Seashells

‘Why on earth did I agree to teach a class at this time?’ Hanon thought to herself, tapping her foot anxiously and staring at the clock.

“Ms. Hosho?”

She shifted her gaze from the clock to the student approaching her desk. “Yes?”

“I have one question about our English essay.”

“Hmm?” she responded impatiently, looking back at the clock.

“Well, I couldn’t remember the essay format.”

“Oh, here, do you need another rubric?” she asked, searching through her drawer and grabbing a rubric.

“Yeah that'd be great. Thanks,” The student replied, taking the rubric in his hand and returning to his desk.

Hanon sighed, staring at the clock. She had been teaching classes all day at the college, this one being the last one. ‘Why, oh why did I agree to teach this class?’ The clock read 5:55pm and the class didn’t end until six, but what really made her impatient was the fact that she and Nagisa had a date tonight. She smiled. ‘Nagisa…’ He was always there for her. Sometimes she would return to her apartment and find a home cooked dinner on her counter with little heartwarming notes on them. He always found a way to cheer her up.

Ever since that first kiss…those special times where they would tell each other their deepest secrets…the times where Nagisa would stand up for her…it was all so perfect, and all the pieces fell into place.

She looked back at the clock and it read 6 pm. “Uh, alright. Class dismissed. Don’t forget your six page essays are due in a week and it’s a letter grade deduction for a paper turned in late!”

The students picked up their things and casually walked out of the room, conversing with each other.

‘Thank God…’ she thought as she picked up her own belongings. Hanon walked to the closest woman’s bathroom and pulled out her small backpack. Inside it she slowly pulled out a thin white silk dress with petite ruffles on the shoulders. ‘Nagisa asked me to wear something nice…’ She went into one of the rather uncomfortable and small stalls and somehow managed to get on the relaxed dress. She looked into the mirror. She had to admit she did look rather nice. ‘Maybe if I let my hair down…’ She tugged at the hair tie and her blue locks fell onto her shoulders gracefully. Since she started being a professor, she rarely had time to notice her her hair, so she just kept it long. She pushed her clothes back into her small back pack and looked into the mirror one last time, smiling. “I do look good, don’t I?” With that, she left the college and headed for the place Nagisa wrote on the note for her.

The note led her to a desolate beach. So quiet…so serene. The calm wind blew through her hair, letting it flow freely. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. The smell of luscious water was everywhere.

Her eyes shot open wildly as she felt a rough hand wrap over her mouth and another hand clutch her two delicate arms together.

The figure spoke. “What’s a lovely lady like you, doing in an area like this…?”

Her eyes widened as she quickly wrung her slender arms free of her captor and slammed her elbow into his chest. “Hi-yah!”

The man flew back and groaned.

Hanon turned around to look at him and her face instantly softened. “Nagisa!”

He winced, smiling slightly. “I'm glad to know that you can protect yourself if I'm not there.”

She smiled at him and put her hand on his chest. “Oh, Nagisa.”

Nagisa regained his composure and took her hand. “O-genki desu ka?”

She giggled. “Genki desu.”

He smiled and embraced her closely.

They pulled apart and he laid a gentle kiss against her forehead. He then took her hand as they started walking upon the soft grains of sand. “So how was your day?”

“Oh, you know…The same old thing. Some of the students were complaining about essays and such but I just tell them, ‘Hey, its college. People can't baby you all your life.’”

He nodded.

She looked at him. “So how was your day?”

Nagisa kicked some of the sand between his toes. “Pretty good! I hired a new mechanic today. He seemed kind of young but he had a good resume and he could fix up a car pretty fast.”

She nodded and gazed at the endless ocean.

He didn’t stop looking at her. She was beautiful and the moon’s light just enhanced her beauty.

Hanon noticed him staring at her. “What? Is there something on my face?”

He laughed. “No…You just…look incredible tonight. I mean, you do all the time…every time I see you, it’s seems as if you just keep getting more and more beautiful…”

Her face reddened and she turned away to hide it.

“Hey.” He said as he stopped walking. He gently put his hands on her shoulders and she turned to look at his face. “You know that I will always think you are beautiful…right?”

Nagisa slowly moved his face towards hers and she closed her eyes. She felt a flutter in her heart as his lips meshed with hers. His hands moved between her locks as he kissed her tenderly, passionately, deeply. Her hands moved around his neck as she brought herself closer to him. Her thoughts emptied as his lips continued to caress hers. When the time was right he slowly parted the two lips and looked directly into her eyes. She inhaled deeply and slowly opened her eyes to find his looking directly into hers.

He smiled, holding her tight as she placed her head on his shoulder. “I love you.” He whispered softly into her ear.

She closed her eyes and smiled. “I love you too.” She whispered back.

They stood there under the night sky, with nothing but each other. He was running his hands through her hair and humming a sweet melody to her as they slowly danced.

After a few minutes Nagisa whispered to her, “Are you hungry, Hanon?”

She nodded, her head rubbing against his shoulder.

“What are you hungry for?” he asked as they continued walking.

“Umm…” she put her finger to her lips in a playful kind of way. “How about some Tsukemono, Tamago kake gohan, and a little sake?”

“Hmmm.... You mean like that spot over there?” He smiled, pointing to a secluded spot near the shoreline. It was set up with a blanket over the sand and candles were lit around it tastefully.

Hanon gasped and grabbed his waist. “Nagisa! You didn’t have to- I was just kidding!”

He put his arms around her waist. “I had a hunch that’s what you wanted.”

“Am I that predictable?” she smirked.

He laughed. “Come on, let’s go eat before it gets cold.”

They sat on the blanket with their feet in the water while eating the delectable meal. The two conversed about everything, from work to adolescence, from humor to more serious things. He could make her laugh about anything.

“Those were good times.” He said, taking a sip of sake.

She followed suit, but when she put it down a yawn escaped from her mouth.

“Tired?”

Hanon shrugged. “Just a little bit.”

He nodded and put his glass down. “There’s just one more thing I want to show you.”

Hanon smiled as she was lifted into his arms. “Would you mind closing your eyes? I want it to be a surprise.” Hanon nodded and he smiled back and held her hand, leading her to an unknown place.

“Alright, open your eyes…” Nagisa said calmly.

Hanon did as she was told and her eyes shifted to the ground. The moon shone brightly onto the sand in front of her. There was also an assortment of dark sea shells that looked as if they spelt something. She read it silently to herself. ‘Will…you…’ Hanon’s heart skipped several beats as she read the rest of it, ‘...marry me?’ She turned to Nagisa, his face full of love. He exhaled deeply, getting down on one knee and pulling out a little box from his pocket. He took her hand in his, biting his lip softly before speaking. He opened the box, revealing a diamond ring. “…Hanon…”

“Oh my God….” She whispered, tears starting to form in her eyes.

“Hanon, I love you…More than anything….” He chuckled to himself. “More than life itself……I don’t want to live my life without you…I physically and mentally can’t…I never want to be apart from you. Hanon Hosho, will you spend the rest of your life with me….?”

She smiled from ear to ear, tears now running down her face. “Yes……”

He stood up and held her face, quickly pressing his lips against hers. His eyes were closed tight, releasing his passion to her, his happiness to her. She jumped onto him and wrapped her arms around his neck, never letting go.