Post by gotmilk on Feb 9, 2008 1:03:07 GMT -5
[[Continuation.]]
Hiro remembered when she and her mother started leaving little notes to each other on the walls. It had included her jumping out of bed every morning for two years to find a note that her mother had always written. Some made her smile, some made her laugh, and some had even made her cry though it wasn't intentional.
'Goodbye…'
It had been at that time that her mother had to suddenly leave for a business trip. Hiro's mom was petite for a woman but beautiful nonetheless. Her hair, unlike Hiro's, was medium short and only barely reached her shoulders. It had been dyed different colors and streaked with rainbow highlites.
"Never afraid to be different." she always said. And she lived up to it as well. People often talked about her, saying how her uptight and strict father could meet someone so carefree and flexible. It hadn't mattered to them what people said. They were in love, despite some age different, and weren't ashamed to admit it. Hiro's always admired them for that.
She's always figured her mother would leave a note saying when she would come back, but she hadn't.
For the next few days, Hiro sat by the window, looking out hopefully to see her mother walking into the apartment building any day.
After several weeks, her hope had faded and she gave up. It was then, a few days later, she had found out her mother was in a car accident and was in a serious coma. Hiro often visited her after that, bringing her flowers and reading her some of her favorite stories such as Shakespeare and The Pride and the Prejudice.
Hiro has had some troubles reading the longer words, since she was only in elementary school at that time.
She had always known her mother couldn't hear her read it out loud anyways. But, Hiro's always wondered, if she kept talking to her, then her mother would soon enough hear her voice and come out of her coma.
It had been some kind of miracle.
When her mother's heart rating had increased due to her conciousness, Hiro and her father had been standing beside her bed as she woke. Her eyes fluttered a bit as Hiro's breath was caught in her throat, anticipation building up as she waited in excitement to see the color of her mother's eyes. The sickly woman looked around in a daze with some confusion before her eyes landed on her family, minus one.
Her lips curved into an old, motherly smiled. And though she was pale and fragile, her mother had never looked so beautiful.
A wide, happy smile reached Hiro's face as her father laid a hand on her skinny shoulder in acknowledgment. She could tell he was relieved and happy as much as she. All the while, she had thought "So this is what a family feels like..."
As sudden as her mother had awaken, she screamed and writhed in pain. Pain suddenly infiltrated her head and shocked her throughout her body. Her lips had a thisp as she called out a quiet name with a dry, hoarse accent. Hiro's smile disappeared into a face of worry as doctors and nurses rushed to give her a vaccine and put her at an easeful temporary sleep.
It was lucky that she wasn't in any pain and that she had slept as she went. When her father had found out, he had refused to let her visit her mother in the hospital any longer or even leave the house, school as an exception.
After two weeks of seemingly house arrest, her father had finally told her the truth. The still small Hiro merely smiled sadly and uttered a quiet, 'Oh…fancy!' She had finally understood.
Soon after, the world had become dim. She rarely ate though Heiji had cooked her favorites all the time. She hadn't talked except for some occasions during school. Hiro hadn't even interacted with her family anymore, sparing only slight nods of understanding during dinner time. Her cheerless behavior hadn't gone unnoticed, but no doubt ignored.
Her father, her teachers, her classmates; none had tried to comfort the quiet, broken little girl. Only her brother, as older brothers always did, had tried his best at cheering her up with his enthusiasm. It, like all other attempts, came out short in the end.
There was even a time in his life when he and Hiro had gotten into such a large fight, both their feelings exploding in each other's faces. Heiji had admitted he was sick of who Hiro had become and wouldn't even look at her.
She was pale, and thin, and had bags under her eyes from lack of sleep. He knew that she was in emotional pain, but it was her own choice whether or not to let it out. He had already tried his best. He was frustrated. The argument happened so fast, they hadn't even have time to think about what they were saying.
Heiji came back from his job as a spare construction worker. His muscles were tense and his entire body was sore. There was nothing he wanted more to do except sleep and rest. But, there was that responsibility as an older brother he had to make. Hiro needed his support, her health was fading fast.
Slumping through the house tiredly, Heiji forced on a comforting grin once his gaze landed on the small figure of his sister.
"Yo, Hiro! Did you have a nice day?"
She merely responded with a slight emotionless nod.
He frowned a little at the lack of respond but kept a small smile on his face. He couldn't give up that easily. "How is school?"
Hiro stood rigid as ever but shrugged, still refusing to speak.
Heiji's frown was now clearly visible. His head lowered a bit so that his brown locks would cover the look of disappointment he his in his eyes. "I see…you're…still not talking?"
He didn't look up this time; the silence was all he needed to know.
Growling at the back of his throat, Heiji pounded a fist on their coffee table and stood up clenching his teeth and his fists. "Why?!" Hiro's eyes widened in surprise as her body froze in shock of her brother's sudden volume. The coffee table, since part of it was glass, had shattered at the impact from her brother's fist.
"Why won't you talk, Hiro?!" he yelled in frustration.
"Do you think you're the only one sad that Mom's gone?! You think you're the only one with problems?!" Heiji took a step forward, his cheeks reddening in anger.
"I loved Mom too! I didn't want her to leave us, but she didn't have a choice! And now that she's gone, I have to take two part time jobs and come home to take care of you and Dad!"
Hiro backed herself against the wall in fright, her hands unconsciously at her chin as she seemed to shrink back with every word he hit her with. They've never fought or argued before in their lives. It was only obvious that they would yell at each other when their emotions were bottled up to the extremes. Hot tears stung at her eyes and threatened to fall. Instead, she held it back with all her force, biting her lips slightly.
"Y-Y-You…" she stammered, shutting her eyes to blink away tears and then looking at her brother with pitiful eyes.
"Y-You don't know at all…! I-I'm happy!" Hiro clutched her shirt tightly, feeling all her frustrations starting to build up inside and vent out of her mouth. "You should h-have seen her f-face! Mom was i-in so much pain, and the entire t-time, she was c-calling for you! Until the very last minute...M-Mom was waiting for y-you!"
Heiji flinched visibly. He'd suddenly remembered. The day his mother had passed away, he was at a very important competition to spark his cooking career. The moment he came home grinning madly and holding his shiny new trophy, Hiro and their father had already started eating unusually silently. It scared him and sent shivers up his back at the possibility.
She pointed an accusing finger at her brother as his glare at her widened slightly. "H-How could y-you say such th-things when you know shit about me…?!"
Her legs suddenly gave out from underneath her and Hiro let herself collapse against the wall, in need of its support. She couldn't hold them back much longer. The tears started flooding. If she had looked up then, she would have seen her brother's eyes widen and then narrow in guilt, hot tears at the brink of his eyes as well.
Her face suddenly felt something soft push against her, wiping away some of the tears. Heiji had come and kneeled in front of her, using an arm to wrap around her shoulder and a hand to brush through her hair in comfort.
"Shh…" He whispered, "Shh…its okay, Hiro. Everything's gonna be alright…" Heiji rested his chin at the top of her head and rubbed her back softly, sighing in regret. "...I'm so stupid..."
Her small hands, hesitantly at first, reached up and clutched the back of Heiji's shirt. Her grip tightened when she suddenly felt a strong need of human comfort. They sat there for a moment, Heiji letting her cry into his chest as he quietly whispered soothingly.
"…Sorry…"
He pulled away from her gently and grinned widely, giving it another try at cheering her up. "So, Hiro…you hungry?" he asked once again.
She sniffled and wiped her face clean of tears though her nose and her eyes were red and her breathing was erratic. Nodding slowly in response, Heiji copied her movements and nodded with a smile. "Okay. What do you want to eat?"
After moments of thinking, Hiro finally opened her mouth to say something quietly, a small childish smile brightening her face once again. "I-I want some Sashimi…stupid."
Hiro remembered when she and her mother started leaving little notes to each other on the walls. It had included her jumping out of bed every morning for two years to find a note that her mother had always written. Some made her smile, some made her laugh, and some had even made her cry though it wasn't intentional.
'Goodbye…'
It had been at that time that her mother had to suddenly leave for a business trip. Hiro's mom was petite for a woman but beautiful nonetheless. Her hair, unlike Hiro's, was medium short and only barely reached her shoulders. It had been dyed different colors and streaked with rainbow highlites.
"Never afraid to be different." she always said. And she lived up to it as well. People often talked about her, saying how her uptight and strict father could meet someone so carefree and flexible. It hadn't mattered to them what people said. They were in love, despite some age different, and weren't ashamed to admit it. Hiro's always admired them for that.
She's always figured her mother would leave a note saying when she would come back, but she hadn't.
For the next few days, Hiro sat by the window, looking out hopefully to see her mother walking into the apartment building any day.
After several weeks, her hope had faded and she gave up. It was then, a few days later, she had found out her mother was in a car accident and was in a serious coma. Hiro often visited her after that, bringing her flowers and reading her some of her favorite stories such as Shakespeare and The Pride and the Prejudice.
Hiro has had some troubles reading the longer words, since she was only in elementary school at that time.
She had always known her mother couldn't hear her read it out loud anyways. But, Hiro's always wondered, if she kept talking to her, then her mother would soon enough hear her voice and come out of her coma.
It had been some kind of miracle.
When her mother's heart rating had increased due to her conciousness, Hiro and her father had been standing beside her bed as she woke. Her eyes fluttered a bit as Hiro's breath was caught in her throat, anticipation building up as she waited in excitement to see the color of her mother's eyes. The sickly woman looked around in a daze with some confusion before her eyes landed on her family, minus one.
Her lips curved into an old, motherly smiled. And though she was pale and fragile, her mother had never looked so beautiful.
A wide, happy smile reached Hiro's face as her father laid a hand on her skinny shoulder in acknowledgment. She could tell he was relieved and happy as much as she. All the while, she had thought "So this is what a family feels like..."
As sudden as her mother had awaken, she screamed and writhed in pain. Pain suddenly infiltrated her head and shocked her throughout her body. Her lips had a thisp as she called out a quiet name with a dry, hoarse accent. Hiro's smile disappeared into a face of worry as doctors and nurses rushed to give her a vaccine and put her at an easeful temporary sleep.
It was lucky that she wasn't in any pain and that she had slept as she went. When her father had found out, he had refused to let her visit her mother in the hospital any longer or even leave the house, school as an exception.
After two weeks of seemingly house arrest, her father had finally told her the truth. The still small Hiro merely smiled sadly and uttered a quiet, 'Oh…fancy!' She had finally understood.
Soon after, the world had become dim. She rarely ate though Heiji had cooked her favorites all the time. She hadn't talked except for some occasions during school. Hiro hadn't even interacted with her family anymore, sparing only slight nods of understanding during dinner time. Her cheerless behavior hadn't gone unnoticed, but no doubt ignored.
Her father, her teachers, her classmates; none had tried to comfort the quiet, broken little girl. Only her brother, as older brothers always did, had tried his best at cheering her up with his enthusiasm. It, like all other attempts, came out short in the end.
There was even a time in his life when he and Hiro had gotten into such a large fight, both their feelings exploding in each other's faces. Heiji had admitted he was sick of who Hiro had become and wouldn't even look at her.
She was pale, and thin, and had bags under her eyes from lack of sleep. He knew that she was in emotional pain, but it was her own choice whether or not to let it out. He had already tried his best. He was frustrated. The argument happened so fast, they hadn't even have time to think about what they were saying.
Heiji came back from his job as a spare construction worker. His muscles were tense and his entire body was sore. There was nothing he wanted more to do except sleep and rest. But, there was that responsibility as an older brother he had to make. Hiro needed his support, her health was fading fast.
Slumping through the house tiredly, Heiji forced on a comforting grin once his gaze landed on the small figure of his sister.
"Yo, Hiro! Did you have a nice day?"
She merely responded with a slight emotionless nod.
He frowned a little at the lack of respond but kept a small smile on his face. He couldn't give up that easily. "How is school?"
Hiro stood rigid as ever but shrugged, still refusing to speak.
Heiji's frown was now clearly visible. His head lowered a bit so that his brown locks would cover the look of disappointment he his in his eyes. "I see…you're…still not talking?"
He didn't look up this time; the silence was all he needed to know.
Growling at the back of his throat, Heiji pounded a fist on their coffee table and stood up clenching his teeth and his fists. "Why?!" Hiro's eyes widened in surprise as her body froze in shock of her brother's sudden volume. The coffee table, since part of it was glass, had shattered at the impact from her brother's fist.
"Why won't you talk, Hiro?!" he yelled in frustration.
"Do you think you're the only one sad that Mom's gone?! You think you're the only one with problems?!" Heiji took a step forward, his cheeks reddening in anger.
"I loved Mom too! I didn't want her to leave us, but she didn't have a choice! And now that she's gone, I have to take two part time jobs and come home to take care of you and Dad!"
Hiro backed herself against the wall in fright, her hands unconsciously at her chin as she seemed to shrink back with every word he hit her with. They've never fought or argued before in their lives. It was only obvious that they would yell at each other when their emotions were bottled up to the extremes. Hot tears stung at her eyes and threatened to fall. Instead, she held it back with all her force, biting her lips slightly.
"Y-Y-You…" she stammered, shutting her eyes to blink away tears and then looking at her brother with pitiful eyes.
"Y-You don't know at all…! I-I'm happy!" Hiro clutched her shirt tightly, feeling all her frustrations starting to build up inside and vent out of her mouth. "You should h-have seen her f-face! Mom was i-in so much pain, and the entire t-time, she was c-calling for you! Until the very last minute...M-Mom was waiting for y-you!"
Heiji flinched visibly. He'd suddenly remembered. The day his mother had passed away, he was at a very important competition to spark his cooking career. The moment he came home grinning madly and holding his shiny new trophy, Hiro and their father had already started eating unusually silently. It scared him and sent shivers up his back at the possibility.
She pointed an accusing finger at her brother as his glare at her widened slightly. "H-How could y-you say such th-things when you know shit about me…?!"
Her legs suddenly gave out from underneath her and Hiro let herself collapse against the wall, in need of its support. She couldn't hold them back much longer. The tears started flooding. If she had looked up then, she would have seen her brother's eyes widen and then narrow in guilt, hot tears at the brink of his eyes as well.
Her face suddenly felt something soft push against her, wiping away some of the tears. Heiji had come and kneeled in front of her, using an arm to wrap around her shoulder and a hand to brush through her hair in comfort.
"Shh…" He whispered, "Shh…its okay, Hiro. Everything's gonna be alright…" Heiji rested his chin at the top of her head and rubbed her back softly, sighing in regret. "...I'm so stupid..."
Her small hands, hesitantly at first, reached up and clutched the back of Heiji's shirt. Her grip tightened when she suddenly felt a strong need of human comfort. They sat there for a moment, Heiji letting her cry into his chest as he quietly whispered soothingly.
"…Sorry…"
He pulled away from her gently and grinned widely, giving it another try at cheering her up. "So, Hiro…you hungry?" he asked once again.
She sniffled and wiped her face clean of tears though her nose and her eyes were red and her breathing was erratic. Nodding slowly in response, Heiji copied her movements and nodded with a smile. "Okay. What do you want to eat?"
After moments of thinking, Hiro finally opened her mouth to say something quietly, a small childish smile brightening her face once again. "I-I want some Sashimi…stupid."