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They say the Mejiro name is a heavy one to bear. Despite that, I find my shoulders remarkably light.
The day I met you, you were screaming into that old tree stump (as iis the academy's tradition to do so). Your words, some of which I then had yet to understand, echoed across the yard and reached my ears. So I did what I do best and comforted you, like I would to anyone else.
Though you were anything but ordinary. You spoke sentences I've never heard in my life, in a cadence that can only be described as chaotic. I was ready to be brushed off, disregarded as someone who lacked the ability to "catch up with the times." But then, you sat me down. Your negative feelings from earlier seemingly cast away in a heartbeat; you patiently explained to me what they mean. You held the door open and gently guided me into your colorful world. You showed me what it's like to be cared about by someone.
On that day, you found me.
And the tides of fate only pushed us closer. We started hanging out more; training together, having drinks together, pulling hijinks together. We ran in the same races, with the same style, and crossed the same finish lines. You would fall behind a lot of the time, yet even as I rushed ahead of the pack I could hear your undying cheers from behind piercing through the crowd's roars. You would celebrate my wins with the energy as if they were yours, bestowing upon me that title of "bestie" that you would always call.
To any other Mejiros, perhaps it would be unacceptable behaviour to hang around such a carefree and frivolous girl. But to the one that they've forgotten, it was fine. Still after all this time, I'm not to be taken notice of, especially compared to the esteemed records of my siblings. This fact, one that I had taken as a burden this whole time, suddenly started seeming more like a boon that allowed me to get closer to you. You showed me that I am more than just my family name, more than the shadow of a person who they would've expected of me. I could finally, truly and fully make a great escape from that ill-fitted mold and run away into a future of my own with you.
Yet, why does my heart still ache?
I can tell that you truly mean every word that you say. That you really do consider me one of the closest people in your life and would not trade me for anyone else. But those reassuring words only come back to subtly prick at my heart everytime I see you dashing away to somewhere without me at the destination.
To that girl who caused you the agony you held on our first meeting.
And every time she turns you down again, you would, without fail, return to me for comfort. I would smile and tell you it'll all work out next time, then we'd get some snacks while chatting and your mood once again brightens as if it was never dampened. You are like rays of sunshine that brightens my path, yet you keep stubbornly rushing headfirst into the clouds that would seemingly take you away from me.
Why?
Why is it that now, with you, I feel like I'm second place yet again? Did I not go the distance? Is it something I did? I care about you more than she ever would, why won't you see me with the same eyes you do whenever she passes by?
…
I could never bear to express these feelings to you fully. Your joy and the sparkle in your eyes that radiate whenever you mention her name are too precious for me to take away. So I will continue to be here, always. As someone, somewhere, that you can always reliably return to and fully let loose with. I will smile with you, for that is my genuine feelings and thanks for you who have brought such sunshine to the life of a girl who was just trying to escape from everything.
I just hope that one day I can call this sun gently mine.