Dedication: For Crystal Yumi (Stephanie-chan). A wonderful
author and a great friend.
Strawberry Pez
by Melissa
Have you ever loved someone so much that you thought you and they would live forever? It was a power so strong that when you were together time would seem to slow down. Nothing else seemed to matter.
I think I loved Hikari from the first moment I met her. I know it sounds cliché, but who doesn't fall in love at first sight? I fell in love with her when I was eight, and fifteen years later I asked her to be my wife. Through laughter and tears, she accepted. It was the happiest day of my life, up to that point.
We were married amidst friends and family. Yamato was my best man, of course. Sora was Hikari's maid of honor. Koushiro had a hell of a time trying to console Mimi, who was bawling through the entire ceremony. Jyou and Miyako had attended and made it known that they were dating. Iori had made it back to Japan from America in time as well. Daisuke seemed to have gotten over his crush on Hikari, and now focused all of his attention on Ken. I remember wishing Ken luck.
I didn't think that my love for my wife could ever be matched. I changed my tune on a cool day in February two years later when our daughter was born. Hikari and I were both 25 at the time. Tomoyo was one of the two most beautiful creatures I had ever laid eyes on. I know every father thinks that of their daughter, and they all happen to be right.
My little girl has dirty blonde hair. That's really the only term I can use because it's slightly darker than mine but not as dark as her mother's. She also has my eyes and Hikari's smile.
For six years I watched both my angel and my love. Six glorious years. Even though Hikari and I was getting older, it didn't feel like time could touch us.
And up until a few days ago, I didn't think death could have either.
It's been 7 days, to be more accurate. 7 days, 3 hours, 19 minutes, 41 seconds and counting since she left me and Tomoyo.
And just as every second up to that point I loved her more, every second
after hurt me more than I ever could imagine.
*Flashback*
Takeru's shoulder's slumped forward as he tried to keep focusing on the road. It had been a very long day. Life as a star basketball was not always fantastic. In their last game they had blown a huge lead in the fourth quarter. While they did end up by winning, it was only by two points. The punishment for that was a killer practice today. Every muscle in Takeru's body ached fiercely. All that fatigue left his body the instant he approached his house.
Outside of his residence were two police cruisers and an ambulance. Takeru slammed on his breaks and came to an abrupt halt. Throwing the car into park he threw open the door and hit the ground running.
As he a approached, a policeman stepped to purposely block his path. "Excuse me sir, this scene is off...."
Takeru cut him off. "My name is Takeru Takaishi, and this is my home." He tried to keep the panic from rising in his voice while also trying to control the urge to fling the policeman out of the way.
A look of sympathy crossed the cop's features as he stepped to one side. "My apologies. The lieutenant is inside with your daughter."
Takeru didn't wait a second longer. He sprinted up the walkway and into the house. The second he was through the threshold he heard his daughter's voice.
"Daddy!" Tomoyo got down from the chair she was sitting in and ran to her father.
"Hey kiddo," Takeru replied, scooping up his pride and joy into his arms and holding her protectively. "What happened? Where's your mom?"
Tomoyo's pale blue eyes stared into her father's. "Mommy had an accident."
Takeru gulped hard. "What do you mean?"
Tomoyo's brow furrowed as she tried to remember. "This afternoon, I had just gotten up from my nap, and Mommy asked me what I wanted to have for a snack. I told her I wanted graham crackers. I sat down to watch a movie while she went to get them. Some time passed and Mommy hadn't come back with my snack, so I went to see where she was. I found her lying on the floor in the kitchen. I shook her, but she wouldn't wake up." Tears formed at the corners of her eyes as she spoke.
Takeru looked from his daughter to the policeman leaning against the far wall and then back to his daughter again.
"So I called the 911 number that you told me to call in case of an emergency. I told them my name and that Mommy was in trouble. The police and the am...ambu....,"
"The ambulance," her father finished for her.
"Yeah, the am-bu-lance showed up a little while ago."
"That was a very good thing you did, Tomoyo. I'm very proud you remembered what we told you to do in the case of an emergency."
The little girl smiled slightly for a moment, but it was short lived. She nuzzled her face into the crook of Takeru's neck. "Will Mommy be okay?"
Takeru hugged her tighter and focused his attention on the officer in his living room. "Where's my wife? What happened to her?"
The officer sighed. "Mr. Takaishi, my name is Lieutenant Yuy. I was the first officer to arrive on the scene."
"That was not the answer to either of my questions, Lieutenant."
The looked at Takeru with sad eyes, deciding to cut through the chit-chat. "I've spoken with the paramedics and it is their opinion that she suffered an aneurysm. In other words, pressure built up and burst a blood vessel in her brain. Unfortunately, too much time had passed and there was nothing the paramedics could do for her. I'm sorry."
Takeru blinked a couple of times. "W-what?" he asked, unbelieving.
"You're wife passed away. I'm truly sorry."
Takeru felt his heart constrict inside of his chest and his soul shatter. His love, his Hikari, was gone.
His daughter sniffed slightly and repeated her question in a slightly different format. "Is Mommy all right?"
Her father shook his head, eyes brimming with tears.
"No, sweetie. She isn't"
*End Flashback*
After my wife died, for a little while I was blaming God, or Fate, or any of the Higher Powers for taking her away from us. It slowly dawned on me though that I couldn't blame anyone or anything for her death. People die, that's the problem with being mortal. Her funeral was only a few days ago, but it feels like she's been gone forever. She gave meaning to my life I had no right to expect.
I just wish she could have had a little more time here with me and Tomoyo. Hikari will never get to see her daughter grow, just as my daughter will have to grow up without her mom.
It ashames me to say it, but sometimes I have trouble looking at my daughter. She just looks so much like Hikari that I want to break down into tears.
She sits at the dining room table as I prepare dinner. Every once in awhile I go in to check on her. At one point she must had gone into her room and came back carrying several toys. When I checked on her again they were spread out all over the table. Upon closer examination I saw them to be those toy dispensers for pez, as well as several packages of the candy itself.
As I watched, she took each dispenser, opened it up, and dumped it's contents out onto the table. She then began making two piles. One of them had several colors, and the other was composed of just the pink pieces.
"What are you doing, sweetheart?" I asked softly.
"I'm separating out Mommy's favorite flavor. I'm saving them for when I see her again."
I felt my throat close up from the overwhelming sadness that consumed me at that moment. I wasn't sure if I could explain to her again that her mom was no longer here. I cleared my throat to try and speak.
"Tomoyo...," I started, but was abruptly cut off.
"I know that Mommy's not coming back. She couldn't stay with us any longer."
"Then why.....you said....."
"It's just that separating out her favorite flavor reminds me of her," Tomoyo went on, while counting out the brightly colored pieces of candy. "And I remember all the fun we used to have. Seeing who could build the highest tower of pez, or tossing them in the air and trying to catch them in our mouths, or making the dispensers talk to each other. When we were done with our games I would always give her all my strawberry pez and she would give me all her lemon pez. 'Cause we each liked those best."
I could feel tears tracing their way down my cheeks as she continued.
"Those memories make me happy, even if it is just for a little while and even though it'll make me sad later on. So I'm going to continue saving the strawberry pez for Mommy, even if she will never get to eat them. I'm going to put them in a little jar, and when we go to the place where she is buried to visit her, I'm going to leave them there."
I walked around the table and hugged my daughter. With her little hand she reached up and wiped away some of my tears.
"Don't cry, Daddy," she said as she offered me a package of pez. "Sit and remember with me."
I took a seat next to her and stared at the candy in my hand. I watched her as she opened up her package and looked at what was contained therein. She picked out the yellow, purple and orange pieces and put them in one pile. The four remaining pink pieces she placed in the other pile.
I opened up the package and looked at the contents. Mimicking
my daughter, I picked out the three strawberry pez and placed in the pile
with the others.
The End.
More Author's Notes: Kinda short, I know. I'd still
like to know what you thought of it. Until next time.
"How many angels are there? One - who transforms our lives - is plenty."
"For one human being to love another: that is perhaps the most difficult
of our tasks; the ultimate, the last test and proof, the work for which
all other work is but preparation." - Rainer Maria Rilke