Aftermath

Friday 7:12pm

In the silence that ensued between them, he could almost hear the fragile pieces of his mother’s resolve cracking and crumbling like eggshells, crushed by a careless hand.  The soft curls of her hair swayed as she trembled tensely, her shoulder fighting against the losing cool and aloof ulterior that she had always wore like a cloak veiling her emotions.  It was a special moment, it was as though he were watching a hermit crab crawling between shells, trying to shield themselves from vulnerability.  “Why have you shown these pictures to me, what are you trying to do to me?”

“Because I want an answer from you, I want to know why these letters are in the attic, unread by the intended reader.”  He stood there watching his mother’s lips quiver, trying to speak without sound.  In any other circumstance it might have seemed funny, the outspoken wife of Saito-Sato san garbling like a goldfish.  But he was not in the mood now; a clown could have appeared and he would not have laughed. 

“Why… how?”

“I’ve been bumping into a few people this week, some of whom may be of interest to you.  One of them, as I have already told you, was Mizuno Ami-chan…” he paused briefly, “the other, whom I met today on the way home, was Ka-san.”

Her mind began working at full speed, Kaoru-san, or Ka-san as her son called her, had known about her past sins – no, she had taken part in them.  Kaoru-san was supposed to have destroyed those cursed letters years ago.

“Do you know that I always wondered why she looked as though about to cry each time I asked if any mail had arrived for me?  Did you know that I was upset that I never received any replies to my letters?”  He was ranting now, his eyes were red and he could feel himself losing control, “did you know that I waited for every single one of her birthday cards?  How could you?  How could you have been so selfish?  How could you have asked Ka-san to burn my letters, our letters?”

“But she didn’t burn them.”

“What were you thinking?  That we were too good for them?  Mizuno-san never found herself too good for you when you were the daughter of a ramen-shop proprietor, oka-san never found himself too good for you.  What made you think that you were too good?  What made you think that your son was too good to have Ami-chan as a friend and not the other way round?”

Mrs Saito-Sato took a deep breath, “she is a child from a divorced family.”  Her voice was low and raspy, it seemed as though she was trying to convince herself more than her son, although neither was affected.

He raised an eyebrow at the lame excuse, “do you recognise yourself when you take a look in the mirror every morning?  Do you see your own reflection, or someone else’s?  You hated grandma because of this, this… self important stature, her snobbery, do you see that in yourself when you look at yourself?  Do you know yourself anymore?”

Defeat reigned on her face as she said, “what do you want from me then?”

“Some change, some change for the better, I want you to be able to recognise yourself.  It’s not just for me; it’s for yourself, for what you have to do to mend what you had with oka-san.  You’re not the person he married anymore, you’re not the person in those pictures, what happened to her?” 

Friday 10:31pm

He smelt something heavenly familiar, an exotic blend of flowers wafting into his nostrils mixed with the demanding aroma of coffee arresting all his attention.  However, when he opened his eyes he found himself in a strange yet faintly recognizable room.  The bright whiteness of the walls and furniture almost hurt his eyes, he groaned, if only he had a pair of sunglasses with him.  His blinked several times and was pleasantly surprised when a hand came behind him to offer a pair of dark glasses.  He took them and perched them on his nose, spinning to his right side of the room on the swivel chair he tried to see the owner of the hand. 

“I’m still behind you oka-san.”

“What did you call me?”  He swung back to his left side and found himself facing the slim waist young man who had just called him… oka-san.

“I stepped out from behind you on your left instead of the right.”  The young man shrugged light-heartedly as though it was not much of a surprise.

“Never mind that now, something more important than that,” he waved his hand impatiently, “I’m asking who you just called me?”

Pulling up the leg of his trousers, the young man crouched beside him so that their eyelevel was almost equal, “you have no idea, do you?”

“Should I?”

The young man sighed, “we did a pretty good job didn’t we?” he asked rhetorically beneath his breath, “coffee?  I brought up some fresh coffee, extra strong with one spoon of brown sugar and thick cream with a dollop of evaporated milk, just like the way you like it.  I thought that you might want some.”

“How did you know how I take my coffee?  How did you know that I take brown sugar and not coffee sugar?”

The young man shrugged once again and grinned as he turned away, “hard to forget the disgusting concoction you take – I tried it once and I washed my mouth for an hour.  The only thing impeccable in your taste is your taste in women.” 

“You are an extremely rude young man, I have no idea who you are, what family you come from, but you show no respect nor manners.”

“I’m not exactly a young man anymore, nor are you really 50 years old.  We come from a family that age slowly as we watch over the lives of our young charges.  We shift through time to age prematurely to gain respect of our Princesses, and return backwards in time to grow with them, or even fall in love with them like you have oka-san.”

“I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“That’s my job – you taught me how to do that if you recall.”

“Are you delusional?  Let me go and I will introduce you to a renowned psychologist, psychiatrist, someone that can help you perhaps.  Just let…”

“I have no intention of keeping you here against your will, but remember these words:- you have sought a simple happy life with the woman you have loved for many millennia and now loves you in return.  You are a mortal because immortality is a burden, chase your dreams and live for quality not quantity.’  Those were your words before, you have forgotten them, but now I return them to you.”

            In that moment, understanding dawned on him.  He finally realized what this young man was talking about, he finally remembered who this young man was, but before he had the chance to tell him, he found his vision blurring and dissolving.  The final words he heard were “it is forbidden for me to visit you, but you can always visit me.” 

Friday 10:35pm

“Ryo-kun!  What are you doing here?  I thought that you had left, you spoke to me earlier and said that your father was relocating to Tokyo permanently and you told me not to see you off today.  Is something wrong, did something happen?  Oh, I’m sorry, where are my manners, come in first, please come in.  Your luggage, surely, what happened, you have all your luggage with you, Ryo-kun?”

Urawa Ryo couldn’t help but smile at Ami’s reaction to his standing at her front door with his luggage behind him.  He had probably never seen her say so much in one breath, and the pink flush of her cheeks when she had realized that she was babbling… it was a sight that he would remember and play back in his fondest memory.  Sweet, composed Ami, forgetting her manners for the briefest of moments, the horrified look that she bored was priceless, yet blush had made her look so young, beautiful and fragile.  So fragile that he wanted to take her in his arms and hold her to protect her from… ‘Good one!’ he mentally kicked himself, ‘I was here to help her choose the right person, and my drooling over her is not going to help.  Remember, we can never be an item.’

Stooping down, he gathered his five large suitcases and stepped into her elegantly immaculate-as-always living room, “thank you for letting me in.”

“I wouldn’t dream of turning you away!  Now you have to tell me what happened Ryo-kun, are you in some kind of trouble?”

“Err… no, its… how do I put it?” ‘time to start lying’ Ryo thought to himself, “I’m here to ask for a favor actually Mizuno-san, due to some problems, my father is on his way to Tokyo, but the arrangements have somehow failed to include me.  In order words, after having gone to the train station this morning, I have been left here in Juuban, with no place to stay because our lease has been terminated…”

“And you’d like somewhere to stay.”  Ami said as-a-matter-of-factly.

“Well, temporarily that is, Mizuno-san.”

“Ryo!  I have told you so many times, you have to stop being so formal with me, especially if you are going to stay here with us.”

He looked down to the ground, “I… its just that, it doesn’t seem right if I was to call you by anything else, I mean, from the instance that I saw you from the newspaper you became… like an idol, an unattainable person that I esteemed to be, and now that I do know you, you are a princess.  What do you expect me to call you?”

“Ryo-kun, you are my friend, I don’t want or expect any formalities coming from you.  Believe me, if a cat can call me Ami-chan, you, whom I consider one of my best friends, can too.”  Ami replied, referring to Luna and Artemis.

“I’ll try to remember alright?”

“Good,” she smiled, “I’ll show you to the guest room, I’m sure that my mother won’t mind you staying with us for a while.”

 Friday 10:42pm

He woke with a start from his slumber, the all too familiar pungent smell of coffee mixed with the soft smell of perfume was enough to make him wonder if he was merely dreaming of waking up.  His neck was stiff from his awkward position on the couch, the pain alone was enough to assure him that this was reality and not a dream.  He lazily opened one eye to find Mewagi sitting beside him going through her paperwork, oblivious to his waking.  The perfume was different to the one from his dreams, but the coincidence of it all made him think twice.  If the scent had been the same, he could have blamed his sense of smell incorporating it into his dream state, but now, it was as though he really had been visited by that young man. 

He smiled when he saw Mewagi’s hand reaching up to tousle the short wavy hair at the nape of her neck as a sign of distress.  Over a period of a little more than a year, he had learnt to read the meaning of her mannerisms like an open book.  He found her a delight to watch and observe, her quirks charming and her dedication admirable – there was nothing that he saw in her that he could criticize.  It was as though he had been born for the purpose of observing her, this divine creature that he loved from the beginning of time…

“Oh my…”

She turned around in surprise, “is something wrong Kendo?”

“I’ve just realized something.”

“What?”

“You are the Lady of Mercury, and I was… you are Someieichi-kou, Ami is Princess Mercury, in other words, Sailor Mercury!”

At his statement, Mewagi Mizuno promptly proceeded to drop her partly full coffee mug and ruined the pale blue carpet of his living room.

 Friday 10:44pm

“Miz… er, I mean, Ami-chan, are you sure your mother won’t mind?  I mean, when she comes home and finds that there’s someone sleeping in her guest room?”

“It’s not like she’s never met you before, I’m sure that she won’t mind.  I’ll talk to her about it as soon as she gets home tonight, or tomorrow morning if she doesn’t come home until late.  But I can assure you that she won’t kick you out of our house if she finds you here before I manage to speak to her, if that’s what you are worried about.”

“No, of course not, I just wanted to make sure that she doesn’t get shocked about my being here, I don’t want to… impose…”

“It’ll be fine Ryo-kun, the only thing that you are imposing on is my study time if you keep on protesting,” Ami laughed at him with a slightly mischievous smile on her face as she left the well furnished guest room to leave him to his unpacking, “get unpacked and we’ll sit down for some hot chocolate in about half an hour okay?

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