Airline traveling routes and timezones may be very inaccurate/incorrect

June 25th, 1999

Music. Theater. Two methods of the performing arts. Connected in a similar fashion, they're surprisingly a secondary topic of interest to Anju, second only to the supernatural elements of her life.

Now a seventeen year old and high-school graduate, she has made plans to leave her homeland of Japan, for an extended escape from her life ruining 'psychic' abilities; she intends to further explore her normal talents within a school in England. Already, she has received a scholarship to the particular university she wishes to learn within. All that's left is to pack, wait, and then leave.

Hopefully, the supernatural will not follow her, and maybe, just maybe, she will not encounter anyone, who died, during her temporary trip there…

Silently, Anju is filling a second briefcase with belongings; already, she has packed one to the brim, which contains only clothing. This one shall have a few trinkets and charms, and multiple books on the subjects of the many types of art, be it literal or otherwise. The items of interest, which remain unpacked, lay on the bed, waiting to be placed into the briefcase for future travel.

Her bedroom door creaks open behind her. She continues packing, remaining silent; she has learned, through trial and error, to not say a word whenever she believes a spirit or Ryō is nearby, as it can easily turn out to be a living person instead, which often leads to some awkwardness. And indeed, it is; her mother starts speaking. "You're certain this is what you want?"

"Yes, Mama," Anju politely replies, sitting another book inside her briefcase.

"You'll be alone there," her mother points out, slight worry in her tone.

At that, Anju pauses her packing, facing her. She shares a gentle expression, feeling touched by the concern. "Only at first." She half-smiles, feeling a bit awkward. "I'll be alright." I'm a big girl now, she continues, in thought. She almost cringes at her wording.

Her mother sighs, hands fumbling, eyes moist, lip quivering; she's close to tears. "Oh, I know you will; it's just hard to believe that my baby is growing up so fast, right before my eyes."

Anju struggles; seeing her mother about to cry is making tears form in her own eyes. She takes a deep breath and calms herself; the sensation fades. "Mama," she quietly says. "I'll always be your little girl, you know that."

"I know, I know." Her mother smiles gently. "I just worry."

For good reason, Anju thinks, recalling past tragedies in their family. She holds back a grimace, not wanting to potentially upset her mother.

"Well," her mother continues. "I'll let you finish packing. We can discuss this more at a later time, to ease my mind some more before you…" She hesitates, voice cracking. "Before you leave." Anju nods shortly, giving her mother another half-smile. The woman smiles slightly in return before leaving the bedroom, closing the door behind her on the way out.

Before the packing can recommence, however, Ryō breaks the returned silence as she phases through the door Anju's mother just closed; she must have been listening, Anju thinks, I wonder where she was this time. "I'm leaving."

…What? Anju stares at her. "...Huh?" Did I hear that correctly?

Ryō rolls her eyes. "I'm leaving. I'm going my own way. I'm free-falling from the nest. I'm-"

Anju waves her hand, cutting Ryō off before she continues listing more ways to say she'll be gone. "Okay, I get it; stop emphasizing." She shakes her head in disbelief. "You're leaving." She doesn't really know how to react. "Huh." She's at a loss for words. "If only you had decided this a few years ago."

"I wanted to irritate you a few years ago," Ryō points out. "Now, I want to explore Japan." She starts explaining, perhaps more than she needs to; Anju silently listens anyway. "I've gone some ways away but I was never eager to go very far from this house. However, frustrating you has become tiresome, so I have reason to finally keep going and never turn back."

"Oh." Anju blinks. "Okay." Ryō glares and gestures for her to continue speaking. "Well…" She pauses briefly. "Have fun, I guess?" She briefly pauses again. "...I'll miss you, as unfortunate as that is for me to admit to you and myself."

Ryō smirks, satisfied. "And I'll miss Hajime."

Anju pouts. "Not me?"

Ryō just stares at her, as if she's stupid. "I don't recall your name being 'Hajime'."

Anju immediately stops pouting and rolls her eyes. "Answer seriously for once, please."

"No, never you," Ryō instantly states. "I don't like you."

Anju shrugs, dismissive of the statement. "I don't like you either but I'll miss you regardless."

Ryō snorts. "I'm not you, though, so I'm not missing you, regardless."

Anju groans. "Just go already, jeez." Without another word, Ryō leaves the bedroom, phasing through the door again. Annoying ghost… Anju returns to packing, shaking her head. "Good riddance," she utters, putting yet another book into her briefcase.

July 22nd, 1999

Silently, Anju sits in the passenger's seat of her mother's vehicle; the woman is kindly driving her to the airport because the long awaited day of her temporary move has arrived. Sometime in August, she'll be attending her first musical arts class in a university within England; she'll be away from Japan for a while, several years tops.

Although her flight leaves at four-fifty in the afternoon, they're about to arrive at the airport an hour or so earlier than needed; they wanted to avoid potential chaos on the roads. So far, the traffic's been light; could be worse later on, so Anju's a bit relieved that they left at the time they chose.

It's two-thirty-five when they finally get there.

Luggage in hand, Anju stares at the doors of the building, her mother standing beside her. Admittedly, she's nervous; she's never been so far away from family before. She isn't worried about the flight itself; she trusts the pilots to get her, and the other passengers, to their destination safely, and believes, without a doubt, that there's nothing secretly wrong with any portion of the plane.

"I'll miss you," her mother states, tears streaming down, though her crying remains silent. It's hard to see her child going out into the world on her own. She hugs her close, savoring the moment as it may be a very long time before they hug one another again.

Anju sniffles, quietly crying, too; seeing her mother so sad has affected her, despite how happy she is to be pursuing her secondary hobby. She hugs back. "Oh, Mama, I'll be alright, I promise. And I'll miss you, too. So much." She half-smiles. "I love you. Be careful with traffic; it's bound to be worse, sometime soon."

Her mother lets out a short laugh. "I'll be staying to watch the take-off, but alright."

Together, they walk into the building. Some time passes by…

Around four-thirty, Anju separates from her mother in a temporary final farewell, boarding her plane. Miraculously, as there are many empty seats within first class, she is randomly chosen to "upgrade" her seating arrangement for free; as it's her first time on a plane (jet, to be more specific), being in such a better section by pure luck and coincidence leaves her feeling jittery from excitement.

After putting her carry-on bag in the overhead baggage compartment, she takes a seat. Glancing around, she absorbs her surroundings into memory, as she never wants to forget this. Very few of the passengers are dressed as if they're the type of folks able to afford being in there and, like herself, there's a couple of lucky people that got randomly picked. She can't help but stare at the few Americans and English folks sitting around her, a Japanese woman; sometimes, it's easy for her to forget that not just those of her ethnicity live in or visit Japan and then leave it for their own reasons. The world is so massive, she thinks, and now, I get to see a different part of it. Wow.

As she settles, she overhears someone complaining about another passenger, currently sitting in coach, who is demanding to be randomly picked, too. I don't think it works like that, Anju thinks, an eyebrow raised at the story.

She tunes it out after that; it's really none of her business.

Shortly thereafter, safety procedures were endured. Then, not long after that, the plane (jet) cruised down the runway and was up in the sky. Anju gazed out the window during the entirety of the take-off, thinking about her family and how much she'll miss being around them.

Although she spent some time eating dinner and watching a couple of films, there was no way she could stay awake for the entire flight. So, with a blanket and pillow in hand, given to her by a kind attendant, she dozed off around ten in the evening.

At approximately noon of the next day, Anju was in Vancouver, stretching her legs, updating her social media, calling her family to assure them that she was still alive, eating food, sitting, pacing, and waiting for her next flight, which would take her to her true destination. By ten in the evening, she was on another plane, once again sitting in the first class section. She highly doubted she'd be so lucky on the return trip to Japan a couple years later.

The flight went well. The turbulence made her a bit anxious again, but a nice movie calmed her down. Not long afterwards, she was heading to sleep again…

Around twelve-thirty in the afternoon, with her luggage in hand, Anju briefly stares at the doors of the airport before stepping through them, exiting the building. She gasps in delight, gazing around; she's thrilled to finally be in London.

Some fund updates (Japanese currency wouldn't work there), a few social media checks, a couple of family calls (to give more reassurance to her mother), a cab ride, and a short conversation with a landlady later…

Sitting down her bags, she uses her new key to unlock the door of her new flat, the home she'll be residing within for the duration of her stay in England. Key in pocket, she gathers up her luggage and steps inside, immediately sitting them down again to close the door behind her.

Those freelance gigs were an absolute lifesaver, she thinks, admiring her space. I'm glad my family doesn't have to chip in for this, too, like with the plane tickets.

She slowly explores the layout, talking to herself; seeing it in person is much different than viewing it from a website's picture. "Average walls, wooden floors, plain kitchen, basic bathroom." She ends up at the bedding she'll be using from now until her last day there. She sits on it and gently bounces. "Mm. A lumpy but clean bed-" She hears noises from next door. "Audible neighbors." She lays down, giving her feet a longer rest period, smiling to herself. "I love it here already."

She doesn't spend too much time lying around. She stands back up and heads over to her belongings, gathering them again. From there, she unpacks. Afterwards, she quickly checks the website for her university, getting her class schedule through email instead of having to go there in person; certainly saves up some time.

By the time she's finished with the aforementioned actions, it's around four in the afternoon.

Jitters of excitement still are overwhelming her, so she decides to go shopping, as simply staying inside the flat for the remainder of the day wouldn't do much to calm her down since she wants to see more of her temporary homescape. She's barely out of the door when a list comes to mind; a few instruments, for practicing at home, and two weeks worth of groceries, to avoid having to frequently shop for food.

Her trip to the music store went splendidly. First, she spent, at least, twenty minutes admiring all of the instruments, supplies, and selections of albums, ranging from classical to rock-and-roll; the violins, pianos, and classical music albums were eyed by her the most. Next, for fifteen minutes, she tested each violin and piano, eventually selecting ones most suitable; a mahogany colored violin (bow and case) and a cherry-wood piano with a padded seat. Once again, she thought about those freelance jobs she did and how thankful she was that she did them, as she bought the instruments for over three-thousand and six-hundred pounds, with an additional fee for the piano delivery. As she left with one of her new instruments, she swore to return someday for some classic albums.

Carrying her violin, she took a cab to the grocery store closest to her new home. During the ride, she rationalized how much of her freelance money she'd end up using throughout the trip, coming to the conclusion that nearly all of it would be gone by then; perhaps when she perfected her talents, she'd be able to get some extra money by playing for people. Only time would tell if that would work out.

Ultimately, she ended up spending more than she expected on groceries and supplies; apples, corn, lettuce, tomatoes, bread, baby carrots, spinach, ranch dressing, mayo, chicken, beef, maybe one-too-many chocolate snacks, bottle waters, a gallon of juice, a gallon of milk, bags of tea, plates, cups, silverware, laundry detergent, laundry baskets, dryer lint, and far too many other items for the authors to list.

After putting everything away upon her return to the flat, she flops onto her bed, exhausted. "I'm probably gonna need to do some more freelance at this rate," she huffs, staring at the ceiling. "Living alone is going to be harder than I anticipated."

October 11th, 1999

Anju has settled into her new life within England.

Although she hasn't been attending her university for very long, all has been going fairly well; her professors are nice, the classes have been surprisingly fun and informative instead of stressful and pointless, and they've recognized her talent, with classical music in particular. It truly is a delight.

Her life outside of school has been well, too; she has grown rather fond of England. Additionally, as predicted, more freelancing was needed to keep up with rent and groceries; she still has plenty of money leftover from before but to be safe and out of debt, she'd taken a few babysitting jobs. Ultimately, tired of only talking to her family through the phone, she ended up "wasting" some money on a laptop, for better communication with them. It definitely had been worth it, though. And the best part about everything; she hasn't seen any spirits.

She sits at her piano, fingers lightly brushing across the keys. She's learnt a few pieces to play on it, as with her violin, but even so, she longs for the day she can create her own. Music is so peaceful, she thinks. One day, I'll be a part of that; one day, my music will give others peace, too. She sighs, smiling to herself at the thought.

She gazes around her home, taking in the scenery. Picture frames now hang along the walls, showcasing herself with family. In addition to such decoration, a few days ago, she bought an antique vase with faux roses in it; sure, it was a slight waste of money she should be saving for rent and food but she wanted some uniqueness to glance upon sometimes. She stares at it for a second before gazing away and standing up from the piano.

It's getting late, she thinks. I should test out the video call, see if I can have a more proper chat with Mama.

Slowly, she moves to the table, where her laptop sits. Taking a seat, she opens it; a few clicks and some typing later, she gets a video call going. Her mother quickly answers after a ring.

Smiling brightly, the aforementioned woman claps once. "Oh, I'm so glad to see you again, even through a computer."

Anju giggles, shaking her head slightly at her mother's words. "I'm happy, too, Mama; it's really nice, being able to actually see you as we talk this time." She gives a big smile. "It's lovely here in England. And the college, it's magnificent. My teachers are very friendly, not too strict but not pushovers either, and I've been getting along with most of the other students, the ones I talk to, anyway."

"That's wonderful news, sweetheart," her mother praises. She glances past Anju's shoulder. "And I see one of your instruments you mentioned the other day; it's absolutely beautiful."

"Thank you, Mama," Anju giggles.

Time passes onward; they talk for another thirty minutes. Random topics of interest arise; the weather, the people, the stories, all things her mother wishes to know about England. To the best of her ability, Anju answers every question, even showing her their form of currency.

It's past two in the morning when they finally say their goodbyes and I love yous to one another. Not tired, Anju decides to make food; just a little light snack. And whilst doing so, she's compelled to attempt video calling Light, to see how her younger cousin is doing. Admittedly, though, she's surprised when he answers, after several rings.

She fumbles with a bowl. "Hey, Light! How's it going?" I really hope I don't mess up my laptop doing this… She hides her fear, through a slightly forced smile.

He shrugs nonchalantly, looking sleepy and paler than usual; poor kid must be ill. "I'm fine, I guess." He coughs into his sleeve a few times. "You, too?"

She half-smiles, feeling concerned for the ten year old. "Me too." She changes her mind about a light snack and gets a pot of boiling water ready, to make some mac and cheese. She frowns, listening to him sneezing continuously before sniffling. "Sick?" she asks, staring at him through the screen. He just nods shortly. "You should rest more, eat warm soup. We can video call another time."

"Nah," he answers. "I'd just be more bored if I did that."

She pouts at the wording; apparently, he's already bored. "Alright, then…" She disregards it seconds later; he's a kid, kids get bored quickly.

"Is that a violin?" he wonders, staring past her, looking downward.

She looks back and grimaces. Right, I left it over here at the counters earlier when I got hungry during practice… She quickly moves the instrument, not wanting it to get damaged somehow. "Yeah," she answers when she returns to the screen. "It costs a lot, too." She grabs the noodles for the mac and cheese, continuing her food making.

He stares at her. "...Then you should be careful where you put it."

She sweat drops. "Yeah… I know…" Suddenly, she squeals, nearly knocking over the pot of boiling water; she hadn't been paying attention. Witnessing the near accident, Light laughs at her; she grimaces again, as she could've been badly burned if it had fallen over. "It's not funny…" She pouts.

He ignores the comment. "England must be making you clumsy, hehe."

She frowns. "No, I just got distracted by our conversation…" She sighs. "I should cut this short before I end up hurting myself. We'll talk another time, okay?" He nods. "Feel better soon! Love you, cousin! Bye!" She ends the call quickly, without hearing a reply from him; she needs to focus on the food. "Calling him while cooking was such a bad idea…" she utters, getting back to it.

May 3rd, 2001

Much can change within a year and a half.

Through the influence of her professors, Anju has learnt to compose some of her own music; it took a lot of effort and skill to accomplish such a goal. Additionally, she has become one of the top students of her university; hardwork and dedication has brought her to this point. And to top it all off, she continues to remain "normal"; not a ghost in sight, no unwanted spirit visits have occurred throughout her time in England, thus far. Perhaps they're just more respectful than the ones in Japan; or maybe they just aren't aware she'd be able to see them. Regardless, she's content with how her life's going.

Her family couldn't be any more proud.