Chapter 14 Make Her Smile

Emiko's POV

"I'm home", I called out as I entered my apartment. "Mom?"

After I said this I looked around, and I quickly found my mom crashed out on the couch.

I smiled at her sadly. Then, I quickly went to get a blanket to cover her with.

As I was doing this…I heard her sadly whisper my dad's name in her sleep.

I frowned at this. Then, I went to my bedroom and changed my clothes, before sitting down at my desk.

When I did, I saw the planning for my show, and I looked at it sadly.

"Is this going to work", I asked myself. "Is this going to make her smile?"

"Emiko-Chan", a voice suddenly exclaimed.

"Gah", I exclaimed in shock, before falling off my chair.

"Ow", I said as I rubbed my head and lifted myself up.

Then…I saw a familiar figure on my phone.

"Hi, Emiko-Chan", she greeted.

"Oh", I started. "Hi, Miku. What are you doing here?"

"I had this feeling that you were feeling kinda down", Miku revealed. "So I came here to cheer you up!"

"Really", I asked in shock. "Thank you, Miku."

"You're welcome", Miku said. "Anyway, why don't you come to Sekai? If something's bothering you, maybe we can say or do something to cheer you up!"

…

I had arrived at Sekai, and when I got there…I found someone waiting for me.

"Hello, Anno-San", he greeted.

"Kamishiro-San", I asked in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

"I noticed that you seemed kind of down after the show", Rui revealed. "So, I asked Miku if she could get you here so that we could talk."

After Rui said this…he put his hands on my shoulders.

"Anno-San", he started. "What's wrong?"

After Rui asked this, I sighed sadly.

Then…I sat down on the edge of the stage, and Rui sat down next to me.

I took out a photo from the pocket of my hoodie and showed it to Rui. In the photo was a man, a woman, and a child. They all had beaming smiles on their faces.

"Is that you and your parents", Rui asked.

"Yeah", I replied. "We used to be such a happy family. We were always smiling."

"Used to be", Rui asked.

"When I was in my first year of middle school…my dad died in a car accident. My mom…hasn't smiled since then."

Rui didn't say anything, but he did look at me sympathetically.

"Sometime after my father's death, my class took a field trip to Phoenix Wonderland", I revealed. "When we were there, we watched a Wonderlands x Showtime show. When I was watching the show, I saw how it made the audience smile. That's when I decided to become a director, so that I could put on shows that could make people smile; that could make my mom smile."

"I see", Rui said. "I think it's wonderful that you want to help your mother like that."

"But…", I started. "Now I'm wondering if I really have what it takes?"

"Why do you think that", Rui asked.

"Your show was amazing", I stated. "It showed the audience that, even in the darkest moments, hope can always be found. That's the type of message I want to tell the audience with my show; to tell my mother."

After I said this…tears started falling from my eyes.

"But…", I started. "What if my show can't do that? What if my show doesn't make my mom smile?"

After I asked this, Rui put his hand on my shoulder; which got me to look at him.

"Emiko", he started. "Is making your mother smile important to you?"

"Of course", I replied. "It's the most important thing to me!"

"Then you must do your best to convey that message with your show", Rui stated. "I don't know if it will make your mother smile, but at least she will know how much it means to you that she does."

Hearing this resulted in me looking at Rui in shock. But…it also filled me with determination.

"You're right", I exclaimed as I suddenly shot up. "I have to do this! I have to at least try!"

"You can do it, Emiko-Chan", I heard a familiar voice exclaim.

"Huh", I said in confusion. "Is that…"

"Emiko-Chaaaaaaan", Emu suddenly exclaimed as she rushed out of her hiding spot, before running up to me and tackling me into a hug!

"Gah", I exclaimed in shock. "Ootori-San? What are you doing here?"

"We came to see if you were okay", another familiar voice revealed.

I then looked up, and saw Nene!

"Kusanagi-Senpai", I asked in shock. "You…you both came to see if I was okay?"

"Yeah", Emu replied. "And we heard what you said! And we're gonna do our best to help make your mom smile again!"

"You…you will", I asked in shock.

"Yes", Nene replied. "We'll do our best, Anno-San

After Nene said this, tears began to fall from my eyes again.

But then, I wiped them away before giving a determination smile.

"Thank you so much for your support, everyone", I said. "In return, I promise to whatever I can to make sure that this show is a success!"