Minami no Hanashi : Yume - Prelude
The Weekend, at the Katayama's
It was barely 8 AM, and Narumi was already wide awake. Lying on the couch with her head on her mother's lap, she seemed lost in thought. She slowly sat up and spoke, "Um… Mom, I need your help…"
Azumi, usually enthusiastic, responded almost disinterestedly, "Hm?"
After a few seconds of hesitation, Narumi continued, lowering her eyes, "I want to get closer to Minami, but I don't really know how to go about it…"
The face of Azumi lit up with a radiant smile. She turned to her daughter and asked, "Well then, what's gotten into you all of a sudden?"
Narumi, embarrassed, didn't respond. Seeing this, Azumi pretended to think and continued, "Hm~ You really missed her, didn't you?" she teased.
-(Narumi) She misses me, she said softly.
Azumi placed her hand on her daughter's head and said with a smile, "Why don't you go and tell her that instead of telling me?"
Narumi suddenly stood up and whispered, flailing her arms around, "No way! That's impossible! It's way too embarrassing."
Azumi crossed her arms and resumed watching TV, "If you can't do that, then I can't help you."
Frustrated, Narumi grabbed the remote and turned off the TV. After a moment, her mother's simple look made her turn it back on.
The morning's peaceful atmosphere enveloped the house, but within Minami's mind, a tumultuous storm raged. She had fallen into a restless sleep, plagued by troubling dreams where past shadows clashed with unspoken desires.
She suddenly found herself in a park, her steps echoing on the gravel. A little girl with tearful, angry black eyes and a pouty face stood before her. The tension was palpable.
"Why are you so mean to me?" asked the little girl with a trembling voice.
Minami felt helpless, her own emotions intertwining with those of the dream. "I'm not mean," she replied, her voice firm but tinged with sadness.
The little girl, in a fit of rage, lunged at Minami, scratching her arm. "I hate you!" she screamed, tears streaming down her cheeks.
The sharp pain of the dream seemed to pierce through reality, and Minami woke up abruptly, her heart pounding. The room was quiet, the morning light filtering through the curtains, but the turmoil in her mind persisted.
Sitting up in bed, she muttered a few words before lying back down, "Damn it!"
A few moments later, she dragged herself out of bed, grabbed her journal from her desk, and wrote down the dream she had just experienced.
In the Living Room
-(Azumi) Hm… You could invite her to go shopping, said Azumi coolly.
-(Narumi) Oh! I'll do that! It's the best idea!
Narumi, heading toward the stairs, seemed satisfied, but Azumi was not. "Sure, it's a good idea, but it's not the best, nor the most effective," she replied.
Curious and almost impatient, Narumi asked, "And what's that?"
Azumi, pleased by her daughter's excitement, continued with a smile, "You walk into her room without knocking, wake her up because I'm sure she's still asleep haha—" -(Narumi) And then? And then?
-(Azumi) *smiling* You say 'I love you, Minami,' and give her a hug. And there you go! You're reconciled!
Narumi's mouth hung open, her expression neutral. "You must be joking. Minami would never accept something like that, your idea is totally ridiculous, Mom."
Azumi, looking desperate, lamented her daughter's ignorance, "Argh, you really don't know your sister at all…"
-(Narumi) It doesn't matter, in any case, I would never do that. It's way too embarrassing.
Narumi was heading to Minami's room when Azumi, irritated, replied coldly, "That's not the behavior of a little sister who loves her big sister. If you really wanted to make up with her, it wouldn't be a problem."
Narumi stopped in the middle of the living room and gave her mother a dark look, "As far as I know, I have the right to choose how to reconcile with my sister! Just because you're always right doesn't mean you get to dictate every detail of my life!"
Azumi was unrecognizable, fixing her daughter with a neutral, almost threatening gaze, a look that seemed like a warning. Narumi didn't look away, staring back with determination.
Finally, it was Azumi who looked away, glancing at the TV and coldly uttering, "Do as you wish." Narumi climbed the stairs, seething with anger.
Outside Minami's Room
Narumi stood in front of the door, still shaken by her mother's words. Her whole body trembled; she couldn't even wipe away the tears streaming down her cheeks or stop her constant sniffles.
Shinsuke, emerging from his office, saw his daughter in this state and asked what was wrong.
Narumi turned to him, her tears flowing even more at the sight of her father. She could barely form a sentence, "I-it's m- anyway- I- mom- she—"
Shinsuke lifted her up like a child and cradled her as if she were a newborn.
Five Minutes Later
Narumi had regained her composure and her determined look, though she was still in her father's arms.
-(Narumi) Dad?
-(Shinsuke) Yes?
-(Narumi) I've stopped crying, but I'm still sad.
-(Shinsuke) Yes, that's normal. It's just the first step. After crying, sadness doesn't go away suddenly. That's why when you were little, I held you a bit longer so you wouldn't be sad anymore.
-(Narumi) So you think if I stay like this a bit longer, I won't be sad anymore?
-(Shinsuke) Yes, very likely.
A Few Minutes Later
-(Narumi) I'm okay now.
-(Shinsuke) Are you sure?
-(Narumi) Yes, I'm done, she said with determination.
Shinsuke gently placed her down.
Narumi seemed intrigued and looked her father in the eyes: "I'm surprised, not that I doubt your expertise, but I didn't think it would work."
-(Shinsuke) I was surprised the first time I tried it too; it was just a small experiment. I tried it with Minami, but it only works with you.
-(Narumi) Really? And with Auntie?
-(Shinsuke) It doesn't work with her either.
-(Narumi) Ah… I guess I'm a special case then…
Shinsuke responded after a short silence: "Now that I think about it, it works with your mother too, but not as well as with you."
-(Narumi) With Mom?! You tried it with Mom?!
Narumi was in total disbelief as she couldn't conceive of this unusual scene.
-(Shinsuke) Yes, why wouldn't I? I had to test it because it proves to be very useful.
-(Narumi) Argh yes, I agree, buuut… Well, you know! I mean, how did you do it?
Shinsuke rolled up his sleeves and flexed his biceps, striking a pose: "What do you mean by that? I simply carried her."
Silence.
-(Narumi) But she didn't say anything? Mom is really too in love… she said, exasperated.
-(Shinsuke) Before being your mother, she's my wife; I can do what I want.
Silence.
-(Narumi) That phrase is very questionable out of context.
-(Shinsuke) Yes, indeed. I should clarify that she does the same and doesn't hold back.
-(Narumi) Mom?! But yeah, yeah, she never does anything, she said, waving her hand.
-(Shinsuke) It's because she prefers-
Narumi had enough of hearing about her mother and cut him off: "Argh, enough about Mom. I'm supposed to be mad at her."
Shinsuke smiled and headed towards the stairs, but his daughter stopped him: "Wait, Dad, your mission isn't over. I just want you to stay behind me while I talk to Minami."
-(Shinsuke) Alright.
Narumi took a deep breath and knocked on the door. Minami responded from inside: "Yes~ you can come in!"
She opened the door, and Minami, who was sitting with her back to the door, turned around and sat up straighter: "What's up?" she said, yawning.
-(Narumi) What's wrong with you?
-(Minami) What do you mean, what's wrong with me?
-(Narumi) Why are you crying?
-(Minami) Huh?
Minami touched her cheeks and noticed that tears were flowing. She got up and went to the mirror to check because she couldn't believe it: "Am I dreaming?"
-(Narumi) So, what's wrong?
-(Minami) I don't know, probably conjunctivitis, she said, rubbing her eyes.
Silence.
-(Narumi) Huh? Conjuncti-what?
Minami turned to her little sister and asked: "It's more my question to ask you, what's wrong with you?"
Narumi had partially forgotten why she was there and began to panic: "Uh… well, I-I just w-wanted to say I lov- NO! Uh, you mis- NO! Uh, would you like to-"
Minami, puzzled, got closer to her sister and started knocking on her forehead like one would knock on a door: "Hello~ what's going on in there?"
-(Narumi) Stop… please.
Minami stopped but still waited for her sister's response. Seeing that she was struggling to express herself, Shinsuke stepped in: "Narumi just wanted to say that she loves you, misses you, and wants to go for a walk with y-"
Narumi jumped to reach her father's mouth to cover it: "No! STOP! NOT AT ALL, STOP!"
She turned to Minami and saw for a brief moment that her face, which had lit up, had lost its glow.
-(Narumi) N-No, actually, I just wanted to go for a walk with you…
-(Shinsuke) But it's the same thing, Narumi.
-(Narumi) No! It's not the same at all! she said, turning to her father.
-(Shinsuke) But when you were stuttering---------------
Minami watched her father and sister with a sweet smile and then interrupted: "What time?" she asked softly.
Narumi had come up impulsively and hadn't even thought about that possibility: "Uh, I don't know, I'm not ready either," she said, looking down at herself.
-(Shinsuke) Then go get ready together. I'll go downstairs.
-(Minami) Okay. Come on, Narumi, she said, extending her hand.
This brief moment reminded Narumi of the last time Minami had taken care of her after she had a bad night. She froze for a second, then grabbed her hand: "Okay."
In the Living Room
Shinsuke barely had time to get down the stairs when his wife called out to him: "How's Narumi?"
He took his time descending before answering, while Azumi took her cup of tea, waiting for his response.
-(Shinsuke) She said she hates you, he said in a cold tone.
Azumi, who was about to drink her tea, froze abruptly.
-(Shinsuke) Just kidding, just kidding, he said, opening the fridge.
Azumi looked at her husband, unimpressed: "What's gotten into you? You rarely do that."
Shinsuke let out a small smile: "Well, I thought you deserved a little teasing after upsetting our daughter." Azumi, still unimpressed, replied with an ironic tone: "Stop imitating me."
-(Shinsuke) Alright, alright, I'll stop, he said, laughing.
Azumi smiled and went back to drinking her tea.
-(Shinsuke) She cried a lot though, and I comforted her, but this isn't a competition, he remarked while glancing at his wife.
Azumi couldn't help but laugh and continued: "Hahaha well, well done! But I'm still the best at it," she said, smiling.
Shinsuke looked at Azumi with a slight smile, and Azumi, sensing it without looking, asked him with a returning smile: "Well, what's on your mind?"
-(Shinsuke) For a brief moment, when Narumi asked her to go out, she had the same look as you; a smile reaching her eyes. It was beautiful to see.
-(Azumi) That's my girl, she affirmed with pride.
-(Shinsuke) And what are you watching?
-(Azumi) Hm? What do you mean?
Shinsuke's smile faded, and his expression darkened: "On the television, what have you been watching?" he asked, staring at her.
After blinking, Azumi replied: "Ah… I don't really know… I wasn't paying much attention."
Fifteen minutes later
Minami and Narumi came down the stairs. Azumi noticed Narumi's hairstyle and called out to Minami: "Wow, you're getting better and better!"
-(Minami) Yes, I feel like I'm improving too, she said with pride.
Azumi glanced at her younger daughter, who barely looked at her: "In any case, it looks great on you, my girl!"
Silence.
Minami didn't understand the tension: "Uh, what's going on here?"
-(Narumi) Come on, let's go, Minami, she said, opening the door.
Minami felt caught between a rock and a hard place and wasn't sure what to do, but she had just gotten closer to Narumi, so she decided not to spoil the moment: "Sorry, sorry~" she said, hurrying towards the exit.
Narumi closed the door without a word.
-(Azumi) It was to be expected.
Outside the House
-(Minami) So, what's going on?
-(Narumi) I'll explain later.
-(Minami) Okay, so where are we going?
Silence.
-(Narumi) I don't know, she said softly.
Minami saw that Narumi was embarrassed and suggested: "Shall we call Jun?" Narumi seemed hesitant and spoke in a soft voice: "I just want it to be the two of us…"
This pleased Minami, and she took her hand with a smile: "Come on, let's go!"
END OF CHAPTER