”

“I—

Suddenly the rain is getting heavier like a river being poured down directly. The staff coming out to check if the weather is normal or not. Perhaps he never sees that amount of rain up until now.

“—love—”

 

At that moment, every cold droplet stopped. As if someone is halting the current flow of time, so the water spheres are floating, staying still.

It was the second when those three people realized that something is wrong here. The girl clearly knows what is going to happen. But as she’s trying to tell the boy to stop, her voice won’t come out. Stuck in her throat as if something blocking it.

The staff looking at the two with great horror. He wants to run away, but his foot lost its energy as if those limbs are useless now. He kneels, looking at the boy and shakes his head frantically.

As for the boy, of course, he realized it too. His mind is trying to knock his bravery off, telling him to follow the rules that have been passed down for generation and abide by the witch’s curse for his wellbeing. Yet, he refuses.

 

He doesn’t want to follow the world’s order, where he can’t convey his feelings.

 

“—you.”

 

There’s a white figure standing between the boy and the girl.

It’s a human figure, a woman. She’s shorter than the boy.

Every of her body colored in white. Pale white skin, white dress, and long silver hair. Her eyes closed the moment she appeared in this place, bringing a sudden unknown mystery and great terror.

And her mouth was sewn shut, so it’s impossible for her to speak, supposedly.

The girl and the store staff can’t contain their fear anymore as their tears coming out. While the boy facing a massive contradiction in his mind.

Is the witch’s curse real? Then, who is the person in front of me?

The woman in white slowly open her eyes to meet his gaze with her cold blue pupils.

At the same time, the sewn mouth of her is forcibly opened because of her scream.