My mother and I used to live in London for the majority of our lives. But after she fell ill and passed away, I was now going to this town due to my mother's last request:that I meet and forgive my father, despite my reluctance to do so. Since this was a wish in her will, the rest of the family had decided that I would do a trial run for a year and if I don't like it, I will live with another family member.
And now I am on a bus, heading into town.
"Excuse me?" says a girl, holding a guitar case. Her amber eyes looked gem-like. Her hair was held down by her beanie.
"Hm?"
"Mind if I sit here?" she motions to the seat next to me.
"Not really," I say with a blush. I scoot over so she can sit, turning my head toward the window. She smiles and sits down, her shoulder pressed against mine.
"Don't mind me asking but do you mind where you are going?"
"Um...Hironori?"
"No way! Me too! I just got back from a trip there."
"A trip?"
"Yep, I went to my uncle's butterfly garden. I heard he found this new breed of a butterfly. See?" she pulls out a picture out of her pocket, showing me the picture of a red butterfly with black tips. I look at it in awe, it looking absolutely adorable.
"That's amazing."
"Right? My name is Aikawa Kana, but you can call me Kana."
"Yayoi Ainu. but you can call me Ainu."
"I will. From now on we will be best buddies, got it?" she smiles enthusiastically.
"O-Okay?"
"Nuh-uh. That won't do. You have to pinkie promise." she says, holding out her pinkie. I look at her skeptically but couldn't deny her smile. I wrap my pinkie around hers.
"I pinkie promise."
"Next stop: Hironori." calls out the bus driver. I look out the window onto the beautiful lush scenery., a wide stone walkway lined with beautifully restored old buildings, developed unique culture and architecture with large farmhouses with steep roofs to deal with the snow from the surrounding mountains. A large lake settles in the east by what looks like a shrine.
"There's a hiking trail over that way," Kana says, pointing west if the shrine. "Takes you deeper into the mountains where there is a waterfall. Heard that there's a whole bunch of butterflies there. We should check it out sometime."
"Y-yeah."
The bus drops us off at the bus station, telling us for now on that I was a non-vehicle road from now on. Kana pulls me into a photo booth, inserting her yen in. The pictures went so fast, but I had fun nonetheless.
"Well, I'm going this way." She says, waving before running the opposite way that I was heading. "See ya."
"Yeah. See ya." I smile, waving until I couldn't see her anymore. Then when she was out of sight, my smile fell and I was all alone.
I looked at the address written on the door. This was it. Looking around, we were in a small neighborhood, a few shops peppered on the streets. But it looked as if this place hadn't been visited in a while. The sign says, Signets. Bookmarks.
I knock on the door but there was no answer. I look down at the key given to me with the note my father sent me. I look around, hoping no one sees me as I unlock the door.
The smell of old paper from the books and dust fills my nose, a smell that I got used to thanks to my liking for books, mostly romance and fantasy novels. In the corner of the room sat a man, looking to be in his mid-thirties. His platinum hair and glasses remind me of my own, nearly identical but thicker. My eyes linger on a book in his lap.
I have the option here...should i...
Let him sleep
Close the book loudly
Boop his nose
(Author's note: Regardless of what you do, he still awakens. Personally, I would boop his nose.)
He stirs, his eyes landing on me. He blinks a couple times before quickly sitting up with a chuckle.
"Wow. You're even prettier than your picture. Must get that from your mother." he says.
"Father," I say.
"No. You don't have to call me that. I haven't earned that title yet. Kaito for now." he says, a half-hearted smile on his face. "I'm just glad to see you."
He gets up, waving me into the back. Behind the store was a small room full of boxes. Across from it is another room, that seems to empty. As we reach further back, a fume starts to fill the room.
"Hey." says a short black-haired woman. She stood in the kitchen behind the dining-living room. Her smile deflates when she sees me, shooting Kaito a look.
"And who is this."
"Reimu, this Ainu, my daughter," Kaito says, rubbing the back of his neck. "The one I told you about?"
Her look didn't seem to lighten.
"The one you left behind?"
Kaito winces at the question.
"Ainu, this it Reimu...my fiance."
I look at the woman incriminality. Part of me blames Kaito for not being there for mother and me, and now that I see that he is with another woman, only make me more furious.
"Kaito, I wish to retire," I say, trying not to cry.
"Yeah... I think that may be best considering everything that happened today."