"Do it like this." Small gentle hands guided his knees and waist to bend a little lower. "Use your whole body to send the ball back, not just your arms. Got it?" The black-haired boy nodded, concentration never leaving his mind. He recalled everything that his golden-eyed companion taught him, from the gap between the legs to the right position of the arms.

          "Here it goes!" Once the ball left the other's hands, he put everything into action. Unlike his past attempts, the impact of the ball on his arms felt perfect. It hurt a little as he is not used to playing this sport yet, but the sound his recieve produced was satisfying. It was the first time he heard that sound coming from his own arms. It felt great!

          His usually dull blue eyes brightened a few shades as the corner of his lips curved upward. A comfortable warmth made its way from his head down to the tips of his toes. This was one of the few moments when he felt genuinely happy.

          "That's amazing, Keiji-kun! We're pros now!" Keiji was sure that's not how that works, but he cannot help the silent laugh that escaped his lips. This boy sure is something. It takes a lot of skill and practice in order to become a pro and the duo was still far from entering that league. Even so, he wants to play in a huge court where thousands of people are watching someday.

          While his friend was busy ranting about amazing volleyball players, he noticed his mom leaving their frontyard, probably looking for him. He knows it was rude to interrupt someone talking, but the sun is setting already, signalling that their playtime is over. He nudged the still blabbering boy's forearm using his pointer finger to get his attention then pointed to the direction of his mom to relay his message. Having been friends for a long time, the boy instantly understood what he's trying to say.

          "Let's walk home together, shall we?" Keiji accepted the speaker's outstretched hand and nodded. Hand in hand, the two made their way to the two similar houses where both their mothers are waiting.

          "Bye, Keiji-kun! Let's do spikes next time!"

          The said boy raised two fingers pointing to his two eyes, lowered it and formed a good job sign then flicked it back and forth, the signal for 'see you tomorrow'. The gesture earned a wide grin from the older boy.

          "Thanks for taking care of Keiji, Koutaro-kun," his mother added before they entered the small but comforting house.

          Keiji was born mute, so interacting with the other kids on the neighborhood is almost impossible. Everytime someone tries to talk to him, they end up showing sympathy then leaving with an apology. The cycle continued until he met Koutaro, who asked him to teach him how to communicate using the Japanese sign language because it looked so cool. The said boy still isn't confident in expressing himself in the said language, but he can understand most of what Keiji is signing. Ever since that day, he developed the habbit of waiting for his new-found friend at their front porch. Koutaro never failed to show up even once. He still came just to tell Akaashi that he can't play with him.

          The next day, it wasn't Koutaro who came.

          "Sorry, Kei-kun, Kou-chan is sick today, so he cannot play with you. However, he wants to give you this." He was handed a paper bag that contained a fluffy round owl plushie. It looked... oddly just like him. "He was saving it for your birthday, but he said that you need it right now so you won't feel lonely while he's stuck in his room."

          Keiji took the stuffed toy out of the bag then hugged it tightly as a sign of gratitude. The kind woman gave him a hug and a pat on his head in return. "There's a plague going around the city. You should stay inside for a while. Kou-chan will be sad if you get sick too. I'll call you when he gets better, okay?" He nodded in reply.

          Once inside their lovely home, he grabbed a book from the shelf under the television then rushed to his favorite place in the house: the attic. It was a small dusty room at the highest storey of the house where they kept old and abandoned things that are yet to be sold. The small boy proceeded to the small nest of blankets and pillows that his mom arranged a few months back to serve as his reading place. All sounds from outside and below the small room were reduced to muffled little noises and the small window provided just enough sunlight, making it the perfect place to read a nice novel.

          Keiji opened to the page where he left a starry bookmark that he designed himself. The story was about a genie that grants three wishes to anyone who rubs his lantern. He read the sentences aloud to his new plushie, pausing a few times along the way to admire the well-drawn pictures that he encountered.

          After finishing the book, he found himself wondering if magic lanterns are real. A dusty old mirror at the corner of the room caught his attention. If he rub that mirror, will a genie appear before him?

          Letting curiosity take over him, he grabbed a cloth then rubbed the dust away from the tall mirror. To his dismay, no genie came out.

          He sighed as he took in his fragile reflection. He has a very pale complexion and is very thin for his age. The clouded look in his blue orbs and the small frown present on his lips made him look older.

          Then something happened that surprised him. Instead of sad blue eyes, he was met with bright brown ones with a little beauty mark at the side. The reflected figure has grey fluffy hair and a complexion with a little more color in it.

          "Hi. What's your name?"

          Keiji raised his hands to reply, but put it back down again. He's scared. What if he's just like the other kids in the neighborhood? What if he finds him weird and leave him just like everyone else?

          His train of thoughts came into a halt when the younger-looking boy- maybe he looks younger because of his bright eyes and small smile depite his bigger physique- moved his hands to repeat his former statement in a language that is so familiar to the black-haired boy. Keiji was stunned. He can't believe that someone other than his family and Koutaro knows how to use sign language, and in a flawless manner too, as if he's been using it for a long time.

          "You know sign language," he signed.

          The stranger nodded in reply. "I have a friend who lost his sense of hearing, so I have to make do."

          Keiji smiled in understanding then reached for the dusty mirror to spell his name, Akaashi Keiji.

          "You have a beautiful name, Akaashi-san!"

          "Keiji is fine."

          "Oh. Okay. My name is Sugawara Koushi and it is spelled like this." Sugawara took out a red marker from out of nowhere then spelled his name on the mirror. Maybe the mirror is less dustier on the other side, he thought. "Koushi is fine."

          "You're Kou-chan too."

          "Kou-chan?"

          "I have a friend named Koutaro. He lives next door and he's my best friend."

          "He seems nice. Then I'll be Kou-chan too!" Keiji smiled in reply. "I am Kou-chan and I am a magician who specializes in granting wishes- wait. Be right back."

          Koushi disappeared for a moment then came back wearing a fancy black cape over his white t-shirt and volleyball shorts. "Now, I look more like a magician."

          "You're a genie? Cool!" The thinner boy's face brightened in delight. So genies are real after all. He's so happy to actually meet one. He must be a very lucky kid.

          The boy in the mirror let out a hearty laugh. "Yep, I'm a great genie! I can make anything you wish come true. Everything is the magic of opposites."

          Keiji doesn't know what the last statement means, but he found it cool nonetheless. "Can you really make anything come true?"

          "Anything."

          "Then, can you free Koutaro-kun from his sickness? I want to play with him again."

          "Sure thing! Your wish is my command!"

          The next day, Koutaro's mom called.

          "You're amazing, Kou-chan! Koutaro is well now, but I still can't see him just in case. You really are a magician!"

          "Told ya! I can make anything come true! So, how's your day?"

          Keiji sat cross-legged infront of the now clean mirror and started signing. He told the other boy about his conversation with Koutaro in the morning, his mother's delicious soup, the book he just finished reading, and so on. He even introduced him to his favorite plushies, Kei and Taro, obviously named after himself and his neighbor.

          He came back to the same place in the next day to rant about his parents prohibiting him from going out of the house without telling him the reason why. He was so frustrated that Koushi had a hard time reading his signs. The situation was the same in the next day and the day after that.

          One afternoon after his little rant, Keiji realized something. It was rude of him to talk and talk-more like sign-without even giving the chance for his listener to tell about his day too. How could he forget that? He's sure Koushi has some stories to tell too.

          The silverette rubbed the back of his head upon hearing the other boy's question. "There's nothing really interesting to tell about me. I enjoy-" His statement was interrupted by a coughing fit. Keiji placed his hand on the smooth flat surface with a concerned look on his face on instinct. Tears stained the coughing boy's rosy cheeks and the other badly wants to wipe them away, but he can't because of the thin wall between them. All he could do was watch his friend with sad blue eyes.

          "You should rest, Kou-chan." He received a sad look from a pair of chocolate brown eyes in response. "I promise, we'll talk again tomorrow."

          "Okay. I'll make sure to get better by then." And he did.

          It was Keiji's turn to have a coughing fit in the next afternoon. The silverette was about to tell him to take the day off and rest, but he dismissed the thought off, reasoning that it isn't that big of a deal and the other's fit the other day was worse. To his relief, the other seemed to believe him.

          As usual, he went on about his day using sign language, never missing a single tiny detail. It was perfect. The setting, the atmosphere, the two of them-everything was perfect, until a sad thought slipped to his mind and unconsciously signing it out. "I wish I could speak."

          It was too late for him to take it back. He proceeded to think of excuses, but all that came out of him was incomprehensible waving of hands. To his surprise, his companion's response was a beam and a small laugh. "Your wish is my command."

          He didn't realized that his mouth was hanging open until the other boy pointed it out, much to his embarrassment. It seemed as though his mind stopped processing all future information. "I-" Their little staring contest was interrupted by the voice of his mother calling him for snacks downstairs. Koushi laughed. "Go on. You wouldn't want to miss your mom's cookies, would you?" Smiling, he gave his thanks before standing and turning around to walk to the door.

          That is until an unpleasant feeling stopped him in his tracks. He doesn't know what's happening. His body just suddenly felt weak. Lost in thoughts, he didn't even realized that he's already falling forward into the wooden floor.

          Everything went black.

          Miraculously, it only took less than a week before Keiji was healed and was allowed to go home. The first thing he did was to visit his friend in the attic. He really missed him so much. He can't wait to tell his kind of horrible experience in the hospital in great detail. The thought made him chuckle. He needs to take care of himself more as to not taste any more of those disgusting so-called food.

          However, the sight that welcomed him removed the smile on his face in an instant. Koushi looked so thin and pale, similar to what he looked like when they first met. It's as if some kind of magic switched their bodies. The silverette raised his hands to sign. "Check your voice."

          Sure enough, a foreign sound vibrated against his vocal chords when he attempted to speak, much to his shock. That can't be possible. He was born mute, after all. It must be Koushi's magic- He realized what was happening all this time too late.

          "You can't speak- I- You-" he started, but failed to formulate more sentences. The other boy gave him a sad smile. "Everything is the magic of opposites." "Why didn't you told me?" His voice strained both from sorrow and unuse. Koushi just smiled at him, his eyes showing sadness and... relief?

          "My magic is fading. Do you have one last wish?" Acceptance is hard-far too hard, especially if you're not given enough time to process things. With all his mustered strength, he uttered this sentence, "C-Can I- Can I hold your hand?"

          Both boys placed their hands against the mirror. The cold surface vanished under their touch and was replaced by a comforting warmth. They just stood there, lost in each other's touch, until one of them started losing colors. "Let's meet again some time, Keiji-kun. It was fun talking with you." Then he vanished without a trace.

          "I hope so, Kou-chan." He let the tears fall.

          In the other side of the mirror, a long beep filled the silence of the room. The boy on the clean white bed smiled to himself as tears blurred his vision. Finally, he has paid his debt.

          Someone was gripping his right hand as if their life depended on it, but he cannot feel it. He cannot feel anything anymore, not the cold air coming from the air conditioning unit, not the salty liquid dripping on his right arm. "Koushi, please hold on. Don't leave me just yet!"

          Sorry. Please forgive me.

End.