This is to replace my first draft which apparently looked like an author's note instead of a story. The protagonist in this new tale is me. I identify with Ren and Kyoko but will be only using Kyoko's name. So, picture a hybrid character with both their experiences. I kill someone else instead of Rick. I'll explain as we go.
"Moshi Moshi, this is Kyoko," my room mate Moko-san looked up at me. I was sweating buckets. The person on the other end of the phone was my mother. This was unexpected not because we were on bad terms, but because she had been so ill lately. She hadn't responded to my texts in at least a week so I was really looking forward to hearing her voice.
"Kyoko-chan? My name is Elaine. I'm calling about your mother. She passed this afternoon. I'm sorry for your loss."
"…thank you for letting me know. Goodbye." I hang up the phone. And I begin to shake. And shake and-
Suddenly Moko has her arms around me. I lean into her and cry. I explain that my mother died. But that's technically not true.
The woman who died, she ran the Darumaya where I worked as a teenager. When I moved out we drifted but she was there for me in a way my own mother was not. She nurtured me forward into life at a manageable rate, making me feel supported in case of failure. My real mother took a "parenting by neglect" stance.
But life moves on. Dinner needs to be made. I start preparing a fancy dish to distract me. About halfway through I burn my hand on the stove, by touching the element with my finger. I thought that was the most effective way to check for heat. I was right. This snaps me back to reality. My mom is dead. I'm alone. I have to be an adult now and I have no wise elder figure to ask for help.
In the coming weeks, I spend a lot of time in bed. When I begin to feel better, I pull my computer in bed with me. I find a story online that has me hooked. It's about a young woman, like me, whose birth mother was absent, like mine, who fixes her life, like I want to do. It's about a young man who loses his best friend in the whole world. I've lost my best friend in the whole world. My adoptive mother. My rock.
But they get through it and I know I can get through it. Stories are incredible. I know I will be able to turn to this one through my entire journey forward with my life.
Hopefully that was a bit more story like. I didn't know how to work it in because it pales in comparison but I identify with the Sho and Reino arcs too. Stinkin' DV.