I'm Here
It was a cool winter's day on the fifth of December. Citizens were out doing their Christmas shopping. One certain girl, however, was buying a very nice arrangement of plastic flowers to put on her parents' gravestone. The arrangement had six tea roses with a few strands of baby's breath in the mix.
It had been hard for her ever since she lost her parents. Ever since she was five years old, she had to live without her parents because of a devastating plane crash that killed them both. This girl had been without her parents for so long that she forgot the sounds of their voices. She forgot the smell of the rose-scented perfume her mother wore and the smell of the mountain fresh body was her father used. She forgot how it felt to be swung around by her arms as a child. She forgot the sound of her mother's beating heart as she rested her head on her chest. She forgot the sound of her father's boisterous laughter. She forgot how it felt to look into her mother's eyes and be told everything would be alright. She forgot how it felt to be held protectively in her father's strong arms. But, most of all, she forgot the feeling of being loved and having a family. Her name was Kino Makoto.
A tear slipped from her eyes and slid down her strong face as she remembered one crucial detail about the plane crash that took her parents away...she was supposed to be on the plane with them. She was supposed to be on that plane and suffer the same fate as her parents. Makoto made her way to the grave sight. She knew exactly how many steps it would take to get there, knowing the way without even having to look. Once she arrived, she saw the pictures of her parents that had been imbedded on the stone. She immediately fell to her knees and broke down in tears. She hated for other people to see her cry. Wiping at the rapidly descending cascades of tears, Makoto changed out the flowers. Placing her hands on the ground to steady herself, she lowered her head finally giving in and cried her eyes out. Her whole body shook as she cried. After a moment of crying, she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. Squeezing her eyes shut, she placed a hand over the one on her shoulder and squeezed it gently.
She already knew that the girls had followed her to see what she always did on her birthday before meeting up with them. She knew that the girls had just seen her break down. She knew that if she turned around, she would see them all crying along with her. She knew that it was Usagi that had put a hand on her shoulder...or so she thought. Makoto turned around to look Usagi in the eye, only to see Ami looking back at her, tears flowing down her face. Makoto opened her eyes wide, seeing the pain in her eyes. Turning a bit more, she saw the other two girls holding Usagi back. She saw the raw emotion in all of their eyes. She saw how desperately Usagi wanted to help her in her time of need. She saw how much the others wanted to do the same thing, but didn't want to cause another break down. Looking back at Ami, she saw understanding, pain for not being able to help, and the strength she had for offering a shoulder to cry on for the usually strong girl. It was then that she realized, that they loved her...they are her family.
It made her look back and see that they have always been there for her. She remembered teaching Usagi how to ice skate more smoothly. She remembered the sound of all of the girl's laughing at a corny joke she told. She remembered the smell of the cookies that Usagi made as she took them out of the oven. She remembered the delicious taste of the cookie and how proud she was of Usagi for making a batch of cookies without her help. She remembered how Minako had pulled her under the mistletoe last Christmas saying that she deserved a kiss too on this special holiday. She even remembered the goofy way the shorter girl tried to kiss her cheek. She remembered how Ami helped her improve her swimming skills and how they splashed each other with water until Ami finally pushed the girl under the water. She remembered the way that Ami looked at her as they were both underwater. She remembered the peaceful sounds of everyone sleeping at a sleepover at her house. She remembered how it felt when everyone gave her a group hug and how they happily told her happy birthday. And finally, she remembered how they told her that they love her no matter what, faults and all. She now knew for sure, that even though she lost her parents, she gained a much bigger family that loves her and won't ever leave her.
Makoto then stood slowly, wiped her tears on her sleeve, then turned around to face them. She looked at them then smiled. At seeing their confused faces, she smiled wider as tears slid down her face, "Minna...arigato..." As soon as they heard that, they all ran to her and practically tackled her to the ground, hugging her. She wrapped her arms around them as they all cried together. They all hugged each other for as long as they possibly could.
After crying for about half an hour, Makoto looked at the girls. She smiled and said, "Let's go home." With that said, they all got up and left the grave sight together.
After spending time with her friends for hours on end, they had all hugged her, told her happy birthday and that they loved her, and left. All except one. Ami walked over to Makoto, who was sitting on the couch, and sat beside her. No words were exchanged or needed as Ami held the taller girl's slightly larger hands in her own smaller ones, caressing her fingers. The two didn't have to say anything to know what the other was thinking at the moment. Letting go of one of Makoto's hands, Ami reached into her bag and pulled out a small box with gift wrapping on it. She handed it to the girl and sat back, waiting for her to open it.
Makoto untied the ribbon then tore the paper off of the box. She then opened the small box to see a small branch of mistletoe in it. Not thinking, she raised it slighly to read the neat writing on the ribbon. Her eyes widened then she looked at Ami. As soon as their eyes connected, Ami leaned forward and captured the taller girl's lips with her own in a sweet and gently kiss. Makoto dropped the mistletoe then began kissing the girl back, laying her down on the couch. On the floor, lay the mistletoe branch, with a beautiful white ribbon tied at the top. In Ami's neat handwriting, the words read, "You're not alone. I'm here."