A NEW BEGINNING
Chapter 5
"I think I now know why she played basketball." Ayako said out of the blue. She was walking home with Shohoku basketball team from their visit to Kazuha. Sakuragi and Rukawa, who they had left behind, had joined them a few minutes ago. The others looked at her.
"She's basically a person, with normal human emotions. I think that after all these years, all her emotions - anger, sadness, everything - were just about to burst out of the dam she built. I don't think she had ever truly let go and express whatever she felt. She's at the end of her rope when we met her."
"So?" this from Sakuragi, Miyagi and Mitsui.
"Soooo when we introduced basketball to her, it provides her with an outlet to release everything that was dammed up for so long inside her. I think that she uses all her pent-up feelings and forms them into an endless source of energy for basketball."
"What?" asked Sakuragi, lost. The others too, except for Rukawa and Akagi, looked dumbfounded at her logic.
"In other words, using basketball as an outlet for all her unexpressed feelings. " Ayako sighed as they nodded in understanding. "Hey! That's the woman that picked up Kazuha the other day - she must be the grandmother!" Ayako hurried towards the lone figure wearing kimono. The others followed.
*****
Kazuha stared at the door. "I don't want to leave."
Not again. Not ever. This is my home.
"I will not leave."
She looked at her tightly fisted hands and clenched them harder before relaxing them. She wiped away her unshed tears and stood up in a forceful motion.
"I will not leave."
This is the first time I've ever felt as if I belong. I belong here. I belong!
Without another thought, she rushed out of the house, fully intending to tell her newfound friends she will not leave without a fight. She knew at long last that they will stand by her side and support whatever decision she made.
*****
"Errr hello, you probably don't remember me but-"
"You're Kazuha's friend, aren't you?"
"Hai!"
"Well, is there anything I can help?" the old woman asked, looking at Ayako's expectant face.
"Well… anou… ," she took a deep breath and bowed at the surprise of everyone. "We appeal on your compassion and heart to not to move Kazuha to another relative and school." By the time she ended, everybody was bowing also.
"But… what made you think so?"
"Eh?"
"I never intended to move Kazuha anywhere. Where did you get that idea?"
"Why, from Kazuha herself."
"Aiii, I should have known. Silly girl, so distrustful of everything and everyone. It was me and my husband's fault, I guess. I can see now that she's a different person from her parents, she's an individual of her own with her own personality." She went quite for a moment, her eyes had a faraway look in them. "I realised that when she comforted me at the hospital, she had shown me that she loves us in her own way. There's no way I'm going to let her go!" The old lady said vehemently, tears trickling down her cheeks.
"Obaasan (grandmother)…" They turned, startled at the sight of a panting and sweating Kazuha behind them. Apparently, she had run all the way to catch up with them.
"You silly, silly girl…" The old woman moved towards Kazuha at the same time the girl moved towards her obaasan. They ended up hugging each other tightly. The woman was crying shamelessly while for Kazuha, although she didn't cry, a sheen of tears appeared which she refused to shed.
Ayako and Haruko wiped theirs eyes. The boys looked away, their faces getting red at witnessing the tearful scene. Miyagi sniffed. The corner's of Rukawa's lips lifted just for a moment. And Sakuragi sighed to himself, just like the Aisu to stir up trouble for nothing.
After everyone had composed themselves, Kazuha and her grandmother bowed at the them and they bowed back in reply.
"Arigato everyone - for everything." Kazuha's obaasan thanked them.
"It was nothing. After all what are friends for?" Ayako pulled Kazuha into an embrace and soon they were engulfed in a group hug.
"You will be coming to school tomorrow, aren't you Kazuha-chan? And practice too?" asked Haruko.
Kazuha shrugged, already falling back to her old self. Everyone sighed in relief.
Looks like things had gone back to normal.
END.
(For now)
Chapter 5
"I think I now know why she played basketball." Ayako said out of the blue. She was walking home with Shohoku basketball team from their visit to Kazuha. Sakuragi and Rukawa, who they had left behind, had joined them a few minutes ago. The others looked at her.
"She's basically a person, with normal human emotions. I think that after all these years, all her emotions - anger, sadness, everything - were just about to burst out of the dam she built. I don't think she had ever truly let go and express whatever she felt. She's at the end of her rope when we met her."
"So?" this from Sakuragi, Miyagi and Mitsui.
"Soooo when we introduced basketball to her, it provides her with an outlet to release everything that was dammed up for so long inside her. I think that she uses all her pent-up feelings and forms them into an endless source of energy for basketball."
"What?" asked Sakuragi, lost. The others too, except for Rukawa and Akagi, looked dumbfounded at her logic.
"In other words, using basketball as an outlet for all her unexpressed feelings. " Ayako sighed as they nodded in understanding. "Hey! That's the woman that picked up Kazuha the other day - she must be the grandmother!" Ayako hurried towards the lone figure wearing kimono. The others followed.
*****
Kazuha stared at the door. "I don't want to leave."
Not again. Not ever. This is my home.
"I will not leave."
She looked at her tightly fisted hands and clenched them harder before relaxing them. She wiped away her unshed tears and stood up in a forceful motion.
"I will not leave."
This is the first time I've ever felt as if I belong. I belong here. I belong!
Without another thought, she rushed out of the house, fully intending to tell her newfound friends she will not leave without a fight. She knew at long last that they will stand by her side and support whatever decision she made.
*****
"Errr hello, you probably don't remember me but-"
"You're Kazuha's friend, aren't you?"
"Hai!"
"Well, is there anything I can help?" the old woman asked, looking at Ayako's expectant face.
"Well… anou… ," she took a deep breath and bowed at the surprise of everyone. "We appeal on your compassion and heart to not to move Kazuha to another relative and school." By the time she ended, everybody was bowing also.
"But… what made you think so?"
"Eh?"
"I never intended to move Kazuha anywhere. Where did you get that idea?"
"Why, from Kazuha herself."
"Aiii, I should have known. Silly girl, so distrustful of everything and everyone. It was me and my husband's fault, I guess. I can see now that she's a different person from her parents, she's an individual of her own with her own personality." She went quite for a moment, her eyes had a faraway look in them. "I realised that when she comforted me at the hospital, she had shown me that she loves us in her own way. There's no way I'm going to let her go!" The old lady said vehemently, tears trickling down her cheeks.
"Obaasan (grandmother)…" They turned, startled at the sight of a panting and sweating Kazuha behind them. Apparently, she had run all the way to catch up with them.
"You silly, silly girl…" The old woman moved towards Kazuha at the same time the girl moved towards her obaasan. They ended up hugging each other tightly. The woman was crying shamelessly while for Kazuha, although she didn't cry, a sheen of tears appeared which she refused to shed.
Ayako and Haruko wiped theirs eyes. The boys looked away, their faces getting red at witnessing the tearful scene. Miyagi sniffed. The corner's of Rukawa's lips lifted just for a moment. And Sakuragi sighed to himself, just like the Aisu to stir up trouble for nothing.
After everyone had composed themselves, Kazuha and her grandmother bowed at the them and they bowed back in reply.
"Arigato everyone - for everything." Kazuha's obaasan thanked them.
"It was nothing. After all what are friends for?" Ayako pulled Kazuha into an embrace and soon they were engulfed in a group hug.
"You will be coming to school tomorrow, aren't you Kazuha-chan? And practice too?" asked Haruko.
Kazuha shrugged, already falling back to her old self. Everyone sighed in relief.
Looks like things had gone back to normal.
END.
(For now)