Chapter 10
Later the same afternoon, while Shizuyo is straightening up the house, the doorbell rings. “Now who could that be?” Shizuyo wonders aloud. She puts down the duster and starts for the door. When she pulls it open, Naoyuki’s friends from school are standing on the porch. “Oh, hello,” Shizuyo greets them. “This is a surprise.”
“Hi, Miss Shizuyo,” Kotaro greets her back. “We just wanted to come by and see how Naoyuki was doing.”
Haruko holds out the teddy bear and the card in her hands so that Shizuyo can see. “We brought him some get-well presents,” she adds.
Shizuyo smiles. “Thank you,” she says. “Please come in.”
The kids step into the house and kick off their shoes, then follow Shizuyo up the stairs to Naoyuki’s room. They find Naoyuki sound asleep and quietly approach the bed. Kotaro takes the card from Haruko and sets it on the bed, in a spot where Naoyuki will see it when he wakes up; then Haruko sets the teddy bear down on top of it. She whispers a goodbye, then follows Kotaro and Shizuyo back out of the room.
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In the meantime, Kazunori sits at his book-and-paper-cluttered bedroom desk mulling over the notes he had gotten from Shizuyo when his older sister walks in on him. “Hey, Kazu,” she says. “You’ve been at this for a while. Why don’t you take a break?” She sets a cup of tea on the desk next to him.
Kazunori leans back in his chair. “Maybe you’re right, Mizue,” he sighs. “Thanks for the tea.” He picks up the cup and takes a sip.
“So is this school work that’s got you all tied up lately?” his sister asks as she sits down on his bed, moving her copper-brown hair from over her green eyes.
“Yes, but...well...It’s personal, too.”
“This is for our little cousin, isn’t it?” Mizue inquires.
“That’s right,” Kazu replies as he takes another sip and sets the cup of tea back down.
Mizue pauses, sitting in a pensive silence. “How is Naoyuki doing these days?”
Kazu sighs and shakes his head. “Not so good, I’m afraid,” he replies, showing her his notes. “You see, he’s still struggling with his parents’ disappearance, and he’s refusing to communicate like a normal person. You can probably imagine the backlash he’s getting from his classmates and his teachers...”
“It sure can’t be pretty,” Mizue murmurs.
“That’s an understatement,” Kazu mutters. “It’s resulted in his being bullied, even to the point of a hospital visit – which happened just yesterday.” He frowns. “And I wasn’t there to help him.”
“Don’t beat yourself up about it,” Mizue comforts him. “There was nothing you could do.”
“That’s what makes this analysis even more important,” Kazu says determinedly. “If I don’t do something, this situation will only get worse from here on out.”
“Well what have you gotten so far?” Mizue asks as she leans forward to study Kazu’s notes.
“So far, we’ve got two situations,” Kazu begins, “the first being his parents’ desertion; the second, a period of time in a boys’ home when he was put up for adoption. He stopped talking after his parents disappeared and began isolating himself after Ms. Matsuda retrieved him from the home. From what I’ve personally observed, it’s as if he’s put up a wall to block himself off from other people and it seems that no one can get through to him – not even Ms. Matsuda, who’s taken care of him ever since his father’s brother withdrew his guardianship and put him up for adoption.”
“How sad,” Mizue comments. “His scars are deep. Everything was snatched away from him when his parents left; he doesn’t want to be hurt again, so rather than run that risk, he’s decided to shut himself off from everyone around him.”
Kazunori nods. “It seems that he’s trying to reach out to these two kids at his school, but... it’s painful for him to even attempt establishing deep ties with anyone.”
Mizue thinks for a moment. “Well, if the root lies in his parents’ disappearance,” she suggests, “then maybe we could find out where his parents are.”
“But how?”
“Our dad must have something; after all, Naoyuki’s mother is his sister.”
A smile slinks across Kazu’s face. “All right, let’s see what we can get.”
Mizue smiles as well. “Our little cousin will be ecstatic when we get him and his parents back together. I can’t wait to see the look on his face.”
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“I can’t believe it! How did you get this?!” Shizuyo cries.
“Our mom and dad had the information,” Mizue informs Shizuyo. “Now that you know the Kondos’ whereabouts, you can contact them as soon as you like.”
“This is great!” Shizuyo exclaims. “Thank you both so much!” She glances at Naoyuki, who is sitting next to her on the couch, hugging the fluffy brown teddy bear that Haruko had left for him. “Well, what do you think, Naoyuki? Are you ready to go see your folks?” Naoyuki looks up at her and grins as he nods excitedly.
“Whenever you’re ready, we can set up a meeting between you and our parents so that you can get directions to the Kondos’ house. For now, there’s the address and phone number so that you can get in touch,” Kazunori tells Shizuyo.
“Thank you again, Kazu; Mizue,” Shizuyo says gratefully.
Naoyuki bows slightly to his cousins in thanks.
“As soon as you’re well, Naoyuki,” Kazu tells him, “you can see them again.” He pats Naoyuki on the shoulder and nods a “goodbye”; then, he and Mizue take their leave.
“You should get some rest now,” Shizuyo tells Naoyuki. She helps him up the stairs to his room and puts him in bed. After that, she goes into the kitchen and grabs a pen, an envelope and paper from the drawer, then sits down at the table. Aya, she thinks as she puts the pen to the paper and begins to write, we want to see you – Naoyuki wants to see you.
