The trip back to Konohana the next day passed in a blur. I hadn't slept very well the night before, so I felt like a zombie. That is to say, I barely had any emotions at all. All I felt was an unbearable ache in my chest that threatened to burst at any moment into an extreme breakdown. I hated being like this. For a while I had been doing so well; I had a successful farm up and running, a smile on my face, and even a bunch of new friends. But the past few days had taken it right out of me, and the letter from my parents was just the icing on the cake.

I went for days, and then weeks like that. Weighed down by the pressure to pay for Caleb's treatment and research, I spent all my time at the farm. I threw myself head-first into back-breaking labour, despite Ayame's warnings. Even if I had wanted to socialize, I didn't have any energy left for it by the end of each day. It was bad for my health and I knew it, but I had gotten to the point where I didn't care anymore. I had turned myself into a machine that was only capable of working, sleeping, and eating. Eating? Yeah, you could hardly call it eating. By the end of just one week, I had lost a tremendous amount of weight. I was headed down a bitter path leading to my own destruction.

I woke up panting one morning after another emotional nightmare. It was earlier than usual, but I heaved my skinny self out of bed anyway, knowing that I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. The sooner I finish work, I thought, the sooner I can go back to bed. Putting on my slippers, I shuffled across the cold, wooden floor into the kitchen to brew some tea. The win was especially noisy, but I ignored it and settled back to drink my pre-chore tea. It was the only luxury I allowed myself, because it gave me time to wake up before getting to work. I finished my drink quickly, scalding my tongue as the hot liquid slid down my throat.

When I had dressed myself, I wandered to the front door. I turned the rusty door handle and to my surprise, a huge gust of wind and rain hurtled past me into my house. Panicking, I leaned against the door and pushed with the little strength I had in me. It took a while, but eventually I heard it click shut and I sat on the floor, breathless. I couldn't work in this weather, no matter how reckless I might've been.

I tuned into the radio, hoping for a better weather forecast. The station was crackly, but I managed to catch the word "typhoon". I sighed. This is the last thing I need, I thought as I turned and dragged myself back to the table. Sinking into the hard wooden chair, I laid my head over the back of it and closed my heavy eyelids. What was I going to do all day? I had been working hard so that I could pay for Caleb's medicine bills faster. But deep down, I knew the real reason was that I was keeping my mind busy so I didn't have time to think. So I didn't have time to feel. The thought of an entire day of nothing scared me.

I tried to think of work, of my animals, even of the mountain, but no matter how I tried, Caleb's face was always there. I couldn't push him out of my mind. It was like he was haunting me.

After hours of this, I couldn't take it anymore. I leapt from my chair, cursing loudly, and with one solid kick, my chair was on the opposite side of the room. My table came next, then my shelves, and my bed sheets. I tore all the books out of my bookcase and scattered my kitchen utensils across the floor. Finally, my rampage led me to the photographs on my wall. One by one, I smashed them on the floor. But when I came to the large one of my family, I couldn't do it. I sank to the ground and surveyed the wreckage. Strangely, my torn up house gave me a sense of peace, and my anger faded away until I was only a broken mess. I clutched my arms around my cold, clammy knees and curled up into a soggy ball on the hard wooden floorboards, shivering. I don't know how long I sat there.

Suddenly an explosion of air and rain burst into my room, but it stopped as quickly as it had started. I heard footsteps, but I didn't look up; I already knew who it was.

"Hi Kana," I mumbled into my knees pathetically, my voice barely above a whisper.

I could tell by his silence that he was looking around at the mess I had made. Then I heard the sound of furniture being pushed around, and I looked up. "What are you doing?" I asked sleepily; my rant had taken all my energy from me.

He looked at me as he flipped my table the right way up. "I'm cleaning up. What does it look like? … Did you do all this?"

I didn't answer, only tried to lift myself to my feet. I winced in pain and looked down at my legs; they were black and blue from all the kicking. I guess bruises came easily when you didn't have much meat to protect your bones.

"Stay there," Kana said calmly, "You just let me do this, and then we'll get you something to eat."

So I watched silently as he picked up all my mess and set my furniture the right way up. He did it with ease; he had built up muscle from all his hard work with his horses. I giggled softly as his hood fell over his head when he bent down to pick up my shattered picture frames.

"Careful," I said quietly, "There's glass on the floor from those frames."

Finally, he swept up the broken glass and placed the photo of my family – the only survivor of my attack – on the table. He patted his hands on his pants and turned to face me. "Lily, why aren't you wearing more clothes?" Kana exclaimed, seeing my thin, short-sleeved cotton dress, "There's a typhoon outside, you're going to catch your death!"

I shivered in response as he went to take the duvet off my bed. "Here," he said rather grumpily, "Wrap this around yourself." He helped me to my feet and I pulled the warm duvet around me. With the last little bit of strength I had left, I walked barefoot across the room and fell face down on my bed.

Kana laughed rather awkwardly and sat me up against the wall. "Heck, I feel like a babysitter," he said, "You need to take better care of yourself, Lily."

I sighed. "I'm sorry. You don't have to help me. I'm sure your horses need special care in this weather."

He folded his arms across his chest. "I can't just let you sit here and go crazy."

"So you're staying?" I asked, "I think I've lost all my dignity in a few short minutes."

"Don't worry about it," he said, offering me a sad smile, "I really don't mind at all."

I gazed wistfully across the room at my brother's face, trapped inside the picture frame. Outside a wolf howled in the raging storm, searching in vain for shelter. My stomach growled obnoxiously, pulling my thoughts back to my body.

"One helping of spicy curry coming up," Kana said enthusiastically, picking up an old apron and tying it around his waist.

My eyelids flew open. "B-but I don't… I don't really like spicy foods," I argued, "They hurt my tongue."

He stuck his head into one of my chipped cupboards and fumbled around with pots and pans. "C'mon, it'll be good for you! You need your strength."

I sighed and leant my back against the wall; I didn't have much fight left in me. Spicy curry was going to have to do.

"So tell me about yourself, Lily," Kana began, filling a pot with water and setting it on the stove, "I've known you for ages now, but I don't know much about you."

I stared at my pale toes, which were sticking out from beneath the duvet, and wiggled them. "There isn't much to know. I was born and raised in a rather sheltered environment on a small island. My parents were madly in love when they married and had my older brother and I, and still are. I grew up in a closely knit community much like this one."

Kana poured rice into the bubbling pot and put the lid on, then sat on the chair and turned to face me. Being a typical horse-obsessed man, he straddled the chair backward and rested his arms on the top of its back. "So you were happy then?" he asked, resting his chin on his arms.

I nodded. "Life was perfect."

"Until?"

I looked at him. "What do you mean 'until'?"

"Well I'm guessing something crazy awful must've happened, or you probably wouldn't be here. Am I right?"

I didn't reply, only sunk deeper into the warmth of my mattress, gathering the duvet tighter around me. I couldn't possibly tell him about Caleb… could I?

"Hey, it's totally okay," he said, starting to get back up, "You don't have to tell me."

Should I tell him? Maybe it would be good to get it off my chest. But then again – what if I broke down again and it got awkward? Pfft, it's not like it could get any worse than this. Kana's footsteps seemed to be in slow motion as I argued with myself in my head. Each step felt like a year. He's helped you more than you ever could have expected from someone, Lillian, I thought, The least you could do is explain why you're being such a burden in the first place.

"Wait," I whispered, "I'll tell you. It's okay."

Kana paused mid-step and returned to his chair. All was quiet, except for the bubbling of the boiling rice, and the distant howling of the wind.

I took a deep breath and let it out, watching the fog roll past my pale lips and disappear into the air. "We were all really happy. The family farm was prospering, the island was gaining popularity, and the community was alive and buzzing with energy. Everything was pretty much perfect for my family." I paused, closing my tired eyes. "Caleb and I used to help out on the farm a lot; Dad and I worked with the animals mostly, and he and Mum looked after the crops. Caleb, like my dad, was a really strong, healthy guy, but one day about three years ago he collapsed while out in the fields." I tried to swallow the massive lump that was forming in my throat. "The doctor dismissed it as being just a one-off thing, but it continued to happen at random, and he gradually grew weaker and weaker. Nobody really understood what was going on, so the doctors could only stand by and watch. Eventually Caleb could no longer work and he began to get tired really easily, so he stayed inside most of the time. And then… then he was too weak to walk and he needed a wheelchair to get around. Doctors began to do research on Caleb's illness, and soon the bills were piling up. That's when I saw an advertisement for a cheap farm and I showed it to my parents. They were reluctant to send me away, but we needed the extra cash desperately, so in the end they gave in. And now… well, now I'm here." I opened my eyes and looked down at my feet again.

"Wow, Lily," Kana said quietly, "That's some heavy stuff. I'm really sorry."

I felt surprisingly good after my little speech; like a heavy load had been lifted off my back. I stretched my skinny arms above my head. I was proud to have kept my composure throughout the whole thing, and it had only left me with slightly damp eyes. But Kana saw through my bluff.

"You've left something out, haven't you?"

I looked at him in surprise and then glanced away quickly, avoiding his gaze as tears tickled my eyes.

"You can tell me," he whispered gently.

Warm, salty liquid spilled down over my cheeks and my voice grew shaky. "The doctors who were researching Caleb's condition didn't get very far, but they told us that the illness had been heard of very few times in the past. It was very rare, but it had turned out to be fatal every time." I hiccupped, and the rest of my words came out uncontrolled and rushed. "They said that we would know when the time was near, because he would fall into a coma. Kana, a letter came from my parents the last time I was in Bluebell. Caleb is in a coma, and he only has a couple of months left to live!"

Ponytail guy rose from his chair and stood in the middle of my small, cold house with his arms outstretched. With a sudden burst of energy that wasn't there previously, I launched from my bed and with my hair flying and tears rolling down my face, stumbled into his warm embrace.

I had finally let myself feel again.