Blindly, she reached out for an anchor, her bracelet clinking against the side of the cup, as she cast out her hand and then, in response, another hand darted forth lithe as a fish and closed over hers. For a moment, everything in Chisaki stilled–her thoughts, her heart, blood, the tempest in her...
In the lull, Chisaki heard truth.
The door shuddered open, inviting in a cold draft of air and also, Takeshi Egawa, with a girl on his arm.
"Egawa, man, you're late to the party–! Whoa, is that your wife!? Well, haven't you caught a pretty bird? You sit with us over here! No, not you, Egawa! Just your wife!"
Takeshi dispensed his high school classmates a reproachful glare, wrapping his arm protectively around the girl and ushering her straight towards the more peaceful end of the table, where Chisaki sat.
Chisaki glanced up from her plate, taking in the woman with medium length chestnut brown hair, soft hazel eyes, and a honeyed smile. She had seen Takeshi's wife before, when she was introduced to them, but Chisaki did not have the opportunity to talk to her personally until now.
"Hana, love, can you sit with Chisaki? Chisaki, would you keep her company, please? I'm sure you two will get along well."
"Oh, I'm sure we will."
"Thanks, Chisaki! You're an angel." Takeshi smiled gratefully before he went to sit among the merrymakers, who did not lay off the harrassment one bit and even upped the ante. At this point, the celebration had been ongoing for a couple of hours now and the combination of warm food and a seemingly endless supply of alcohol had sufficiently loosened neckties and tongues. The empty bottles of alcohol multiplied as the bawdy jokes multiplied in sheer shamelessness. In the midst of the revelry, Hana and Chisaki were in their corner, having a quiet conversation.
"I swear he's been handling me like a fragile thing ever since he found out about the baby."
"He's just looking out for you." Chisaki's gaze fell on her growing belly. "How many months?"
"Eight," replied Hana. "We're expecting the baby during the first week of next month."
Chisaki's eyes widened. "You're so close to giving birth! And you two still came to Ooshioshi."
"I was the one who insisted on making the trip to his hometown. I didn't want him to miss the chance to reunite with old friends," Hana said. She glanced down at her belly, a serene expression on her face, and confessed, "I...want to have the baby here."
There was something about the sight of it that strummed at Chisaki's heartstrings. Hana was younger than her, a few years her junior, but she married early, was going to be a young mother, and even seemed to embrace motherhood so naturally. Compared to her, Chisaki still struggled to wield her years, could not wield it as well as others did. When she spent time with Manaka or any of her childhood friends, she felt the dissonance in their ages–she, a low bass to Manaka's high, sonorous pitch. And with her high school friends, there were times she felt out of tune with the rest. How, then, should she cope?
"I hope you don't find me rude for asking, but how long have you and Egawa been together? Where did you two meet?"
"Six months." And then, she must have read Chisaki's astonished look, because Hana acknowledged with a smile. "Yes, that short a time. I was a freshman, while he was a sophomore. We happened to be seatmates in a subject he needed to repeat because he didn't get enough credits. Would you believe that I helped him pass the exams, no, the whole subject, even?"
They laughed together at the thought of it.
Despite her astonishment, Chisaki was compelled to hear their story, so she pushed on. "And you dated after you got to know each other after that one class?"
Hana nodded, a modest bob of her head. "I'm the one who asked him out first." She beckoned Chisaki to come closer, aligning mouth to ear and lowering her voice to a timid wisp of air. "It was our first month when I got pregnant."
Chisaki fumbled for the right words to say, all while feeling the heat rush to her cheeks. There were just some things people were embarrassed to hear and for Chisaki, this was one such thing.
"Oh Chisaki-san, I'm sorry. I must have made you uncomfortable." Hana stared up at her with troubled eyes.
Chisaki stared back, considering for a moment, before she wagged her head from side to side, and smiled gently.
"You see, among my group of high school friends, Egawa-kun's the first to get married. For me, the news was so sudden because we are all still students, no matter if we're already in college. In my mind, the idea of dating and marriage are distant things. There's still the ordeal of graduating from college, finding a job, succeeding in your career, and when all that's done, love would just fall into place–a natural order of things. But, I see that life sometimes has different plans for each one of us, for you and Egawa-kun, for my family and friends..."
...for her. And if she would fall in with those plans or not was up to her.
Now, it was Hana's turn to be speechless, but it was less of surprise and more of wonder. In time, she also mirrored the smile on Chisaki's face.
"Am I intruding on your girl bonding?"
"Takeshi," Hana greeted pleasantly. "No, it's okay."
"How are you holding up, Chisaki? My Hana hasn't scared you off with her stories, has she?" Takeshi teased as he sat down next to Hana, a telltale dimple of a grin waiting to emerge on his face.
"Oh, dear. Are you speaking from experience?"
"Would you murder me if I am?"
Hana gasped. "And deprive my child of a father!? Gutless as he may be?"
"Hey, you were just bolder than me!"
In between the couple's mock argument, Chisaki could not help laughing. A moment later, Hana joined in too–a laugh like the crinkling of flower blossoms when the wind combs through the branches they nestle on.
"Oh," murmured Chisaki. It dawned on her: Hana. Flower.
She watched the scene unfold before her–Hana punching Takeshi on the arm, but he, hauling her in for a bear hug. The woman did not put up much resistance and burrowed her head into his chest. After a while, Takeshi planted a kiss on his wife's forehead and then, held her at arm's length. "Just one more hour, okay?"
"Okay."
They exchanged a few more words before Takeshi sprung up to return to his seat among the men.
"You seem so much in love."
Hana smiled. "How about you, Chisaki-san? You said there's a time for love. But have you stopped to think if love might already be knocking on your heart and just waiting for you to open your doors?"
The words struck a chord with her and she found her sea-blue eyes straying across the room, towards the far side, seeking a dark, mussy–no, his hair wouldn't be mussed up right now, she had to remind herself–head, thin straight lips, and a pair of violet eyes, only to realize those eyes were gazing back at her. For a moment, Chisaki was caught between looking away and towards, but those straight lips were suddenly not straight anymore, but curved into a bow–a smile.
And on her lips, she, too, found a twin smile.
Tsumugu lowered Shun bodily onto the tatami of the Sayamas. After the third or so broken beer bottle left crumbles of glass littered all over and beer spilled on fhe thrice-soaked padded floor, they unanimously agreed to put a halt to the festivities. The three times instigator of the fiasco, Shun Sayama snored obliviously, sprawled like an upturned turtle on the floor. Surely, it was uncomfortable lying one's back on a cushion, but thoroughly drunk people hardly cared about the state they were in.
"Man, he's wasted." Takeshi nudged Shun with a foot, but only solicited a grumble.
"Ugh. He reeks! Just how many bottles did he drink?"
"Somebody needs to take him home."
For a decisive second, all eyes flickered towards Tsumugu, an identical current of thoughts running in each head.
"We'll take him home since Saya Mart's on the way," volunteered Tsumugu without reluctance.
"I knew we could count on you, man. Thanks, Tsumugu!"
That was how, half an hour later, Tsumugu and Chisaki found themselves ensconced inside the Sayamas' living space.
Mrs. Sayama peered down at her son and shook her head regrettably. "Oh my, I told Shun not to drink too much. The men in our family can't hold their liquor."
"Just like his father when he reached the legal age. Dumped on our doorstep during the late hour, lost in oblivion."
"Mother," said Mrs. Sayama to the frost-haired, elderly woman, who just entered the room.
Granny Sayama frowned at the supine figure. They did not expect her to yank Shun off the floor with unimaginable ease of strength and honk into his ear, "Boy! Wake up!"
"Hrgh, one more...please..." Shun mumbled incoherently.
Tsumugu did not know whether to be amused or concerned at this blunt way of handling the half senseless Shun.
"Will he be alright?" Chisaki whispered worriedly.
As if on cue, Mrs. Sayama turned to them. "Kihara-kun, Hiradaira-chan, thank you for bringing him home. We'll take it from here."
The two had no choice but to surrender Shun to the ministrations of the Sayama women and make their exit from Saya Mart, pushing into the winter night, as the echoes of a loud slap, slap followed in their wake.
They walked in comfortable silence along the sea wall, guided by the pale moonlight. Tsumugu had taken the same route going home with Chisaki countless times before, yet there was something different about now. Was it the clothes they were wearing? The roundness of the moon? The gushing tide? No, it was something else.
Chisaki's wooden slippers were creating a rhythm–clack, clack, clack–until Tsumugu was suddenly aware that they had clanked to a stop.
Chisaki gazed far away, beyond the dark, yet shimmering body of water, beyond the point where sea met sky, gazing, in her mind's eye, at an unseen turn of thought.
Tsumugu asked gently, "Do you want to visit your parents?"
Chisaki's eyes did not leave the sea. She was silent and a
Blindly, she reached out for an anchor, her bracelet clinking against the side of the cup, as she cast out her hand and then, in response, another hand darted forth lithe as a fish and closed over hers. For a moment, everything in Chisaki stilled–her thoughts, her heart, blood, the tempest in her...
In the lull, Chisaki heard truth.
The door shuddered open, inviting in a cold draft of air and also, Takeshi Egawa, with a girl on his arm.
"Egawa, man, you're late to the party–! Whoa, is that your wife!? Well, haven't you caught a pretty bird? You sit with us over here! No, not you, Egawa! Just your wife!"
Takeshi dispensed his high school classmates a reproachful glare, wrapping his arm protectively around the girl and ushering her straight towards the more peaceful end of the table, where Chisaki sat.
Chisaki glanced up from her plate, taking in the woman with medium length chestnut brown hair, soft hazel eyes, and a honeyed smile. She had seen Takeshi's wife before, when she was introduced to them, but Chisaki did not have the opportunity to talk to her personally until now.
"Hana, love, can you sit with Chisaki? Chisaki, would you keep her company, please? I'm sure you two will get along well."
"Oh, I'm sure we will."
"Thanks, Chisaki! You're an angel." Takeshi smiled gratefully before he went to sit among the merrymakers, who did not lay off the harrassment one bit and even upped the ante. At this point, the celebration had been ongoing for a couple of hours now and the combination of warm food and a seemingly endless supply of alcohol had sufficiently loosened neckties and tongues. The empty bottles of alcohol multiplied as the bawdy jokes multiplied in sheer shamelessness. In the midst of the revelry, Hana and Chisaki were in their corner, having a quiet conversation.
"I swear he's been handling me like a fragile thing ever since he found out about the baby."
"He's just looking out for you." Chisaki's gaze fell on her growing belly. "How many months?"
"Eight," replied Hana. "We're expecting the baby during the first week of next month."
Chisaki's eyes widened. "You're so close to giving birth! And you two still came to Ooshioshi."
"I was the one who insisted on making the trip to his hometown. I didn't want him to miss the chance to reunite with old friends," Hana said. She glanced down at her belly, a serene expression on her face, and confessed, "I...want to have the baby here."
There was something about the sight of it that strummed at Chisaki's heartstrings. Hana was younger than her, a few years her junior, but she married early, was going to be a young mother, and even seemed to embrace motherhood so naturally. Compared to her, Chisaki still struggled to wield her years, could not wield it as well as others did. When she spent time with Manaka or any of her childhood friends, she felt the dissonance in their ages–she, a low bass to Manaka's high, sonorous pitch. And with her high school friends, there were times she felt out of tune with the rest. How, then, should she cope?
"I hope you don't find me rude for asking, but how long have you and Egawa been together? Where did you two meet?"
"Six months." And then, she must have read Chisaki's astonished look, because Hana acknowledged with a smile. "Yes, that short a time. I was a freshman, while he was a sophomore. We happened to be seatmates in a subject he needed to repeat because he didn't get enough credits. Would you believe that I helped him pass the exams, no, the whole subject, even?"
They laughed together at the thought of it.
Despite her astonishment, Chisaki was compelled to hear their story, so she pushed on. "And you dated after you got to know each other after that one class?"
Hana nodded, a modest bob of her head. "I'm the one who asked him out first." She beckoned Chisaki to come closer, aligning mouth to ear and lowering her voice to a timid wisp of air. "It was our first month when I got pregnant."
Chisaki fumbled for the right words to say, all while feeling the heat rush to her cheeks. There were just some things people were embarrassed to hear and for Chisaki, this was one such thing.
"Oh Chisaki-san, I'm sorry. I must have made you uncomfortable." Hana stared up at her with troubled eyes.
Chisaki stared back, considering for a moment, before she wagged her head from side to side, and smiled gently.
"You see, among my group of high school friends, Egawa-kun's the first to get married. For me, the news was so sudden because we are all still students, no matter if we're already in college. In my mind, the idea of dating and marriage are distant things. There's still the ordeal of graduating from college, finding a job, succeeding in your career, and when all that's done, love would just fall into place–a natural order of things. But, I see that life sometimes has different plans for each one of us, for you and Egawa-kun, for my family and friends..."
...for her. And if she would fall in with those plans or not was up to her.
Now, it was Hana's turn to be speechless, but it was less of surprise and more of wonder. In time, she also mirrored the smile on Chisaki's face.
"Am I intruding on your girl bonding?"
"Takeshi," Hana greeted pleasantly. "No, it's okay."
"How are you holding up, Chisaki? My Hana hasn't scared you off with her stories, has she?" Takeshi teased as he sat down next to Hana, a telltale dimple of a grin waiting to emerge on his face.
"Oh, dear. Are you speaking from experience?"
"Would you murder me if I am?"
Hana gasped. "And deprive my child of a father!? Gutless as he may be?"
"Hey, you were just bolder than me!"
In between the couple's mock argument, Chisaki could not help laughing. A moment later, Hana joined in too–a laugh like the crinkling of flower blossoms when the wind combs through the branches they nestle on.
"Oh," murmured Chisaki. It dawned on her: Hana. Flower.
She watched the scene unfold before her–Hana punching Takeshi on the arm, but he, hauling her in for a bear hug. The woman did not put up much resistance and burrowed her head into his chest. After a while, Takeshi planted a kiss on his wife's forehead and then, held her at arm's length. "Just one more hour, okay?"
"Okay."
They exchanged a few more words before Takeshi sprung up to return to his seat among the men.
"You seem so much in love."
Hana smiled. "How about you, Chisaki-san? You said there's a time for love. But have you stopped to think if love might already be knocking on your heart and just waiting for you to open your doors?"
The words struck a chord with her and she found her sea-blue eyes straying across the room, towards the far side, seeking a dark, mussy–no, his hair wouldn't be mussed up right now, she had to remind herself–head, thin straight lips, and a pair of violet eyes, only to realize those eyes were gazing back at her. For a moment, Chisaki was caught between looking away and towards, but those straight lips were suddenly not straight anymore, but curved into a bow–a smile.
And on her lips, she, too, found a twin smile.
Tsumugu lowered Shun bodily onto the tatami of the Sayamas. After the third or so broken beer bottle left crumbles of glass littered all over and beer spilled on fhe thrice-soaked padded floor, they unanimously agreed to put a halt to the festivities. The three times instigator of the fiasco, Shun Sayama snored obliviously, sprawled like an upturned turtle on the floor. Surely, it was uncomfortable lying one's back on a cushion, but thoroughly drunk people hardly cared about the state they were in.
"Man, he's wasted." Takeshi nudged Shun with a foot, but only solicited a grumble.
"Ugh. He reeks! Just how many bottles did he drink?"
"Somebody needs to take him home."
For a decisive second, all eyes flickered towards Tsumugu, an identical current of thoughts running in each head.
"We'll take him home since Saya Mart's on the way," volunteered Tsumugu without reluctance.
"I knew we could count on you, man. Thanks, Tsumugu!"
That was how, half an hour later, Tsumugu and Chisaki found themselves ensconced inside the Sayamas' living space.
Mrs. Sayama peered down at her son and shook her head regrettably. "Oh my, I told Shun not to drink too much. The men in our family can't hold their liquor."
"Just like his father when he reached the legal age. Dumped on our doorstep during the late hour, lost in oblivion."
"Mother," said Mrs. Sayama to the frost-haired, elderly woman, who just entered the room.
Granny Sayama frowned at the supine figure. They did not expect her to yank Shun off the floor with unimaginable ease of strength and honk into his ear, "Boy! Wake up!"
"Hrgh, one more...please..." Shun mumbled incoherently.
Tsumugu did not know whether to be amused or concerned at this blunt way of handling the half senseless Shun.
"Will he be alright?" Chisaki whispered worriedly.
As if on cue, Mrs. Sayama turned to them. "Kihara-kun, Hiradaira-chan, thank you for bringing him home. We'll take it from here."
The two had no choice but to surrender Shun to the ministrations of the Sayama women and make their exit from Saya Mart, pushing into the winter night, as the echoes of a loud slap, slap followed in their wake.
They walked in comfortable silence along the sea wall, guided by the pale moonlight. Tsumugu had taken the same route going home with Chisaki countless times before, yet there was something different about now. Was it the clothes they were wearing? The roundness of the moon? The gushing tide? No, it was something else.
Chisaki's wooden slippers were creating a rhythm–clack, clack, clack–until Tsumugu was suddenly aware that they had clanked to a stop.
Chisaki gazed far away, beyond the dark, yet shimmering body of water, beyond the point where sea met sky, gazing, in her mind's eye, at an unseen turn of thought.
Tsumugu asked gently, "Do you want to visit your parents?"
Chisaki's eyes did not leave the sea. She was silent and a
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