Pondering Thoughts

Natsume's POV

I sat in the Sakura tree that I always visited, and as I watched the Sakura petals that floated to the ground, I thought of her, and wondered, ‘Why do I love her so much?’

She was clumsy, and silly, and she wasn’t that smart, and yet her smile made my heart happy, and made my day all the brighter.

Not a lot of people would have considered her beautiful, maybe average looking, but to me, she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen, inside and out.

Maybe it was because she always tried so hard for others, and worried about others, instead of herself all the time.

Maybe it because she was always there for me, even when I told her to go away, always there with that warm smile. Always there. Always…

She always hid her own pain, so that her own friends wouldn’t worry about her.

She was so honest and innocent, but so naïve and dense.

Making fun of her, at least then, I knew that she acknowledged my existence, knew I was there.

I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard that loud, cheerful voice, that auburn head bouncing toward me, yelling my name.

“NATSUME!!”

And I knew then why I loved her so much. At least, the main part of it why.

…

She accepted me as I was.