Just a short shot that i thought up one day.
Enjoy!
Abby
Not Forgotten
The stairs creaked loudly as his old bones groaned with age. He now had to hold the hand-rail when ascending the stairs to his office to support himself rather that just looking flashy. As he ascended the stairs a 'clang' sounded from the kitchen causing him to let a small, almost wicked smile cross his lips for a moment at the thought of having escaped the gathering of people downstairs.
Resting his wrinkled old hand on the cool polished surface of his offie door handle he pushed it open, comfort and warmth seeping out of the room along with the smell of old books and tea. Walking into the room he was comforted by the massive book shelves that lined the walls, a large old desk sat in the middle, full length windows behind it.
Closing the door behind him he silently walked over to his desk, a slight limp in his step was becoming noticeable now. Easing himself down into the desk chair he let out a small sigh of relief to be off his feet. Reaching over he opened the second drawer in his desk and started shuffling things around in it, searching for one thing in particular. Finding it he pulled out the old, sightly cracked, CD case, scratches covered the case front and the bottom right corner had been broken off over the years. Turning he placed the CD in his computer and waited-impatiently as always-for the thing to load.
A soft smile crossed his aged face as the home-video came up, an obviously younger version of himself appeared on the screen, his ever trusty book in hand as a fire crackled in the background. The camera tilted slightly and a feminine sigh was heard.
"Come on Naru-chan. Talk to the camera or something. It's kind of boring watching you read a book." Mai's young, though slightly mature voice spoke from behind the camera.
"If I remember correctly you told me you liked watching me read." Naru smiled slightly, not looking up from his book.
"Yeah I don't mind it, but anyone watching this will think you're so boring." She explained in a voice usually reserved for small children.
"Hmm, ok then." Was all he said, continuing to read, though there was a small tug at the corner of his mouth, hinting at the humour he had so far not revealed.
"Naru-chan!" There was an irritated sigh before the camera was turned around to see Mai's young 21-year-old face smiling brightly.
"For those of you at home who have been holding up fake pretences that Naru-chan is in any way fun to live with, you are severely mistaken. All he does is sit on his butt all day-" she was cut off by a hand over her mouth and the camera tilted up to see Naru himself standing behind her.
"I do not sit on my butt all day, Mrs Shibuya." He said. She giggled and nodded her head, affirming the truth of statement despite his protest. Her nodding also had the added bonus of knocking his hand away from her mouth.
"Yeah you do!"
"You seem to be suffering from some paranormal stupidity, dear." He said, unable to hide the teasing smile as she pouted cutely.
"So that's what happens when I hang around you for too long." She exclaimed cheekily.
He sent her a glare before a smirk appeared. Leaning down he lightly kissed her head, she sent him a positively glowing smile, the one she saved for him alone.
"I love you Kazuya." She smiled softly at her husband.
"I love you too, Mai." He gave her his true smile. The camera once again moved, but this time it showed the wooden floor for a moment before going blank.
The old man slowly took the CD out of the computer drive and replaced it back in the battered old CD case. He then placed the case back in the drawer with care before closing it with a soft 'thunk'.
"Naru! Come downstairs, dinners ready and John just got here!" Takigawa called up the stairs, his voice now slightly horse from age.
Naru let his gaze linger on the drawer for a moment longer before slowly rising from the chair and exiting from his office, closing the door on the warmth, comfort and memories of a past long ago, but by no means forgotten. Hiding his smile as he heard yet another crashing sound coming from the kitchen, evidence enough that Takigawa had been 'assisting' with the cooking of lunch, he began his descent of the stairs, hand firmly gripping the railing once more.
He found comfort in the knowledge that at any time he could still come back to his office and have a chance to relive that one moment with his dearly departed wife. It didn't really matter that she was no longer there to tease him as he read a good book or trying to talk to him when he was going over some of the more interesting cases he had come across. It was the comfort of knowing that she could forever remain 21 in his memories, that he could always view her bright smile that had caused him to fall in love with her in the first place.
Taking a deep breath he closed his eyes for a moment and could almost feel his wife standing next to him, her smile encouraging him to go and join his guests for their regular Friday lunch that they had been sharing for 55 years now. With a small smile, just for her, he walked into the lounge room, happy to still be alive.