Shiharu softly closed the door to the twins' room. It had been quite a long day because Aoi had caught a cold that week, and Akane didn't want to leave her brother's side until he was feeling better. The fever had gone down soon enough, but the boy had left both Shiharu and Matsunaga-san worried. Shiharu walked to the kitchen to make some tea for herself. She hoped that Akane wouldn't catch Aoi's cold, because two sick toddlers would cause a lot more trouble for her and Matsunaga-san.
Shiharu grabbed her cup from the cupboard and looked at it happily. She had been so disappointed and embarrassed when she had broken the first one, but Matsunaga-san had just bought her a new one, telling her she belonged here. She knew this wasn't a normal thing to do for the girl who babysat your kids, but it made her feel happy nonetheless. Or perhaps, if she were honest, that was exactly what made her feel happy, because apparently Matsunaga-san thought of her as more than just the babysitter.
Warming her cup, she started to brew the tea, it had become a daily ritual, after she'd put the twins to bed, she would brew tea for herself and wait for Matsunaga-san to come home. A quick glance at the clock told her Matsunaga-san could be coming home any minute now, so she started to prepare a cup for him as well. Maybe they would get to spend some time together before she had to go back to the orphanage, that would be very nice.
The teen had just poured the tea into the cups when the doorbell rang. Surprised she walked to the front door, as far as she knew, Matsunaga hadn't mentioned anything about expecting guests.
"Did you forget your keys Matsunaga-san?" She asked after she opened the door, without looking who was standing in front of her.
"Ah, so this is the Matsunaga household then? I'm glad I found it." A woman's voice replied. Shiharu's cheeks reddened and she quickly apologized to the lady in front of her.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize Matsunaga-san expected a visitor." She rambled.
"Oh no, that's alright, I wasn't looking for Matsunaga-san himself, are you Nakamura Shiharu, by any chance?" Shiharu looked up sharply.
"Yes I am." She replied
The woman had dark, straight hair and eyes that glittered with intelligence. She was wearing a suit and her tie was half undone. She had a bit of an American accent, but it wasn't distracting. Shiharu didn't recognize her, and couldn't think of any reason why a woman in a suit would want to talk to her.
"It's not really my place, but I guess I can invite you in." Shiharu offered after a few seconds of silence, feeling a bit insecure. She had her phone in the pocket of her skirt, and Matsunaga-san on speed dial.
"Thank you Shiharu."
Closing the door behind them, Shiharu led the lady to the kitchen where the tea mugs still stood on the countertop. Hesitatingly she offered the lady Matsunaga-san's cup of tea and sat down at the table with her own. The lady quickly followed her example.
"So, what can I help you with?" Shiharu asked after a few moments of more silence.
"Oh how rude of me. My name is Midori Johnson. Or eh, Johnson Midori I should say. I've been looking for you for quite a while now Shiharu," the lady said. Shiharu felt a bit uneasy with the familiarity of the way Midori spoke to her, but didn't interrupt.
"I was born and raised in Japan, together with my older brother, but I moved to the United States of America when I was eighteen years old. I'd gotten a scholarship you see. I started working as a temp in a little company when I was in college, but I climbed up and became the CEO soon thereafter.
Shiharu wanted to interrupt, and ask "What does that have to do with me?" but she didn't, and let Midori continue her tale.
"After a couple of years, I got a letter saying my brother had died, and I came back to Japan for his funeral. I met his wife, who was pregnant, although she didn't know it at the time. We got along fine, but she wouldn't accept my help, so I went back to America when all the arrangements were made."
Shiharu's heart was pounding in her throat. This was going into a direction she wasn't expecting, had never expected.
"About six years passed, and I heard that my brother's wife had passed away too, leaving a five year old girl behind. I used to think that the woman's direct family had taken in the girl, but a few months ago, I found out she's lived in an orphanage ever since."
She had trouble keeping her breathing normal. Surely that couldn't be true? That all this time there had been somebody out there for her? After all the loneliness, the jealousy she felt for children with 'normal' families.
"Shiharu, I want to offer you my deepest apologies for not coming to find you earlier. You should've grown up with a family, even if that family would have existed out of you and your aunt and uncle. You must have been alone for so long, and I can never express my sorrow about that enough," Midori said softly, reaching out for the teens hands. Shiharu pulled them away and jumped up, her chair falling backwards with a loud thud.
The world had closed in on her, and it seemed like there was nothing except for her in the whole wide universe. Tears ran down her cheeks, and she did the only thing she could think of. She turned on her heels, and ran out of the house, away from the woman who'd just revealed she was her aunt.
A/N: dun dun dunnn. Hello everybody, there aren't nearly enough Love So Life fanfictions, so I decided to make my own contribution. This could be a two shot or a multi-chapter story, I haven't decided yet, but as always I'd like to hear your opinions! Please give me a review or a PM to tell me what you think of it, I can always use constructional criticism.
Love,
The Young Writer's Apprentice