The school bell rang, signaling the end of the last day of school.
As it did, a teenage boy calmly got up from his seat, and began packing up his things.
The boy had tan skin and long dark hair. He wore an expression of apathy, not revealing a hint of emotion. Even so, his eyes weren't empty.
'Should I go home?'
Pausing for a moment, Tristan contemplated his next move. School was over and he hadn't thought of any plans beforehand.
'Nishimoya probably has to go straight home because of her parents. And for some reason, I feel like Elliot won't be able to hang out with me today. Guess I'll just go to the library.'
Exiting the classroom, Tristan leisurely walked through the hallways until he reached the staircase. Then, he headed downstairs and out the building.
Outside, many of the older students were seen with varying emotions. Some solemn, some anxious, others were relieved.
'Oh right, the seniors are graduating…'
The corners of Tristan's lips turned downward slightly.
'I wonder how I'll feel once I'm in their position. I never thought about it much before. It's likely that I just assumed I wouldn't care.'
Perhaps Tristan's previous assumptions were right. Perhaps he'd be indifferent to it all.
However, somewhere along the way, his previous beliefs wavered.
'Anyway, let's get going.'
Deciding to end his contemplation, Tristan walked past the seniors and officially left school grounds.
When he did, he found…nothing really. It was the same scene he saw every other day.
So there was nothing to be excited about.
He just walked, and walked and walked some more.
Birds flew past and insects crawled leisurely, just as they usually did.
'Wait…was there always this here.'
A building covered in a beautiful blend of pastel colors.
And with a big label saying…
'Cat cafe…'
Tristan's eyes trembled and he halted in his tracks.
He had walked past this area too many times to not have noticed such a cafe.
But he had always ignored it, telling himself it would be a waste of time.
'I have nothing better to do right now.'
With quickened steps, Tristan approached the cafe and walked inside.
'This place is pretty well made.'
The inside of the cafe was covered in various pastel colors while the furniture, like the chairs and tables, was made of brown wood. There weren't many people present which allowed for the upbeat and calming background music to be heard. Overall, the atmosphere was soft and welcoming.
And most importantly, the place was filled with cats.
Brown cats, black cats, grey cats, orange cats, and white cats too.
Meaning that for Tristan…
It was heaven.
**
'That was fun…'
Exiting the cafe, Tristan took a look at his surroundings.
To his surprise, there were a lot more people than before.
Pulling out his phone, he checked the time.
4:35 pm
'I spent over an hour there? I didn't even realize. Well, I guess I'll finally go to the library now'
Then, Tristan began walking once again. This time though, he wasn't going to get distracted by a cat cafe. He was simply focused on the destination in front of him.
Even so, thoughts still floated in his mind.
'How was this school year?'
It was certainly a year.
Plenty of things happened but at the same time, nothing much had changed.
Sure, Aurora was gone, but he still had his other friends.
He was still adopted.
Still going to school.
'But still, not everything is the same.'
Elliot had changed. Nishimoya had too. And Soriel as well.
They all broke free from something, so did he do the same?
'Maybe I did. Maybe I didn't…'
Either way, it was still a good year.
He had fun.
He had gotten to see all of his friends be happy.
And somewhere, deep in his heart, he knew that was a truly good thing.
'I'm here.'
Calmly, Tristan entered the library.
It was the same as usual. Well, due to it being the last day of school, it was even more empty than usual.
But the library itself remained the same. The same books. The same stories. The same worlds Tristan adored.
For the first time in a while, Tristan sighed.
What meaning had he found?
He acknowledged it, sure, but did he define it?
'Is meaning what I choose it to be or is there already an existing meaning?'
He had indulged in philosophy for a bit, but he still didn't know.
It was his decision, after all.
Picking up a random novel, Tristan began to flip through the pages.
It was a generic novel, a hero's tale. Although generic didn't always mean bad, it did mean common.
'Should I continue searching? Or should I give up?'
To stop searching, to stop defining meaning, would be a form of neutrality. But, in truth, there was no true neutrality.
Each and every day, whether he acknowledged it or not, he acted upon his own beliefs.
So shouldn't he try to figure out what those beliefs were?
'Huh?'
Before he knew it, Tristan had gotten up again and began searching for something.
'Where am I going?'
He may have asked himself that, but he already knew. Tristan's destination was already set.
In the non-fiction section, near the philosophy category.
He had been curious about this specific book for a while.
And as he reached out his hand to pick one of the versions up, he heard a voice.
"Oh hey! Are you gonna try this thing out too?"
The voice belonged to a girl appearing to be around Tristan's age. She had dark brown hair, wide circular glasses and wore a white school uniform.
Her smile was unusually charismatic.
She picked up two copies of the Bible in the same translation and handed one to Tristan.
"I was thinking of getting into religious stuff, or at least trying it out. I'm guessing you're here to do the same?" she explained.
"Yeah, pretty much."
"So why don't we try it out together? We can talk about it whenever we come back to the library. That way we won't quit too quickly."
Tristan raised an eyebrow, but after thinking for a bit, he nodded.
"Sure. I don't see why not."
Extending her hand, the girl introduced herself.
"My name is Kallan. What's yours?"
"Tristan," he replied, shaking her hand.
Releasing the handshake, Kallan stretched.
"Well, I'm gonna check this out of the library. You gonna come with me?"
"Alright. I'll blame it on you if I return it late though."
"Sure you will."
Together, they both checked out their Bibles and exited the library.
'I might talk to Elliot about this when I finish reading it…'
Unbeknownst to Tristan, a small smile appeared on his face.
"Guess I'll be heading home now. I'll see you later!" Kallan said before she began to walk away.
But right before she did, she added something else.
"You better keep reading this with me, okay?"
Tristan nodded.
"Yeah, yeah, I will. Don't worry…"
At that moment, the sun shined brightly, as if Tristan was the center of the world.
"I promise."