Chapter 2

It was that day of the month again. Mom just left Nee-san’s allowance on my study table. “I’m off to grocery shopping. Please hand the red envelope to Maya. White one is for you” a note under two envelopes read. The white envelope contained my allowance plus extra, for my trip. The extra money always had more than I needed and I usually just buy ice cream or something on the way home.

I went to the bus station and rode a bus to the train station. I then took the train to the next town and walked to the hospital. I saw Maya-nee when I entered the front door. She was checking in, I believe. I usually go there on the afternoon, as Nee-san usually doesn’t go there earlier than 2pm. Since we’re on a school break today, she arrives at around 10am.

“Maya-nee!” I called.
She turned around to face me. “Yuu-kun!” she called.
“Mom asked me to give you this,” I said upon handing her the red envelope.
“Aaah, arigato!” she exclaimed upon receiving the envelope. “So, how are you? I wasn’t able to see you last month.”
“I’m fine. Mom and dad’s doing well too. But you should drop by once in a while. I think dad wants us to go to the summer festival together.”
“Ah, gomen gomen!” she replied, placing her hands together. “I’ll come visit when I have some time. I have to study for entrance exams to university, but I’ll see if I can squeeze some time out for the festival.”

I felt a little sad when Nee-san used the word “visit”. But I didn’t complain. It really would be just a visit if ever she drops by. She doesn’t live there anymore, after all.

“Maya-chan!” a nurse called. “Noburu-san’s waiting for you.”
“Haai!” she answered. “I have to go. Thanks again! Take care on your way back!” she waved as she ran to Noburu-san’s room.

I was about to walk back out, but I saw a woman and a long-haired child outside, walking to the hospital. The long-haired child reminded me of the girl in room 203. I decided it wouldn’t hurt to go there.

I walked to the room and gazed at the sign. “203” it read. I knocked on the door and waited for any response. There was none. I reached for the doorknob, turned it, and silently opened the door.

It was like last month. She was just staring at me again with those dead eyes. The place remained empty and the curtains remained closed, maybe more so than before. The air conditioning was still on. I raised my hand to wave to her and her mouth opened.

“Wrong room,” she said. Her voice held no emotions; no anger, surprise, nor sadness. It felt so empty.
“Actually, I’m here to visit you,” I said. “May I come in?”
She played a round of staring game with me for a while before replying with an “Mm.” She then just looked at the blanket that’s covering her feet up to her waist.
I took a chair by the door and placed it beside her bed, before sitting on it. “It’s such a nice day outside. Why are you just sitting here, cooped up in an air-conditioned room?” I asked.

She didn’t answer. Her eyes remained glued to her blanket.

“Isn’t the room too dark? Want me to open the curtains?” I asked.
“No,” she answered.

I sighed and tried to think about something that might interest her, also half-hoping that she would talk about something. Glancing at the food on the table, I noticed there’s also a glass of water which was almost empty.

“I’ll go get you some more water,” I said, grabbing the glass then dashing out. “A-“ I heard her call before I closed the door. I pondered for a bit whether I’ll try to find out what she wanted to say. But, deciding it didn’t matter, I just shrugged it off and kept going.

There were water dispensers scattered in the hallway outside the rooms, so it was easy enough to find one. Upon refilling the glass, I returned to the girl’s room. I saw the nurse I talked to last month when I arrived just outside the girl’s room. She just closed the door behind her, holding a tray with the girl’s breakfast on top.

“Oh, you are…” she seemed surprised when she saw me.
“A friend of the patient there,” I finished.
“Ah, yes. I recalled seeing you last month.” She eyed the glass of water in my hand.
“Oh, I just refilled her water for her. The glass was almost empty,” I explained.
“Oh, so that’s what happened to it,” she laughed. “I was wondering where that glass went. I just served her lunch, actually.”

I realized that was probably what the girl tried to tell me. Her lunch was about to be served, so her water was about to be refilled. I entered the room after talking with the nurse and saw the girl eating. One of the lights was turned on. It made me wonder why they didn’t just open the curtains. The girl glanced at me for a second, before turning her attention back to her food. I left the glass of water on her table, next to another glass of water. I then took a sit on the chair beside her and just watched her eat. The hospital seems to serve lunch early. It wasn’t noon yet, so I wasn’t hungry.

After watching her eat for a while, the girl suddenly stopped and left the utensils on the plate. She then turned to me and asked, “Why are you doing this?”
“Doing what?” I asked.
“Staying here,” she answered. I would have expected her to be annoyed at this point, but did not sense any emotion from her words, as if she was just reading a script. Yet, those words got me thinking.

Why am I doing this? I asked myself. The only answer I could come up with was that I felt sorry for her. I assumed that the girl didn’t have any friends or relatives who visit her. And after talking to the nurse last month, I felt like I should visit her at least one more time.

“Why not?” was my reply. “Does it bother you?” I asked.

The girl shook her head. It seemed that she couldn’t care less if I was there or not.

“Anyway, my name is Yuu. Ohayashi, Yuu. What’s yours?” I asked.

She only turned away from me. Apparently, she had no intention of telling me her name. After a long awkward moment, I decided to show her the detachable thumb trick.

“Hey, check this out!” I called. I then did the trick as she looked.

Her left hand suddenly flew towards my hands. I was startled and stopped the trick. Her hand stopped in mid-air as she studied both my hands. I guess she hasn’t seen the trick before. Looking at her face then, I saw a puzzled look. She pulled her hand back and stared at her hands. That was the first time I saw her act like a child.

“Want me to tell you how I did it?” I asked her, happy that I was able to get some reaction from her.

Her hands dropped onto her blanket-covered lap. She lightly shook her head in response to my question.

I continued asking her random stuff, such as what her interests are. But until lunch time, I did not hear much of a response from her. I bade her goodbye when I noticed that it was already 12:12pm, then headed for the door.

“Ano…” I heard her say before I opened the door.
I turned around to look at her. “Hm?”
“Are you coming again?” she asked, without looking at me. Her attention seemed to be on her hands. I assumed she was trying to figure out the thumb trick.

I asked her if she wanted me to.

“Mm…” she shrugged a little. Perhaps she was too shy to give a direct answer. But I wasn’t sure if she wanted me to visit again or not.
“Well, I’ll be visiting again next month. I’ll bring you something good, so look forward to it.” I looked at her to look for any response, but she just sat still there. Shrugging, I turned, opened the door and left.
“Ja… matane” I heard her say in a soft voice before I closed the door. I then went on my way back home. There was a line of stores open on my way back. Usually, I bought ice cream there with my extra money, but I found something more interesting this time around.




-chan = a suffix used for endearment.
-kun = similar to -chan. Usually used for boys.
Arigato = Thank you (usually spelled as Arigatou, but I used 'Arigato' to show how Maya pronounced the word)
Gomen = Sorry (informal)
Haai = Lengthened version of "Hai", which means "Yes"
Ano... = Used similarly to "Um..."
Ja matane = See you