"Taxi!" The young man raised his hand to call out for a cab. It was a damp afternoon filled with a grey cloudy sky. The cap came to a full stop close to the sidewalk next to him. The pale thin driver rolled down a car window.
"Hi… I wonder if you can take me to Kurohashi town?" The young man talked with a slight desperation in his voice. This was not the first taxi to refuse his ride.
"It has been a while since my dad and I left this town…Who could have thought I would have to come back again after so many years." He was lost in his thoughts while waiting for the hesitant driver. He had just arrived at this station via train about 2 hours ago, and this was his 4th attempt to find a means to get back home.
"Kurohashi…, Oh, that town is quite far from here, isn't it?" The driver spoke hesitantly as he rubbed his chin. While checking out the time on his console, it displayed 15:31 hours.
"Get in, boy! But be advised, the fee ain't gon be cheap!" The thin man finally answered. The boy's eyes lit up with hope that he could go home.
"That should be alright. Thank you so much, mister." He spoke. It felt somewhat foreign to speak Japanese again. He put his baggage on the side and buckled up. The taxi started moving shortly after.
The ride was smooth and quiet. The silence was creeping up and causing tension in the air. The young man gazed out on the side of the road, letting his mind wander off.
Soon, they left the city, and the views of houses and buildings turned into bushes and trees. The amber lamp lights started to light up.
"It's dark already…This damn weather!" The pale man finally broke the silence. His face looked paler, the young man could sense the uneasiness in his eyes.
"Say young man…my name is Tamura…what's your name? It doesn't seem like you are from around here." The driver spoke.
"It's Destirling Shouichi. Or you can just call me Yamamoto Shouichi." The young man rubbed his graphite black hair styling into a two-block cut. He smiled weakly for amiability.
"Oh…Yamamoto-kun, right? What a nice name. It matches well with your handsome face. Hahaha," The pale man laughed.
"I have been living aboard, please do not mind my Japanese. It's really been a while." Shouichi continued as he felt a bit of relief. He rested both hands on his knees.
"May I ask where you are from?" Tamura asked while looking at Shouichi through the rearview mirror.
"I was from Australia. I lived there for like…maybe 12 years." Shouichi counted the year in his head.
"Oh really? From how you spoke, I wasn't sure you were Japanese at first." Tamura-san added. They both laughed.
"Kurohashi bridge was just up ahead. It wouldn't be long before we reached your destination." The driver pointed out ahead before keeping his hands on the wheel tightly. Shortly after the car passed through a forest, a long black steel bridge came into view. One thing Shouichi noticed was there were no passing cars at all since they left the main street.
The tension was back again… The sunlight was gone, leaving only visibility from the headlight. Shouichi looked out to the road, seeing nothing but darkness.
"....What on earth!?" The young man was startled as he could swear he had seen several glowing pairs of eyes in the dark forest.
"What!? What did you see?" Tomura asked, his face was so pale as if his blood was completely drained out.
"Eh… Probably deers or something." Shouichi answered with uncertainty. He felt his heart racing up so he started rubbing a scar on his left wrist to calm down.
"Oh, kid. Don't frighten me like that." Tomura scolded the young man. His shoulders appeared to loosen up a bit as a sign of relief.
"Won't be long now, once we pass this mountain, we should reach the town. Where do I drop you off again?" Tomura-san asked.
"It's Yamamoto residence, on 4th Murei Street." Shouichi picked up his letter to read the address out loud.
Kurohashi was a secluded quiet town with a population of over 5,000 residents. The town was surrounded by mountain ridges, making its geometry shaped like a frying pan. Oddly enough there was only one passage to enter or leave the town, it was through a dark long steel bridge called Kurohashi Bridge. At 19:56 hours, the lamplights shined dimly on the narrow street. It appeared that there was not a single soul on the street. It's giving off an eerie atmosphere of a ghost town. But Shouichi noticed that some houses still had the lights on, giving off some signs of life.
The taxi arrived in a narrow single-lane street.
"Ehh!?" Shouichi was frightened. A shadowy figure appeared out of nowhere to Shouichi's side.
"-Inaudible sound-." The mystery man dressed in a suit, bee-lining toward Shouichi. Shouichi was shocked by the sudden bang on the glass as the man used his face to tap lightly.
"I could swear I saw his eyes flashing! What's wrong with him? Was he just drunk or something?" Shouichi thought as the driver stopped the car immediately and looked at the strange man.
"Please…water…" The man in the suit spoke up in a drunken voice. Shouichi panicked and looked at the driver seeking advice. He then grabbed a bottle of water and threw it out of the half-roll-down window. The strange man did not manage to catch it. He directed his attention toward the bottle, opened it, and shugged the whole bottle greedily.
"Arrahhh!" The man puked it all out. The driver saw the opportunity to drive off and took it. The incident caused both driver and passenger a chill down their spines. They felt relieved that they finally got out.
The car came to a stop briefly in front of the Yamamoto residence. It was a medium-sized modern house, a two-story house with white concrete fences resembling those of the higher middle class. The sign at the front read "Yamamoto residence".
Shouichi paid by handing the cash and thanked Tomura-san with a low bow.
"Whatever you are doing in this town…Good luck, kiddo." Tomura-san said before driving off and disappearing.
"What an odd thing to say." Shouichi thought while scratching his head. He shifted his focus to a bell button next to a shiny red mailbox. Shouichi was reminiscent of his mother but ended up with a hazy figure. It's been 12 years already since they left. The young man with graphite-black hair rubbed his bangs to adjust it into shape. His face had a delicate, almost feminine quality for beauty, complemented by his cinnamon-brown eyes.
"Ding ding!" Shouichi pressed the doorbell. Waiting for a few minutes. He began to reach out his finger to press it again.
"Good evening! Yamamoto residence, would you mind telling me who this is?" The gentle female voice suddenly came off from the speaker.
"Umm… this is Destir…Seito Shouichi. I'm here to visit my mother, Seito Yoko. Is she here?" Shouichi almost answered with his new family name. He figured people here might not recognise it since the family name was later changed after his father's immigration. For whatever reason he didn't know. He decided to use his original family name "Seito" instead.
"Did I get into the wrong house? The female voice sounded young. Was my mom living with her cousin or something?" Shouichi fidgeted with his thoughts.
"My…my…Shouichi-kun. Please wait for a bit, I'm getting the door for you now." The soft voice replied with excitement. After a few minutes, the door was unlocked.
"Welcome home!" The feminine figure appeared out of the metal man-size door. The long-haired lady walked out into the lamplight. Shouichi could then recognise her immediately from her appearance. Her facial features looked familiar to him with the same graphite-black hair colour and matching light brown eyes. Shouichi was speechless and dazed by her appearance since he did not expect his mother to be a gorgeous young lady, dressed in a dark green gown. The boy stood there slightly taller than her.
"Uh…Are you Seito Yoko?" Shouichi finally snapped back and asked hesitantly.
"Yes! …Yet, I'm no longer a Seito. I go by Yamamoto Yoko now. You can call me Mom or Yoko, though. I could feel closer to you that way!" Yoko spoke in a soft and gentle tone. Shouichi could sense a warm welcome from her, she even wanted him to be more casual around her which was not quite common to address parents by their first names.
"You have grown into a fine young man already. Please come inside the house." Yoko reached out to grab his hand with a sweet smile.
"Thank you…"
"...Yoko-san." Shoichi was indecisive about calling her by her first name but decided to do it anyway. Maybe he was more accustomed to the Western culture.
"I'm so happy to see you. Let's go inside. You must be hungry, right?… I have some foodies in the fridge." Yoko-san led him into the house, not letting go of his hand. Shouichi didn't expect his mom to be overly clingy while his dad was distant and cold. "Maybe it's her own way of showing affection?" He thought.
The inside of the house was spacious, clean and tidy. There was not a lot of furniture indicating that Yamamoto Yoko had been living alone for a long period of time.
"Thank you for your hospitality. Since I'm not really hungry, may I ask for just a small meal?" Shouichi dropped his bags and sat on the comfy sofa while his mother went around to the kitchen counter to prepare a meal. Yoko took a white apron from a hanger to put on, she also put a show on the TV via a remote controller. Shouichi instinctively took out his phone to look through social media to pass the time.
About 30 minutes had passed, and Yoko called Shouichi to come to the dining table. It's a standard Japanese food with grilled fish, steamed rice, and warm green tea.
"Oh. It's…delicious." Shouichi said after he took the first bite. He took a sip of the tea. It's sort of sweet-ish which was not common. But he dismissed it thinking it could be varied from place to place.
"Thanks, god. You had me worried there for a bit. Since I've been living alone for a long time, no one ever commented on my cooking." Yoko spoke and they both giggled. They feel somewhat close already. Yoko put her elbows on the table to rest her chin on her palms and smiled attentively as Shouichi ate.
"Mom is definitely a sweet lady. I wonder why Dad left…" The young man wondered.
"About your school. You already have a transfer letter to Seihei school, right?" Yoko started asking.
"Yes, I have it in my bag. It said I can start going next week. Is that when the semester starts?" Shouichi replied promptly then remembered the class number 'Class 2-1'.
"That's wonderful…I believe so." Yoko looked him in the eyes and smiled gently.
"Once you've finished the meal, I'll show you the room," Yoko added. Then she started to explain that the house consisted of 4 bedrooms and 3 baths, where she only used one bedroom upstairs. His room would be almost directly opposite of hers. After Shouichi finished his meal, the bath was prepared by Yoko-san. It was a somewhat luxurious design of a large bathtub. Shouichi took it with ease. Let his mind wander off and the lavender aroma engulfed him.
"I wonder what life would be from now…It's like living somewhere I am not familiar with… Everything feels foreign to me… At least Mom is being super kind. I don't remember how gorgeous she was when I was a kid… " Shouichi thought.
"Hmm!" Suddenly, Shouichi saw a shadowy figure standing motionless in front of the frosted-glass door. He could hear his heart accelerating.
"Oh dear! Did I startle you?" Yoko-san's voice could be heard.
"Na…Not at all." Shouichi replied anxiously. He felt a bit relieved when it was his mom's figure at the door.
"I wanted to let you know that I'll leave your blanket and new clothes by the door, is that okay?" Yoko spoke with the same calm and gentle voice.
"Or would you like me to hand it to you in the bathroom?" She joked and giggled.
"No, no, no…please leave them at the door. It should be alright!" Shouichi was embarrassed by her odd joke. "She's sort of a bizarre woman." He thought while dipping his face down the warm water. He could hear her footsteps indicating she was leaving.
"Wait!... Something ain't right…I couldn't hear her footsteps when she came and stood at the door." He tried to reason with himself.
After he finished his bath and dressed himself in a provided pyjama. "It's a man's pyjama. Was it Dad's?... If so, why has she kept it this whole time?... Poor mom." Shouichi emphasised Yoko-san.
Once he entered his room, it was a standard room with a medium-sized desk with a double-size bed. He could smell the good aroma coming from the bedding. They must have been washed recently. He started unpacking his bags and laid them down. Some documents, letters, clothes, books, and miscellaneous items were scattered on the bed.
"Dad's memento…I wonder why he always kept it with him." He thought and picked up an opened bottle of a famous liquor, "Was he always an alcoholic? But I rarely saw him drunk, though."
Shouichi Destirling laid down on the bed and made himself comfortable. Contemplating about tomorrow to come…
Closing his eyes and trying to focus on his sleep…