I sat down on a park bench, but then quickly got up. What if someone
I knew saw me? What if they asked questions?
I can't answer questions. Not now. It's too soon.
I walked around the streets for a while. I didn't really want to go anywhere, but I didn't want to stay anywhere either.
I can't go home.
Can't go to Takeru's.
Can't see Tai.
Miyako would ask too many things.
I decided to take a bus to go and see Taichi. Or at least see if he was there.
I don't like buses. Sure, it's free air conditioning, but there are so many strange people on the bus. One time, there was this drunken lady yelling at this old guy that she didn't know. It was psychotic. Good thing this bus wasn't full of crazed passengers.
I transferred onto another bus, and got off at the closest stop to where Taichi might be staying. It looked like an old, run-down kind of place, but from the inside you would think high class.
I walked up the stairs and got to the apartment room that Tai might be staying at and knocked on the door. A couple of seconds went by, and then this young guy opened the door. He looked about 21, 22. Around there. He had black hair that ran down his face, eye-length. I could feel my face get hot, but I didn't know why.
"Can I help you?" he asked me. His voice confirmed the age I thought he might be.
"Um, I'm looking for a Yagami Taichi?" I said nervously. C'mon. I have a right to be nervous. I don't know if my brother will want to see me, let alone cares. God, I'd die if Tai doesn't want to see me.
"Hold on." the Black Hair Boy said. He closed the door, and I heard him talking to someone, then he opened it back up.
"What's your name?" he asked me.
"Hikari. Yagami Hikari." I stuttered. He stared at me for a second, then closed the door again and started talking to someone. He opened up the door all the way this time, and motioned for me to come in. I looked around for Tai, and he was sitting on a chair in the corner.
"Hi Kari." he said quietly. He had his head facing me but his eyes were looking down, like he was ashamed. I stood there for a second, not sure what to say. What DO you say to your brother who just got kicked out of your house for smoking pot? Should I yell at him for smoking? Curse my dad for kicking him out? Hug him and tell him everything is going to be ok? I wasn't sure, so I said one word in response.
"Hi." I said. He lifted his eyes to me, and I broke into tears.
"I missed you Tai." I cried softly.
"I missed you too, Kar." he whispered. He stood up from the couch and came over to me and wrapped his arms around me like I was a long lost teddy bear to a three year old. I hugged him back, and sobbed quietly into his chest. Something that I was wishing for all along.
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"How'd you find me?" Tai asked me from the opposite side of his bed. I was lying with my head at the pillows, Tai had his feet at the pillows.
When we were younger we used to always talk to each other this way. Kind of brings back memories.
"You left the address and phone number in your jacket pocket." I said.
"Oh yeah." Tai said quietly.
Silence.
"So, um, how's home going?" Tai asked me nervously. I didn't feel good about talking about our parents to Taichi. They kicked him out. They don't love him. You're supposed to love your son. You don't kick him out.
"Mom's drunk and dad's on mission impossible. Literally." I scoffed.
"Sounds like I didn't miss anything." Tai chuckled.
"Nah." I said.
More silence.
I felt weird about asking Tai some things I wanted to know about, but I was going to explode if I didn't. But I couldn't. But I had to.
What if Tai pushes me away? I can't handle that. I can't. But I have to ask.
"Tai..." I started with a whisper as I sat up so I could look at him, "why didn't you call me?"
Tai looked away.
"I'm sorry." he whispered. "I couldn't. If mom or dad had answered, I might have lost it."
"You could've called someone else. Koushiro, Yamato. Left me a message." I said.
"I know."
"So why didn't you?" I asked quietly.
"I was afraid of what you would say to me." he whispered. He took in a deep breath and said, "I was afraid you wouldn't want to talk to me."
"Oh Taichi." I sighed. I crawled over to his side of the bed and hugged him. I couldn't let go. I was afraid he'd leave.
"I could never get mad at you for that." I whispered.
Because of how close I was to his chest, I could feel him crying. I immediately became fearful. I had never seen Tai cry before. Maybe over a physical injury, or because someone or some digimon was about to die, but never over something like this. Never over fear of me being mad at him.
"I'm so sorry Kari. I'm so sorry." Taichi sobbed. I felt his hot tears fall onto my cheeks, and I let my own freely run down my face as I held my only brother close to me.
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"I can't go home, Tai." I sighed.
"Why not?" he asked me.
"Because I can't. I can't look at mom. I can't look at...Dad." I said repulsingly.
"You have to Kari. Where else are you going to stay?" Tai asked me.
"I don't know! I'll live alone, or with you! I just can't go back." I said softly.
"What about Takeru?" Taichi asked. I lifted my head up and looked at Tai in the eyes and shook my head.
"I cannot see that boy again. Ever. Don't ever say his name." I muttered.
"What happened, Kari?" Tai asked me fretfully.
"I don't want to talk about it." I muttered.
"It'll make you feel better if you did." Tai noted. I continued to look away from him. Tai got up from the chair and sat down next to me on the couch and squeezed my shoulders supportingly.
"C'mon Kari, you can tell me."
"Ok. Don't tell anybody though. I don't want anyone's sympathy." I said. Tai nodded.
"Ok." I sighed. "Me and Takeru were dating for two and half, almost three weeks. Privately. We didn't want anybody else to know about it." I stopped to make sure Tai was following. Tai nodded.
"A couple of days ago I was planning on spending the night at his place to avoid mom and dad, and he tried to get me to sleep with him."
"Oh Kari..." Tai sighed.
"It's ok, I told him to stop and he did. But he got mad at me because I told him to, and I left. I spent the night at Miyako's. The next day I found the address in your jacket, and I went over to see Yamato, you know, maybe he could give me a ride here, and I caught Takeru cheating on me." I said softly.
Taichi continued to look at me with sad eyes while I kept my view on the wall. I couldn't bear to see his soft, caring eyes filled with sadness. He wrapped his arms around me and held me close to him. I rested my head on his shoulder, and fought with all my might to keep my tears within my eyes. I didn't want to let them go.
"Do you want to stay here?" Taichi asked me quietly.
"I'd like that, but we both know I can't. We don't have the money for it."
"You can get a job, Hika." Tai said.
"A summer job won't last. School's almost here, and if I get a job now, it will only last a few weeks." I sighed.
"That's true." Tai sighed. Silence went by as we tried to think of ways for me to get a job.
I would love to have a job and live with Taichi. That'd be miraculous. But Taichi's job...Tai doesn't have a job.
"Tai, how are you paying to live here?" I asked.
"Um..." Taichi started nervously. He looked away, and I could tell exactly what job he had. Bastard.
"Oh c'mon Tai!" I yelled. "Can't you be responsible for once?!" I stood up from the couch and walked towards the door.
"C'mon Kari, you can still stay here! It's not like my job is going to affect you or anything." Taichi sighed.
"Tai, I can't live with a drug dealer, ok! I can't." I sighed. I put my jacket on and slipped my sneakers on while Taichi continued to get me to stay.
"Kari, it's only for a little while until I can get a real job!" Tai said happily. I don't understand. What is there to be happy about?
"I'm sorry Tai." I whispered. "But I can't."
And I left. I went downstairs and walked over to the bus stop that I had got off of, but I didn't really feel like being so close to Tai. I walked down the street a bit more and waited at a different bus stop. The bus came by about five minutes later and took me downtown where I got a on a transfer bus and went home.
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It was now or never. I never imagined things would result to this. I always thought my life would be perfect. Perfect parents, perfect friends, perfect brother. Ha. See how that turned out.
I got home and, as I figured, dad's not home and mom is knocked out on the couch. I checked the phone. Takeru called four times. I slammed the phone down on the charger and went into my room and pulled out a bag from the closet. I scanned the room, and figured I shouldn't really bring much with me. I grabbed two shirts, two pairs of pants, two pairs of shorts, two pairs of underwear, two bras, my journal, one book, an extra pair of shoes, and a brush. I grabbed my D-3 and stuck in the bag, then searched my whole room for any cash I left lying around.
I peeked my head into the living room to make sure mom was still asleep, then I crept into her bedroom. I opened drawers, searched pockets, checked purses for any money she might have.
I don't like stealing. Especially from my parents. But this was different. I couldn't get very far on $36.27. So I looked everywhere I could for any extra money. I found a lot within the walls of my parents' bedroom, and I hid it in my journal.
I walked out of mom's room and went back into my room and grabbed my bag. It was hard. I was leaving. I never thought I would just walk out the door and not come back.
I woke Gatomon up lightly and told her that we were leaving.
"Where are we going?" she yawned.
"I'm not sure. Just not here." I whispered.
"What do you mean? Are we...Are we running away?" she asked me softly. I nodded.
"Why? What happened?" Gatomon asked me.
"Too much, Gatomon. Now gather up anything you want to hold on to." I said. She nodded, and I picked up my bag and went into the living room and stood there, looking at my mother. She was so calm, so quiet. I was going to miss her so much. But I couldn't stay. I couldn't.
"Kari? I'm ready." Gatomon said behind me. I looked at my mother one last time, and turned around to the door. I grabbed my cell phone and stuck it in my pocket, wrote a little note to everybody and stuck it on the fridge, then left.
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"Kari, where exactly are we going?" Gatomon asked me. I was free to talk to her in public. There was no one else in this cart on the subway.
"I was thinking of going to Okayama. I hear it's a nice place." I said softly. I couldn't look at her. She was just as sad as I was about leaving.
"How are we going to live?" she asked me.
"Well...I'm 18, I have money, so we can get an apartment. I'll get a job, and we'll live on our own. Make friends. I promise, we'll have fun."
"Kari, we don't know if there are any people that have digimon in this place. I may not be able to make friends." Gatomon said sadly.
"I'll ask Gennai if he knows anybody around here. Ok?" I said. Gatomon nodded and went back to sleep. I looked out the window, and didn't really see anything distinguishing. Just a lot of wall. Bricks. Red bricks. Some with paint sprayed upon them. Made me think about the Matrix Revolutions when Neo had to see the Train man.
I took out my cd player from my purse. One of the only things I put in my purse that I couldn't fit in my bag, and popped in Dido's 'Life For Rent' cd. As 'White Flag' started to play, I couldn't help but think about Takeru.
What he was doing, how he felt. If they found the note yet. If he worried about me. If he felt bad about cheating on me. My emotional tragedy mixed with the song made my heart crumble. I couldn't handle all of this. Not now, not ever. It's just too much.
There will be no white flag above my door. I'm in love, and always will be.
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I stepped off the subway and went upstairs and looked around. Gatomon was in my bag.
Honestly, Okayama looked like Odaiba that went through a tornado and everything landed up in a different place. It really was the same place. I walked around and sat down on a bench while I waited for a bus to take me downtown so I could get a map and a newspaper.
I opened up the bag more so Gatomon could cool off, and smiled. She was asleep.
I felt awful about having to take her away from all she knew. Of my world. But I couldn't separate from her. I looked down at her again, and saw her smiling through her dreams. I wondered what she was dreaming about. Patomon? Fish? Taquitos? I didn't really know. She was this amazing small creature that seemed to be able to relate to me greatly.
I lifted my head from the bag and stared at the sky. Man, how am I going to do this? I need a car. A license. A job. A place to stay. How am I going to be able to do all of this? Now?
I ran my hands across my face and relaxed my back against the bench as I groaned in frustration. I sighed and opened my eyes.
I wonder if Taichi found the note. Or mom. Or dad. If they did, maybe they were mad at me. They would've called. Wouldn't they? I mean, did they really hate me that wanted me to call to grow paranoid and I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket. It wasn't on.
If they did find the note, they couldn't have called me any way.
I turned it on and found I had three messages. One from Miyako to see if I was ok, one from Takeru who pleaded for me to call him back, and one from Taichi. He asked me to come home. The way he said it, it sounded like he was crying.
He probably found the note before my drunk mother did.
I deleted all of the messages and put my phone back in my pocket.
How could I talk to any of them? Questions, arguments, confessions. That's all that I would hear. I didn't want to hear anything from them. Even though I wanted to.
I picked my head up from the ground and saw the bus coming. I zipped my bag up, a tad open so Gatomon could breathe easily, pulled out some change from my pocket, and got onto the bus and let it take me to where no one would ask who I was. What I was. Why I was. To them and this city, I just was.
And that's all I could bare to be.
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"This one looks good." I told Gatomon as I pointed to one of many circled advertisements in the newspaper.
"It's middle-class, two bedroom, one bath, a small kitchen, and a small living room. What do you think? $350 a month. I could probably manage that."
"It sounds fine, Kari. Can I go watch TV now?" Gatomon sighed impatiently as she walked back and forth on the bed of the hotel.
"Fine. I'm going out though for a job, ok? And I'm going to take a look at this place." I said. Gatomon squealed happily and jumped off the bed and walked over to the television set and turned it on. I would've said bye to her, but she was already glued.
I had studied and memorized the bus routes and locations of this new town and started to get a hang of it the more I went out. I went down the street and waited for the number 5 bus to come and get me. It took me downtown to where I got a fresh paper and check the wanted ads.
Nothing, nothing, nothing. I thought as I saw them all. Nothing I was qualified for or old enough for.
Chef wanted. Must be experienced.
Babysitting needed. Must have references.
Accountant wanted. Must have references and be older than 25.
Nothing I could take. I groaned, and flipped the paper over and noticed one ad in particular. It was a strange ad, one I hadn't seen before. Something you don't expect to find in a newspaper, let alone be qualified for. But this one I was. Unexpectingly.
Translator needed for Recita Inc. Must be able to speak Chinese fluently, Portuguese fluently, Russian fluently, Arabic fluently, French fluently, and Spanish fluently. Call 747-5521 ext. #55 for more information.
Who would've thought all those years of my mother teaching me Spanish and Russian, Ken only speaking to me in Portuguese, and learning Chinese, French, and Arabic in school and online would come in handy one of these days?
I honestly thought all those languages would hound me. Who on earth am I going to speak to in Arabic? Yeah, my mom said that it would help me in the future. Like I believed her. But now I'm glad I did. And what kind of corporation would need a translator for all those languages? My god.
I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and dialed the number in the paper.
"Recita Incorporated, how may I help you?" a voice said over the phone.
"I'd like to speak to someone about the ad in the paper? The one on translators?"
"Yes, we're looking for someone who can translate to some of our staff during meetings and so on, are you capable of fluently speaking and translating all five of the spoken of languages in the ad?"
"Yes, yes I am." I replied nervously. It had been some time since I last spoke all but Chinese of the five languages, but I'm sure I could regain them easily with a trip to the library.
"Our schedules require inconsistent working hours. Are you capable of working in such a manner?"
"Yes."
"Ok...I can set up an appointment tomorrow around 3:45 at the central building off of Clark Road. Do you know where that is?"
"Yes." I lied. But hey, I've got a map, what more do I need?
"Ok! We'll see you tomorrow. Thank you."
Boy, what an odd job. I wonder if it'll work out.
I got on the next bus back home, or the hotel, and burst into the room quickly and shouted happily
"Gatomon, I think I got a job!"
"Cool." She said, zombified from the television. I sighed. She's always been glued to the television.
I picked up the hotel phone and dialed the number of the apartment that I read about in the paper.
"Yes? Is your apartment still up for rent?"
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"Gatomon, I got a hold of Gennai, and he said that there are some kids around here that have digimon. Ok? Now you have friends. I called them and they're going to be here within a couple of hours." I said to Gatomon as I walked into our new apartment.
It didn't have much furniture, and the walls were a plain white, but a few more weeks of the job and I'll be able to afford all that and some!
"That's awesome! I'm going to go lay down for a while before they get here, ok?" Gatomon said within a yawn. I chuckled and nodded, and she went off to the bedroom. She seems to like this new place. Sure, we both miss our families, but she knows as well as I do that we can't go back home. We can't. I couldn't bear to face anybody. It's been almost a month since I left, and no one has come looking for me or bothered to call, so I don't see why I should go back home. There's nothing for me to go back home to. A drunken mother, a ravage father, a drug-dealing brother, and a cheating boyfriend don't exactly scream 'come home'.
And I hadn't had that dream ever since I got here. That's got to be a good thing, right?
There was a knock on the door a couple of minutes later, and I glanced at the clock. They were early. I got up and went to the door, and low and behold.
"Hikari." Yamato whispered. The last person I figured to come and see me.
"Matt..." I said softly. He looked sad, heart-broken. Did I do this to him? He let out a soft sigh and brought me into a sheltered hug. For some reason, and no reason at all, after a month, I felt at home.
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Um, something went haywire with my MW, so sometimes it's indented, sometimes it's not.
I can't answer questions. Not now. It's too soon.
I walked around the streets for a while. I didn't really want to go anywhere, but I didn't want to stay anywhere either.
I can't go home.
Can't go to Takeru's.
Can't see Tai.
Miyako would ask too many things.
I decided to take a bus to go and see Taichi. Or at least see if he was there.
I don't like buses. Sure, it's free air conditioning, but there are so many strange people on the bus. One time, there was this drunken lady yelling at this old guy that she didn't know. It was psychotic. Good thing this bus wasn't full of crazed passengers.
I transferred onto another bus, and got off at the closest stop to where Taichi might be staying. It looked like an old, run-down kind of place, but from the inside you would think high class.
I walked up the stairs and got to the apartment room that Tai might be staying at and knocked on the door. A couple of seconds went by, and then this young guy opened the door. He looked about 21, 22. Around there. He had black hair that ran down his face, eye-length. I could feel my face get hot, but I didn't know why.
"Can I help you?" he asked me. His voice confirmed the age I thought he might be.
"Um, I'm looking for a Yagami Taichi?" I said nervously. C'mon. I have a right to be nervous. I don't know if my brother will want to see me, let alone cares. God, I'd die if Tai doesn't want to see me.
"Hold on." the Black Hair Boy said. He closed the door, and I heard him talking to someone, then he opened it back up.
"What's your name?" he asked me.
"Hikari. Yagami Hikari." I stuttered. He stared at me for a second, then closed the door again and started talking to someone. He opened up the door all the way this time, and motioned for me to come in. I looked around for Tai, and he was sitting on a chair in the corner.
"Hi Kari." he said quietly. He had his head facing me but his eyes were looking down, like he was ashamed. I stood there for a second, not sure what to say. What DO you say to your brother who just got kicked out of your house for smoking pot? Should I yell at him for smoking? Curse my dad for kicking him out? Hug him and tell him everything is going to be ok? I wasn't sure, so I said one word in response.
"Hi." I said. He lifted his eyes to me, and I broke into tears.
"I missed you Tai." I cried softly.
"I missed you too, Kar." he whispered. He stood up from the couch and came over to me and wrapped his arms around me like I was a long lost teddy bear to a three year old. I hugged him back, and sobbed quietly into his chest. Something that I was wishing for all along.
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"How'd you find me?" Tai asked me from the opposite side of his bed. I was lying with my head at the pillows, Tai had his feet at the pillows.
When we were younger we used to always talk to each other this way. Kind of brings back memories.
"You left the address and phone number in your jacket pocket." I said.
"Oh yeah." Tai said quietly.
Silence.
"So, um, how's home going?" Tai asked me nervously. I didn't feel good about talking about our parents to Taichi. They kicked him out. They don't love him. You're supposed to love your son. You don't kick him out.
"Mom's drunk and dad's on mission impossible. Literally." I scoffed.
"Sounds like I didn't miss anything." Tai chuckled.
"Nah." I said.
More silence.
I felt weird about asking Tai some things I wanted to know about, but I was going to explode if I didn't. But I couldn't. But I had to.
What if Tai pushes me away? I can't handle that. I can't. But I have to ask.
"Tai..." I started with a whisper as I sat up so I could look at him, "why didn't you call me?"
Tai looked away.
"I'm sorry." he whispered. "I couldn't. If mom or dad had answered, I might have lost it."
"You could've called someone else. Koushiro, Yamato. Left me a message." I said.
"I know."
"So why didn't you?" I asked quietly.
"I was afraid of what you would say to me." he whispered. He took in a deep breath and said, "I was afraid you wouldn't want to talk to me."
"Oh Taichi." I sighed. I crawled over to his side of the bed and hugged him. I couldn't let go. I was afraid he'd leave.
"I could never get mad at you for that." I whispered.
Because of how close I was to his chest, I could feel him crying. I immediately became fearful. I had never seen Tai cry before. Maybe over a physical injury, or because someone or some digimon was about to die, but never over something like this. Never over fear of me being mad at him.
"I'm so sorry Kari. I'm so sorry." Taichi sobbed. I felt his hot tears fall onto my cheeks, and I let my own freely run down my face as I held my only brother close to me.
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"I can't go home, Tai." I sighed.
"Why not?" he asked me.
"Because I can't. I can't look at mom. I can't look at...Dad." I said repulsingly.
"You have to Kari. Where else are you going to stay?" Tai asked me.
"I don't know! I'll live alone, or with you! I just can't go back." I said softly.
"What about Takeru?" Taichi asked. I lifted my head up and looked at Tai in the eyes and shook my head.
"I cannot see that boy again. Ever. Don't ever say his name." I muttered.
"What happened, Kari?" Tai asked me fretfully.
"I don't want to talk about it." I muttered.
"It'll make you feel better if you did." Tai noted. I continued to look away from him. Tai got up from the chair and sat down next to me on the couch and squeezed my shoulders supportingly.
"C'mon Kari, you can tell me."
"Ok. Don't tell anybody though. I don't want anyone's sympathy." I said. Tai nodded.
"Ok." I sighed. "Me and Takeru were dating for two and half, almost three weeks. Privately. We didn't want anybody else to know about it." I stopped to make sure Tai was following. Tai nodded.
"A couple of days ago I was planning on spending the night at his place to avoid mom and dad, and he tried to get me to sleep with him."
"Oh Kari..." Tai sighed.
"It's ok, I told him to stop and he did. But he got mad at me because I told him to, and I left. I spent the night at Miyako's. The next day I found the address in your jacket, and I went over to see Yamato, you know, maybe he could give me a ride here, and I caught Takeru cheating on me." I said softly.
Taichi continued to look at me with sad eyes while I kept my view on the wall. I couldn't bear to see his soft, caring eyes filled with sadness. He wrapped his arms around me and held me close to him. I rested my head on his shoulder, and fought with all my might to keep my tears within my eyes. I didn't want to let them go.
"Do you want to stay here?" Taichi asked me quietly.
"I'd like that, but we both know I can't. We don't have the money for it."
"You can get a job, Hika." Tai said.
"A summer job won't last. School's almost here, and if I get a job now, it will only last a few weeks." I sighed.
"That's true." Tai sighed. Silence went by as we tried to think of ways for me to get a job.
I would love to have a job and live with Taichi. That'd be miraculous. But Taichi's job...Tai doesn't have a job.
"Tai, how are you paying to live here?" I asked.
"Um..." Taichi started nervously. He looked away, and I could tell exactly what job he had. Bastard.
"Oh c'mon Tai!" I yelled. "Can't you be responsible for once?!" I stood up from the couch and walked towards the door.
"C'mon Kari, you can still stay here! It's not like my job is going to affect you or anything." Taichi sighed.
"Tai, I can't live with a drug dealer, ok! I can't." I sighed. I put my jacket on and slipped my sneakers on while Taichi continued to get me to stay.
"Kari, it's only for a little while until I can get a real job!" Tai said happily. I don't understand. What is there to be happy about?
"I'm sorry Tai." I whispered. "But I can't."
And I left. I went downstairs and walked over to the bus stop that I had got off of, but I didn't really feel like being so close to Tai. I walked down the street a bit more and waited at a different bus stop. The bus came by about five minutes later and took me downtown where I got a on a transfer bus and went home.
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It was now or never. I never imagined things would result to this. I always thought my life would be perfect. Perfect parents, perfect friends, perfect brother. Ha. See how that turned out.
I got home and, as I figured, dad's not home and mom is knocked out on the couch. I checked the phone. Takeru called four times. I slammed the phone down on the charger and went into my room and pulled out a bag from the closet. I scanned the room, and figured I shouldn't really bring much with me. I grabbed two shirts, two pairs of pants, two pairs of shorts, two pairs of underwear, two bras, my journal, one book, an extra pair of shoes, and a brush. I grabbed my D-3 and stuck in the bag, then searched my whole room for any cash I left lying around.
I peeked my head into the living room to make sure mom was still asleep, then I crept into her bedroom. I opened drawers, searched pockets, checked purses for any money she might have.
I don't like stealing. Especially from my parents. But this was different. I couldn't get very far on $36.27. So I looked everywhere I could for any extra money. I found a lot within the walls of my parents' bedroom, and I hid it in my journal.
I walked out of mom's room and went back into my room and grabbed my bag. It was hard. I was leaving. I never thought I would just walk out the door and not come back.
I woke Gatomon up lightly and told her that we were leaving.
"Where are we going?" she yawned.
"I'm not sure. Just not here." I whispered.
"What do you mean? Are we...Are we running away?" she asked me softly. I nodded.
"Why? What happened?" Gatomon asked me.
"Too much, Gatomon. Now gather up anything you want to hold on to." I said. She nodded, and I picked up my bag and went into the living room and stood there, looking at my mother. She was so calm, so quiet. I was going to miss her so much. But I couldn't stay. I couldn't.
"Kari? I'm ready." Gatomon said behind me. I looked at my mother one last time, and turned around to the door. I grabbed my cell phone and stuck it in my pocket, wrote a little note to everybody and stuck it on the fridge, then left.
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"Kari, where exactly are we going?" Gatomon asked me. I was free to talk to her in public. There was no one else in this cart on the subway.
"I was thinking of going to Okayama. I hear it's a nice place." I said softly. I couldn't look at her. She was just as sad as I was about leaving.
"How are we going to live?" she asked me.
"Well...I'm 18, I have money, so we can get an apartment. I'll get a job, and we'll live on our own. Make friends. I promise, we'll have fun."
"Kari, we don't know if there are any people that have digimon in this place. I may not be able to make friends." Gatomon said sadly.
"I'll ask Gennai if he knows anybody around here. Ok?" I said. Gatomon nodded and went back to sleep. I looked out the window, and didn't really see anything distinguishing. Just a lot of wall. Bricks. Red bricks. Some with paint sprayed upon them. Made me think about the Matrix Revolutions when Neo had to see the Train man.
I took out my cd player from my purse. One of the only things I put in my purse that I couldn't fit in my bag, and popped in Dido's 'Life For Rent' cd. As 'White Flag' started to play, I couldn't help but think about Takeru.
What he was doing, how he felt. If they found the note yet. If he worried about me. If he felt bad about cheating on me. My emotional tragedy mixed with the song made my heart crumble. I couldn't handle all of this. Not now, not ever. It's just too much.
There will be no white flag above my door. I'm in love, and always will be.
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I stepped off the subway and went upstairs and looked around. Gatomon was in my bag.
Honestly, Okayama looked like Odaiba that went through a tornado and everything landed up in a different place. It really was the same place. I walked around and sat down on a bench while I waited for a bus to take me downtown so I could get a map and a newspaper.
I opened up the bag more so Gatomon could cool off, and smiled. She was asleep.
I felt awful about having to take her away from all she knew. Of my world. But I couldn't separate from her. I looked down at her again, and saw her smiling through her dreams. I wondered what she was dreaming about. Patomon? Fish? Taquitos? I didn't really know. She was this amazing small creature that seemed to be able to relate to me greatly.
I lifted my head from the bag and stared at the sky. Man, how am I going to do this? I need a car. A license. A job. A place to stay. How am I going to be able to do all of this? Now?
I ran my hands across my face and relaxed my back against the bench as I groaned in frustration. I sighed and opened my eyes.
I wonder if Taichi found the note. Or mom. Or dad. If they did, maybe they were mad at me. They would've called. Wouldn't they? I mean, did they really hate me that wanted me to call to grow paranoid and I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket. It wasn't on.
If they did find the note, they couldn't have called me any way.
I turned it on and found I had three messages. One from Miyako to see if I was ok, one from Takeru who pleaded for me to call him back, and one from Taichi. He asked me to come home. The way he said it, it sounded like he was crying.
He probably found the note before my drunk mother did.
I deleted all of the messages and put my phone back in my pocket.
How could I talk to any of them? Questions, arguments, confessions. That's all that I would hear. I didn't want to hear anything from them. Even though I wanted to.
I picked my head up from the ground and saw the bus coming. I zipped my bag up, a tad open so Gatomon could breathe easily, pulled out some change from my pocket, and got onto the bus and let it take me to where no one would ask who I was. What I was. Why I was. To them and this city, I just was.
And that's all I could bare to be.
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"This one looks good." I told Gatomon as I pointed to one of many circled advertisements in the newspaper.
"It's middle-class, two bedroom, one bath, a small kitchen, and a small living room. What do you think? $350 a month. I could probably manage that."
"It sounds fine, Kari. Can I go watch TV now?" Gatomon sighed impatiently as she walked back and forth on the bed of the hotel.
"Fine. I'm going out though for a job, ok? And I'm going to take a look at this place." I said. Gatomon squealed happily and jumped off the bed and walked over to the television set and turned it on. I would've said bye to her, but she was already glued.
I had studied and memorized the bus routes and locations of this new town and started to get a hang of it the more I went out. I went down the street and waited for the number 5 bus to come and get me. It took me downtown to where I got a fresh paper and check the wanted ads.
Nothing, nothing, nothing. I thought as I saw them all. Nothing I was qualified for or old enough for.
Chef wanted. Must be experienced.
Babysitting needed. Must have references.
Accountant wanted. Must have references and be older than 25.
Nothing I could take. I groaned, and flipped the paper over and noticed one ad in particular. It was a strange ad, one I hadn't seen before. Something you don't expect to find in a newspaper, let alone be qualified for. But this one I was. Unexpectingly.
Translator needed for Recita Inc. Must be able to speak Chinese fluently, Portuguese fluently, Russian fluently, Arabic fluently, French fluently, and Spanish fluently. Call 747-5521 ext. #55 for more information.
Who would've thought all those years of my mother teaching me Spanish and Russian, Ken only speaking to me in Portuguese, and learning Chinese, French, and Arabic in school and online would come in handy one of these days?
I honestly thought all those languages would hound me. Who on earth am I going to speak to in Arabic? Yeah, my mom said that it would help me in the future. Like I believed her. But now I'm glad I did. And what kind of corporation would need a translator for all those languages? My god.
I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and dialed the number in the paper.
"Recita Incorporated, how may I help you?" a voice said over the phone.
"I'd like to speak to someone about the ad in the paper? The one on translators?"
"Yes, we're looking for someone who can translate to some of our staff during meetings and so on, are you capable of fluently speaking and translating all five of the spoken of languages in the ad?"
"Yes, yes I am." I replied nervously. It had been some time since I last spoke all but Chinese of the five languages, but I'm sure I could regain them easily with a trip to the library.
"Our schedules require inconsistent working hours. Are you capable of working in such a manner?"
"Yes."
"Ok...I can set up an appointment tomorrow around 3:45 at the central building off of Clark Road. Do you know where that is?"
"Yes." I lied. But hey, I've got a map, what more do I need?
"Ok! We'll see you tomorrow. Thank you."
Boy, what an odd job. I wonder if it'll work out.
I got on the next bus back home, or the hotel, and burst into the room quickly and shouted happily
"Gatomon, I think I got a job!"
"Cool." She said, zombified from the television. I sighed. She's always been glued to the television.
I picked up the hotel phone and dialed the number of the apartment that I read about in the paper.
"Yes? Is your apartment still up for rent?"
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"Gatomon, I got a hold of Gennai, and he said that there are some kids around here that have digimon. Ok? Now you have friends. I called them and they're going to be here within a couple of hours." I said to Gatomon as I walked into our new apartment.
It didn't have much furniture, and the walls were a plain white, but a few more weeks of the job and I'll be able to afford all that and some!
"That's awesome! I'm going to go lay down for a while before they get here, ok?" Gatomon said within a yawn. I chuckled and nodded, and she went off to the bedroom. She seems to like this new place. Sure, we both miss our families, but she knows as well as I do that we can't go back home. We can't. I couldn't bear to face anybody. It's been almost a month since I left, and no one has come looking for me or bothered to call, so I don't see why I should go back home. There's nothing for me to go back home to. A drunken mother, a ravage father, a drug-dealing brother, and a cheating boyfriend don't exactly scream 'come home'.
And I hadn't had that dream ever since I got here. That's got to be a good thing, right?
There was a knock on the door a couple of minutes later, and I glanced at the clock. They were early. I got up and went to the door, and low and behold.
"Hikari." Yamato whispered. The last person I figured to come and see me.
"Matt..." I said softly. He looked sad, heart-broken. Did I do this to him? He let out a soft sigh and brought me into a sheltered hug. For some reason, and no reason at all, after a month, I felt at home.
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Um, something went haywire with my MW, so sometimes it's indented, sometimes it's not.