Arriety & Sho

                                    

                                          
[this is part 1 out of 1 part.]
- Arriety and Sho : The Secret World of Arriety
dedicated to : @bluewinter_
                          
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It had been an extremely long while since his encounter with the small girl who used to reside in his aunt's home. Sho was now 21, and it had been some time since he had moved away from that place. But now he was visiting again, the only thing keeping him from coming back sooner was the nostalgia of Arriety. He had been given a new heart five years ago, and so far it was working well. Ever since the transplant, this had been his only dream.
                          
He picked up his suitcase and stepped into the taxi, paying the driver and telling him the address of his aunt's home in the country. The driver only nodded, not saying a word before driving out of the city, journeying to the destination. The beautiful trees and forest area seemed to greet Sho with open arms as they traveled. The day was bright, warm and calming; exactly what he needed.
                          
"I want to see her," he thought to himself, unable to block the urge any longer. "I want to talk to her again." A small sigh escaped his lips. He pressed a bottle of water against his mouth and drank to calm him down. He felt in his heart they'd never cross paths again, but this knowledge failed to filter the thoughts of her from his heart.
                          
Sho looked forward at the driver of the taxi, who was silent as usual. The man seemed to be in his mid thirties, but seemed to have a lot of life experience in the least. 
                          
"Sir," Sho asked, leaning forwards. "I need some advice."
                          
The driver glanced back at him for a quick moment and finally spoke for the first time. "What is it, kid?" He said in a rather monotone voice.
                          
Sho cleared his throat once and let out a large sigh. "Well..." he began. "Do you have any experience with... uh, women?" Sho looked down at the palms of his hands, biting his lip. Arriety must be a woman by now, just like he was a man. He knew he had to stop thinking of her as the small girl; he knew that they must have both grown an immense amount by now. 
                          
The driver's eyes widened before he let out a large laugh. "Depends on the type of woman."
                          
This made Sho smile a bit. He looked back up. "I honestly haven't seen her in years and I've no way to contact her. There's no way we could be together, even if I knew how to..." he began. The driver only shrugged in response and nudged him to continue. "But I want to see her again and I haven't been able to get her out of my mind."
                          
"Why couldn't you be with her?" The driver asked simply.
                          
"We come from two different worlds..." Sho sighed. 
                          
"Doesn't seem like that big of a problem to me... Here's my final answer," the cabman began. "If you guys were meant to be, you will be. It may seem like a hopeless situation right now, but I bet your lives will intersect at one time or another if you two truly are supposed to be together. I'm married, kid. I'm married to the love of my life and we just recently had our first kid. Our situation seemed completely helpless to me at first, too, but everything worked out. I'm sure you'll be fine."
                          
Sho smiled and nodded, then looking out the window once more. "Thank you," he said. "I really needed that."
                          
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The boy soon arrived at the home. He said his final goodbyes to the driver and headed in, setting his suitcases down in the same room he had once spent his entire summer in. He greeted his aunt and her assistant, then taking off his suit jacket and shoving his hands in the pockets of his pants.
                          
"It's great to see you, Aunt Sadako," Sho said, kissing his aunt on her cheek. 
                          
She nodded and greeted him as well, apologizing that there wasn't all too much to do around the place. 
                          
"It's really okay," Sho said with a smile. "I came to relax and get away from work. You don't need to act any different than normal. I won't be any trouble."
                          
Sadako smiled and patted his arm, then turning away after giving a brief, "you've never been any trouble, Sho. I love it when you visit Haru and I."
                          
Sho nodded and headed outside, sitting in the yard with the overgrown grass and abunces of flowers. He laid in the same spot he did 9 years ago, where he spoke with Arriety.
                          
"I want to see you again, Arriety," he said, closing his eyes, wanting nothing more than to see her once again. "If only I'd been born one of you, then we could be together. Perhaps then things would be different..." He turned around and looked at the same place he once saw her staring fiercely back at him. "But as I once told you, I can't live a life built on wishes."
                          
"You don't have to."
                          
He quickly flinched and looked around. He heard her voice, he heard it loud and clear. "Arriety?!" He called, standing up.
                          
"Come on, now," she responded in a soft voice. "You know the drill, Sho. Down here."
                          
He looked down, only to see her gazing up at him. Sho sat down and looked into her eyes. She looked so much more grown up, now. She truly had become a woman. "I thought I'd never see you again," he choked out. "I missed you so much."
                          
"Sho... you can't miss me. You.. You need to move on. We can't be together, you know that... I came to visit you one day, and I heard your aunt talking on the phone with you.. that's how I knew you'd be here today. I wanted to see you one last time... Before I got married."
                          
Sho's eyes widened. The thought of her getting married truly broke him into two. "What are you talking about, Arriety? You're too young to get married, and to who?"
                          
"Spiller..." She said, faking a smile. "We're both small and it's only natural. You.. should find someone your own size as well."
                          
"You know, Aunt Sadako, she's getting old.. I'm her heir to this land and the house... I know we can't be together, Arriety," he sighed, looking down as he scooped her up into the palm of his hand. "But I do love you, and I do want to protect you and your family... The borrowers don't have to die out. I know you hate relying on others but... come live with me. I'll keep all of you safe. I need to..."
                          
Arriety motioned for him to hold her up higher, and he complied. She kissed the corner of his mouth, and smiled as she looked up at him. "I love you too, Sho," she said in a small voice, one that had seemed to grow stronger over the past years. "...And I'll take you up on that offer.. It's very hard, living out there in the wilderness with Spiller and the others. It's not a life for everyone... especially not me.. we aren't safe and my parents are getting old and weak and... thank you so much."
                          
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Sho and Arriety went on to live in that house for the remainder of their days. Arriety and Spiller were married and had several children while Sho also married a woman who he met in college, they only had one child. Arriety and Sho continued to love each other, speaking in secret and keeping their feelings hidden from their spouses. It was the only way they could ever be together, and in a way, it wasn't bad at all. ♡
                          
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🌷👑🍃🐱
                          
I hope this wasn't all too bad. I tried to come up with a realistic ending for the two of them... I hate it when people completely change the storyline and it's like, "Arriety drank a potion and became normal sized" ; I wasn't trying to do that at all, and I hope that this wasn't too disappointing, especially for the person who requested this. Love you guys, and thank you for keeping this in your libraries. 
~ Yui .♥︎