The following morning, around 7:15 A.M., after getting dressed and preparing breakfast, I heard my phone ring. I had received a notification. Initially, I thought it was a notification from some app or social network, but I was wrong. It was a message notification.
It was strange. I only had a few contacts saved in my phone book: those of my family and the Nakagawa family who lived next door to me. Since we would see each other in a few minutes, it certainly wasn't a message from Yuto-kun. Moreover, knowing him, he was probably still sleeping at that hour. He usually woke up at the last minute to get ready.
Curious, I opened the message and read the content:
-Come out, I'm here outside. I need to talk to you.-
The message was quite strange in itself. At first, I thought it was really my friend, then my eyes fell on the sender's contact and I noticed it was unknown. This started to make me suspicious, so I went to the front door to look through the peephole. I was dumbfounded. Waiting for me at the door was Harada-san. I wasn't expecting a request from him, or rather, I didn't expect it so soon. I suspected that sooner or later we would have a confrontation, but the timing exceeded my expectations. I wondered what he wanted to tell me. Did he want to talk to me about Yuto-kun? And more importantly, how did he get my number?
Maybe he really did say something strange to the two brothers. Even though I was trembling, I decided to go out and listen to what he wanted to tell me. I saw this as an opportunity for self-improvement. My hand was shaking and I had trouble gripping the doorknob. Once I grasped it, I took a deep breath and opened the door.
"Goo... good morning." I barely managed to get the words out.
"Morning." he responded with a calm and serious demeanor. The tension was palpable, we remained silent for a moment. I had trouble looking at him in the face and from time to time, I diverted my gaze.
On the other hand, she seemed very self-assured, our meeting didn't seem to perturb her in the slightest. She stared at me like an animal watches its prey. I'm certain if she had been a creature of the forest, she would have already pounced on me to tear me apart.
"Let's talk for a moment." she said.
"About... what exactly?"
"Let's get straight to the point. I don't want to beat around the bush. Do you hate me?" The question took me off guard.
What was I supposed to respond to such a question?
I evaluated the alternatives: if I had said yes, there could have been friction between us two and Yuto-kun. Maybe once, after everything I had gone through, I would have responded that way, but now I didn't want unnecessary arguments to arise.
"I don't hate you, but I certainly don't feel positive about you."
"Good, the feeling is mutual. So I kindly ask you to stay away from my cousin."
I involuntarily jerked. That phrase, said out loud, not only made me feel bad, but also made me reflect. The fact that someone was telling me not to see him made me realize how important his presence in my life truly was. I had already understood this when he was hospitalized, but Euiko's words reminded me.
"I hope you understand that..." she, ignoring my expression, continued to talk.
"Calm down,..." I abruptly interrupted her. Her personal reasons were of no interest to me, so I exploded. "...I don't intend to indulge you. Why should I stay away from him? Just because you don't like me? I don't think you have that much decision-making power."
"Come on, I know you. I can imagine your school situation. I don't want him dragged down by your problems." she said with a superior air.
"Like it happened to us? You know what's nice? He is completely different from you. He knows how much I suffered at school and yet he stayed with me anyway. If he really wants me to keep my distance, he should be the one to tell me."
Euiko tried to maintain a calm demeanor, but it was obvious how she was trying to hide her disapproving face. Rather than on my negative response about staying away from him, she dwelled on the fact that he knew about me.
"So he knows everything about your past?" she asked incredulously.
"Yes." I said determinedly.
"And... does he also... know about me?" her tone was now a bit hesitant.
"In what sense? Yesterday we pretended not to know each other."
"Never mind. Just know that I intend to change schools and transfer to your class soon."
"What... how? You... intend to torture me at school?" I asked in disbelief as an ancient wave of fear made me tremble.
"If you think I considered transferring because of you, you're completely wrong. I intend to look after Yuto-kun, at least until things settle down for the operation."
"I'm worried about him too. We're almost always together. If something were to happen, I would act immediately."
"Excuse me, but I'd prefer if outsiders stayed out of it. You may not truly realize the situation. This is real life and not a fantasy where a happy ending is guaranteed." She said, bringing a hand to her throat, almost as if she was short of breath.
"Just looking at all the medication he takes to survive always reminds me of what's at stake. And you, who are just a classmate, think what you feel is comparable to what his family and I are going through?" I couldn't interrupt her anymore. Euiko spoke freely without stopping. I couldn't tell if she was speaking for my sake or simply to vent everything she had inside.
"Since you know everything, I guess you know about the risky operation. Even if he were to survive it, it's not guaranteed he could start his life again without complications. The result could miraculously allow him to enjoy life as a normal person or it could leave him disabled, cause permanent brain damage or cognitive delays, even up to losing the sensation of his entire body. Even the idea of becoming a vegetable falls into the 'best-case scenario' category compared to dea..."
"STOP!" I said, raising my voice. I covered my ears with my hands to stop hearing what she was saying.
"What's wrong? Only now you realize?" she retorted with a bitter voice.
Immediately after that question, an awkward silence arose. I said nothing.
"Both of them will wake up soon at home. I'd appreciate if our conversation remained a secret, I don't want it to further disturb Yuto. With that, I bid you goodbye." Turning her back to me, she opened the Nakagawa's house door and went back inside.
I remained stationary on the landing, staring at the door that Euiko had just closed behind her. That conversation shattered me, creating a chasm within me. Everything that Harada-san had said was true, I was not taking the situation seriously enough. Even though I was aware of the real dangers, I didn't dwell on them enough.
I considered myself his friend, but how could I call myself that if I was getting something so basic wrong?
If it's true that you can tell how a day will go from the morning, that day had the potential to be a terrible one...