Chapter 29: Red Light, Green Light

"So that's it? You didn't even get wait to see what she wanted from you?" Hiromi asked.

"No…I kind of just got cold feet." Hiromi bit her lip.

"Kind of?" Hiromi asked as they walked downtown.

"I'm not even sure. If she decides to contact me I'll apologize when I hear back from her... I just don't want to bug her even more."

"So what was the story about anyway?"

"Kind of an elaborate idea that I just kind of thought of."

"Kind of?" Hiromi laughed. "But seriously, I wish I could have ideas just hit me like that."

"I guess you could say it hit me like a truck." They were just around the corner where she'd first saved King Lune. Without these adventures she really wouldn't have anything good to write about. But maybe if she really tried…

"So what are you going to do about next year? Late applications are harder to get accepted by."

"Oh. Uhm I don't know. Maybe I'll just have to take a year off."

"Then I'd start looking for a job if I was you. And you know, you never asked how Tsuge's tournament went?"

"I didn't know you could get a scholarship for ping pong?" Haru asked absently.

"He plays tennis too!"

"Oh!" Haru laughed. "How'd it go then?"

"Good! You should have seen him he was so amazing! The team one! They're last game too since graduations over now."

"That's good. Tell him I say congratulations!"

"You're thinking about whether or not a letter came for you right?" Hiromi noticed Haru's distracted aura.

"What?"

"I can tell. You're totally spaced out! Even more then normal too!"

"Hey!" Haru said a bit offended.

"Relax. It's only because of whatever this mysterious thing is that's been going on with you, so I'm really only teasing to get your head back out of the clouds! Anyway, I got to get home for dinner. I'll talk to you later okay!" Hiromi crossed the road waving back at Haru.

"Okay!" Haru waved as she left. She turned around. She might as well go home too then. She walked to the otherside of the sidewalk to cross the street towards her house when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Huh?" She turned around quickly.

"You were about to walk into the intersection on a red. Not a walk." She looked up to see Machida.

"Oh really? Was I?" She laughed, agitated by her own absentmindedness.

"Yea, you okay?" He couldn't help but laugh at her absent laugh. She could tell he still looked concerned. That reminded her…

"Oh I never apologized for ditching you at prom too! I'm sorry I just off and left-I-"

"Don't worry." Machida smiled. "You didn't really ditch me. I was just concerned when you ran off so suddenly. It's like your house was on fire or something. Hiromi didn't know what to make of it either. She said you were having guy problems or something. I didn't even know you were seeing someone."

"No-it's not that exactly. And it really doesn't matter…" Haru looked to the side. It did matter but her adventures were probably all over now anyway.

"Oh, well you should at least pay attention to the street lights." Machida said kindly trying to loosen the mood.

"So what are you doing here?"

"Oh I just got my early acceptance letter from a business program so I figured I'd pick up some more suits and dress clothes since I'll probably need them."

"Business? Really? I think my dad went to school for business…"

"Your dad? You know you've never really talked about him before, does he live with you and your mom?"

"No, actually it's because he died when I was really little."

"Oh wow, I'm sorry…I didn't know-"

"It's okay. I don't really remember him that much. My mother just talks about him sometimes. Why business?"

"Well my parents were hoping for something along the lines of lawyer but I figured business was a happy medium. Plus who knows what I'll do with it. Kind of all coming up fast isn't it? How about you? I heard it's hard to get into a first semester with late applications."

"I'm not sure. I was kind of thinking writing or something but I'm still a bit off about it all."

"Minds in other places?" He raised a brow, a bit sheepishly.

"Oh not you too." Haru groaned, recalling Hiromi's similar jab.

"Ha,ha! I'm only joking! I know Hiromi bugs you about it. But seriously watch out for those red lights okay? Green is go, and that white figure is walk okay? See you around Haru!"

Haru watched Machida walk off. Machida was a good guy. She couldn't quite explain why she'd really never been able to just accept him as more than a friend. Everything had changed since her first…

She shook her head, looked at the green light, and walked straight home.

Haru woke up the next morning in grog. Summer was the worst. If it weren't for her alarm clock she'd probably sleep all day. The hot sun seeped through her curtains. It was so cozy. She looked at her clock. Already noon.

It did feel like a waste of a day but there wasn't much else to do with it.

She got out of bed and went downstairs.

"You know I would have made you breakfast but it's lunch time now? You feeing okay?"

"Yea. Just a bit out of it." Her friends had teased her yesterday but they had been right.

"Well I know its been a few days since you went to that woman's house, so you might want to know you got another letter today. Does she not have a home phone?"

"I don't know. Maybe they don't have it set up yet?"

"Could be. Anyway here it is-" Haru's mom handed her the letter, her attention half fixated on her work. " And you can make an egg if you want for your toast. You're one from breakfast is cold."

Haru looked at it in her hands as she returned to her room for a moment to open it. A sense of dread came over her. She had been kind of rude leaving it there, AND Ms. Amasawa might have disliked her the story…

She cringed a little as she opened it.

Dear Haru,

I'm sorry we had to miss your visit. I'm sure you must have been in a rush or something? I take no offense to it either. Actually, I don't suppose you got lost looking for our house. I realize now I failed to mention we didn't actually live in town…more just outside. However I'd be interested to hear more about your ability to speak to cats! That seems like a riveting experience!

Now about your story, I'm not sure if you framed it as a journal log on propose but it fit with the narrative irrevocably well!
I'm not sure how you could have had such an intimate story with our Baron but some questions might be left unturned. I have a feeling some details are left out but I wouldn't dare pry. You're version of the Baron, I would dare say has even more life then my own and I wish you'd make this into a novella one day! This Cat Kingdom sounds like a complex and wonderful place – If places in novels could come alive I wish this to be the one!
Now, I did have something to ask you. Honestly my husband thought of it first, but I'm not sure if you have any plans for the following year. I know you said you had a prom, and if you are graduating -
My husband, starting years back and on some various occasions went to a Private Academy to help fix some of their instruments there. Most recently he helped fix and make a three new violins for their Dean and his family – an heirloom that was important to them. Upon this they actually funded a scholarship in my husband and I's name for our contributions in the Arts there – I donated a bunch of copies of my novels for their classes to study.
Maybe this is much too forward, but if you'd like I can put a recommendation for this scholarship for you. I think you could get some good experience in writing or in music at that school. I hate disclosing this information in such an impersonal way, in letter, but my husband and I both feel, however strangely and suddenly you came to our small home, you might be the perfect young lady to acquire our scholarship.
However if you have other plans do not give this a second thought! I'd love to hear back from you again, my husband finds himself teasing me that I yet again have acquired a pen pal whom he teases that I wish to make into my apprentice (which I assure you would be lovely, but I in no means aim to impose any of this on you).
And believe me, however strange your stories might have seemed, I've come to find that even the strangest of things happen in this life – some of them fate some of them fiction but whatever it is, it is irrevocably a story to tell. I hope you're stories find solace in ending as well!

Ms. Amasawa


I hope you're all enjoying the story. I really appreciate reviews about my chapters. I'm really planning on pushing this, and yes sooner or later Haru will find an ending to her song and maybe run into a cat or two on the way!