Thank you for the feedback so far! I'm looking at trying to post a couple of chapters a week. As always, thanks for the follows, favs, and reviews!
It's been a little over a month since she woke up at the train station. A month and two days, to be precise. The first thing she can remember is sitting on a bench right outside the station gate. How she got there, what she's doing here, and more importantly who she is — she couldn't remember a thing. The loss of memories didn't cause her to worry though. For some reason she felt content, at ease. The same feeling you get after coming home after a long time away. It was like a burden had been lifted from her, so instead of moving to explore wherever she is, she remained seated and watched what was going on around her. People in suits commuting to work, a young couple sharing a tear-filled goodbye, a young girl giving what she assumed to be her father a long eared rabbit toy and waving goodbye. She was so absorbed in the small events happening in front of her that she didn't even notice a woman taking the seat next to her on the bench.
"Aren't you cold, sweetie? It's still a bit too cold to be out and about without a jacket on."
She turned to face the woman talking to her. She must have been in her early sixties, yet her smile seemed to show that she had a much younger soul. She looked down and realized why this lady would comment on her lack of a jacket. She had on was a peach-coloured short sleeve blouse, a white skirt with a pair of white shoes — an outfit perfect for the warm summers months. For some reason, the outfit seemed familiar. Maybe this was her go-to outfit? Regardless, she did have to agree with the lady that it was the wrong season for what she had on.
As she opened her mouth to respond, no words would come out. It seems like she's forgotten even how to use what little thoughts she had. She resorted to nodding yes to the lady to her left. She watched as the older woman studied her, even putting her fingers to her chin like she was a display at an art gallery.
After a few moments of this, the woman replied "My name's Kiyomi. What's your name?"
This time, instead of just not being able to say the words, she couldn't even come up with a response. She looked down at her hands folded in her lap then back up at Kiyomi and simply shook her head no. This didn't seem to surprise her companion.
"Do you know where you are? Do you have any ID cards on you?"
She had no pockets on her outfit, no purse or backpack either. Again, she shook her head no. The woman gave her a sad smile, then stood up, extending her hand with a smile on her face.
"Come on sweetie, let's go to the police box over there. Surely he'll be able to help you?"
She followed Kiyomi to the police box and filed a report. She wrote out what little she remembered and when the officer checked the missing persons reports, no one matching her description was found. After exhausting his resources, the officer asked for her contact information and where she'll be staying if any information about her comes up.
Before she could even think of how to reply, Kiyomi replied for her. "She'll be staying with me. Here's my contact information."
She couldn't believe that a stranger would be so willing to help her. It was more than she could ask for. The glow of content was starting to wear off now that she realized she was alone in some strange city without her memories. Top that off with her inability to talk, she was not in a great position. As Kiyomi turned around, she did the only thing she could think of to show how happy she was for the assistance — give the largest smile her mouth could manage.
They left the police box shortly after. She followed Kiyomi to the bus station and boarded a bus that was headed for the center of the city. During the journey, she sat and listened while her companion talked and talked and talked. She found out that Kiyomi owns a small cafe which happens to be where they are currently headed to. That she lives alone with her cat Misha, and that she reminds her of her sister that died back when they were in college. After every piece of information she would share, Kiyomi would assure her that everything will be ok and she'll make sure she get back to wherever she needed to be.
"Well, since you don't remember your name, let me at least call you something so I'm not referring to you like you aren't really here! How about…Haru? Since it's almost spring?"
Kiyomi tilted her head, smiling right at her. She couldn't disagree with the woman going out of her way to help her, so she smiled back and nodded.
"Perfect! Well Haru, our stop is the next one. Cafe Noir is right around the corner from the bus stop, I have to take care of a few things there but once I'm done we can get you some essentials and I'll show you your room. Now, now I see that worry on your face. You don't need to worry about rent or anything like that. You just focus on getting better and finding out who you are!" At this point the bus was pulling up to their stop, so she followed Kiyomi off the bus and to the cafe.
Cafe Noir was at the corner of a stretch of small shops and restaurants. It's black and white awning gave it a bit of a Western look compared to the other shops on the block. As she followed Kiyomi inside, the first thing she noticed was the smell of fresh brewed coffee. It reminded her of…something. It made her think of tea and a man's laughter. It's the first time she got close to remembering something, but as she would find out, these "memories" would always be an arm's length away, never staying put long enough for her to try and connect the dots.
Kiyomi directed her to a table by the entrance to the kitchen and told her to make herself at home. She took the chair facing out towards the rest of the cafe so she could watch the people inside. It was already mid-afternoon at this point and not too many people were here. There was an elderly man with a book sitting at a table in opposite corner. If she had to bet, she would say he's been in here for quite some time. There was a group of high school students that had pushed a few tables together and were talking amongst themselves. Given that there was an equal amount of males to females, Haru guessed it was a group date. A few other people had ordered drinks to go and then left, and her gaze followed them out there door.
She noticed a young girl with an apron on heading in her direction with a cup and a plate in her hands. Kiyomi must have ordered her something. The girl approached her table, setting down a cup of tea along with some mochi. She had long dark hair and eyes and couldn't seem to stop from looking down at her feet.
"Uh, Kiyomi told us about you. I'm Tomoe. She said you looked like a tea person, so I brought you some. Oh and some mochi. We make it here in house, it's really good." Tomoe was running her hands against her apron, it was obvious that she was extremely shy. "Uhm..if you need anything senpai, please let me know."
She nodded and dashed back behind the counter and started working on another drink. Haru smiled and took a sip of the tea. It brought the same thoughts back that she had when she first walked in. If only I could remember… she thought. If she could remember that time, maybe she could find the man she was with and figure out what exactly happened to her.
She finished her tea and mochi and continued watching the patrons of the cafe. It wasn't long after she finished eating that Kiyomi walked out of the kitchen.
"Well Haru, I'm all finished here for the day. Let me show you your room, then we'll head to Junes to get some things for you. Come now, follow me. Tomoe will bus the table."
She followed Kiyomi back into the kitchen area. It was smaller back here, obviously most of the space was used up front for the seating and coffee area. The kitchen and prep area was to her right, and a very tiny office with a small desks and stacks of boxes was to her left. Kiyomi was holding open a door leading outside, so she headed out into the alleyway behind the cafe. There was another black awning here, this one was much smaller than the one out front. It was just large enough to cover the entryway. She continued following Kiyomi around the side of the building where she noticed a set of stairs leading to a second level. She noticed Kiyomi had already unlocked the door at the top of the stairs and was beckoning her to come in.
She walked into what looks to be a small studio apartment. To her right was a small L-shaped kitchen with a sink and a mini fridge. As she gazed around the room, there was a table and two chairs right by the kitchen that were the same as what's in the cafe. To her left was a small sofa and work table. By the windows there was an area for a futon, a closet, and a walled-off area that leads to what she presumed to be a bathroom.
"I had this setup as an apartment when I first bought this space 20 years ago. I spent many nights here when we were first getting started. I've kept up with it just in case someone from the cafe needs to use it. I'm glad I have! Here." Kiyomi fumbles with a key on her key rings, and hands it out to her. "This is my spare key for this place. You're welcome to stay as long as you need. I'll come and check on you. If you'd like, when you're feeling ready that is, you can come work at the cafe. We're short staffed right now as one of the girls just left to attend a university overseas. But no rush at all!" She shoots Haru that same grin she gave her earlier. And again, all she can do is smile back.
"Now come on, let's head over to Junes and get this place stocked up a bit! And you are getting a jacket, young lady!"