Page 6

Seth quirked a brow.

“You sure?”

She slapped his knee again.

“Get over yourself!”

Seth chuckled, somehow feeling more at ease now that they’d addressed the elephant in the room. It was inevitable, anyway.

Nina scoffed, rolling her eyes again. Or maybe it wasn’t best to bring it up. Seth was about to apologise when he saw Nina’s lips turn into a smile.

“You clearly haven’t matured,” she murmured, but her tone danced with a playfulness that eased Seth’s worries.

Seth gripped his chest in mock hurt.

“Ouch! I so have!”

The two chuckled, and Seth was relieved that he hadn’t made things awkward. Really, he wasn’t sure why he made that dumb joke in the first place.

And yet, it was something about Nina’s aura.

Something about her smile, the way she laughed so easily and made his jokes seem like they were actually good.

That made everything comfortable. Was she always like this?

What would it have been like, if he just let himself grow close to her

back then?

The sun had dipped well below the horizon by the time Seth’s day came to an end. It felt like his sanity and mental energy had dipped with it, as it often did at the end of his longer university days.

Thankfully, he had his only friend Jae Min-Soo there with him. He’d actually invited him, along with a group of guys from their programming class for some drinks, which Seth politely declined.

Maybe, a couple of years ago, he would’ve come along. But the train ride home to where he lived out in Western Sydney was always a long one, and he wasn’t one for staying out late anymore.

Besides, that group of boys were likely temporary, just like Joshua and Will were.

Fortunately, the train carriage at this time of day of 7pm was almost empty, with Seth occupying his favourite seat against the window.

Seth loved this hour between day and night when both met in the middle when light would slowly surrender into dark. Everything about this in-between hour was a sense of a relief to Seth, a breather.

He pressed his back against the chair, observing the streak of orange across the horizon.

As the train pulled up to his station, the moon was just reaching its peak. It was way chillier too. Seth’s breath created smoke in the air.

It was only a fifteen minute walk home from the station for Seth, which was convenient for him (and his parents too), especially with their one family car. Times like this had him wishing they hadn’t sold their second car from high school.

Rubbing his hands together, Seth made his way to the stairs, along with the small handful of others on his exit. At the opal machine, he caught a glimpse of familiar chestnut hair.

Of all the times…

He freezed, considering for a moment. Should he go up to her, and say hi this time? She hadn’t seen him, so he wasn’t obligated. He could let her walk ahead, and walk away.

After all, what were they, if not strangers with just nostalgia building a bridge between them?

Yet, a pull in Seth’s stomach coaxed him forward. An instinct, a gut feeling. The thought of remedying his past. He was never the best person to Nina. Their last memories together were civil, but prior to that, he wasn’t sure he’d painted himself in the best light.

And there was something about Nina Mendez that made him want to appear good. To be good.

“Nina!”

Nina turned at the sound of his name. She had a scarf around her neck, and her cheeks were blotched red from the cold. Her hair was also messier than this morning, with strands sticking up like static.

As he met her eyes, he thought he noticed a subtle scrunch in her brows. Before he could decipher what it meant, she smiled.

“This is a crazy coincidence,” she said, stepping forward, “I mean, actually it’s not. Since we both get on here. But still.”

“Hi,” Seth replied, his brain a little fuzzy. He blamed it on the tiring day of classes. Nina glanced at him, once again bemused.

“Seems as though someone had a long day.”

He opened his mouth, but nothing witty came to mind. Only blank, only silence. He swallowed, abashed, and nodded toward the footpath to their left.

“I’m heading this way, by the way. Which way are you headed down?” Seth asked.

Nina nodded down the same path that Seth was going to go.

“Same way. Guess we’re walking together.”

The idea had Seth a little on edge. Walking home, against the moonlit air, seemed a little more daunting than a simple catch up on a train.

“Oh, I didn’t realise you lived around here?”

“My family moved to this suburb just a month ago,” Nina informed, which explained why he’s only now seeing her around the area. He’d lived here all his life and he never recalled seeing Nina on his way to school back then.

The chilly air brushed against Seth’s neck, making him shiver as they continued down the path.

Damn, I wish I wore a scarf. Just like the one Nina was wearing.

It looks nice on her, actually, he thought. In fact, the whole outfit she had was really pretty.

“How was your day?” Seth asked, filling the silence that had fallen over them.

Nina shrugged, “Not too bad. Classes were as per usual. I checked out a new Filipino restaurant that’d opened up in Surry Hills on the way back from uni.

It isn’t too bad, I had an ensaymada and it was pretty yummy, but my sister, Elena, has baked better ones for my family before.

An ensaymada is a sweet bun with cheese filling, by the way. ”

She must’ve noticed Seth’s puzzled expression at the mention of the ensaymada . Now, he was craving it.

He also realised that Nina talks a lot. Still talks a lot, actually, once she was on a roll.

He remembered, back in high school, her voice would carry across the classroom. Her conversations projected to everyone. She tended to use her hands a lot in gestures.

Seth’s lips tugged, involuntarily.

“ - but anyways. Enough about me. Do yo -” before Nina finished her sentence, her ringtone sounded. It was a familiar tune, something he’s heard before.

“Sorry,” she murmured, before answering it, “Hi Mum. Yeah, I’m walking home now. It’s okay, I’m actually with a - uh -”

Nina’s head glanced toward Seth, who kept his eyes trained on the ground. What am I?

“An old classmate. We live nearby, actually. I will. Love you.”

She pocketed the phone afterward.

“That ringtone before sounded familiar,” Seth said, remembering the mellow melody. It belonged to an animation, a popular one that he stumbled upon on Netflix.

It was a Studio something movie…It was…

“It’s from Spirited Away,” Nina chirped, and Seth noticed how her smile had widened, and her shoulders perked in interest, “From Studio Ghibli. Have you seen it?

That was the name. He saw it for the first time a couple of months ago, when he was bored out of his mind and unsure of what to watch.

“A couple of months ago, yeah. It was really sweet, actually, I didn’t expect for the story to hit me as hard as it did.”

“ Tell me about it. Hayao Miyazaki’s storytelling abilities are a work of absolute art, honestly. Have you seen any other movies?”

Her tone had brightened a little, as if his interest in her interest was akin to a caffeine hit. It was infectious.

“I haven’t yet, but I really want to watch more.”

“Oh you should. Check out Howl’s Moving Castle tonight. Or maybe Ponyo. Or maybe Castle in the Sky, actually, maybe you’ll like that more.”

How she held so much energy after the day, Seth didn’t know. A small chuckle escaped his lips.

“What’s your favourite Ghibli movie of all time?” he asked.

Her eyes widened at the query.

“Seth Roman Moore, do not subject me to a question like that. It’ll take all night for me to answer you.”

A jolt rang through Seth, at the sound of his full name.

Nina was the only one to ever say his name in full. Middle-name and all. He was certain that his middle name was revealed only once - the first day of school probably.

Yet, she remembered. She always remembered.

By the time the two reached the park near Seth’s house, Nina had convinced him to add five Studio Ghibli movies to his watchlist.

It was almost completely dark out now, with only the street lights illuminating the way. Their suburb had small roads, with parked cars taking up most of the space. No one else was out, besides Seth and Nina, who sauntered side by side in a comfortable silence they’d fallen into.

As Seth reached the corner that turned into his street, he faced Nina.

“So, this is where I leave off,” he said.

“Wow, you actually live quite close to me. Like, just a two minute walk.”

Seth suddenly wasn’t sure how he felt about Nina walking the rest of the way to her house alone.

“How much further is your place? If you want, I can walk you there.”

Nina shook her hands in front of her face along with her head.

“No no, it’s okay, it’s literally so close.”

He hesitated, unsure of why he didn’t want to let her go alone. To make sure she’s safe, since it’s night, the reasonable part told him.

It’s because you don’t want this night to end.

They stood a foot apart, the silence between them growing into an awkward one as Seth took too long to decide what to do. Nina’s lips pulled into a polite smile.

“Well, I’ll see you around Seth,” she said.

She turned, walking away down the street.

Seth watched her, until she was out of sight, realising that this time around, there was a part of him that wanted to see Nina Mendez again.