Doubt
The familiar smell of breakfast traveled quickly through the house and seemingly directly into Hana's bedroom. He had been sleeping soundly until the savory aroma tickled his nostrils and forced him awake. Excited by the early wake up call, he fell out of his bed and onto the floor. Quickly recovering to his feet, he ran around his room to let the stinging wear off then bolted down to the kitchen. As he entered, the wonderful scents of the room intoxicated him. Much to his surprise, his mother was standing over the sink rinsing a spoon. He watched as the open window allowed a small wind to blow her beautiful blond hair back and forth. She was wearing a white scarf on her head that was neatly tied in the back, and she was still in her pajamas. Hana blinked his eyes slowly a few times because he thought they were deceiving him. His mother shifted her body weight slightly and the sun's rays blinded his view of her.
"Mama?" He whispered it at first.
She didn't respond.
"Mama, is that you?" The second time he yelled from pure excitement. His voice startled her and she spun around.
"Hana, you're awake," she said calmly, smiling at him weakly.
When she finally moved away from the window and stepped closer to him, he noticed her hair wasn't blonde at all. It was actually pink...
"I'm sorry. I thought you were..." he replied sadly.
"Its okay, Hana. I know." Tamao didn't seem to worry about him calling her 'Mama'. She knew he missed Anna. In fact, she was used to coming in the kitchen early to start breakfast, waking Hana up, and then he would eventually come into the kitchen thinking his mother was cooking breakfast. This case of mistaken identity occurred almost every day. Tamao would accept it because she wanted to keep his memories of her alive and in order to do that, she couldn't break down every time he mistook her for Anna. "Why don't you sit down? It's ready."
---
"How long have I been asleep?" Yoh grumbled as he rolled back and forth across his bed. The sun's light filled his entire bedroom and almost stung his skin. As he sat up, his hair sat on top of his head and all over his face like a large brown basket. He gagged slightly, attempting to pull the hair out of his mouth. His hair preoccupied him so much he almost didn't smell the food from downstairs. "Breakfast," he said, smiling.
He decided to clean himself up before heading to the kitchen. As he looked in the mirror he paused and laughed at himself. He brushed his teeth thoroughly, scrubbed his face, combed his hair as best he could, and paused in order to decide on taking a shower. After briefly raising his arms and smelling underneath them he decided to skip bathing. Looking at himself in the bathroom mirror one last time, he walked back into his bedroom to change his pants. Suddenly his entire body froze. He was staring at his bed, trying to blink. The thoughts in his mind raced around at rapid pace and he opened his mouth for a few seconds before he could speak.
"Hello, Yoh." There was a woman standing beside his bed. Her voice was calm and smooth. She didn't move but motioned for him to come closer.
"Anna?" He could barely speak.
"Yes. I missed you." As she smiled at him her eyes appeared to sparkle.
"Am I dreaming?" He asked, hoping he wasn't.
"No. I'm close."
He blinked his eyes again, but she didn't disappear. 'What is going on?' he thought to himself.
"I'm close, Yoh. Closer than you think." He was able to sense slight desperation in her voice. As he stared at her face, her eyes seemed to change color.
"Who are you?" He asked suddenly. A chill ran from the back of his neck all the way down his spine.
"I'm you're wife."
"No you're not."
Her beautiful smile quickly grew into an angry frown. He blinked again and she was gone. He sat down at the edge of his bed, trying to determine if he was dreaming. He could smell food; that confused him. Suddenly his son bolted through the door way.
"Are you hungry? Tamao made breakfast. It's really good!!" He exclaimed happily.
"I'm awake. I'm not dreaming." He said softly.
"What?" Hana seemed confused.
"I'll come down. I'm starving." Yoh smiled at his son calmly then allowed him to grab his hand and lead him downstairs. When they arrived in the kitchen, Tamao was sitting at the table nibbling at her food as if she wasn't hungry.
"You're awake!" She said happily.
"I have to go to the bathroom," Hana said, releasing his father's hand and disappearing in the hallway. Yoh was standing in the middle of the kitchen and staring at the floor.
"Are you feeling well?" Tamao asked. Spending the night with him boosted her confidence and it was evident in her voice.
"That's it!" He shouted suddenly. Tamao gasped as he ran to the table, grabbed her arms and pulled her out of her chair.
"What are you talking about, Yoh?" She asked concerned.
"She's alive, Tamao!"
"Yoh," she started. She had heard this before and didn't want the conversation to end like it always did; with him in tears.
"I saw her. She's alive!"
"Yoh," she sighed and closed her eyes, "Anna's been dead for five...wait, you said you saw her?" She was startled by his words.
He didn't respond. Instead, he smiled at her and then held her in a tight embrace.
