"Hisaki, remember to stay alert. Call any of these numbers whenever you need. They are already waiting for you. Use the new phone I gave you. Ah, I also have saved the numbers for you."
Mari handed a piece of paper to Hisaki before the latter had to get on the train along with multiple reminders.
Looking at the paper, Hisaki almost teared up.
"Mari, thank you for always helping me."
In this life or the previous one, her dear friend never hesitated to offer a helping hand to her.
Even though GPS hadn't been used widely during this time, Hisaki didn't want to take any gamble. She switched off her old phone and gave it to Takuya.
At the same time, Mari had registered a new SIM for her. She also gave Hisaki her previous phone which was still well-functioning.
Soon, Hisaki got on the train with just a sling bag and a backpack carrying her clothes and other items. Mari and Takuya waved at Hisaki as they wished her to have a safe journey.
Once the siblings met Mari at the market, Hisaki went to the toilet to change her clothes. She wore a loose shirt and a pair of khaki pants. To prevent anyone from recognizing her, Hisaki wore a face mask and a cap. Her long black hair was tied up in a bun.
From here, Hisaki would only arrive at the capital city train station in three hours. Mari prebooked the tickets for her. If there was a delay at any station, she could easily reschedule it.
Hisaki kept her backpack close to her. She pretended to sleep in her seat. There were a few familiar faces inside this train couch. It was unavoidable because this was just a small town.
After passing five stations, Hisaki let down her guard for a bit. She no longer saw anyone who might recognize her.
'After I arrive there, what should I do first?'
Hisaki took out a small notebook and a pen from her sling bag. She began jotting down important points on the paper.
[1. Warehouse: Heisuke worked here (day/night shift?)
2. Apartment opposite the river: Heisuke lived here with MIL, renting Shuuya's apartment unit
3. Sakurasou Inn: MIL's workplace ---> I should try getting a job here
4. ???]
Hisaki frowned as she reread what she had written.
In her previous life, they met later than this time. What Hisaki wrote down was what Heisuke told her before about his younger years. A few of them even came from Heisuke's mother, Shuuya and even Aino.
It would be quite challenging for her once she got there.
"He works like this? No wonder he always gets body aches," complained Hisaki under her breath. She couldn't help but feel distressed about her old man.
Heisuke actually came from a quite well-off family. But, it didn't mean that his family was a happy one.
Her old man rarely mentioned it but, her mother-in-law often brought up the past to Hisaki just so she could understand Heisuke better.
Mr. Saeki had a trading business in another prefecture. Despite having a good start and later, a stable profit, his greed ruined all of his hard work. A so-called friend of his weaved a web of lies and scammed his fortune away from him.
It happened when Heisuke was around 9 years old. Their relatives turned their back against them, unwilling to offer even a single help. They were the same people who fawned over his family before.
Ever since then, Heisuke and his mother lived in fear. Mr. Saeki often drank himself until he got totally wasted. He also spent the bit of money he got from his wife at the gambling table. Whenever he failed, he beat his wife and child to vent out his anger.
While Mr. Saeki refused to face reality, Mrs. Saeki began working at an inn to support their livelihood. The inn's owner took pity on Heisuke who begged to have a job as well. She appointed him as a dishwasher.
Everything changed the year Heisuke turned 12.
According to Hisaki's mother-in-law, Mr. Saeki went berserk one night. It was unlike his usual crazy episodes. This time, his violent actions instilled a new level of fear in the mother and son.
"I thought... we'd really die that night."
Those were Mrs. Saeki's words when she recalled the painful and frightening memory.
A baseball bat hit Mrs. Saeki a few times. The wielder was her husband, the one who should love and protect her from harm. Her ribcage and her arm broke because of the multiple beatings. She also suffered several heavy injuries.
The beating stopped when suddenly Heisuke appeared behind Mr. Saeki. With tears rolling down his youthful face, he stabbed his own father with a knife.
Right after Heisuke pulled out the blade, red blood splattered from Mr. Saeki's open wound. The blood splashed on Heisuke's hand and shirt before staining the floor red. Streaks of blood also dirtied his face.
"Heisuke fainted shortly... once he woke up at the hospital, he couldn't speak. No... he refused to speak."
The events of that night left deep psychological shadows on Heisuke. As for Mr. Saeki, he survived the injury yet he was imprisoned under multiple charges.
Heisuke went mute for almost a year. His personality also changed completely. He never asked where did his father go after that night.
The mother and son never visited him even once. Both of them moved from the house that brought them nightmares. They settled down in Konomiya Town, a place where they knew no one.
Yet, in this place, warm-hearted people took them in. This was also where Heisuke met Shuuya. The latter's friendly approach helped Heisuke to once again befriend others.
At the same time, he also understood how heavy his mother's responsibility was. The teenage Heisuke only focused on working hard for his study and working part-time to ease his mother's burden.
Like Hisaki, Heisuke was rewarded with a scholarship at a good university but, he declined the offer. He didn't want to leave his mother alone even though their friends and neighbors assured him that they would take good care of his mother.
Hisaki remembered how hard she cried as she continued listening to her mother-in-law's tale. Her already fragile heart broke into pieces.
The kind old lady gently hugged her. Mrs. Saeki even thanked her for loving and accepting her only son.
In fact, Hisaki and Mrs. Saeki found something common in them during the first time Hisaki attended to her in the nursing home. Mrs. Saeki had a hunch that Hisaki suffered the same fate as she had.
Both of them were tortured mentally and physically by their husbands. They also fleed to an unknown and far away place.
"This time... it'd be different," murmured Hisaki.
In a few years, Heisuke would open his own business after saving a significant amount of money. Unfortunately, his business went under shortly due to a man's dirty meddling.
Hisaki didn't know the details much because Heisuke often avoided talking about this topic. The minor thing she knew from Shuuya was that the man who destroyed Heisuke's business was also the man who deceived Mr. Saeki.
It was the reason the usually quiet and calm Heisuke turned batshit crazy.
Heisuke went looking for the old man for explanations. Instead of compensating him, the old fraudster mocked him. In a fit of rage, a fight ensued between Heisuke and the man's bodyguards.
While Heisuke got injured himself, he also almost killed one young man who was on the same scene.
"He won't be imprisoned... Never."
Hisaki closed her eyes, feeling her tears begin pooling again. She put a hand inside the sling bag, clutching the letter in her hand.
What was the use of getting a happier ending if he needed to suffer in the middle?
It was impossible not to stumble into any obstacles during someone's life journey but, she only desired a happy, happier path for her old man to walk on.
He had gone through so many ups and downs in their previous life.
Shouldn't he be granted a path with flowers blooming all over the road?