Author's Note: I ended up finishing up this halo rather early. (Tuesday, to be exact.) I already started on next week's halo because of it. Other than that, we go back into the 1980's to check in on Makoto and his wife, Hya-chan. We get to see more of their relationship. I used the song "Sweet is Good" as inspiration for this halo. Like I said before, I already started on next week's halo. Let's see how that is going to turn out. For now, enjoy this week's halo.
Halo One: Dreamers:
-Spring 1985-
The early morning sun seemed to glow on Hya-chan's skin. She looked so peaceful sleeping. Makoto reached out and touch her cheek. Theirs was a strange way they came together. Two different worlds. Two different beliefs. He didn't seem interested in her at first. But she won him over in the end.
He smiled to himself. What did he do to get such an angel of a wife?
Makoto froze when he noticed her stirring awake. "Hya-chan?"
His wife opened her big brown eyes. "Good morning, dear."
"How long have you been awake?" Makoto whispered. She shrugged and shook her head. Hya-chan broke into a little giggle. He smiled and playfully tapped her on the nose. Everything about her seemed so innocent. She did go up in sheltered life.
"What do you plan to do today?" he asked.
"I don't know," she said. "You?" Makoto sighed.
"Looking for work," he said. His wife frowned.
"What?" he asked. She rested her head against his chest.
"I just wish you didn't have to go," Hya-chan whimpered. Makoto smiled and patted her on the head.
"We need money to keep this house and eat," he said. "I don't want us to end up on the streets."
"But I can't stand to be away from you so long," Hya-chan whimpered. She looked like a little kitten who's treat was taken away from her. Makoto chuckled.
"Well when I make enough money, we'll spend all of the time together," he said. Moments like this in the mornings reminded him that there were still good things in this world. Hya-chan relied on him to supply their basic needs. He wished that he had enough money to do all of that and buy her nice things too.
"I sometimes dream that I won the lottery," Makoto admitted. "I'm able to buy us a big house. Pretty clothes, jewelry, and presents for you."
"That sounds nice," Hya-chan said. She doesn't really need much to be happy. Though, she has talked about wanting a child. Makoto didn't know how to react to this.
"But we just got married," he said. "Let's just enjoy some time to each other for a bit." That didn't sink in for her. She's always wanted a happy family since she was a little girl.
"Kenshin," Hya-chan said this morning. Her husband gave her an odd look.
"Huh?" he asked. She looked up at him.
"For a boy's name," she said. Makoto shook his head.
"No," he said.
"No?" Hya-chan asked.
"It's sound too stiff, too proper," he said. She cocked her head.
"Then what name do you want for a boy?" Hya-chan asked. Makoto took a moment to think.
"I really like the name Daichi," he said. "Or Ryo."
"Are those nice names?"
"Yeah."
"And what about for girls?"
Makoto took a moment to the think about that. "Kyoko."
Hya-chan lifted her head. "Why that name?" Her husband shrugged and shook her head.
"I don't know," he said. "It just sounds like a nice name. You?"
"Tomoko," she said without missing a beat. Makoto thought about that before nodding.
"I actually like that," he said. Hya-chan took parenthood seriously. Makoto was still warming up to the idea.
When did he become domesticated like this?
He used to sleep around with loose women. What else could he do? Makoto lived out in the countryside and was constantly broke. He only made enough to pay his bills. Plus, the village didn't have much to look at.
Well, there was on place.
Makoto chuckled to himself.
"What?" Hya-chan asked. He smiled and shook his head.
"Oh, noting," he said. "Just something from the country." She rested her head on his chest again.
"I love you," Hya-chan whispered. Makoto kissed her atop her head.
"I love you too," he whispered back.
-Makoto-
My wife is a peculiar woman. She isn't aware about how the real world works. But yet, she has a good sense of people. Because of this, it took time for her to get attached to people. She took to me rather easily. Why? That I can't figure out. Hya-chan won't tell me either.
"It's a secret," she would say.
"I thought that we didn't keep secrets from each other," I would say. Hya-chan stuck out her tongue and laughed. I shook my head. My wife could act like a child sometimes. It was both cute and annoying.
She should have nothing but days where she can be happy. Can it be possible that a person could be so pure? In the beginning, I had to pinch my cheeks. Hya-chan gave me an odd look when she caught me doing it.
"Are you feeling okay?" she asked.
"Uh… yeah, yeah, yeah," I would be quick to say. This seemed to satisfy her. No more questions would follow.
Who was this girl? She couldn't be human. Was she an angel?
I shook my head.
Nah, that's just dumb. Angels don't exist. Why would I be thinking that?
I sat up in our futon. I tried to get out but she clung to me. I looked down to see Hya-chan staring up at me.
"Stay," she pleaded. I sighed and smiled.
"I have to get up and look for work," I said. Hya-chan cuddled up to my chest.
"Can you stay a little bit longer?" she asked. "Please?" I shook my head. She always did this to me. I patted her on the head.
"Fine," I said.
"Yay!" my wife said. She already cuddled up to me. I just couldn't say no to her. I can't picture my life without her. Hya-chan already dug that deep into me. The other girls didn't stand a chance.
Neither does my will power.
I don't know how she manages to do it. I find myself doing more and more for my wife without her even asking me to do it. I wish that I could do more. However, there is just one area she couldn't get me to change my mind in.
Every Sunday, she would go to church on her own. I would lay in bed as she got up and got dressed. She'd hum happily to herself. I just wanted to sleep in. My wife would walk over to out futon.
"Won't you go to church with me?" she asked. I would just turn over in the futon. I could feel the disappointed look on my back.
"Maybe next Sunday?" she'd asked. I didn't answer. My wife would give up and walked out the door.
"Hey!" I would shout. I would peek up from the sheets to her looking at me.
"Be careful out there," I told her. "Come home as soon as possible."
"Okay," Hya-chan said. Then she headed out the door. I never could go to her church. I didn't get this god she was talking about. Even when she read the bible to me, I wasn't interested. To be honest, none of it made any sense to me. I would just nod and go along with it. Anything to keep her happy.
Still, I made up for it by giving her anything else she wanted. This house, my car, anything nice, and even the life growing inside of her. I just wanted to see that pretty smile on her face.
Anything to make my wife happy. Anything.
-Spring 1987-
The house felt so lifeless now. She made it feel so warm. So alive. Makoto sat in the middle of their empty living room and wept. He held her light pink kimono to his chest. The silk still smelt like her.
But he had no choice.
Her sanity was slipping away at fast rate. She started talking to their son like he was still alive. Her church was no help either. The priest said that he would pray for her. Pray for her? Prayer wasn't going to bring their baby boy back. Prayer wasn't going to cure his wife's depression. She needed real help.
Their neighbors looked at them with pity. Makoto wanted to yell at them to stop staring at him. He just wanted to be alone. He stopped working for weeks. All of the baby things were packed away in the closet. He didn't have the heart to throw them away. She wouldn't like it either.
He shook his head. There he went again. She wasn't in her right mind when he even brought up what to do with their son's things at the time. Hya-chan broke down crying and screaming when he mentioned throwing them out. Her husband just let her cry on the floor as his feet because didn't know what else to do.
Makoto wondered if he had made the right decision. But what else could he do? He couldn't afford to pay anyone to watch over his wife while he was at work. The elderly neighbors didn't seem that keen in his eyes. His pride gave him the illusion of begging to them. He was supposed to be provider for his family.
He laughed dryly to himself.
Some job he was doing as a provider, huh? He couldn't even keep his wife at home and mentally stable. Makoto shook his head.
"When did I get so pathetic?" he asked aloud.
Suddenly, there came a knock on his door. Makoto looked up. Oh. She's back again. He already knew what was coming next. Why couldn't she take the hint that he wanted to be left alone? Oh well, might as well get this over with. She wasn't going to leave otherwise. She'll be back tomorrow too.
He set the kimono down on the couch and walked over to the front door.
