Unfortunately for Hayami, her prayer went unanswered. She actually got home soaked to the bone, looking no less than a drenched rat. But it wasn't so bad really, because jokes apart, she actually loved and enjoyed the rain- aside from the horrible cold she always came down with whenever it rained, she didn't mind it at all. She enjoyed spending time playing and having a good time in the rain right from when she was a kid and even through her teen years and up until now despite her growing into a young beautiful lady.
The rain has always been a thing of beauty and something which represented freedom to her.
It was so free and it did whatever it wanted, without any care in the world. Truthfully speaking, as a child growing up in a small and overcrowded orphanage, she had envied the rain's carefree nature, angry that she wasn't allotted that type of freedom.
But she had learned, learned as she continued on looking at the rain. She had learned as she grew wiser and mature in her years that the she could also be free like the rain, that her life was what she made of it. Her life was in her own hands and never once had she forgotten it.
Even when she seemed like she had when her life fell apart, it was always at the back of her mind and that lesson had seen her through in becoming who she was as of today.
She had learned to look in and find beautiful things in others, and herself-she wasn't too sure about herself though… but she was doing fine, so everything was good. At least she took enough time appreciating the beauty of all things around her, even the inanimate ones, even if appreciating some of them could make her end up with a big freaking cold!
Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Hayami started making her way over to her room in order to take a very warm bath and change out of her wet clothes before going to check up on her babies. She couldn't go to see them while drenched and risked passing cold to them, they were so precious to her that seeing them sick or being in pain tugged at and broke her already broken and shattered heart even more…whatever, what was more important right now was to try not to immediately have a warm bath, and then change into warm clothes before any of them woke...
"Mumma?" an excited shrieking voice accompanied with running little footsteps came closer and closer to where she stood on a now drenched wool mat- that was going to be a hassle to clean up by the way-in the parlor. Hayami looked up from the mat, and saw an excited brown haired four-year-old girl coming towards her at full speed that was later halted when Hayami gestured for her to stop.
"Mumma is soaked sweetheart, so you can't hug me right now or you will catch a cold. Let
me quickly have a warm bath and change into warm dry clothes, and then I can give you and your brother all the hugs and kisses that you want, okay?" Hayami gently explained and her daughter nodded her head vigorously in understanding, "okay."
"Good. Now, where is your brother?"
"He is making his bed mommy."
"And you Keiko, did you make yours?"
"of course. I am the senior remember, and you said I have to lead by example."
"And that's what you did?" Hayami asked skeptically
"mm..hmm"
"No, you didn't…" another voice said from behind, the owner now standing by his twin
sister's side, glaring at his sister in a way that reminded Hayami so much of 'him'
"Your bed is still messy, so you did not make it well."
"Yes, I did," the girl replied with a frown
"No, you didn't" the boy argued back with a straight face
"Yes, I did"
"No, you didn't "
"Did too"
"Did not"
"Did too"
"Did not…"
Hayami quietly sneaked- to take care of the more pressing issue about not catching a coldaway during the course of their never-ending arguments-which was sort of the everyday norm.
"Did too"
"Did not"
"Did too"
"Did too"
"Did not…. argh!" Keiko expressed her frustration, on realizing the cheap trick that her brother just used on her. "Mommy, Keiki is being mean to me again.
"No, I'm not"
"Are too"
"I'm not"
"I'm not"
"Are too"
"I'm not"
"Are too"
"I'm…"
"Okay that's enough from the both of you." A now bathed and dried Hayami said as she came out of her room.
"But he started it!"
"Did not!"
"Eh-eh. That's enough, don't even think of starting another argument. In fact, you both should apologize to each other right now.!"
"No!" the twins declined in unison, their faces up in the air to support their defiance but
Hayami was having none of that and she made this known with the absolute look of sternness and firmness that she directed at the both of them, knowing it was only going to be a matter of a few seconds for either one of them, or both of them to yield and it was Keiki who yielded first. He always hated it whenever his mother looked at him with a stern face and he didn't like making her upset, so he turned to apologize to his sister to make peace reign, and make their mama happy.
"I'm sorry for being mean to you Keiko, I promise to try my best not to be mean to you
again." His apology, no doubt moved Keiko because she turned to apologize to her brother too. "I am also sorry for being mean to you Keiki. And sorry for saying that you lied. I promise to make my bed more properly from now on and make sure not to be mean to you again."
Hayami watched proudly as her babies apologized and make up with each other, with tears in her eyes. She really was so proud and lucky to have had beautiful children such as this. She watched again as they turned to face her, their heads bowed in regret and remorse as they apologized to her… "we are very sorry mommy."
"And I'm very sorry for lying too." Keiko further added, which succeeded in tugging at
Hayami's heartstrings more till she couldn't hold back from drawing them in for a hug, not
when they were such good and perfect children.
"Thank you both for being such good children, mummy loves you so much, you know that right?" they nodded their heads confidently in answer to her rhetorical question-pretty sure they didn't know what that meant-and thy stayed in the hug for a long time before Keiki who finally got tired of all the mushiness struggled to break free, expressing his disapproval in both actions and words.
"That's enough childishness mom, you can now let go."
"Oh, stop being such an old man Keiki, it does you no good." Hayami teased her son good naturedly.
"I'm not being an old man; I am just being matured." The boy replied indignantly, causing
Hayami to shake her head a little in wonder at how her son was becoming more like 'him' as
the days passed by. He didn't talk like a four-year-old at all, and was too mature for his own age like his father, he was on his path to becoming a child prodigy and Hayami didn't know how to feel about that.
"Whatever you say little brother." Keiko also joined in teasing her brother
"You are my senior by just twelve seconds!" the boy replied indignantly.
"Still your senior either way." Keiko said, sticking out her tongue teasingly at her brother, who could only scoff at his sister's 'immaturity.' Hayami smiled and quickly spoke up before another argument ensued. "Ok, who is up for baking some cake and cookies for aunts Himari and Karen, with me?"
Hayami was not surprised at all to see how the twins lighted up, on hearing that they were going to help her bake and it was for their favorite people in the world. Apart from their mother, the twins loved their aunts Himari and Karen so much and because they didn't stay with them, only coming to visit whenever they were free and not choked with work, the twins always loved and looked forward to their visits. They were so much fun, and most of all, they never forgot to bring along with them different gifts and souvenirs whenever they visited. So it wasn't that hard to see why they were always bustling with excitement whenever the news of their visits reached the ears of Keiko and Keiki.
"You can count on our help mamma!" Keiko answered in excitement, while Keiki just nodded his head in reply but it was clear that he was also excited and Hayami couldn't help but share in their excitement too.
They had all started making their way to the kitchen when Keiki's voice made her halt in her tracks.
"Mom..."
"Yes baby?"
"Will aunt Karen and Himari be able to make it at all? The rain seems very heavy." The question was a valid and mature one. One that Himari wished she had the correct answer to, but… "I don't know baby. But the weather over here and the one in Japan are not the same. So probably it isn't raining heavily there. And when they finally get here, I'm sure we all will be able to figure something out, okay? I promise you."
"Okay." Keiki replied, he and Keiko seemed satisfied with Hayami's answer, making her breathe in relief that she didn't mess it up. Keiko and Keiki have always been very smart and mature for their age, especially Keiki. He was becoming more and more of a child prodigy like his father was, day by day.
"Ok, now that we have cleared that up, let us do our part in preparing for your aunts' arrival.To the kitchen we go!"
"Yoshi! Cookies and Cake here we come!" Keiko exclaimed, also sharing in her mother's
enthusiasm and Keiki mumbling about how childish and loud they were…Spoil Sport!!