Ishiki (Consciousness)

2 - Mud Between My Toes (Part 1 of 4)

Chapter Two

Mud Between My Toes

I woke up on the morning of April 1st to the sound of pounding rain against the bedroom window. Lightning cracked in the sky, illuminating our apartment, and thunder roared in response. It was six o'clock in the morning. My train to school was scheduled in four hours. I thought I should go back to sleep, but a thousand nervous butterflies were already fluttering around in my stomach. There was no way I could quell their furious movements.

Looking over to the side, I saw that Auntie Setona was still sleeping quietly, her head turned away from me.

"Auntie Setona," I whispered, trying to wake her up as gently as possible.

"Auntie Setona," I repeated, a little louder this time. She still didn't show any signs of waking, which was strange, since she usually didn't sleep so heavily.

"Auntie Setona, wake up!" I said it in my regular speaking voice, but it seemed like I was shouting in comparison to the still room. So finally, she shot out of bed.

"Joey, Joey! What's wrong? Are you okay?" She was wide-eyed and out of breath, looking around frantically.

"It's okay. I'm just awake. I thought we could start getting ready early," I said, a pang of guilt hitting my butterfly-infested stomach. "Sorry."

Before she could speak, she succumbed to a coughing fit, an occurrence that was becoming all too common recently. "It's okay. Let's get up, then. I'll make us breakfast, how's that?" And again, she started coughing.

"Have you seen a doctor about that cough?" I asked. Suddenly, the idea of my first day at Ketsumu had escaped my mind.

"What are you talking about, honey?" she responded, even though she knew what I meant.

"Well, I mean, you've been coughing an awful lot lately. It's just that it's making me worried."

With a look that was both concerned and exhausted, she said, "I don't need to see a doctor. I'm just a bit tired. Work is getting difficult is all. It's probably nothing, and besides, what's a quack doctor going to do for me anyway? Am I right?"

"No," I said, frowning. "I think you should see a doctor. What if it's serious? You might as well take care of it even if it's hardly anything."

"Joey," she started, stretching out the sound of my name. She was staring down her nose at me. "Going to the doctor is really not for me. I know it's nothing serious, so why should I waste the money? But if I feel like I have to go the doctor, I'll go on my own accord, okay? End of conversation."

I sank back into the bed, defeated.

"Come on, Joey. I'll go make us a nice breakfast." She was back to normal — lively and chipper once again.

As she went to prepare the meal, I changed into a pair of jeans and an argyle sweater — my best clothes. They made me look like a boy who was older and more sophisticated than myself. But I was determined to make a good impression on my first day of school.

"Since you got up so early, Joey, we can walk to the train station instead of taking the bus. It'll save us some money," Auntie Setona called from the kitchen. I wasn't sure if she realized that it was raining.

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Author's Note:

Thank you all so much for reading this, fanning, commenting, voting. I hope to continue to have your support :)

From now on, the chapters will be broken up into sections. I hope you find it better to read that way :)

Anyway, tell me what you think! <3