"I want a divorce," my voice echoed in the now seemingly empty kitchen. Sakura didn't seem to be annoyed with my words and she stared off into midair. I had expected her to break down crying, demanding a reason, instead she softly asked why. She turned around and dropped her hands from mine. The quick glance he took at her eyes made him feel a pang of heartache. I quickly avoided the question and looked down at the faded floor.
"You are not the man I used to know, not even a man at all Sasuke!" She left angrily and it made me think about the real reason why I wanted a divorce. The truth is, there isn't a true or satisfactory answer I could give Sakura; she had already lost my heart to another woman. I didn't love Sakura anymore; I just pitied her. I heard her weep silently in our son Daisuke's room.
The guilt I felt for my wife was immeasurable. I sat down and thought about drafting a divorce agreement. If she was worried about where she would live, she could keep the house. She could even keep the car and have a 40% share of my income. As I wrote it down, I thought about Sakura. It felt like she wasn't the woman who I had married and spent 10 years of my life; she felt like a lugubrious stranger. As I showed her my note, she glanced at it and quickly crumpled it in her hand and finally cried in front of me.
The next couple of days I spent with Ino, the other woman that I was in love with. I came home late and Sakura greeted me at the door with a proposal, new divorce conditions. She stated that she didn't want anything from me. The money, house, and car meant nothing to her.
"For the next month, we will both try to live a normal life as we used to when we got married." She looked at me strongly. "Remember how you carried me out of the chapel on our wedding day? I request that you carry me from our bedroom to our front door every morning. Our son is finishing school in a month and I don't want to distract him with a broken marriage. That's it."
I was about to open my mouth to tell her how absurd she was, but I thought about her wish for a second. I thought she was going crazy but I agreed with her, knowing it was the least I could do.
On the first day, I was a bit uncoordinated with carrying her. It felt awkward at first but she began to mold into my arms.
"Daddy is carrying mommy!" My son would bubbly say. He would clap his hands together and hold the bottom of my shirt as he admired us and helped me open doors. His words began to precipitate a feeling of pain in my chest as I saw how clueless and happy he looked at Sakura and I.
"Don't tell Daisuke about the divorce." She would tell me and I would nod at her and gently put her down by the door.
A couple of days went by and as I carried her, I noticed many things. At first, I realized my wife wasn't young anymore. There was fine, small wrinkles on her face and streaks of gray in her hair. She had been tired. I then realized that she felt much lighter, and at first I thought that I had been growing strong since I've been carrying her around, but I noticed how she was getting very thin. The last thing that I definitely spot was the intimacy returning and growing by the days.
One morning, I awoke to Sakura coughing and burning up. I reached for her forehead and quickly took my hand away as if it scorched me. I was worried but it didn't seem to bother her. She just asked me for a glass of water and shrugged it off like she wasn't even sick. Daisuke went into our room that morning with his usual smile.
"It's time to carry mommy out the door," he said and motioned to the front of the house.
"Hey buddy, this morning mommy isn't going anywhere and she has to stay in be—" I was cut off by her gesturing to her son to come over to her arms. He accepted his invite and ran into her arms and they embraced each other tight. I looked over to them and I regretted every single thought about the divorce.
"One more time Sasuke," Sakura said knowingly. And so before my son went to his school, I carried my wife. This time, I picked her up with all the gentleness in the world. I picked her up like she was the most valuable gem in the world— and she is.
"I am going out for a few this morning, would you like anything?" I asked her as I laid her back on the bed.
"Just rest, I'm all good."
And with that I drove to Ino. I told her everything. The divorce was off and I loved my wife with all my heart and I was to stay by her side for the rest of our lives. After exciting her place, I drove to a flower shop.
It had been clear to me; I carried my wife from our wedding day and I am to hold her "until death so us apart". I bought her a bouquet of colorful flowers and smiled and thought about her beautiful face gleaming at the bundle. The saleswoman asked politely what was to be written on the card and I beamed at her and told her "I'll carry you every morning 'til death do us apart."
I drove home, flowers in my hand with a big smile on my face. As I entered our room, I was hit with shock. Sakura had passed away in her sleep while I was away. It turned out that she had been struggling with cancer for a few months now, but I was too busy with Ino to even notice anything. She knew she had a month to live. She knew she was going to die soon. She saved me from any horrid thoughts from my son if we pushed through with the divorce. In my son's eyes, I had been a loving father and husband for his mother's last moments.
I carried her for the last time.
The theme to this one-shot is, you need to notice the small things that your loved one do for you. The little things are what make the big, beautiful picture. Right now, I request that you go to someone you love and tell them you love them and tell them how much you appreciate all the things that they do. Smile. Acknowledge. Brighten someone's day.