26 Days
Day 2: Free
...Talking about the word free makes me wonder what the word free really means and whether I already have it or not? Is free is a word that refers to me who can do anything and wherever I want. Or is there any other meaning behind this word, and is this freedom that I feel is not the true meaning of freedom....
...⚫26 Days ⚫...
Akari blinked her eyes slowly as the sunlight penetrated through the cracks of the window and entered her sense of sight. After getting used to the light, Akari's eyes began to open and she immediately rose to her feet to perform her morning ritual. Akari comes out of her room in a fully equipped uniform, she steps towards the kitchen and sees Kai struggling with his cooking on the table, as Kai is in charge of making breakfast today. The Akari family has a turn to make breakfast, as yesterday Hanabi is on duty later today it is Kai's duty to make breakfast. "Good morning brother." Sapa Akari with a gentle smile on her face.
Kai raised his brow puzzled to see Akari begin to cut the mustard and sausage. "It's not my turn to make breakfast today." Without looking at Kai, Akari walked away from Kai and went to the sink to clean the mustard she had just cut. "Taki-kun is an extracurricular today, he never brought his own bento, I thought maybe he would starve after his training. So I want to make Taki-kun stock." Kai simply nodded his head and continued to cook. "Do you really like it?"
"Eh?"
"Everyone in this house knows, and I even think you know that." Akari's face paled when she thought of her little secret, which was already known by all her family members. She is afraid that if Taki finds out about her feelings from others, Taki's reaction to her somehow is one thing from the number of questions, but her brother's subsequent remarks slightly reduce her worries. "Of course we know you want to keep this a secret from all of us, so we're not going to talk about this with anyone else."
"Thank you." Akari said to her sister.
After breakfast, Akari immediately leaves for her school and greets the people who meet her on the way with a smile. Upon arriving at the intersection of Taki's house, Akari accidentally meets Taki who is also about to leave for school. "Good morning Akari." Sapa Taki cheerfully and walked side by side with Akari who answered her greeting with a nod of approval.
"Did you make me stock again?" Taki asked in hopes Akari would nod, she was still a week ago Akari once said she would make food for Taki again next week, and that was today. After seeing Akari nod Taki smiling happily because he could taste Akari's good cuisine, he always thought anyone who became Akari's husband would be lucky to have a wife who is very good at cooking like Akari.
"You want to take it now?" Taki shakes his head when Akari is about to reach for her bag. "Later on, oh yeah are you going home tonight again today?" Akari nodded, opened her bag and revealed a bag of black pelastics. "Look I brought it."
But not only did Taki see the package, he also saw a red book in Akari's bag that made her remember something, he stopped her steps followed by Akari. Akari tilted her head slightly confused by Taki's sudden stop and paled. "I missed my PR book." Akari raised her left hand to the extent of her stomach, she noticed the watch needle which showed there was still half an hour before the first lesson began. "I think it's still time to go home and get it, even more so Taki-kun is very quick."
Without waiting for Akari to say it twice, Taki started running quickly to return to his house. Akari smiled when she saw Taki almost fall when he was about to turn at the intersection. Trying to ignore Taki, Akari starts to step foot into the school. Arriving at school Akari still seems to have some time before learning begins, therefore he decided to go to the library.
After being inside Akari's library looking carefully at her neatly arranged books, her eyes were fixed on an old black book. Taking the worn out book Akari began to step towards the table, there Akari sat herself on the chair and began to read the title of the book in her hands 'Yin and Yang' at first Akari was about to return the book, but something on the cover caught her attention. He saw a perfect circle, the circle was divided into two colors, black and white, then the two colors formed a pattern that resembles a comma symbol that is so similar to the shape of the necklace fruit.
"Maagatama?" Akari spoke to herself while taking out her necklace and paying attention to the shape of the necklace then to the shape of the picture in the book. "If my necklace is joined with Taki-kun's keychain, it will form this circle." Akari monologues again recalled a moment when she got the magatama necklace from Taki, when they were both eight years old and Taki found two stones with magatama patterns. The one that was black Taki gave to Akari and she kept the white one. Increasingly interested in this concept of Yin and Yang, Akari decided to read much more deeply, but it seems that this activity must be stopped by the sound of the entrance bell.
...⚫26 Days ⚫...
"Drawing is troublesome, but also fun in one sense. It has to shape every little detail to make it more expressive, but when the picture or painting we made has been so we will get satisfaction from the results obtained and that is the fun side but the process is troublesome." Sayaka bangs her head on the table loud enough to make a loud noise and attract the attention of the whole class.
Akari just giggled amusedly at the antics of her best friend, she knew Sayaka was a person who greatly appreciated the results rather than the path to get the results herself. Art lessons are synonymous with drawing or something that Akari knows is not a field mastered by her, but unlike Sayaka, he always tried to do anything so that he could do things that he could not do, they were both like the opposite of the confused but both of them could make the difference become a sticker for their friendship.
Remembering the difference made Akari again remember the symbol of Yin Yang, the emblem consists of two different colors that contradict each other's meaning. But with the difference it makes a balance, a balance? Yin Yang is a balance...
Tinggggg
Akari's daydream is interrupted when she hears the bell sound of the lesson mark has ended, all students immediately put their books in a bag and leave the classroom Arts may go to the cafeteria or immediately to the next classroom.
Akari also got up and opened her bag to pick up a bento, Akari immediately ran after Taki who was about to leave the classroom without remembering the bento. "Taki-kun benthomu." Taki turned around and smiled at Akari, he reached out his right hand to take the bento wrapped in purple cloth using his right hand, and his other hand was placed on top of Akari's head and rubbed her gently. "Thank you Akari, where are you going to eat?"
"In the back yard of the school." Akari replied with certainty, then she tilted her head a little sideways puzzled as to why Taki asked. "Why?"
"Ah, no-no, I'll give you the place back." Taki turned around and chased after his friends who had walked first after receiving a nod from Akari.
"Oh so you brought two bentos for one to give to Taki huh?" Akari was a little surprised when she heard a gloomy voice behind her, she turned around and saw Sayaka who was looking at her with a wounded look. "You can make Taki bento but why don't you make me?"
Akari gulped her saliva nervously, confused as to how to answer Sayaka's question. "A-I t.. don't know Sa... Sayaka-chan wants to too." Akari forced those words out of her mouth even with a stutter. But instead of making Sayaka calm, it brought Sayaka closer to Akari's face, Akari took a step back and closed her eyes tightly preparing to receive Sayaka's explosion. But instead of the anger Akari heard, it was a loud and shrill laughter. Akari ventured to open her eyes and saw Sayaka laughing while holding her stomach. Akari slowly settles into confusion with Sayaka's change of attitude. "I'm just kidding, let's go there."
...⚫26 Days⚫...
After the small choir thanked Akari and Sayaka started eating their respective bentos, the two ate quietly and at a relatively slow pace. Because according to Akari, food is something that must be appreciated not every day or everyone can feel the pleasure of food as it does today, therefore Sayaka slowly enjoys every bite and crisp texture of her bento.
Akari was the first to finish her meal, waiting for Sayaka Akari to open her bag and pick up the black book she had borrowed from the library this morning.
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"Yin-Yang or Yin and Yang is a concept in Chinese philosophy that is usually used to describe the interconnected and opposite nature of forces in this world and how they build on each other. The concept is based on the origin of many branches of classical science and Chinese philosophy and can be used as a guide to Chinese medicine and become the principle of martial arts in China, take Tai Chi and Chi Kung for example.
Yin and Yang are opposites in interaction with the wider world and as part of a dynamic system. All things have both Yin and Yang, but not every aspect has a clear embodiment of the object and may be tidal or flowing over time. The concepts of Yin and Yang are often symbolized by a variety of different forms of the taijitu symbol, which is more commonly known in western culture.
There are some perceptions (especially in the west) that Yin and Yang are always associated with something good and evil. However, Taoist philosophy does not usually take into account anything good or evil and moral judgment, in relation to the concept of balance. Confucianism does not attach a moral dimension of Yin and Yang. But in modern terms, the term has largely been adapted by the Buddhist philosophy of Taosit.
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Akari was so immersed in her reading that she did not realize Sayaka had called her name repeatedly. Feeling annoyed Sayaka snatched the book in Akari's hand made Akari startled and immediately looked directly into Sayaka's eyes. "Bel's been beeping, we need to get back to class immediately." Sayaka replied to the confusion in Akari's eyes.
Akari stood up after re-inserting her bento box into her bag, walking to the left of Sayaka who was busy playing her phone which she said had a message from her boyfriend. On the way to class, Akari overhears a quarrel between Taki and a voice she recognizes as a man named Arashi, arashi is angry with Taki because he does not want to give the bento that Akari gave him. Akari's face flushed red when she heard Taki saying he wouldn't share anything Akari gave him, and moreover the delicious bento from Akari, he doesn't get it every day so he won't give anything like that to anyone.
Akari thought that if Taki really enjoyed the bento he gave, what if he made Taki bento every day. But it seems like it would be difficult to ask his father for permission to make Taki bento every day, after all as Taki said it was a special bento from him, from him, if the bento is made every day it may be that the specialty will disappear. Perhaps the best option is to make Taki once every two weeks, such as hours of exercise lessons on Monday and when there are extracurriculars usually Wednesday as it is today. And again Akari's mind lies again until she does not realize it has passed the door of her class, Sayaka just shakes her head looking at Akari's attitude that will never change.
...⚫26 Days⚫...
With a small lighting lamp above the pool, Akari sat in a chair glued to the book in her hand. Occasionally his face hardened then his eyebrows raised while trying to understand the meaning of a sentence that is difficult to interpret by him. Now past seven o'clock, Sayaka had come home at least half an hour ago she really hated her father's rule of limiting her curfew but she also knew her father was doing it to keep her safe. While Taki he just told Akari through chat, he said it might be a little late to catch up with Akari to the pool because he as the running club chairman had to do some data collection of the items used during the activity.
Akari moved uneasily and turned her head back to see if Taki had come or not, but all she saw was the darkness of the night. Sighing a small breath Akari resumed her reading.
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"Yin is the black side with the white dot on the top and Yang is the white side with the black dot on the top. The relationship between Yin and Yang is often described by the form of sunlight that is above the mountain and in the valley. Yin (literally a shady place) is a dark area that is a shadow of a mountain, while Yang (literally a bright or sunny place) is the part that is not blocked by the mountain. As the sun moved, Yin and Yang gradually swapped places with each other, revealing what was unclear and hiding what had already been revealed. Yin is characterized by something slow, gentle, yielding, diffuse, cold, wet, and passive. It has to do with water, earth, moon, femininity and night. The opposite is characterized by fast, hard, dense, focused, hot, dry, and aggressive. It has to do with fire, sky, sun, masculinity and daylight.
" Yin-Yang's? Interesting reading." Akari gasped in shock at the sound right beside her, there she saw Taki sitting on the chair right beside her, his neck extending slightly to look at the contents of Akari's book. "Since when was Taki-kun there?" Akari asks confused since when Taki was there even she didn't realize it.
Taki raised one of his eyebrows to hear Akari's question, then he remembered Akari's dreamy habit while reading. "You didn't realize it because you were too busy with your reading, after all you can't be free away from me."
"I'm not free, am I?" Akari monologues herself, remembering words she had previously thought of freedom. "Do you think it's free?"
"Eh?"
"Look at that little fish, do you think he feels free to be in that pond?" Akari directs her gaze towards the pond which if noticed it looks small. "Looks not, he should be able to swim freely in the river instead of in this small pond."
"But for him he has gained freedom there, he can swim and play at will without any fear of predators in the wild." Akari noticed Taki's facial features were so focused in telling her parable, this facial expression was so different from Taki who was always naughty and jolly that childish than Akari knew. Akari smiled gently, seeing that her Taki had now crawled into adulthood.
"Freedom is seen from which side you look at it, because there will be good and bad things, positive and negative, he said, all light and dark in this world are created in pairs with humans who have two sexes as well as various other things in this world created by considering the one with the other othersmore. And this is the perinciple of Yin Yang." Akari heard Taki's words with a charm on her face, she did not expect Taki to have changed so far.
"Taki-kun knows a lot about Yin Yang as well." Taki turned his head towards Akari while grinning in embarrassment with Akari's praise, he raised his hand above Akari's head and slowly stroked her gently. "It's late at night let's go home." Akari smilingly nodded and the two of them started to rise up from the chair and started to leave the pool.
On the way Akari could not help but smile on her face considering the second day she lived today, she wondered if on the third day the black and white koi would come out together, but even more important is whether on the third day he will get closer to Taki. Whatever will happen the next day Akari is already impatient for tomorrow.
