All schools in Japan have their first day on either April 7 or April 8.
For this nine year old boy, it had been only a week since the previous year, so he's used to the routine the schools take each year.
His sister, who is four years younger, isn't in such a happy mood as he is.
For as long as he could remember, his sister had never smiled. No matter what their parents did. They brought her all kinds of toys, made her all kinds of food, introduced her to all kinds of music and television that would make any other small child smile.
It wasn't their fault. It really wasn't. He remembers them talking to a few doctors. He might have not understood the words, grown up stuff is something he'll have to catch up later on, but he knows that whatever his sister is going through, it's something that just happens. Nothing anybody can do about it.
Growing up, he had heard stories about people being born 'differently.' There are a lot of children with rare diseases who would be no different from the average child if it wasn't for them having the disease. Cancer, leukemia, and seizures just to name a few.
His sister doesn't have any of those things and one might make the conclusion that she is perfectly healthy despite never smiling.
However, healthy or unhealthy, there is something that needs to be addressed.
She's going to stand out from all the other kids her age. And because of that, she WILL be a target for bullying. It's terrible, but it's just how it is. You can't change the way people think, they have to change by themselves.
As her older brother, it's his duty to help her however he can. If she hasn't been listening to their parents, then maybe she'll listen to him.
He sees her looking at herself in a mirror near the entryway of their house. She's dressed in the same school uniform he's used to seeing almost every day.
"Hello, sis… so, first day of school, huh?"
His sister remained silent for a few moments before speaking in a completely neutral tone.
"Yeah."
The way she speaks is also a thing to note. He doesn't think he could ever remember her saying more than a two word sentence at the very most. Another thing that'll make her stand out.
"You, uh, you looking forward to it? It's going to be really fun! You're going to do all kinds of wonderful things! Meet other children. You could be FRIENDS with other children! They can make you… happy."
Again, a few moments of silence, followed by one word in that neutral tone.
"Maybe."
He shook his head. "No. Not maybe, try to say to yourself, you WILL make a friend. Can you turn around and say that to me?"
Doing as she was told, she turns around and looks straight up at him. Looking at him straight in the eyes. He notes that it's a little bit weird to see her do that, but ends up dismissing it.
"I… I can't." Three words. Now she's making progress.
"Come on." He smiles at her. "You're just not… thinking that you can. Once you start to think you can, it'll be much easier. Say… 'I'll make a friend.' Repeat after me… I'll make a friend."
A few moments pass by and she doesn't say anything. Instead, she looks down at the floor.
He takes a step back as he hears her begin to cry. It's one of those silent kinds of crying, not loud like he would have thought.
"Hey, it's okay. It's okay. I'm here for you." He walks over to her and puts his hand on her shoulder. This seems to calm her down a little.
"Okay, you don't have to make a friend if you really don't want to. Just know I'll always be here for you. Okay? Your nii-san will always be here for you."
At this point, his sister stopped crying, but is still looking down.
He continues. "Yeah… we'll… walk to school together… everyday. Everytime you're by yourself, just think of me and… I'll be thinking of you… After school, we'll… talk some more… about how your day was. Does that sound good? Sister?"
He hears two more words from her. "Every… day."
She looks up at him again. "Okay… I'll try my best… nii-san."
Then, for the first time in what he believes to be her entire life, she smiles at him. He's seen people of all ages smile before, but this one seemed the most genuine. He remembers making the decision right there to make her smile like that every day while they were together. After all, he was the reason why it happened.
This is, however, only just a fragment of a haunting memory.
These come pretty frequently to Jack Lieber. He had no way to predict what she'd end up doing to him as a result of him taking on the role of the caring and loving older brother.
Everything was just so normal during his first life in Japan. At least it was at first. There were many times he questioned to himself, 'Why HIM?'
He'd give the same answer every time: because he decided to care.
Okay, here's what I was thinking. Maybe I can have three flashback chapters and not two because I think it would space out Taro's adventure a little more.
The web novel that I was basing this chapter off of isn't written in proper English. It looked like it was written in Japanese first and then roughly translated. I filled in a lot of gaps myself. I'm a writer. I can do that.
Anyway, that was just a tiny peek into Jack Lieber's past. Next chapter will focus on Taro's adventure. Although, I don't know how long it'll be until I get to work on it. I'll have to wait and see.