"Thank you for shopping."
The guy at the cashier called out to Konan as she exited the convenience store. Holding a plastic of her purchased items, she walk down the road of her neighborhood as she made her way towards her home.
It's a fine Saturday morning. Birds chirping up the tree, blue sky with hovering white clouds, the leaves that was once robbed from the trees by autumn now slowly growing again and of course, the fragrant smell of wisteria carried by the spring breeze. For others, this scenery would be nostalgic and emotion-steering but for Konan, she just know it's beautiful. She knew it's pleasant to the eyes but it's still not enough to touch the strings of her emotions, although she used to wish it would. But she stopped that wishful thinking. She might not have a chance to overcome this condition and she would remain a blank and empty soul until her last breath, denied of emotions.
Her condition Alexithymia, is a condition that renders the affected individual fails to recognize emotions. While the condition itself is rare, in the case of Konan its even more unusual for she lack the emotions itself. She's been diagnosed of this condition ever since she could remember and that's when she was 7 years old. Her ticket to the memory lane stops at that age and she can't remember anything about her years before that revelation. When she asks her parents they just turn silent and then change the topic so she dropped the inquiries. Maybe it's because she's just a child back then and her consciousness hasn't fully developed for her to remember things. When she woke up one day, inside a hospital that when she saw her mother with strange liquids running down her face and she got told by her father that her mother was crying when she asked what was happening.
Konan realized she had wandered to far back in her reminisce when her head tingled. It's always been like this, whenever she would try remember anything in her childhood, her head if not by slight tingling would throb like crazy to the point where she passes out. She passed out once and ever since then, she stopped trying to remember any past events. Konan took a deep breath to relieve the tingling sensation in her head before walking again. She planned to fasten her pace in order to reach her house faster.
"Oh." She muttered and stopped walking. She is already standing outside their gate. She must have really spaced out to not realize it. Good thing she didn't got run over by car. She pushed their gate and entered, making a mental note as she close it: Do not space out when walking in a street.
When she opened their back door, she halted a little when she heard her mother's voice talking to someone in the living room. Are they having a guest?
"But Mother did not say anything about someone coming over." She silently murmured as she gently put down the items she bought in the table. " Is it Father's visitor?" She wondered. Perhaps no, the voice didn't sound like it comes from a guy of her father's age. She noticed a paper bag with a big hole in it. She is sure that the contents of the bag was the freshly washed apples in the table since when she left earlier there was no apples sitting in the basket in their table. The apples must have rolled down the street with that big of a hole in the paper bag. Konan left the kitchen and headed back to the living room.
" Mom,..... " she yelled as she walk towards the living room. " I've bought what you told me to. Did you buy the app---" She trailed off when she saw who her their visitor was. Her mother and the visitor stared at her. She also returned their stare.
"Nakajima? What are you doing here?" She asked, confused.
Rui stared at Konan. He took a good look at her face. He always wondered why he never saw the girl smiled or get angry or flustered. Why she doesn't seem to care about being left out . He even believed the girls who said she's just an obnoxious and cold-hearted snob even though he had talk to her a few times and even though she looked unenthusiastic, her answers isn't of anything offending. Now that he knows the truth behind her, he felt bad. He also looked at her like how people at their school who don't know anything about her do.
"You two know each other?" Mrs. Fujioka asked. Her averted her gaze to her daughter and diverted it back to the kind boy who helped her pick the apples when the paper bag was torn apart and the apple she was carrying went rolling down the streets. Konan nodded.
"She's my classmate, a seatmate at that." Rui said to Mrs. Fujioka.
" He helped me picked up the apples when it rolled down the street so I invited him in. Good timing right? I am going to bake an apple pie. I am just waiting for you to arrive. Did you buy all I told you to?" Konan looked at her mother and nodded.
"Can you wait until it is done so I can gave some to you? As a token of gratitude and apology for troubling you." Rui looked at the lady who smiled kindly and looked at him with expectants eyes. With that look, how can he say no?
" Of course. I will be glad to." He said, smiling. The older Fujioka's face automatically lit up as soon as he said yes.
" That's great, please make yourself at home. It's the first time Konan-dear had a classmate come at home, even though its accidental, it makes me happy." She said and excitedly walked towards the door.
"Well Konan-dear, please entertain Rui-kun okay?" She tapped Konan's shoulder and went out the door before Konan could answer.
Konan looked at her classmate. Sure she would entertain him. The problem is she doesn't know how to. She sat a few inches next to him.
Rui awkwardly straightened his back and stared at the TV in front of him. He felt guilty of thinking ill about her.
"Do you want to watch some movies?" Rui's heart jumped inside his chest when Konan spoke. He awkwardly laughed and scratched his nape. "No, its fine."
Konan nodded and racked her head for some ways to entertain him. Then it occurred to her. "Hey Nakajima. I don't know if I can entertain you by this but... if you want...."
Rui awkwardly shifted his gazed around the room and gulped. How is she gonna entertain him?
Konan noticed the awkward shifting of her seatmate's eyes and wondered if he's bothered by her presence. ".... you can ask me questions, I'll answer them." Rui's nervousness died down and he glanced at Konan. "Uhh-- sure. You don't mind?"
Konan shook her head and stood up. "I'm gonna get us some tea first." She said and went out. She walked in to her mother busy baking in the kitchen.
"Are you two friends?" Konan stopped pouring the tea and gently put the kettle down the table. Are they friends?
"I don't know." she said and continued pouring. She then carefully carried the tray out of the kitchen.
"He seems like a good kid. It would make me glad if you became friends with him." Her mother said. She halted for a bit before finally walking out of the kitchen.
"That depends if he would like to be friends with me" She muttered. "Although that seems impossible". she thought as she placed the cup of tea in front of Rui.
"How I wish you could join us for lunch Rui-kun." Rui apologetically looked at the mother Fujioka and smiled. "I do wish too Mrs. Fujioka but I might worry my grandma if I don't show up for lunch."
" I guess it can't be helped. Send my regards to your grandma." He nodded and bowed his head before walking away. He also smiled at Konan who is standing behind her mother. Konan just bowed for she don't know how to smile properly.
Rui can't help but envy how Konan's mother look at her daughter warmly. Its been so long since she saw her mother's warm look. If only that woman---. Rui decided not to ruin his day so he shoved the thought out of his mind. He remembered how Konan honestly answered his queries and he could tell how she is carefully minding her tone and words. He even felt guilty how he doubted her goodness as a person.
That's why an idea came to his mind. An excellent idea.
He's going to help her overcome her condition. Yes. He will do what he can. He jogged home, keeping in my mind to do a research about the said condition.
This one Saturday morning gave him a chance to know his mysterious seatmate. And he decided to know her more. Only he have no idea how that decision is gonna change their lives forever. That destiny had already started to weaved their threads and his decision intertwined it even tighter.