pre-note: 
this is translated from a chinese fic that I wrote (with grammatical errors and all coz I had exams). it's inspired by: a) a "husband", b) bloaty-headed leader(s) of a certain country, c) Nostradamus' predictions, which I percieve as most likely to be true. 

bubbles
20/9/2001
hidoko Matsumoto

hyde was a university student. He had a friend who was, although younger than him by three years, taller than he was. He was always thinking, was it because of malnutrition? So, in order to grow taller, he ate fish crackers and drank milk.

His life actually wasn't bad. His family wasn't rich, but they were well-to-do; he had many friends and girlfriends. However, he was always troubled because of his height. He thought that his friends and girlfriends didn't like him, that they were with him just because of his face. One day, he turned to each of his girlfriends and asked them individually: "If I haven't any looks, would you like me?" They laughed, and did not reply.

Therefore he didn't want to get too near to them.

His parents were the same. They nagged him, pressurized him and restrained him. He wanted freedom; it wasn't easy to get into university! He was sick of working and working. He wanted to rest. Life was short and youth was even shorter. Everytime he saw his parents' aged faces, he would think that he had a very precious thing-- youth. He saw that their faces always bore bitter sentiments, and he thought that he should be happy whenever he could be happy.

That was why everytime his parents scolded him, "You'll regret it in the future!" he would reply, "At least I'm not regretting anything now!"

It wasn't true that he didn't have any aspirations. His dream was to become a nameless mangaka, although he knew that he would starve to death if he ever did achieve that dream. Anyway nobody could starve to death if they were willing to work, at least not in Japan. There was no meaning in achieving any big entreprise!

That three-years-younger friend of his was a walking irony. That guy had many friends because his smile was so inviting, and because he had good character. Although he was adorable, he didn't have major character flaws, which was why he had true friends. His family too was rather rich and although his parents were rather strict, he was willing to obey. And of course, his height...

hyde hated him, but he kept seeing him on campus.

One day, the school organized a mandatory field trip to a steel-producing factory. "Steel comprises of certain metals. These metals are heated together in high temperature. After this process, useful steel is formed." Perhaps he was scrap metal, hyde mused. He didn't deny the fact that he was garbage.

He often patronised the rubber swings at the playground, because he liked the feeling that the wind brushing by his ear produced. He liked this feeling of freedom. He met that disgusting three-years-younger friend in this place when he went there to play in times of childhood.

Of course, he too had been attracted to that cute appearance and the warm smile at first. Afterwards, they became friends. The memories of childhood were always more charming than usual.

His life in university had six more months to go when the war dawned upon the fearful world.

The sea boiled. Volcanoes erupted. Earthquakes struck. All because, he thought, of the highly destructive weapons that humans used. This was the real punishment for somebody's greed and pride-- the whole world's suffering, the whole world's death, the whole world having to live in terror... It was not right!

He was supposed to ditch his studies for conscription, but he evaded government orders and hid in an unaffected little town. Days were peaceful. He knew the peace wouldn't last, but he realized suddenly, that since humans were born to die, then why what was the meaning of one's existence? He had seen through the greed of society, which was why he isolated himself from the demands of the world. And yet this only created a problem for him-- because he was different, and because he saw things more clearly than others, he couldn't live in excess luxury and the bliss of ignorance.

That was why he didn't complain even though life was hard since the war began.

He recieve a phone call from that friend who was younger than him by three years. There must be a reason why that guy called him, so what was the reason?

"Long time no see, hyde, how are you? I'm tetsu..." From the other end of the line echoed a voice that was apparantly sobbing.

"I'm fine... What's the matter?" He wasn't really worried, because he had seen too many corpses on TV since the war began.

"I don't have a home now, so... Could I come over?" 

"If it's one person only," He accepted the request without any conditions, because his family visited England and died there due to bio-chemically concocted diseases.

"Un," Tetsu thanked him gratefully.

And that was how they met each other again, in a darkness that was so different from the charm of childhood.

The standard of living deteriorated. A few years went by like this, and by then they were almost sure that they were going to starve to death. In the beginning, nobody could afford food as the farmers refused to sell them at lowered prises, and anyway shipping was too dangerous. They watched as food rotted in the warehouses while knowing that people were starving to death. They stole grains and hid them in their home, so that they could survive, and maybe exchange some for domestic products.

What was the government doing? They rationed food, but demand overrode supply, so most of the time there was none left for them. They had no choice but to become thieves. They stole from those who had extra. When they got caught, at first they would be beaten brutally, but later the farmers realized that there was no point in keeping decaying food and closed one eye to their actions.

While waiting for death, they helped other people, although there weren't too many people left for them to help. The nuclear bombs had caused environmental pollution, and when the wind blew the country would be enveloped in radioactive dust. The place where they lived in became worse, so they had no choice but to move.

hyde knew that he was going to die. tetsu clung on to his ideals and continued helping people. By that time, this kind of spirit had meant alot to hyde.

"Do you remember when we were children?" hyde asked tetsu when he too contacted the bio-chemical disease.

"Un."

hyde gazed at tetsu, satisfied, and began rambling on his own accord. "You appeared just like that, blowing bubbles in front of me. You told me today my teacher taught me that the rainbow has 7 colours, and it was formed because after the rain the water droplets in the air split up light from the sun. I said, it's not like we have rainbows everytime after it rains."

"...Un."

"But come to think of it, although it's so, there wouldn't be any rainbow if there isn't any rain. But now, could we survive the rain? I think I can't anymore."

"..........Wait, wait a moment." tetsu yelled suddenly, although he had been crying so much that he was almost unable to speak. Immediately he ran out of the room, leaving these words behind him: "You will see the rainbow!"

With tetsu gone, hyde was left alone in the room, recalling the past when he thought being short was a torture, thinking that it was ridiculous. He felt that his annoying parents had been benevolent. He felt that he, in the past, had been greedy and wasteful.

"I should believe in something, so that living will become meaningful," He sighed, "This is why humans have started the war without thinking about the victims. I can't be insane like them, but I am already despaired..... I must fight, since I was born to die. But why is it that before I die, I think that my past actions are totally ridiculous?"

At this point of time, tetsu appeared in the room, announcing with a smile, "I finally found some soap!"

"Eh?"

"See!" tetsu curved his thumb and index finger into an "O" shape, dipped them into the diluted soap, and began blowing. Bubbles soon floated up the air. Thousands, millions of them, they refracted the white flourescent light into many charming colours. "The rainbow has appeared!"

The bubbles gave one illusions. hyde laughed as he watched them float into the ceiling and burst, just like that. There was no trace of them. It was like nothing had happened at all... But while it existed, it was so beautiful!

"Yeah, tetsu!....do you know how the rainbow is formed?"

"I know! Sunlight refracting in a different medium." A grin spread across tetsu's face, which had been red from all the crying.

"No! It's because after the storm, a sun appears and begins blowing bubbles..."

From a room that was filled with death, such joy overflowed.


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