Akira Terada : Umi no Hi
Ocean Day
July 3

Reflections on a Sister: An Essay

By: Akira Terada

My sister is amazing.

I don't know how she does what she does, but she does it. I mean, she works three jobs just to feed me and herself, get us clothes, things like that. But she does it all with a smile on her face and a song in her heart. Like there's no other place she would ever wanna be as long as I'm here with her.

My sister is kind of like the ocean.

That's what she first reminded me of, as long as I could remember. Actually, the ocean association first came when mother would take us to the beach. She would tell us how the ocean connected everyone in the world and how it could take you almost anywhere you wanted. How, in the old days, people would sail across the world instead of fly, and how some still do. I guess that's why the description drew me to Ayase so much.

My sister is like the ocean, because it seems like she has so much space. Even after she gets home from her third job, she comes into the house, dragging her feet, limbs looking heavy, practically on the verge of fainting and she asks me, "Hey kiddo, up for a game of catch?" Of course, sometimes she faints right afterward, but the fact that she comes into the house asking if I wanna play ball is something of a miracle. She has so much room for me, so much extra space in her life that she forces in there just to make me happy.

My sister is like the ocean because she is so temperamental at times. Almost never with me, because I'm not stupid and when a woman's pissed off, don't get in her way. One name in particular pops up whenever I hear her viciously chopping vegetables for dinner – "Kimishima". More accurately, "that damned Kimishima", "that cheapskate Kimishima", "that asshole Kimishima"... you get the picture.

I think she likes him.

Well, I guess that's good. She needs a funny man so she can lighten up a little. And I know he's not completely legit, but hey, you can't have everything right? I wouldn't mind doing some semi-illegal stuff if it meant Ayase would get a break every-so-often. Damn, I'm rambling again. Anyway...

After mom died, we didn't go to the beach anymore.

Instead, Ayase became my ocean – she connects me back to life and to reality, forcing me to realize that I am not some weepy little invalid. I am Akira Terada, I am a person, I have hope for my future. She keeps me intertwined with life outside our apartment, forcing me to meet people and keep myself linked to the rest of the world – otherwise known as the Lost Ground. Sometimes I feel like we're worlds apart from the Mainland, universes from the other countries and continents. But anyway...