Michiru woke up the next morning with gentle sigh, as the
sunrays warmed her bare back trough the open window. She slowly opened her
eyes and looked right at the alarm clock on the nightstand. It was two pm.
She blinked but couldn't help but smile at the thought that she had slept
as long as she had. She soon moved onto her back and stared at the ceiling,
still smiling for herself, while remembering the night that had passed and
the good night kiss that had made her heart almost ache, as she parted from
Hoshi in the cab. But suddenly, as a cold wind blew over Michiru's back she
felt a slight chill run up her body. She had been free from Haruka for
almost a month now, and she hadn't been thinking about why she had left.
Michiru slowly got up from the bed, holding the blanket around her body, like if she was afraid of something that wasn't there. After a while of staring at the empty side of the bed she suddenly shivered, remembering the gaze of Haruka's face as she had noticed her in the club. Michiru soon swallowed and closed her eyes, while pulling her legs against her chest, while leaning her chin onto her knees. She just sat there, listening to the clock in the hallway, that she had gotten tired of listening several times before. She soon closed her eyes with a deep sigh as the expression on Haruka's face slowly appeared inside of her head. Was she scared? She thought suddenly and opened her eyes a little, looking at the blanket on her knees. "Choked." She whispered and slowly lied down onto the bed once more, looking right at the ceiling.
'You really think we can go on like this?' Haruka's voice echoed inside of her head.
Michiru sighed deeply and closed her eyes, letting the memories and thoughts of the day return to her as the wind plaid with the hair around her head.
"Haruka, you really want me to answer that question?" I had shouted at the blonde who had come home late, yet another night from work. I had had the feeling of something wasn't right for some time. She had always worked late the last two weeks and hadn't bothered in calling me.
The blank face over her face didn't tell much, but the angered shine in her eyes did. "You really think we can go on like this?" She said after a while as she slowly tilted her head down. I hadn't seen her angry many times, but I could see that she was angry. or was she ashamed. "It feels like we aren't close, like we where before." She said after a while and slowly she lifted her head up high, while gazing over me.
I remember that I was sitting in the living room sofa. I had been waiting for her all-night and fallen asleep with a book.
"What do you mean by that?" I had asked, as I got up from the sofa. I felt a shiver down my spin as I saw it. The lipstick that surely wasn't mine on Haruka's neck and most of her left side of her face, which seemed to have been tried to whip of with a nervous hand. Was she holding something back? The question crossed my mind as I slowly put away the book. "Who have you been seeing, Haruka?" I asked calmly as I slowly looked up at the blonde.
Haruka's eyes flamed up with anger and I could see that she was nervous, as she started rubbing her neck. "I haven't seen anyone!" She protested after a while and soon took a quick gaze into the hallway mirror. Like if I hadn't noticed. "I was working late!"
"Who's the lipstick Haruka?" I asked as I took a step closer towards her. The feelings that we once had shared everyday had been like blown away since Haruka had turned twenty and had been out with the boys on the town. Or that was what she had told me.
"It. it." Haruka stuttered and soon swallowed hard. "Would you just leave me alone?" She soon screamed while giving me a gaze that I never had seen before. "We never have time for each other! You're always up in your gallery and you hardly let me come inside when you're working!" She soon noted and crossed her arms over her chest.
"That doesn't mean that I'm cheating on you, is it?" I shouted at her now, which hurt me more than it seemed to touch her. "Who are you seeing Haruka? Is it someone I know?"
Haruka looked at me for a while without saying a word. She sighed and shook her head as she passed by me, giving me a shove to the side as she walked up the stairs. I looked after her for sometime before I didn't see her anymore on the stairs. I felt heart broken and lost for the first time in my life, which I had shared with Haruka. She was seeing someone and I couldn't help it. Sure, I agreed that I had lots of paintings in the gallery that have to have all my attention, but that didn't mean that I didn't love Haruka less for it. Soon I heard a door close with a bang on the second floor. "Where's my sports bag?" Haruka shouted now.
My heart stopped as I heard the words echoing inside of my head. She was going to leave me, which was a fact that I couldn't deny now. She wasn't the type that liked to be set aside, I knew. She had found someone who never pushed her away and let something come before her. Was all this my fault? I thought now as I slowly sat down on the first stair while staring right at the floor. "It's in the closet." I whispered as I slowly put my hands over my face, trying to keep calm. She was leaving me for someone else, just because I wanted to paint and take my art before her from time to time?
After an hour or two of staring at the darkness of my hands, I heard a sigh at the top of the stairs. I looked up only to see Haruka standing there with two of her sports bags and a huge backpack that I have bought for her the first time she wanted to go camping. She was leaving me. "Haruka." I whispered as she walked down the staircase, without answering me. She was going to leave me, and she was going to leave me right now.
"I really didn't want this to happen." Haruka said as she opened the door, I could feel her gaze was elsewhere even if she was looking right at me. "But I guess all of this is my fault." She added and soon I saw a tear in the corner of her eye. "Hope you'll have a good life, with your paintings Michiru. But a life with me." She paused and sighed while looking out the door. "I guess. I wont be around, just like you haven't been for me." She continued after a short while of silence before she walked out of the house, leaving the door open like a gesture.
I felt my heart beat slowly hitting inside of my chest. I suddenly got up from the step and ran to the door, only to see Haruka get into her car, where another woman was sitting. I felt my heart being ripped apart as Haruka's car left the yard and soon, I just sank to the floor with tears running down my face. She had left me, but none of this was my real fault. Or was it?
Michiru slowly opened her tear-filled eyes as the whole memory show inside of her head was over. Suddenly she didn't feel like getting out of bed. She just wanted to lie there and slowly let the memory of Haruka leaving her for someone else kill her from the inside. She closed her eyes once more while pulling the blanket tightly around herself. She slowly turned her head away from the ceiling and looked at the alarm clock, which turned 15:01.
She soon sighed deeply and closed her eyes. I don't want to do anything, anymore. She thought and slowly opened her eyes a little, looking at the red number on the clock. Suddenly a yelling phone ripped the silence around her. "Hoshi." Michiru whispered out loud and suddenly her eyes widened. "I promised to cal her." She whispered now as she threw her hand over the phone on the nightstand, which she had to her ear with in a blink of an eye. "Kaioh Michiru." She answered.
"Sleep well, I hope?" A gentle laugh was heard on the other end, which ended up in a yawn.
Michiru suddenly felt her heart skip a beat, and she didn't force her tears back anymore. There was something about the voice that she couldn't stop but smile at. "I guess I did." She sobbed while whipping away a tear from her cheek. "But the wakening was horrible." She added and slowly lied down onto the bed.
"Anything you care to talk about?" Hoshi asked carefully, and Michiru could make out a slight nervous sigh.
"I." Michiru started only to pause, while whipping another tear from her cheek. "I started thinking about what happened between Haruka and me." She whispered and slowly closed her eyes, letting more tears stream down her face. She could feel her heart hurting now.
Hoshi was silent and Michiru could make out some movement. "I understand." Hoshi soon broke her silence and lit something that sounded like a lighter. "I know how it feels, but sometimes it's just good to think about what has happened." She added after a while. "I hope everything will feel better when you thought about it."
Michiru smiled softly now, seeing Hoshi smoking her cigarette before her eyes, she was probably sitting up in her own bed right now. "Yeah." She replied after a while and slowly turned onto her stomach while leaning her head onto the pillow. "What about you? Slept well?" She asked after a pair of sighs.
"Could have slept better." Hoshi laughed gently. "I just couldn't get sleep when I got home so I sat in the living room, drinking tea. didn't want to wake up the next morning with a hang over." She added after a short second of silence. "Say. Michiru-san." Hoshi said after yet another second of silence.
"Yes?" Michiru blinked as she pulled her hair back from her forehead, letting the strands of hair fall down again one by one.
"About. um. about that thing in the cab." Hoshi said slowly, and Michiru could hear that she was thoughtful. "Was it.?"
"It was a good night kiss." Michiru replied, probably thinking the same thing Hoshi was.
"Mmm." Hoshi sighed and soon sighed once more. "You know." She said after a while and Michiru saw before her eyes a gentle smile playing on Hoshi's lips. "It wasn't something I thought would happen on the first real date." She added to her thoughtful sentence.
Michiru smiled for herself while poking the pillow under her head. "I usually don't kiss on the first date, but I just couldn't say no."
Hoshi laughed gently as a reply. "What? You find me that strange so you just had to?" She asked after a short while ending up with a laugh.
Michiru just smiled. "I wanted to change." She noted and slowly got up from the bed, with the blanket around herself.
"I guess you could use that as an excuse." Hoshi agreed shortly. "But I wouldn't mind seeing you again."
Michiru looked at herself in the mirror wall, thinking that she looked like someone else, with her hair in a mess all around her head. "I wouldn't mind either." She replied and ended up looking at the floor. "Why don't you come over during the week?" She asked suddenly. "I could make dinner and we could see a movie."
"Only if I get to choose the move!" Laughed Hoshi. "And remember, I'll eat anything." She added and Michiru could hear Hoshi getting up from wherever she was lying. "I'll call you when I get the urge to just drive over. If that's okay?"
"Sounds fine to me." Michiru nodded for herself and soon sat down on the bed. "I'll be home all week, since I have no concerts or anything."
"Goody." Hoshi remarked and ended up with a long yawn. "Sorry." She excused herself. "But I'll call you. Hope you don't think more about that whole Tenoh Haruka thing." She added and Michiru could see clearly a smile over Hoshi's lips.
Michiru nodded while looking at her bare feet on the floor. "I guess I don't have to think about her any more." She replied and looked at the clock. "I'll be hearing from you."
"You bet. Have a nice day. Now I'm off to take a shower only to end up getting my equipment from the club." Hoshi sighed, which sounded more or less like frown. "Have a nice day then."
"Same. Bye." Michiru replied and hung up the phone. She looked at the closed phone for a while, only to flop onto her back on the bed. "It wasn't my fault Haruka left me." She whispered into the air before she closed her eyes with a gentle smile over her lips.
Michiru spent her whole day in her gallery, where she hadn't been since Haruka had walked out the door. She had time on her hands now, which she dedicated to her paintings that hadn't felt the touch of a brush forever. Michiru finished two paintings and started on a new one, which she knew was to be called 'Changes come in many forms'. The sun had set as Michiru put away the brush and walked out of the gallery. The evening would be spent in the bathtub before bed. She hanged the phone of the hook in the hallway before she stepped into the bathroom, where she threw her paint spotted clothes into the laundry basket before she filled the tub with warm water.
She didn't think about anything as she took her long bath, anything else but herself and what she wanted to happen in her future. She leaned her head back against the edge of the tub while looking at the ceiling, which had formed water pebbles from the steam of warm water. She just smiled for herself and soon closed her eyes, letting a gentle sigh leave her lips as she slowly sank down into the tub, having water under her chin.
As the two hour long bath was over, and the tub was empty, Michiru walked down the stairs to the first floor with a towel around herself, where she stopped in the hallway, remembering that she hadn't opened yesterday's mail, which she had left on the kitchen counter. She sat down on the stool in the kitchen while looking trough the bills and letters.
Bills. Advertisements. Bills. A letter from an official Kaioh Michiru fan club, with an invitation to the yearly meeting, which was held in May. More bills. More advertisements. The only thing that captured her eye was a letter from the Tokyo Violin Orchestra. She read the letter with a gentle smile over her lips. "A concert?" She suddenly blinked, seeing the word in the letter. She soon bit her lip and looked at the lock on the wall for some reason. I have to start practice. She thought and slowly folder the letter in half. I could ask if Hoshi-san wants to go. She thought now and patted herself on the head with the letter, before she hung it up on the fridge with a magnet. She then turned of the lights on the whole first floor, before she walked up the stairs and into the music room, where she had most of her books all neatly in the shelves. She walked inside and looked at the unopened violin case that was resting on the closed piano. I'll see you tomorrow, my dear friend. She thought as she opened the violin case, looking at the violin inside with a gentle smile over her lips.
She closed the case once more before she walked out of the room and put the phone back onto it's hook before she walked into the bedroom, where she hanged the towel onto he back of the chair by the mirror wall. As she sat down on the bed she put on the alarm clock. "Nine should be a good time for me to get up." She whispered as she pressed the alarm on, before lying down under the covers. She turned away from the alarm clock with a sigh as she rested her eyes on the curtains that where playing in the gentle breeze. She smiled for herself before she closed her eyes slowly. "Good night Michiru." She whispered before she took a pillow from the other side of the bed, and putting her arms around it. Hugging it tightly as she slowly fell asleep.
Michiru slowly got up from the bed, holding the blanket around her body, like if she was afraid of something that wasn't there. After a while of staring at the empty side of the bed she suddenly shivered, remembering the gaze of Haruka's face as she had noticed her in the club. Michiru soon swallowed and closed her eyes, while pulling her legs against her chest, while leaning her chin onto her knees. She just sat there, listening to the clock in the hallway, that she had gotten tired of listening several times before. She soon closed her eyes with a deep sigh as the expression on Haruka's face slowly appeared inside of her head. Was she scared? She thought suddenly and opened her eyes a little, looking at the blanket on her knees. "Choked." She whispered and slowly lied down onto the bed once more, looking right at the ceiling.
'You really think we can go on like this?' Haruka's voice echoed inside of her head.
Michiru sighed deeply and closed her eyes, letting the memories and thoughts of the day return to her as the wind plaid with the hair around her head.
"Haruka, you really want me to answer that question?" I had shouted at the blonde who had come home late, yet another night from work. I had had the feeling of something wasn't right for some time. She had always worked late the last two weeks and hadn't bothered in calling me.
The blank face over her face didn't tell much, but the angered shine in her eyes did. "You really think we can go on like this?" She said after a while as she slowly tilted her head down. I hadn't seen her angry many times, but I could see that she was angry. or was she ashamed. "It feels like we aren't close, like we where before." She said after a while and slowly she lifted her head up high, while gazing over me.
I remember that I was sitting in the living room sofa. I had been waiting for her all-night and fallen asleep with a book.
"What do you mean by that?" I had asked, as I got up from the sofa. I felt a shiver down my spin as I saw it. The lipstick that surely wasn't mine on Haruka's neck and most of her left side of her face, which seemed to have been tried to whip of with a nervous hand. Was she holding something back? The question crossed my mind as I slowly put away the book. "Who have you been seeing, Haruka?" I asked calmly as I slowly looked up at the blonde.
Haruka's eyes flamed up with anger and I could see that she was nervous, as she started rubbing her neck. "I haven't seen anyone!" She protested after a while and soon took a quick gaze into the hallway mirror. Like if I hadn't noticed. "I was working late!"
"Who's the lipstick Haruka?" I asked as I took a step closer towards her. The feelings that we once had shared everyday had been like blown away since Haruka had turned twenty and had been out with the boys on the town. Or that was what she had told me.
"It. it." Haruka stuttered and soon swallowed hard. "Would you just leave me alone?" She soon screamed while giving me a gaze that I never had seen before. "We never have time for each other! You're always up in your gallery and you hardly let me come inside when you're working!" She soon noted and crossed her arms over her chest.
"That doesn't mean that I'm cheating on you, is it?" I shouted at her now, which hurt me more than it seemed to touch her. "Who are you seeing Haruka? Is it someone I know?"
Haruka looked at me for a while without saying a word. She sighed and shook her head as she passed by me, giving me a shove to the side as she walked up the stairs. I looked after her for sometime before I didn't see her anymore on the stairs. I felt heart broken and lost for the first time in my life, which I had shared with Haruka. She was seeing someone and I couldn't help it. Sure, I agreed that I had lots of paintings in the gallery that have to have all my attention, but that didn't mean that I didn't love Haruka less for it. Soon I heard a door close with a bang on the second floor. "Where's my sports bag?" Haruka shouted now.
My heart stopped as I heard the words echoing inside of my head. She was going to leave me, which was a fact that I couldn't deny now. She wasn't the type that liked to be set aside, I knew. She had found someone who never pushed her away and let something come before her. Was all this my fault? I thought now as I slowly sat down on the first stair while staring right at the floor. "It's in the closet." I whispered as I slowly put my hands over my face, trying to keep calm. She was leaving me for someone else, just because I wanted to paint and take my art before her from time to time?
After an hour or two of staring at the darkness of my hands, I heard a sigh at the top of the stairs. I looked up only to see Haruka standing there with two of her sports bags and a huge backpack that I have bought for her the first time she wanted to go camping. She was leaving me. "Haruka." I whispered as she walked down the staircase, without answering me. She was going to leave me, and she was going to leave me right now.
"I really didn't want this to happen." Haruka said as she opened the door, I could feel her gaze was elsewhere even if she was looking right at me. "But I guess all of this is my fault." She added and soon I saw a tear in the corner of her eye. "Hope you'll have a good life, with your paintings Michiru. But a life with me." She paused and sighed while looking out the door. "I guess. I wont be around, just like you haven't been for me." She continued after a short while of silence before she walked out of the house, leaving the door open like a gesture.
I felt my heart beat slowly hitting inside of my chest. I suddenly got up from the step and ran to the door, only to see Haruka get into her car, where another woman was sitting. I felt my heart being ripped apart as Haruka's car left the yard and soon, I just sank to the floor with tears running down my face. She had left me, but none of this was my real fault. Or was it?
Michiru slowly opened her tear-filled eyes as the whole memory show inside of her head was over. Suddenly she didn't feel like getting out of bed. She just wanted to lie there and slowly let the memory of Haruka leaving her for someone else kill her from the inside. She closed her eyes once more while pulling the blanket tightly around herself. She slowly turned her head away from the ceiling and looked at the alarm clock, which turned 15:01.
She soon sighed deeply and closed her eyes. I don't want to do anything, anymore. She thought and slowly opened her eyes a little, looking at the red number on the clock. Suddenly a yelling phone ripped the silence around her. "Hoshi." Michiru whispered out loud and suddenly her eyes widened. "I promised to cal her." She whispered now as she threw her hand over the phone on the nightstand, which she had to her ear with in a blink of an eye. "Kaioh Michiru." She answered.
"Sleep well, I hope?" A gentle laugh was heard on the other end, which ended up in a yawn.
Michiru suddenly felt her heart skip a beat, and she didn't force her tears back anymore. There was something about the voice that she couldn't stop but smile at. "I guess I did." She sobbed while whipping away a tear from her cheek. "But the wakening was horrible." She added and slowly lied down onto the bed.
"Anything you care to talk about?" Hoshi asked carefully, and Michiru could make out a slight nervous sigh.
"I." Michiru started only to pause, while whipping another tear from her cheek. "I started thinking about what happened between Haruka and me." She whispered and slowly closed her eyes, letting more tears stream down her face. She could feel her heart hurting now.
Hoshi was silent and Michiru could make out some movement. "I understand." Hoshi soon broke her silence and lit something that sounded like a lighter. "I know how it feels, but sometimes it's just good to think about what has happened." She added after a while. "I hope everything will feel better when you thought about it."
Michiru smiled softly now, seeing Hoshi smoking her cigarette before her eyes, she was probably sitting up in her own bed right now. "Yeah." She replied after a while and slowly turned onto her stomach while leaning her head onto the pillow. "What about you? Slept well?" She asked after a pair of sighs.
"Could have slept better." Hoshi laughed gently. "I just couldn't get sleep when I got home so I sat in the living room, drinking tea. didn't want to wake up the next morning with a hang over." She added after a short second of silence. "Say. Michiru-san." Hoshi said after yet another second of silence.
"Yes?" Michiru blinked as she pulled her hair back from her forehead, letting the strands of hair fall down again one by one.
"About. um. about that thing in the cab." Hoshi said slowly, and Michiru could hear that she was thoughtful. "Was it.?"
"It was a good night kiss." Michiru replied, probably thinking the same thing Hoshi was.
"Mmm." Hoshi sighed and soon sighed once more. "You know." She said after a while and Michiru saw before her eyes a gentle smile playing on Hoshi's lips. "It wasn't something I thought would happen on the first real date." She added to her thoughtful sentence.
Michiru smiled for herself while poking the pillow under her head. "I usually don't kiss on the first date, but I just couldn't say no."
Hoshi laughed gently as a reply. "What? You find me that strange so you just had to?" She asked after a short while ending up with a laugh.
Michiru just smiled. "I wanted to change." She noted and slowly got up from the bed, with the blanket around herself.
"I guess you could use that as an excuse." Hoshi agreed shortly. "But I wouldn't mind seeing you again."
Michiru looked at herself in the mirror wall, thinking that she looked like someone else, with her hair in a mess all around her head. "I wouldn't mind either." She replied and ended up looking at the floor. "Why don't you come over during the week?" She asked suddenly. "I could make dinner and we could see a movie."
"Only if I get to choose the move!" Laughed Hoshi. "And remember, I'll eat anything." She added and Michiru could hear Hoshi getting up from wherever she was lying. "I'll call you when I get the urge to just drive over. If that's okay?"
"Sounds fine to me." Michiru nodded for herself and soon sat down on the bed. "I'll be home all week, since I have no concerts or anything."
"Goody." Hoshi remarked and ended up with a long yawn. "Sorry." She excused herself. "But I'll call you. Hope you don't think more about that whole Tenoh Haruka thing." She added and Michiru could see clearly a smile over Hoshi's lips.
Michiru nodded while looking at her bare feet on the floor. "I guess I don't have to think about her any more." She replied and looked at the clock. "I'll be hearing from you."
"You bet. Have a nice day. Now I'm off to take a shower only to end up getting my equipment from the club." Hoshi sighed, which sounded more or less like frown. "Have a nice day then."
"Same. Bye." Michiru replied and hung up the phone. She looked at the closed phone for a while, only to flop onto her back on the bed. "It wasn't my fault Haruka left me." She whispered into the air before she closed her eyes with a gentle smile over her lips.
Michiru spent her whole day in her gallery, where she hadn't been since Haruka had walked out the door. She had time on her hands now, which she dedicated to her paintings that hadn't felt the touch of a brush forever. Michiru finished two paintings and started on a new one, which she knew was to be called 'Changes come in many forms'. The sun had set as Michiru put away the brush and walked out of the gallery. The evening would be spent in the bathtub before bed. She hanged the phone of the hook in the hallway before she stepped into the bathroom, where she threw her paint spotted clothes into the laundry basket before she filled the tub with warm water.
She didn't think about anything as she took her long bath, anything else but herself and what she wanted to happen in her future. She leaned her head back against the edge of the tub while looking at the ceiling, which had formed water pebbles from the steam of warm water. She just smiled for herself and soon closed her eyes, letting a gentle sigh leave her lips as she slowly sank down into the tub, having water under her chin.
As the two hour long bath was over, and the tub was empty, Michiru walked down the stairs to the first floor with a towel around herself, where she stopped in the hallway, remembering that she hadn't opened yesterday's mail, which she had left on the kitchen counter. She sat down on the stool in the kitchen while looking trough the bills and letters.
Bills. Advertisements. Bills. A letter from an official Kaioh Michiru fan club, with an invitation to the yearly meeting, which was held in May. More bills. More advertisements. The only thing that captured her eye was a letter from the Tokyo Violin Orchestra. She read the letter with a gentle smile over her lips. "A concert?" She suddenly blinked, seeing the word in the letter. She soon bit her lip and looked at the lock on the wall for some reason. I have to start practice. She thought and slowly folder the letter in half. I could ask if Hoshi-san wants to go. She thought now and patted herself on the head with the letter, before she hung it up on the fridge with a magnet. She then turned of the lights on the whole first floor, before she walked up the stairs and into the music room, where she had most of her books all neatly in the shelves. She walked inside and looked at the unopened violin case that was resting on the closed piano. I'll see you tomorrow, my dear friend. She thought as she opened the violin case, looking at the violin inside with a gentle smile over her lips.
She closed the case once more before she walked out of the room and put the phone back onto it's hook before she walked into the bedroom, where she hanged the towel onto he back of the chair by the mirror wall. As she sat down on the bed she put on the alarm clock. "Nine should be a good time for me to get up." She whispered as she pressed the alarm on, before lying down under the covers. She turned away from the alarm clock with a sigh as she rested her eyes on the curtains that where playing in the gentle breeze. She smiled for herself before she closed her eyes slowly. "Good night Michiru." She whispered before she took a pillow from the other side of the bed, and putting her arms around it. Hugging it tightly as she slowly fell asleep.