The Winners Take It All | Chishiya [English]

The power of emotions

Room 205.

Sarumi Asami had been living in this room for two weeks now - with no real prospect of improvement. She didn't eat, didn't drink, didn't sleep and was always aggressive.

I had read through her file, which Chishiya had dug up for me after I asked. She had been treated by several psychologists.

Exactly, the word was plural. The sixteen-year-old girl had changed psychologists, as some did with their underwear. Okay... Maybe that was a bad comparison.

But it was the statement that needed to be heeded.

She outright refused treatment.

That explained her freak out.

I tentatively knocked on the sturdy room door and entered, even though I got no answer.

She was still lying in the same place, only her black hair was visible, peeking out from under the blanket. I closed the door again and slowly strolled to the window, which I finally opened.

It was time for some fresh air to come in.

"Get out," the rough voice made me look at her. Two brown eyes looked at me, it looked like she wanted to throw more at me, which made me tense up a little.

"It's a beautiful day, don't you think?" I asked simply, ignoring her request. I wasn't allowed to shy away, then everything would be in vain.

"Do you understand me? Leave my room!" she almost shouted, and I leaned against the windowsill. She glared at me, but I could see another emotion in her eyes... I had been right when we first met.

She was afraid.

I didn't know why, but I wanted to find out, I wanted to take the weight off her shoulders that seemed to linger there. However, I first had to find a way for her to let me get close to her. So far, she only tolerated Chishiya near her, I was lucky that I hadn't been a target for thrown things yet again.

"My name is Hayashi Ayuna, but you are welcome to call me by my first name, Sarumi-chan," I introduced myself to break the awkward silence that now surrounded us.

"To hell with your name," she replied, hissing, and I watched as she hid under her blankets again.

Progress, right?

I turned back to the window where I looked at the blue sky. Now that I had stood in this room for a longer period, she reminded me more and more of myself - of the time when I had been in the deepest holes.

"You know, there was a person in my life who was very wise," I took a little breath, "She always told me stories about the big, wide world when I was little. I would like to share one of these stories with you."

I heard her breathing. She made no move to give me an answer, but I wasn't expecting one either.

"There was once a little girl who had a big dream. But no one wanted to support her because this dream had something childlike about it. She wanted to be able to run as fast as the wind.

The adults couldn't understand it and tried everything to stop her from doing what she wanted. 'You'll never achieve this goal,' they said, 'Care about what's more important!' But she didn't want to listen to people, she didn't want to be criticized for what she wanted."

I heard a slight rustling in her bed. She had turned around and was now lying facing me, even though she was still under her blanket.

"When she could no longer bear what they told her, she fled her village. She ran into the forest, where she had always felt most comfortable. So, she ran and didn't look back.

'I'm a free person,' she kept telling herself, the further away she got from home. She felt a power she had never experienced before."

I smiled slightly as I took a short break. Nana had told me this story. It had been one of my favorite ones.

"She met all sorts of different animals. And then she came across a rabbit that looked at her with big eyes. The girl asked the little creature why it was staring at her like that, and it replied: 'I see a light in you, that is as bright as the stars at night.'

Astonished, the little child ran on, only to come across a deer. She was stared at again and it answered the same question: 'I see a light in you that is as dazzling as the sun at noon.'

She continued running, only to encounter a fox who was also watching her. He answered, 'I see a light in you that is as silver as the moon in the night sky.'

The girl was afraid, felt attacked and didn't understand what they were trying to say to her. Night fell, she wandered through the darkness, only to come across a large wolf. The animal didn't seem to want to harm her, so she got brave and asked him a question: 'Mr. Wolf! Do you see a light in me? One that is as bright as the stars, as dazzling as the sun and as silver as the moon?' The wolf shook his big head.

'I see a light in you, it is bright and powerful. It is your will, your strength, and your courage.'

Then the girl realized something. She understood what the animals had wanted to tell her. She turned around gratefully, greeted the animal, and disappeared between the trees. Then she ran, she ran as fast as the wind.

She understood that she couldn't run away. She had to face it herself, she had to give her will the courage and strength just to finally realize true freedom. Only then could her dream come true. She wanted to be fast, to follow the wind and to see the horizon. She couldn't just take a gap that would quickly close again. She had to find a hole.

So, she ran home and proved to the other residents that she was the child of the wind, that she could be fast.

And they believed her and let her go - into endless freedom."

I looked at her bed one more time before pushing myself off the windowsill and making my way out of the room.

As I closed the door, I heard a quiet sob.

I smiled slowly.

That's how I reacted when Nana told me this story.

I was a little closer to the answer, now I let the power of emotions do the rest.

Speed was not always the best solution.

Success lays in calmness.

Now it was up to Sarumi-chan, she had to decide.

And I would wait, no matter how long it took her.