All For the Love of You
chapter 4
by Manille
A week later, I received my test paper in Chemistry.
A perfect score.
"I hate you, Urameshi Misako!"
I turned my head and looked at Saikaku, who sat behind me every chemistry class. "What did you get?"
He shoved his test paper in front of my face. Okay, twenty-four over eighty. Hmm…three-tenths of the total number of items. Thirty percent.
Instead of laughing out loud, I felt guilt clutch my throat. Wasn’t I the one who taught him the chemical bonding thing? I was his best friend and sensei. And it seemed as if he didn’t learn from me.
I bit my lip.
"Don’t laugh, Misako."
"Uh, no, I won’t do that," I told him.
"I’m glad." His test paper retreated and he smiled at me. "Hey, you know, I got fifteen over eighty in the last test. That was when I didn’t ask help from you."
What was he trying to say? That no matter how I teach him, he wouldn’t learn? That his head is the size of a peanut? I felt pity for him. Why did I get high grades, while he rarely got half of the correct answers?
"Thanks."
I blinked. He thanked me?!
"Maybe I should ask help from you more often. Thanks to you, I raised my grades."
Oh. I smiled, feeling warmth rush all over me. "With pleasure, Saikaku."
The bell rang, signaling the end of the period and the start of lunchtime. After we said goodbye to our teacher, Saikaku and I headed for the cafeteria.
He was hooting preposterously. "Can you believe it? Twenty-four over eighty? That’s impossible!" He paused. "I mean, for a guy like me. And to think that chemical bonding is so tough!"
I didn’t hear him. I was staring at an announcement posted on the bulletin board. Saikaku joined me.
There would be a music contest held a few weeks afterward. Any English song. English?
"English?" Saikaku seemed to read my mind. "Why English?"
"There must be another contest some other time, for native songs," I reasoned.
"Hey, why don’t you join?"
"Nah," I said, brushing the thought of joining and continuing to walk. "Don’t want to."
"Why? You’ve got a great voice, you love music…."
"Thank you," I said sincerely. Honestly, I did want to join, but I didn’t want to. Get it? I was just…shy about going up there. Stage fright? Sort of. "Forget about the contest and let others join." I chuckled, adding, "Everyone will back out if I join…they wouldn’t have a chance of winning."
Saikaku laughed, shaking his head. "Urameshi Misako, you are something else, you know that?"
I shook my head, beaming from ear to ear.
He wrapped an arm around my shoulders as we entered the cafeteria. "But that’s why I like you."
For some reason, that affectionate tease got my face reddening.
It could have been a wonderful moment, but Saikaku suddenly removed his arm. "Oops," he mumbled, looking at me. He motioned to our right.
Hosokawa Ryutaro.
Okay.
I wonder why I felt my heart plummet to the
ground then….
When I got home that day, I heard Kaasan coughing.
What? Kaasan is home?
"O-kaasan?" I called, searching for her in the den. There she was, slouched, looking for something in a cabinet under the bookshelves. "You okay?"
Kaasan looked up. "Oh, Misako. You’re home."
I sauntered over and kissed her cheek. "Aren’t you supposed to be in school?" I asked.
"Nope. The kids had a half-day school day."
"Mm hmm." I nodded.
I noticed some photo albums scattered on the floor. I picked up a big white one, elegantly decorated with lace. "What’s with these albums?"
"I was just cleaning up," Kaasan answered.
"O-kaasan, you should have told me. You’re pregnant, for goodness’ sake."
"It’s not a heavy job, Misako."
"But the dust!"
Kaasan shook her head stubbornly. "I’ll manage."
I sighed. Fine, I wanted to help her, but she didn’t want me to. Kaasan is so stubborn.
I noticed that I still held the photo album. I opened it on the first page.
It was a wedding picture. The groom was wearing an exquisite black tuxedo, which suited him well with his brushed-up black hair. The bride, whom he held close, was brunette and beautiful. Her white wedding gown was lacy, refined, long, and showed off her trim figure. His deep brown eyes gazed lovingly into her chestnut ones.
It was my parents’ wedding picture!
"Is this the first time you’ve seen that?"
"Why, yeah!" I exclaimed as I flipped on to the next page. There was the picture of Kaasan and Toosan kissing, their lips fitting perfectly into each other’s. It was so romantic. "How come you’ve never shown me this?"
"I thought you’ve already seen it," Kaasan reasoned. She sat beside me as I surveyed the pictures.
There was one where Kaasan was laughing with Toosan. Then another, where Toosan was kissing Kaasan’s forehead. Then, directly below it, was Kaasan ready to punch Toosan’s face. I laughed at the two contrasting pictures.
"I always bashed your father up," Kaasan told me dreamily. Her gaze was far away, as if looking at the past years. "But he never got mad at me. No matter how many times he told me that I annoyed him, he never changed my feelings towards me."
I had heard neither Kaasan nor Toosan talk about each other before, although I knew that they loved each other deeply. This story coming from Kaasan was interesting to hear.
"Tell me more about the two of you," I told her.
She sighed, that dreamy sigh again. "Oh, what is there to say? We were childhood friends. Best friends. He was a rowdy boy, always picking fights with every other guy, especially Kazuma-san."
"Kazuma-san?" He is Toosan’s close friend, with three funny kids with whom I was close to. I was also especially close to Yukina-san, his wife, and to Shizuru-san, his elder sister.
"Yes. And…." Kaasan seemed to search her mind for something to say. Then her face clouded. "…I almost lost him…many times."
I frowned, trying to comprehend what she was trying to say. Almost lost my father? Strange…Toosan looked like a happy-go-lucky guy—and always lucky, for that matter.
I wondered how.
I didn’t say anything. Kaasan’s eyes were almost glazed…with tears? Maybe. She looked far away, sighing again.
"Yusuke…I just loved him deeply…and everytime he…he went away…I felt as if a big part of me has left too.
"Then…after three years…three long years…he came back, fulfilling his promise. " A smile touched her lips. "He was supposed to go away again, but he finally decided not to…for me…."
A tear left Kaasan’s eye. She brushed it away, smiling. "Sorry. Looks like I’m babbling."
"No, it’s okay," I assured her, placing a hand on her back. "So…what happened next?"
"We got engaged. A few years after, we got married…and then we had you." She touched my hair. "You’re so much like your father."
I smiled back. It was a very wonderful thing to say.
Deeply moved by the story, I looked back at the pictures on the album. Three years. Yeah, it sounded like a very long time.
"Almost lost him…many times." The phrase got stuck in my head like that Chemistry formula that kept on haunting me back. But this one was more powerful. I wanted to learn more, but I didn’t want to ask Kaasan, since I saw that it upset her a lot.
The picture was that of a beach, with the golden sun setting. Kaasan and Toosan were facing away from the camera. They were sitting on the sand, seemingly wet, staring at the sea and the sun. Kaasan’s head was leaning on Toosan’s shoulder.
"That was where we met each other after three years. Imagine my surprise when he did. I just jumped into him…pinned him on the ground and kissed him…."
"What?!" I exclaimed, giggling. Kaasan was like that, jumping onto Toosan?
Kaasan laughed. "Oh, yes. I missed him so much before that. He was always in my mind."
I marveled at the strength of my parents’ love for each other. They were so loyal to each other, patient to wait even if it takes forever. Thank God they ended up being together in the end. And thank God I’m their heaven-sent. They deserve each other…I’m so lucky.
Now the picture was an older one, with Kaasan’s hair short and tousled. Toosan looked so silly—he was grinning very widely, flashing a V-sign on Kaasan’s head. Kaasan just smiled, clueless of Toosan’s antics.
"That," she said, pointing to a picture of a serene lake, "is where he bid me goodbye." The two were standing on the bank, posed for the camera, smiling. "We go there a few times a year."
At another page were some notebook paper, with a few haiku and tanka. On one piece of paper was just a simple line written by toosan: Yukimura Keiko, I’ll love you until the end of forever.
So simple, so sincere, so touching.
"Misako-chan, could you do me a favor?"
"Sure. What is it?"
"Could you go to that lake?" Kaasan pointed to the picture of the lake. "Bring Saikaku-chan with you. I want to know if the cherry blossoms are still there."
I looked at the picture. Saikaku would probably like it. "Sure thing, but that would be on this weekend." It was a Wednesday, by the way. "Is it far?"
"Quite, but you’ll manage. I’ll just tell you the directions some time this week." She stood up. "I’ll fix dinner."
"I’d better wash," I muttered, glancing at my uniform.
I closed the album. However, it seemed as if I couldn’t just release it. It held so many memories. Of a wondrous, unforgettable love story that was made for the books.
Going through many trials. Childhood friends—best friends turning into lovers.
Suddenly, I blushed.
Best friends.
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