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Church, 13th of September 2015, 0958 hours:
The sun shone through the clouds, wind breezed through the air, and birds chirped while they stood on poles, roofs, and cables. Then there's the church, standing in between other buildings. The large, dark wooden door opened, and the priest in black clothing stood by the door as he shaken hands with the people who attended the mass. There was Alisia with her friends, that is, Lily, Anoki, and Miyuki, all of them dressed in formal clothing, either a dress or a combination of a knee-length skirt and blouses, some with blazers.
While the four continued talking, there were the mothers of the four, wearing formal and feminine clothes—long skirts and long sleeves—with different styles and colors. "Well, ladies. How about we head to that one restaurant in the intersection?" Maria suggested with a grin on her face.
Alisia looked back at Maria and nodded with a tired look. "Sure," followed by everyone agreeing.
"So, Mrs. Anderson, I would love to know more about you! heard you once lived with Mister and Mrs. Harlington." Sarah said it in an excited tone.
The black-haired woman that is Yua Anderson just remained quiet, walking beside Maria while looking back and forth, left and right, at a fast pace. Maria noticed and spoke to her, trying to ease her nerve. "You don't need to be this cold; you're not in Japan anymore, and it's safe! No need to be paranoid." She placed her hand on Yua's shoulder with a reassuring look in her eyes.
Yua looked at Maria before sighing. "Sorry, I'm just a bit uneasy for the moment."
The sun shone brightly, penetrating through the transparent blue window. People were seen eating and talking with each other. Most are familiar faces, like Jack, Isabelle, and some of the school's teachers. Most of them were wearing formal clothes, as they seemed to have just come back from church.
The four girls were sitting just beside their mothers's tables, talking with each other. Yua sat beside Maria, while Sarah sat on the other side with Patricia. Miyuki can be seen talking non-stop, while Alisia is just laying her head on the table, her eyes closed, tired.
Miyuki tried talking and even patting Alisia's hair, but just as she's about to lay a hand, Alisia moves her head and glares at Miyuki, her eyes staring daggers into her eyes, causing Miyuki to freeze in fear. Before then, she moves her hands away in a slow manner.
"Oh my, your daughter sure is quite the chatterbox; only a week in and already got some friends, eh?" Sarah remarked.
Yua looked at Sarah, a bit surprised by her words, and then she replied back. "Y-Yes.. She is suddenly very active... Mrs. Carter."
Then the server came, bringing food to the tray which is a bowl of curry, and three poutine. "Is this table 11?"
Maria looked at the server, and before then she nodded, "Yes, this is."
The server then placed the tray down, placing the plates on the table, before heading back to the kitchen to deliver the other orders. Sarah then began opening a conversation. "So, Mrs. Anderson, may I ask?" Sarah asked as she looked at Yua, and Yua then looked at her.
"Y-Yes?" Said Yua in a low yet stern tone.
"Well, I was just asking; I heard your family once lived close to Mrs. Harlington's family. Where and how was it?" Sarah asked as she looked at Yua with a look of enthusiasm in her eyes.
"W-Well... We once lived in Nagasaki before moving to Yokohama, specifically Kanagawa, where we later met Mr. and Mrs. Harlington. Life was quite good; my husband used to meet a lot with Mr. Harlington. My daughter used to be in contact with Alisia."
"Oh, so Miyuki used to? Do tell more." Sarah stared at Yua, waiting for more questions, but there's no answer. Then Maria interrupted.
"Uhm, Ms. Carter... Try not to look into her like that; it's kind of uncomfortable and rude for her." Said Maria.
Sarah flinched back to her seat; her eyes broke contact with Yua's. "Ah! Sorry, I didn't know that."
There was silence before Yua continued. "Well, it seems that Alisia doesn't remember her at all. But, oh well, not like Miyuki also remembers at all; she can be forgetful at times ever since we moved here. I might consider getting her to a doctor."
"Oh, Alisia is also forgetful. But at least it hasn't affected her grades at all; except for math, she still hates it a lot. Last year the teachers said she can solve problems within minutes when uhm.. Given the proper measures, but they also said Alisia answered all the questions wrong probably on purpose." Maria sighed.
"Oh, she still hates math? Guess Mrs. Himari really was that harsh teaching her... No wonder." Said Yua.
Patricia remained quiet for the conversation until Mrs. Himari's name was mentioned. She then asked. "Who's this, Mrs. Himari? Is she her former teacher?"
Maria looked at Patricia and answered, "Ah, no. That's my relative who married my husband's distant cousin, who happens to be a former teacher before getting married, basically Alisia's distant aunt."
"Alisia used to live with her and her daughter when Mr. and Mrs. Harlington were so busy at work, to the point of almost having no time to spare to spend with her. Margaret and Alisia were so close that I even almost considered them siblings; only their different hair colors saved me from thinking so." Yua added.
"Oh, I see... Well, they're so close... Do they still meet each other?" Patricia asked again.
"Oh, the last time they met was... one and a half years ago? I don't know after that." Sarah stated.
"They kind of do, but Alisia told me she rarely lifts the phone; it's been over a year now, and she even didn't attend last year's family reunion. I don't know why. I tried asking Mrs. Himari, but she said she is rarely in contact with her, probably too occupied with college." Maria sighed. "They were so close back then, as Mrs. Anderson mentioned earlier, although at least now she has some friends."
"Speaking of being close, does Alisia have a sibling? Usually, siblings are always close to each other." Asked Patricia.
"Well, I'd say pretty distant. Back then, I trusted Mrs. Himari or Mrs. Anderson to take care of them while we were busy. Besides Alisia, they always go outside without being noticed, either to their friends' house or the park. Eventually I decided to tip them to Mrs. Carter, except for Alisia since Mrs. Himari said that she's quite a lovely girl and a good friend for Margaret." Said Maria.
"Oh, and they were such ruffians when I took care of them, but your decision years ago kind of made them hate you a lot for favoring Alisia." Said Sarah.
"Yes, I know... My mind was very occupied at the time; I regret favoring only her." Maria released a heavy sigh, looking down. "Now they rarely contact either me or my husband."
Patricia nodded; she was about to ask another but stopped. After a few seconds, she sighed and asked again. "Can I ask another question? Sorry for asking too much."
"Ah, no worries, I'm open to questions; ask as much as you want while we're here!" Maria gave a smile to Patricia.
"Oh, well, I want to ask something that may be a bit too personal... What is your husband's job? You always say that he's very busy and that it even involves you." Asked Patricia once more.
There was silence from Maria; she looked up, thinking of an appropriate answer. "Uh, how should I say this? Let's say that he's a businessman, handling a lot of stuff."
Patricia blinked, looking at Maria's sudden hesitation in answering the question, but she decided to shake it off and nod. It was until all of a sudden that Alisia came over. "Mom, can I sit with you?"
Maria turned her head at Alisia with a confused and worried look. "What happened, Alisia?"
"Miyuki kept on harassing me... I'm trying to sleep." Alisia complained in a tired and annoyed tone.
"I was just trying to pat her! Her hair just looks so soft... She looked so cute, too! How can I not resist?" Said Miyuki in defense. "You have the instinct and reaction time of a fly." Miyuki pouted.
"Miyuki..." Yua stared at Miyuki; her tone went stern. Miyuki decided not to continue arguing.
Maria thought to herself whether she should let Alisia sit beside her or not. She wanted to say yes, but at the same time, she wants her to stay with her friends and socialize instead of isolating herself. It was until then that the first won over her kind. "Ok, ok... Come here.. Have you eaten your food?"
Alisia sighed; she nodded before sitting beside Maria. She leaned on Maria's shoulder, her eyes closed.
"Ehh... Kawaii..." Miyuki giggled.
Maria released a heavy sigh as Alisia leaned on her. She then placed her hand on her head and started stroking Alisia's hair in a soft and gentle manner. Before long, Sarah decided to speak up to her. "Uhh, Mrs. Harlington. I recommend not spoiling her that much; having a child clinging too much to their parents can be a very bad thing."
"Oh, don't you also happen to spoil Lily?" Maria said this in her defense, although not in an aggressive tone.
"Well, uhh.. Good point.. But that's what my mother said." Said Sarah.
There was silence, and then Yua decided to speak. "The food's getting cold, you know..."
"Ah! Well, you all can start eating." Maria said as she continued stroking Alisia's hair and began eating her food.
The group walked out of the restaurant with a look of contentment on their faces, except for Alisia, whose eyes were still closed and still clinging close to her mother, causing her to question Alisia. "Jeez. When did you sleep last night?" Maria looked at Alisia with a worried look.
"Oh, well. Speaking of her tiredness, one night I saw Alisia still on the computer through the window." Said Sarah.
Maria released a heavy sigh, looking at Alisia. "I left her for too long," she said, looking down. "Such a bad mother I am..."
"Well, Mrs. Harlington. I gotta go; I got some other things to do back home." Sarah let go of Lily before she approached Alisia and lifted her up with her hands, causing Alisia's eyes to jolt open and her face to blush. "Stop playing your computer at night, ok?" Alisia continued blushing; before then, she nodded while staring at Sarah's face. Then Sarah placed Alisia down and grabbed Lily's hand again. "Well, happy Sunday."
Alisia was left flustered, her mind now fully awake, still red from embarrassment. Miyuki saw this and giggled. "Hehe... Kawaii.."
"Aww, the flustered sleepyhead..." Said Anoki in a teasing tone.
"Shut..." Alisia stared at Miyuki with a sharp look in her eyes. Which caused Miyuki to freeze, her eyes unable to break from Alisia's.
"Well, I guess we'll be going then." Said Yua.
"Well, Mrs. Harlington. Anoki said something about yesterday's tea; I have to say, it tasted wonderful." Said Patricia.
"Ah, I am glad to have recommended you such a good tea." Maria smiled.
After a while, the group said their goodbyes and went to their paths. But deep down in Maria's thoughts, She's worried about Alisia, still thinking about what she should do with Sarah's earlier comment about Alisia staying up late and her responsibility as a mother. The wind went cold, and the sky turned into a gradation of red and orange as the sky began to set down on the horizon on their backs. It seemed that fall had begun.