Secrets Of Spring | Shigatsu Wa Kimi No Uso ;; Watari Ryota |

Chapter Twenty-Five

Maika
Eleven Years Ago

"Daddy!! Daddy!!" I cheerfully exclaim as I skip toward his desk. I go on my tippy toes and rest my chin on the surface of the table. "Are we going soon?"

"Yes, Maika, we'll leave after I finish this," He replies with a soft voice.

"Okay, I'll wait right here then," I plop down right where I stand and puff out my cheeks while playing with my hair.

"Sweetie, you should get ready," My dad says as he closes his laptop and looks underneath his desk to see me.

"I am ready!! I've been ready for the past couple of days, don't you remember??"

"Of course I do sweetie, how could I forget such a special day?"

• • •

My hands begin to tremble as I hold the program and tickets in my hand. I hold my tears back and look up into Watari's hazelnut eyes that are filled with confusion and concern at my reaction.

"You... Got tickets to Swan Lake? I thought they were all sold out..." I stutter to ask.

"Well, let's just say I know someone. Happy birthd-"

I hug him tightly as I breathe in sharply, my heart beginning to ache. "Thank you," I clench onto the cloth of his uniform, hiding my face from the rest of them.

A tear runs down my cheek and lands on his blue button-up. I wipe my cheek with my hand before pulling out of the hug. "I love it."

"But I'm scared at the same time..."

"Well it looks like Watari one the gift-giving prize for Maika this year," Tsubaki comments.

"Hey, it's not a competition, I love everything you guys gave me, honestly, I didn't need any gifts. Just being with you guys is the best present,"

"Awhhh, Maika!!" Kaori and Tsubaki cheer and hug me tightly.

"Alright, so we have something else for you, close your eyes," Kousei says to make Kaori and Tsubaki get off of me.

I do as he says but still feel a pair of hands cover my eyes from behind me. "I'm closing my eyes!"

"We have to make sure you're not peeking!" Watari says from behind me. "Alright, you can look now," He says after a moment.

His hands part from my eyes and I open them, revealing a mini lunchbox cake covered in white frosting, white dollops and strawberries lining the edge, and the letters "HBD" piped in the center with a lit candle.

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Maika, happy birthday to you!!" The four of them sing and tears of joy well in my eyes but I blink them away.

"Come on, make a wish!" Kaori tells me and I bring my hands together and close my eyes.

"I wish that we'll always be together like this, no matter what,"

• • •

I meet my mom at the restaurant she made a reservation at and we enter together. The hostess seats us immediately because of our reservation and we order quickly after looking over the menu. I order a beef udon soup and my mom orders a curry udon and we graciously begin to eat after our long days.

"So, how was your day with your friends? Did you do anything special?" My mom asks and then slurps her noodles.

"I met Kioshi at the park and then Kaori, Kousei, Tsubaki, and Watari at a cafe. All of them gave me gifts but with the four at the cafe, they got me a mini cake,"

"Cute! What did they get you?"

"Tsubaki got me a bunch of my favorite snacks, Kousei got me a plush from Fruits Basket, and Kaori made me a collage of our old childhood memories,"

My mom smiles. "That's sweet, what about the two boys?"

I pull out the music box and set it on the table. "Kioshi got this music box made for me to commemorate my last performance. He painted it and the ballerina is supposed to be me,"

My mom sets down her utensils and examines the figure with the gentlest touch. "Wow, this is amazing, it's... Beautiful, that boy is such a sweetheart, I knew he would grow to be a gentleman,"

"Yeah, he really is..." I mumble to myself. "And then Watari got us tickets to Swan Lake..."

My mom's expression turns serious and she frowns. "Have you told them yet?"

I stay quiet for a second. "No, I can never bring myself to talk about it,"

She sighs to herself. "I know it's hard, but they're your friends. They'll always be there for you no matter what, they won't treat you differently just because of what happened then and what's happening to you now. It'll be easier if they know too, for you and for them,"

"I know they won't treat me differently, but I don't want it to always be in the back of their minds. I just want to pretend like everything's okay, because if I don't, then I don't know if I'm truly strong enough to stand on my own," I confess.

My mom grabs my hands and stares at me with a gentle gaze. "Strength doesn't just come from being independent. Sure, it's a factor of it, but true strength is knowing your own weaknesses and knowing when to rely on others. That's the only way you'll be able to grow. The longer you keep this secret, the more suffocating it'll be--so suffocating that it'll eat you up inside."