' Never in my life have I made a decision that would benefit me. It wasn't because I didn't want to or rather that I couldn't. The thought of disappointing my family's expectations of me, especially my parents petrified me to the core.'
' There was once a time when I was oblivious and honest, especially when it came to my feelings. I still remember the first time I expressed those feelings to my family and what came out of it was something unbecoming and unimaginable. It was a distraught feeling I could never forget even if I wanted to."
" You're almost done with high school and will be starting college in about a year. Do you know your field of study, as in what you'll be majoring in once you graduate?"
' That was the question my mother asked me one day out of the blue as she stared into my eyes. To that question, I answered—-------'
" Creative Writing. Once I'm out of high school, I'll be majoring in Creative Writing."
" Creative Writing?" " What will you be doing with it?"
…
" With that major, my dream of becoming a writer will finally come true. Once that's done, I'll be able to give us a better life than the one we have now, I promise."
" Are you being serious right now, Takumi?"
' Her jolted expression told me everything I needed to know. She was unpleased by the response I gave her and that could be seen on her face. If only I had known back then how the whole conversation would end, I wouldn't have let my feelings known. Had I known how much my feelings would have hurt them, I would have kept them to myself.'
" Yes, I am." My response came soon after. " Why wouldn't I be?"
" Of all the fields out there you could have gone for, you chose Writing instead, an uncertainty field. Why not choose something that could earn money?"
…
" Mom, I can earn money with Writing. It might not be much at first, but I can truly make it big if I put my heart and soul into it."
" And how many years will that take?"
…
As I didn't respond, my mother said, " You might like writing, but you can only treat it as a hobby. You can only pursue it as a second job, not the main one."
" You need to search for a realistic career, one that would get you through in life, help you pay your bills, and care for your children in the future. Do you understand where I'm getting at, Takumi?"
…
" Yes, Mom, I understand what you're trying to say, but—----------"
" This discussion is over."
' That day, all my hopes and dreams were crushed in the blink of an eye. That day, I stopped dreaming and started living in the real world, just like everyone else in my entourage. When I entered College, I pursued Business as a major. As expected, my family was very proud of me, especially my mother as I had finally stopped building sand castles in the air.'
' I was happy just seeing them happy. For the sake of their happiness, I thought it best to bury my emotions and not let them slip out. From that moment on, I stopped making choices and decisions for myself and started living my life based on the happiness of others.'
' Surprisingly enough, I was able to make it all work. With hard work and dedication, I managed to adapt to my new work environment and the responsibilities that ensued alongside it. Things were going great or so I thought—----'
' When I thought things couldn't go any greater, as if to remind me that I was a human being in the flesh with feelings and emotions, I was faced with a situation where I had to choose for a life to be saved.'
' It was either stand idly by and do nothing as I was used to or budge and take action. When faced with such a choice, the answer came on its own.'
" Mister, please wake up!"
A few moments later at the City Hospital
Takumi's entire family rushed to the hospital as soon as they were informed of the latter's accident. The little girl Takumi put his life on the line for, was trembling like a leaf as she feared something bad might happen to the man who saved her life.
Seeing how much she was trembling, Haruki, Takumi's younger brother approached her and uttered, " It's going to be okay. Nothing bad will befall my big brother."
" It's all my fault. Had I paid attention to the road, none of this would have happened." The little girl exclaimed while sobbing.
" This is not your fault. If anything, it's the driver who's at fault here and not you, so stop crying and be strong for my brother."
At the sound of those words from Haruki, the little girl instantly stopped weeping and calmed down little by little. When the attending doctor came out of the operating room a few moments later, Takumi's parents rushed to him to inquire about their son's condition.
Fortunately, the attending doctor had good news for them. " Your son's condition is stable. There's no need to concern yourselves anymore."
" When may we see him?" The parents asked the doctor who retorted, " As soon as he regains consciousness, you may see him, but only one person shall do so at a time as the patient is still very fragile and shouldn't be disturbed."
" Thank you, doctor."
When the doctor left, Haruki turned to the little girl and uttered, " Did you hear that?" " The doctor just said that my brother's fine now and once he wakes up, you can go in and see him."
The little girl hesitated before giving a response. That's about when Takumi's parents approached her and asked, " Who are you, little girl?"
" My name is Luna. It's nice to meet you."
The little girl respectfully introduced herself to Takumi's parents before telling them how she was grateful to Takumi for saving her life. Listening to the little girl's tale, the parents were truly proud of their son's noble deed.
Two hours later when their son finally regained consciousness, the parents uttered to Luna, " You may go in first, Luna!"
" Is that okay?" Luna asked a rhetorical question to which Haruki retorted, " Of course it's okay, go on."
Luna entered the ward slowly. From the back, Takumi easily recognized her. When Luna turned and approached Takumi, he grinned brightly at her before asking gently, " Are you okay?"
?
" You weren't hurt in the accident, were you?"
Luna nodded in response to her answer. Relieved, Takumi then said, " Thank God you're alright. I was so worried something might have happened to you."
When Luna opened her mouth to speak to Takumi, she said, " Thank you for saving my life and sorry."
?
" I understand that you're thankful to me, but why exactly are you sorry?"
As Luna spoke again, she said, " I wasn't paying attention to the road and that's why you were—------------"
Before Luna could process what she was about to say, Takumi retorted, " This accident was in no way your fault. The driver was driving drunk and was the one who wasn't paying attention to the road."
" Don't mind the injuries I have for saving you, because it was my greatest pleasure to have been there when you needed me."
At the sound of Takumi's words, Luna sobbed. To calm her down, Takumi embraced her and she instantly calmed herself.
Patting her back gently, he mumbled, " There, there!"
Slowly, due to the comforting atmosphere, Luna fell soundly asleep in Takumi's arms. Takumi placed her beside him on the bed and covered her with a blanket.
The doctor examined Takumi soon after. Due to his injuries, he needed to stay in observation for a few days before being released.
During that time, Luna stayed by his side and nursed him back to health. Takumi asked her nothing but her name and age as he didn't want to rush her into revealing anything she wouldn't want to.
Two days later, the attending doctor gave authorization for Takumi to be sent home. When signing the discharge papers, Takumi turned to Luna who hadn't yet returned to her home, and said, " Why don't you come home with me and eat something?"
Before Luna could give a formal response, Takumi's mother intervened and said, " What are you saying, Takumi?" " How can she go home with us?"
" What your mother is trying to say is, Luna should return home as she's been here in the hospital for far too long."
Takimi knew his parents were right in their decision, but for some reason, he wasn't ready to separate from Luna just yet. During the time they spent together at the hospital, a bond was formed between Takimi and Luna.
It was an inexplicable feeling that even Takumi or Luna could decipher into words. Looking at his parents, Takumi uttered, " Before sending Luna home, can't she eat something first?" " She must be starving."
" We know you're worried about her, but think about her parents in all of this. They must be equally worried as well. Their daughter hasn't been home for a few days now and—----"
" I'll explain to her parents myself, so please let her come home with us and eat something before sending her home!"
Takumi was practically begging his parents that they had no alternative but to give in to his request.
Once home, Takumi went to the kitchen and prepared a quick meal for Luna. Seeing Luna appreciating his cuisine with much delight, Takumi was satisfied and happy.
Once Takumi was staffed, his parents reminded him once again that Luna had to go home. Pushed against the wall, he had no alternative left but to ask, " Luna, where do you live?"
Asked the unforeseen question, Luna didn't know how to answer. Takumi felt the discomfort the question was having on her and stopped asking.
He left Luna to play with Haruki while he took his parents with him to talk in another room.
" Mom, why don't Luna stay with me for the time being?"
" What are you trying to say?" The mother retorted with a rhetorical question to her son who answered as such " You said it yourself that Luna has to return home, didn't you?"
" Yeah, what about it?"
" Don't you find it strange, Mom!"
?
" It had been three days since their daughter had last returned home and they didn't seem worried about her whereabouts. Neither had they dispatched a search warrant or reported their daughter as missing to the police."
" The way I see it, her parents don't seem to give a damn about her, so why should I send her back?"
The emotions and expressions depicted in Takumi's eyes were ones his mother had never seen before and that kind of concerned her a bit.
Sighing nonchalantly, she stated, " No matter how you feel about this, you need to send her back. It's already more than enough that you've saved her life. You can't do more than this, Son. You can't meddle in her family affairs like this because it's not right."
" Besides, you have to head to work every morning. Where do you expect to keep her the entire day?"
While mother and Son were bickering, a shadow of someone was seen listening in on the conversation. It only took a few seconds for the shadow to disappear into the mist as if it was never there.
" No matter what you say, I'm not sending her back for the time being."
Seeing how her son wasn't letting the matter go, she asked him the following, " Why are you being like this?"
Retorting to her question, he uttered, " You don't understand, Mom."
" What I saw in her eyes as I looked at her, I could never explain it to you in words. I have no idea why we met under such circumstances, but I'm sure of something and that is our encounter was predetermined. We met for a reason and until I can figure out what that reason is, I'm going to do my best to protect her."
Against Takumi's explanation, the mother was speechless. " I know you're confused as to why I'm behaving in such a bizarre way, but please, I'm asking that you trust me just this once, please!"
" Trust in my decision and I promise you won't regret it. Once I've figured all of this out, I'll give out a clear explanation as well as to the rest of the family."
Deciding to give him a chance, Takumi's mother uttered, " Whatever, do as you feel like, but remember that you owe me an explanation."
" Thanks, Mom for your understanding. I'll let Luna know of the good news."
Rushing from the room, Takumi returned to the living room to where Luna and Haruki were but to his surprise only his younger brother Haruki was present.
" Haruki, where's Luna?"
" Luna?"