ℑ𝔫𝔣𝔦𝔡𝔢𝔩𝔦𝔱𝔶 ıllıllı 𝔐𝔢𝔤𝔲𝔪𝔦 𝔉𝔲𝔰𝔥𝔦𝔤𝔲𝔯𝔬

【25】

𝔞 𝔩𝔬𝔫𝔤 𝔰𝔱𝔬𝔯𝔶

-

"woah!" keiko shouted.

"it's so bright over here! and there's no snow" she was beaming.

i never thought i'd see her so cheery again.

"c'mon. i looked up this gojo guy before we boarded the plane. seems he's by the shore" i groaned.

we went through security check out, luckily keiko was smart enough to be taught english by her grandmother when she was young.

we waited outside the drop-off section and called a taxi. i began to feel embarrassed seeing how much more conversation keiko can achieve in english than i have. i always thought i'd never come here so i never sought to learn much than the basics from school.

the road there was long, it took us 40 minutes just o get from the airport to the otherside. it was aggravating.

"it's okay, we're almost there" she gave me a hopeful smile as she held my hand.

acknowledging the fact that keiko and i were finally together set an internal warmth in my heart. i can no longer feel anguish or sadness thinking she'll ever be with another man. i'm all hers and she's all mine.

"we're here!" she spoke.

she gladly thanked the driver, giving him an extra tip for kindness. i'm gonna have to repay maki a lot when we got back, she gave us half her shares just to get here and survive for a week and keiko is just spending it all on travel fares. we'll be broke before we know it.

"hey keiko, maybe we shouldn't be giving out too much money, i mean we need it to maintain ourselves for a week" i reminded her.

"i'm sorry, it's just exciting to be in a new country. plus san fransisco sorta reminds me of tokyo, except it's more cramped over there and the houses are a bit smaller and the buildings are a lot taller. other than that it's kinda the same" she gave me a bright smile.

i smiled, seeing how content she is. we arrived in front of a large two-story home. there seemed to be a garden in the front full of flowers and statues. i've never seen so many cute little flowers before. we entered his main gate and through his paved road that lead to the front door of his house. we were by the doors, ready to reveal everything.

as i reach to the doorbell, my fingers begin to shake.

"megumi? are you nervous?" she asked.

"yeah, i'm not sure what i'll find out. or if i'll enjoy hearing when i find out. as much as i'm looking forward to knowing more about mom's past--and i guess some of dad's. . .i'm afraid it's all going to come back and haunt me. they both died for me, and it feels awful knowing someone like me had both of them taken away" i slouched myself.

"megumi, it wasn't your fault. your mom chose to give you life and in the process, she passed. it happens. i'm sure she's happy you ended up alive rather than it being the other way around. and toji. . .he made the choice to protect you because you're his son. and that's what really matters. he really cared about you--he was just terrible with his conflicting emotions" she reassured me.

i showed off a small sad smile. in a way, she's right. i have to keep moving forward--for them. i let out a long deep sigh and hitch my breath.

ringing the doorbell, it echoed inside the house. it was quiet. silent even, no birds or cars were passing buy, just. . .dead silence. something began to feel awfully wrong. just then, footsteps began ascending towards us. the doors opened wide, revealing a tall lanky older man with bright azure eyes and white-colored hair.