I look down at the turbulent water and take a deep breath. Ren should have followed me. He should have told me that it wasn't such a case. But, he and I know that I am right. Perhaps, he is fond of me. He isn't in love with me.
You can move mountains for the people you love. I would do it. I would have given up anything for him. I understand that he has been hurt and scared because of his brother's death. But, running away has never been the answer.
I can't help but feel that I have been a burden on the people around me. My grandparents. My parents. Even Ren. Nothing has changed. I am still a burden. I don't have a shelter to hide either. I want to hide right now. Desperately. I don't want anyone to see me like this. If my house still existed, I could hide there. I wouldn't have come out in the first place. I wouldn't have seen Ren again. I wouldn't have found out the reason why he left. Is there only pain left in my life? Will things ever change?
My phone starts ringing. I feel disappointed when I see the name. Of all the people, it's Kamiyama. I let go of the phone. It falls in the river. I don't want to talk to him.
"Hey! Hey!" Someone is yelling. From under the bridge, a homeless man wearing a hat comes out running. He points at me. "Littering the river is a punishable act."
"Shut up." I stare at the homeless man. "Just report the crime if you are that bothered."
"Come down and take your phone out of the river." The old man is really stubborn. "You don't even think about the fishes."
Seriously. I take a deep breath and tell him, "I can't swim."
"Then, why are you standing there and looking like you want to go skinny dipping?" The old man asks with an irritated voice. "Come down now."
"..." I walk around and go below the bridge. There is a small tent below the bridge. A fishing rod in front of the tent. "Old man, I don't think that our country laws allow us to live below the bridges like this."
"Don't be cranky. I am only here for the vacation." He picks up a can and throws in my direction. I barely manage to catch it. "Drink that. It will lift up your mood."
It's a can of beer. It's also expired. Fair enough. He resumes fishing. I wonder if there is any fish in the river. I start drinking beer. The taste is funny. In the next moment, I throw up.
"What's wrong with you?" The old man becomes mad at me. "I found that beer lying here. Didn't you see the expiry date? Why did you drink it?"
"Why did you give it to me?" I throw away the beer can and clean myself with the river water.
"Here, take this." He gives me the water bottle. "It's clean. Drink it."
I take a sip and feel like my throat is choking. I spit out the water before I have the reflex. I thought that I was improving, but I am back to point zero.
"That looks painful." He sits beside me. "You have some bad issues. Were you bullied when you were young? Perhaps, it was related to food and drinks?"
I narrow my eyes on him. "What are you?"
"I am a fisher on holidays." He looks up at the sky. His almond eyes are twinkling. "On other days, I fix people."
"Tch!" My luck is really bad today. I end up meeting someone who deals with minds.
"Here." He puts his business card on my hands. "If it becomes unbearable, you should find me."
"I won't find you."
"There will come a time when you want to be better for yourself or your loved ones." He smiles at me. Kindly. "I will be waiting for you."
"I don't have anyone." I point at the bridge. "Old man, do you come here to give your business card to people who try to jump from there?"
"There is nothing wrong to promote my business." The old man looks offended. "Do you know how many lives that I have saved? That place is a favourite place for suicide."
I look at the business card. "You are not from this city."
"I told you that I am on vacation." He looks at me thoughtfully. "When I saw you for the first time, I thought that I was looking at a ghost. You look a lot like someone I know."
"Are you hitting on me, old man?" I scrunch my nose. "You are not my type."
He laughs loudly. "No, you are my daughter's age. You even look like her. Don't doubt my pure intentions."
"Okay." I decide to believe him. "What does your daughter do?"
"She..."
"Takeuchi!"
I find Kamiyama standing at the bridge. How does he manage to find me always? I want to know why he is always there. But, that's not the strange part. He suddenly jumps off the bridge. I let out a scream. I don't know how to swim. I look at the old man who is unperturbed by the event.
"Can you save him?"
"Does he need saving?"
In the next instant, I watch Kamiyama resurface and swim his way toward the riverside. I open my mouth widely, but no words come out. Why would he jump? Was he hot? Did he want to try swimming in the dirty river water? It is fucking ridiculous.
He is gasping for breath when he reaches me. He puts his hands on my shoulders and asks, "I was looking for you everywhere. Why did you come here? This is not a safe place for a woman. Can't you think for once? You are a woman. What if you got hurt? The media would have another reason to harm my family."
"Kamiyama, you could have come from there." I point at the stairs from the side of the bridge. "Why did you jump?"
He looks at the stairs like he has seen them for the first time. "Jumping was the fastest way to reach you."
The old man chuckles. "You also need help, young man."
"Who are you?" Kamiyama glares at him.
"I am nobody." The old man stands up. He pats off the dust from his pants. "Just a happy old man living under the bridge."
He waves his hand and goes back to his tent.
"Today is strange," I murmur to myself.
"Why did you come here?" He starts dragging me along me. We are taking the stairs. I am glad that he didn't decide to swim through the river.
"How did you find me?"
"Don't answer a question with a question."
"Use common sense frequently."
"Takeuchi." He turns around and scowls at me. "Don't try to run away before everything is resolved."
"I wouldn't dare to." Else, you would be looking for me everywhere like this. I am sure that you will also pursue me to hell for payback.
"Good girl." He suddenly pats my head, looking satisfied. "I have sent Takeshi and others back. We have to take a train. Let's hurry. There is a situation at home."
"What happened?" I follow him. "Earlier, you wanted to talk about something."
"The pictures from the hotel is on the media. Someone has recorded us when you fell sick at the restaurant," He tells me nonchalantly. "There is another news report that appeared a while ago. Your name is everywhere. Your gamer identity and your link with the Kamiyama family is leaked. Kamiyama family's scandal is also the top news again."
"Today is really a crappy day."
"Don't worry about this. I have already thought of something."
"What did you think of?" I ask him again on the train. "Why are you so secretive? You can tell me. This also affects me."
"I will tell you when we reach home," Kamiyama answers me with his closed eyes.
"Tch!" I click my tongue and look out of the window. The scenery is beautiful. It's getting greener as the train is moving ahead. We should reach home within a few hours. I decide to take a nap. I close my eyes.
"Takeuchi." Kamiyama nudges my shoulder. "Wake up."
"Mmmm." I open my eyes. "Have we reached?"
"There is a situation."
I look around. There is no one but us. It's already dark outside the window. I have a bad bad bad feeling. Very bad bad bad feeling. "What is the situation?"
"The station name is wrong," He tells me with fear in his eyes.
"???" Name is wrong? What?
We get out of the train. It's out of nowhere. Oh, damn! We are at the other end of the country.
"Kamiyama, show me the tickets?" I ask him with a smile. He gives me the tickets. The tickets are for the correct destination, but we got on the wrong train.
"Why were you so sure that it was the right train?" Earlier, he dragged me to the train confidently. Just after we got on the train, it started moving. I thought that everything was right since he was that confident. He acted like he knew everything.
"I think it was the other train." He sighs. "It is your fault. We could go back faster on the helicopter, but you wanted to ride the train."
"Then, you should have let me take the train. Did I stop you from flying back to the city?" I yell at him. I have met fools, but he is on a different level. "Kamiyama, have you rode a train before?"
"Today is my first time." He looks around. "Where are we? Are we in the same country?"
This person makes me want to kill him. I decide not to waste my breath on him. I go to the ticket counter. A plump man is dozing on the other side. I tap the window pane once. Twice. Thrice. I decide to yell. "When is the next train coming?"
He wakes up with a start. "Girl, don't scare me."
"When is the next train back to T city?"
"T city?" He looks at the chart. "Tomorrow evening."
"..." I put my palm on my head.
"Did you take the wrong train?" The man asks us with sympathy.
"Yes, we did," Kamiyama answers him.
"That happens all the time." The man laughs again. "Do you need a place to stay tonight?"
"Yes, we do."
"There is no hotel in the village." The man explains to us. "Go to Uncle Ozaki's place. They are kind people. They will let you stay for the night."
***
Kiyohira has never walked this much in life. The man has told them that the Ozaki house was only five minutes away from the station. But, it has been twenty minutes since they have been climbing the hill. They haven't seen a single living creature. No sign of civilization. Kiyohira is afraid. It's getting darker and darker. He looks at Takeuchi. She must be more scared than him.
Nope. She is still grumbling about having a dumb man with him. She keeps glaring at him, looking completely mad. When he doesn't take a step ahead, she walks in front of him fearlessly into the night. He wonders how she is not afraid of being in a strange place with no one in sight. What if a wild animal attacks us?
"Takeuchi." He grabs her wrist from running ahead. "We should go back to the station and wait there. It's too dark here."
She jerks his hand off. "Are you afraid of darkness?"
"I am not afraid of anything." He licks his lips. He is sweating profusely. "I am sure that you are afraid. You don't have to act courageously. Let's go back."
"Haha!" She crosses her arms. "It's not far. I can smell the scent of food. It should be that way."
Now, he can also smell the scent of food. His stomach rumbles loudly. She laughs and pulls him along with her. By the time they reach, Kiyohira's soul is ready to fly away. The Ozaki old couple is surprised to see them, but they welcome them without a question.
"You boarded the wrong train?" Aunty Ozaki asks Takeuchi curiously. "Your husband looks tired."
Takeuchi stops eating the curry. She stares at the Aunty, not knowing what to say. Kiyohira blinks hard and opens his mouth to correct them.
"Yes, my husband is not used to climbing." Takeuchi smiles shyly. "He is getting old."
"Aish!" Uncle Ozaki pats Kiyohira's back hard. "A man should not be a burden on a woman. Look at me. I am twice your age, but I can easily climb the mountain every day."
Kiyohira doesn't know what to say. The fact that she could lie that easily or the fact that she lied about them being married? Both are surprising to him.
"I have prepared the bathwater and clothes. You can rest in the guest room," Aunty Ozaki tells them. "You had a hard day. Sleep early."
Takeuchi Rie takes the bath first. She comes out after fifteen minutes, dressed in a simple kimono. Her hair is moved to one shoulder. Kiyohira can't stop staring at her. This is the first time when he is seeing her in something other than her large hoodie and loose trousers. Aunty Ozaki and Uncle Ozaki chuckle when they see Kiyohira's gaze. The young husband is completely head over heels for his wife.
"Weren't you also like him?" Aunty Ozaki pokes Uncle Ozaki playfully.
"I still am." Uncle Ozaki smiles at her. Both of them giggle, sharing some sort of joke. They don't stay around for long, deciding to leave the young couple alone.
"Ahem!" Takeuchi Rie clears her throat when she sees Kiyohira staring at her. "You don't want to take a bath?"
"Ah...yes." He stands up fast and runs to take a bath. After ten minutes, he comes out wearing a yukata. He looks for her in the guest room, but she is not there. Worried, he comes out of the Ozaki House and finds her standing in the middle of the field. The plants are reaching up to her waist. She is completely surrounded by the fireflies. Under the bright stars and a crescent moon, the fireflies are moving around her like she is their sun. She tries to touch a few of them, but they shy away from her. She laughs alone, looking happy for the first time. He walks to her without making a sound, but the fireflies run away when they see the intruder.
"You scared them away." She complains to him, watching the fireflies fly away from them.
"I was afraid that they would steal you away to the night." Kiyohira voices out his thought. Then, he regrets when she turns around and looks at him strangely.
"You might get into trouble if you run after them into the forest." He tries his best to rectify the situation.
"I won't go away before your problem is resolved." She makes a face. "You are too afraid. I am not the type to let a kid suffer because of me. Whether I like it or not, Takeshi is my half brother. I will not leave him in a mess."
Takeshi is more important. Kiyohira feels a pang of jealousy to his own little brother. But, that reason is good enough. People like her don't have anything to lose. They can disappear easily. They can reappear easily. They can begin a new life at a new place easily. Now, he knows that she has the power and means to disappear from their lives.
It is sad. It has only been days since he knows her. He didn't think that it would happen to him this fast. He didn't think that she would become that person. Kiyohira can't deny anymore.
He likes this woman.
He wants this woman.
He can't breathe without this woman.
It takes fireflies for someone to realize that he is in love.
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