Shiratori Haruto
“Mom, why don’t you buy that cream which you normally use?” I asked childishly with my head turned up at my mother, who wore a simple white top with a black pair of tight jeans, which was exposing her calves.
She turned her head left at me and replied with a little smile, “That’s a little expensive.”
***
“Mom, I wanna buy this packet of chips,” The same voice of mine asked as I looked at my right on a little shop through which we walked.
“No, we don’t really have any money right now.”
I turned left at my mom, who was looking at the front seriously.
“I knew… how she tried to evade my eyes…”
***
“Yeah. We really are a little poor than the others.”
My eyes were wide open in the darkness of the room where I lay on the ground, on top of my futon bed. I had my eyes fixed to the top. I blinked, and then turned my body to the right. I closed my eyes, trying to sleep. Then, I turned again to the front. I moved my right arm on top of my forehead and covered my forehead. I partly opened my eyes which were partly covered by my waist and arm. “I can’t even get the things other kids don’t even have to ask for,” I thought slowly in my head. “Why is destiny such a damned thing for some?” I closed my eyes, gulped in and inhaled breath at the same time, and then exhaled out. “It’s not like we’re poor. It’s just that… we’re a little… economically… struggling. Maybe because it’s just my mom who earns.” I partly opened my eyes again. I looked at the fan on top of my head, whose blades were dusty at the ends, and the motor was dusty too at the one half. “My mom doesn’t deserve to live struggling like this.”
“I wanna give her the life she deserves. But…”
***
“Mom!” I said as I stood with my white socks, white shirt, and a black pair of trousers on, me trying up my tie, in front of the figure of my mom buttoning her yellow coat as she stood in naked feet, facing me. “I want that game!”
“But can’t you see? It’s seven hundred yens! Can’t you see, Haruto, that we need to save money! We can’t afford this!”
“But—”
“No.”
“Mom!”
“No, Haruto. Enough is enough. I can’t buy you that game.”
“Last night, she had been working late at night due to some work of the office. And, she was unable to sleep properly due to mosquitoes. Her mood was not right in the morning too, and I was able to feel that clearly. That day… I had a vibe too that the day wasn’t really gonna go well. I don’t know why. I just had a feeling. And, when she refused to give me that game… thousands of thoughts started floating all around in my head.”
“What? Haruto? Can’t you even buy that game for us to play?” The image of Itsuki came in my mind.
“What?”
“Haruto’s so poor.”
“Obviously, her mom’s a single mother, who can’t even raise a child by herself.”
“His mom used to be a housewife, after all. Obviously, there were gonna be some problems.”
“Haruto’s so poor.”
“Oh my, Haruto’s so poor!”
“I was unable to control myself.”
My hands were clenched tightly and my legs were trembling a little. My head was tilted down, and my eyes were covered with my hair. My clenched fist was trembling. A drop of tear shone a little between the streaks of my hairs. It soon ran down the cheek, moved down at the chin, and then rained towards the ground.
“What… happened, H-Haruto?” I heard the voice of my mom. “Are you crying for the game? It’s just a game, de—”
“Mom! You never buy me things! I can’t even… come up to you… to tell my wishes! My choices! I… too… end up watching my price tag, before even trying to see the thing, because… I know… I can’t like a thing… out of our league.” I snorted in and wiped my face aggressively. “WHY ARE WE SO POOR?! WHAT HAVE WE DONE THAT WE STRUGGLE TO GET EVEN THE BASIC THINGS?!”
“Why are we so poor?! What have we done that we struggle to even get the basic things?!”
“Why are we so poor?! What have we done that we struggle to even get the basic things?!”
I quickly opened my eyes. I inhaled quickly, moved my back up, and sat up. I panted and took in and out breaths repetitively through my mouth. It was dark, but I was able to make out the image of the little drawers in front of me. I turned my head down on my right, and looked at the sleeping figure of Itsuki. HUFF. HUFF. HUFF. HUFF. I moved my head up front again.
“Why… am I such a bad son?”
***
Yashiro Kiyoshi
“He then didn’t return that night.”
I looked at the expressionless eyes of Minori as she looked at her hands on top of her thighs as she lay on the hospital bed, her back side bent up. My mouth was open. She continued, “He was afraid to come back home after doing such an embarrassing thing. He’d texted me that he was at Takemura-kun’s house, and then he’d blocked me at that very instant.”
I nodded, my mouth still a little open as I heard her story. I closed my mouth calmly, and then straightened my back a little backward as I inhaled in a breath. “So, what happened next?”
“What happened next… You won’t believe me what happened next.”
“I will,” I replied with a little smile. “You’ve come so far, Shiratori-san, and I’m proud of that. Now just… complete this story. Then, I’ll begin my investigation, and everything will be fine in the end.”
