In a world where the echo of one's own footsteps can feel like the only companionship, Kyoto understood the quiet embrace of loneliness intimately. Society preached self-reliance, emphasizing that we enter and exit this world as solitary beings. Soulmates were dismissed as fantasy, and destiny was a notion confined to fiction. Amid this cacophony of self-sufficiency, those who yearned for connection were regarded with a mix of pity and condescension. Yet, Kyoto knew better.
"Kyoto," she whispered her name to the wind as if testing the weight of her existence. At the tender age of seventeen, she had mastered the art of solitude, holding conversations with the moon and finding solace in the void. Her features were delicate, a canvas painted with midnight-black hair and moonlit eyes. Though she walked a path lined with people, her heart remained ensnared by an insurmountable isolation.
Tokyo, vibrant and bustling, danced to the rhythm of life around her. In a cozy room, she sat upon a well-worn brown sofa, patient in her anticipation for her seventh therapist in six short months. Kyoto was a paradox, a mosaic of emotions, and her journey was about to unfold.
As the clock's hands finally aligned with destiny, the door creaked open, and Dr. Himoto Kusakabay entered—a figure of serenity and understanding. "Kyoto, please, take a seat," he beckoned, his voice a lifeline. "I'm Dr. Himoto, and here, you can unburden your thoughts without fear."
"Owwkay?"
Kyoto replied slowly, making a face that suggested her skepticism. However, he kept a wide smile on his face.
"From the form you filled in, you said you are here because you are feeling overwhelming loneliness," Dr. Himoto asked.
"Yes, sir," Kyoto said with a gloomy look on her face.
"How long have you been feeling this way if I may ask?" Dr. Himoto inquired.
"Since I cried my first cry as a baby fresh out of the womb," Kyoto said, her face devoid of expression.
"That can't be possible. You shouldn't be able to remember that far into your childhood. That's impossible. So, can we be realistic so that we could get a proper diagnostic of your mind state?" Dr. Himoto said, still maintaining a wide and reassuring smile on his face.
"If you wouldn't believe me, then I think I'm at the wrong therapy session," Her response was her exit—an abrupt departure from the doctor's haven, back into the embrace of Tokyo's bustling streets. The city, a symphony of lives, enveloped her as she wrestled with her thoughts in a cab heading straight for her abode.
Arriving home from the therapy session, Kyoto's mom was in the kitchen doing the dishes. Kyoto went into the kitchen and gave her mom a faint smile an art she had mastered to hide the battles that were fought in her heart, with a voice portraying her apathy, she said, "Mom, I'm home."
Her mother whose name was Mrs .Okarina, eager to hear how the therapy session went, asked, "Hey, sweaty, how did the session with Dr. Himoto go?"
Telling a white lie, she said, "It went great, Mom. The doctor was so much help."
Mrs. Okarina, happy that a doctor had finally gotten through to her child, said, "That's great news! So, would you be going back?"
"No, Mom," Kyoto said, "I'm so sorry, but I don't think I need to be seeing any therapists anymore. I'm sick of you people treating me like I'm some crazy person."
Mrs. Okarina, upset by her daughter's words, responded, "Now listen, young lady. If you are tired of going to the therapist, then make some friends and stop complaining about being so lonely. You are a straight-A student with a beautiful face, seated on a beautiful figure. Work on your people skills and get some friends, would you?"
Kyoto had never seen her mom raise her voice at her before, and for the first time since the first day she cried as a newborn child, she shed some tears, even though her facial expression still remained devoid of emotions. Seeing her daughter cry for the first time in seventeen years caused Mrs. Okarina to feel sorry for what she said, but Kyoto was already on her way to her room as her thoughts traveled.
"I feel like such a burden to everyone. Why do I want love though I lack the ability to feel loved? So many friends, but I still feel lonely. So many gifts, but I still feel empty. I have a loving family, but I still feel like an outcast? Why is so much wasted on someone so ungrateful? I have everything I want but the ability to be grateful for it. What is gratitude? How does it even feel to be truly grateful?" After moments of total silence, Kyoto's thoughts continue, "However, I still have a conscience, and I know I owe my mom an apology." These were the thoughts that went through Kyoto's mind as she lay on her bed.
Finally the day slowly blurred into night and the fragrance of Kyotos dinner slowwyly creeped up the steps to force Kyoto out of her thoughts and down the dining hall for dinner, but not only did she come down to a tasty dinner but she came down to the silence that lingered behind after her argument with her mom some hours ago. Mrs. Okarina and her daughter are always so silent because Kyoto never has anything to say, and Mrs. Okarina isn't so much of a chatterbox herself. However, the silence was never awkward because it was never laced with the discomfort of disagreement. To break the uncomfortable silence, they both decided to say something. "I'm sorry for..." they both said at the same time, causing Mrs. Okarina to smile.
"Ok, you go first," Mrs. Okarina said, amazed by the fact that her child wasn't a rock as she had previously thought.
"I'm sorry I've been so ungrateful, and I've been such a difficult child," Kyoto said.
"No, you haven't been a difficult child, my sweet, sweet Kyoto. Since we lost your dad, you have brought me nothing but joy, and it has been a great pleasure watching you grow up to such an outstanding young woman. Most parents my age would be worried about their kids' grades and if their girl is going to get pregnant soon, but my worry is that you are too easy a child to raise, and sometimes I wish you could challenge me a little," Mrs. Okarina said as she chuckled.
"Okay, mom," Kyoto said as she stood up with no expression on her face as usual and hugged her mom from behind. "Now, go and do the dishes and go to bed," Kyoto's mom said as she went to her room.
In the midst of her loneliness, Kyoto begins to question the meaning of gratitude and the longing for genuine connection. As she navigates her way through life, she will discover the true power of love and the parallel paths that fate has in store for her. Will she find the companionship she yearns for, or will she learn to embrace the beauty of solitude? The journey of Parallel Love has just begun...
Parallel Love