Honestly, I don't know what to say about my interaction with Kumiko. She's vastly different than the Kumiko in the previous world. What could've changed? Well, she promised that she wouldn't kill me, so I guess there's nothing I need to worry about anymore. All that's left is to enjoy the rest of the day with Olympia. An anti-climactic end, but I'd rather have that than have to fight for my life.
I hadn't noticed how close I was to the rendezvous point, but only after five more minutes of walking did I find the place we were meant to meet.
Right in front of me was a pond so vast that it seemed that it would never end. But taking a second to look around, I could see the perimeter of the pond. Still, it's nice to admire. The animals that occupy the pond aren't making too much noise, but the noise that I did hear was relaxing. I felt tranquil, until—
"Kiyo!" Olympia calls out to me. "I've been waiting forever! Come, sit with me before night becometh."
Becometh?
Anyway, I headed over to where she was sitting. Seems she laid out a blanket to have something to sit on. I also notice a picnic basket on the blanket. Well, of course, we were going to be having a picnic. Why else would we decide to meet at a park? Another thing I notice is crumbs of food scattered throughout the blanket. I did make her wait for a while, after all.
"I'd offer you food," begins Olympia, "but I ate it all. My bad." She glances towards the side.
"It's okay, I'm not hungry. And maybe it's a fine punishment for making you have to wait for so long." I lied about not being hungry. I was pretty starved, but I didn't need to make Olympia worry about me.
"If you say so. Anyways, how about we talk for a while? I bet you have interesting things to say."
Hmm. I'm not sure I have anything to say. Even though I was looking forward to talking with Olympia, I hadn't planned any conversations. Crap. This is awkward.
"It seems you hadn't planned any conversations," did she read my mind!? "Lucky for us, I thought of stuff we could talk about. Weird stuff… Would that be fine with you?"
"Of course," I reply immediately. I hope I don't sound too eager. "Whatever it is you want to talk about, let's talk about it."
She smiles brightly. "I'm glad you're so eager to banter with me. Now, let's begin. Hmm…"
Did she even have any conversation topics planned? Or was that all a lie?
"I got it!" she says excitedly. "Do you believe in destiny?"
Destiny? Does she mean fate? Is there even a difference between the two?
"Destiny," she begins to explain, "and fate are similar, but there is a key difference between the two. Fate is something that is out of our hands. Once it's been written, it can never be changed. Conversely, destiny isn't so strict. It is something that can be warped, twisted, or changed. But only if someone has the strength to do so. We may not have the strength to make the world stop spinning, but we can do whatever we can to change it, even if it is just a bit. So, I ask once more: do you believe in destiny?"
"I still don't think I fully grasp the difference between the two. Would fate be like how all life is fated to end one day, but destiny would be like what we choose to do before our end? Like learning, we don't have much time left, so we change our course of life and begin doing things that are more meaningful than whatever we were doing prior. Our fate will remain the same, but our destiny can change depending on the scenario?"
"I'd say so. That was a pretty good example. So, do you believe in destiny?"
"Hmm, I'm not sure. What if our destiny was already predetermined by fate? And if our destiny does change, what if it was fated to change all along? Sure, our own experience seems like we have control over it, but that's only because it appears that we do. But in reality, everything has already been decided. Even this conversation you and I are sharing could have been fated to happen."
"You describe fate as if it's a bad thing. But honestly, I'd say that it is. I hate the idea that the actions that I've made weren't decided by me, that it was all meant to be. Some may consider that beautiful. I was fated to meet the love of my life! What bullshit. It makes it seem like you don't have to put in any effort to get what you have. Maybe you're right. Maybe destiny is ultimately decided by fate. But still, I'd like to think that all the things I have and all the people I care for belong to me because I made it happen. My efforts weren't in vain."
She's incredibly passionate about this topic. I don't think any previous Olympia talked about fate and destiny like this Olympia has.
"I'd like to believe that fate doesn't matter, too," I argue along with her. "Every step taken by me was because I chose to take those steps. Whatever The Story has written down, none of that matters to me. As long as I don't read it, it's as if it doesn't exist. The Story doesn't matter much, but the world that is right in front of me, the me that is conversing with you right now, the you that is listening to me right now, regardless of fate, exist solely because it does. Not because it was meant to, but because it wanted to. Because we wanted to."
She smiles from ear to ear. Not because of fate, but because she wants to. Because she's happy.
"I love listening to you speak, Kiyomi. I know you're not the brightest person in the world—Oops! Was that rude? You may not be the brightest, but from my few talking sessions with you, I feel like I learned something new. Well, it's getting late now. I wish we had more time to talk. If only you didn't spend so much time just trying to find this spot…"
"Don't blame your poor choice of meet-up spots on me. But you're right, it's getting pretty dark. Let's call it a day."
Right as I'm about to get up, she grabs me by the hand, pulls me in, and kisses me on the cheek. She then whispers into my ear:
"Ciao ciao."