Secrets

Fukumi Tachibana

Last chapter:

"Who was that?" Haru asked and looked up from his homework.

"The Osaka hospital." Makoto sat down across from Haru. "They have my mother and want me to meet with her."
————————————————————————
"Oh...are you going to?" Haru asked. He had always liked Mrs. Tachibana... that is until he found out about how she treated Makoto, and Ren and Ran.

Makoto closed his eyes tightly. He let out a long sigh and dropped his head in his hands. "I don't know." He let his eyes meet Haru's for a moment before they closed again. "I mean, I don't really want to."

"But?" Haru spoke up after a few seconds of silence.

"But, she's my mom." Makoto and Haru were quiet for a couple of minutes. "Would you be mad if I went?" Makoto finally asked.

Haru sighed. "No, I wouldn't be mad necessarily." He reached out to touch Makoto's face gently before holding his hands. "But I would be worried."

Makoto nodded his head. "The lady that I was on the phone with told me to think about it for a little bit and then call her when I make up my mind."

Haru nodded before he abruptly sat up straight in his chair. "Well, what do you want to do today?"

"We could go walk around downtown?" Makoto suggested.

Haru's eyes lit up at the thought and he nodded his head.
————————————————————————
Lamp posts lit up the dimming sky as they walked hand in hand down the sidewalk. They didn't have anything planned, just walking together was enough to make them happy.

They talked about nothing in particular, just playfully bickered back and forth.

"Haru!" Makoto jumped excitedly. "Look! Can we go, please?" He begged.

Haru looked to where his boyfriend was pointing and instead of answering, began walking over to the ice rink.

There were a few people there but not as many as there would be if Christmas had not already passed.

Ice skating went well, Makoto shrieking every few seconds about how he was going to die. Haru, of course decided to lay down on the ice, trying to "connect with the water".
————————————————————————
Once they had made their way back home, it was almost time to retire for the night. During their time out on their date, Makoto had been debating about what to do about his mom. And now he finally decided.

"Hey, I'm gonna call the hospital back." Makoto told Haru. Once his boyfriend nodded he left to go to the kitchen.

He looked up the number on his phone and typed it in before holding the phone up to his ear. It rang a couple of times before a ladies voice was heard on the other end.

"Hello, Osaka Hospital, How May I help you?" She spoke.

"Hi, I was called earlier about my mother. I'm Makoto Tachibana." Makoto explained.

"Alright" She hummed. "One second."

After a minute or so of waiting, Makoto finally heard her voice on the phone again.
"Alright, so would you like to schedule a meeting time?"

Makoto took a deep breath. "Yes."
————————————————————————

The next day was chilly as Makoto and Haru walked through the automatic doors of the hospital. Makoto was nervous, but that was to be expected. Haru had begged Makoto to allow him to accompany him and after thinking it through, Makoto agreed.

The smell of the hospital hit their noses and made Makoto grimace for a second. They walked up to the receptionist and stated why they were there.

They were ordered to sit in the waiting room and they would be called over shortly. The chairs were cushioned but still uncomfortable. Magazines were placed in racks on every wall as well as piled messily on the table in front of them.

"You okay?" Haru asked.

Makoto smiled and nodded. He wasn't okay. He was nervous and the bubbling feeling of dread formed in his stomach.

He gave Haru's hand a light squeeze of reassurance and after 10 minutes of waiting, a nurse walked out of the door in front of them.

"Mr. Tachibana?"

Makoto stood up and Haru didn't let go of his hand.

"Haruka?" Makoto asked.

"Please, be okay..." Haru whispered. Makoto bent down to give Haru a quick kiss before following the nurse.

Down the hallway there were various paintings, mostly beige colored and floral. Every few doors they passed were open and Makoto couldn't help but peek inside as they passed.

Once they reached the end of the hallway, the nurse opened a door that had "Fukumi Tachibana" placed in the clear frame attached to the door.

The door opened and Makoto had to face the fact that his mother was once again in front of him. Except this time she looked drained. She was laying in bed, her hair that was beginning to gray was up in a messy bun that was falling out. Her eyes were only half opened and she was much too thin.

"Makoto..." her voice wasn't smooth sounding like it was when he was younger. Now it was gravely and quiet.

Makoto urges himself to take a few steps forward and sit in the chair by the bed.

She turned and looked at him. Her eyes were glossed over with tears and her lips were cracked. The resemblance between Makoto and his mother was crazy, but with his mother looking as she did now, you wouldn't have known they were even related.

Her hands had a tremor as she wiped her eyes.
"Makoto..." she whispered, almost as if she was trying to comprehend that he was there. "I've been terrible, haven't I?" She let a tear fall from her eyelashes and land on her cheek before rolling down to her chin.

Makoto was angry. Who wouldn't be? He had tried to hate her for so long. All of his loathing for her built and built inside of him for years. She was terrible to him. She smoked and drank until half dead, she sat in silence as his father turned violent. She never stopped him. She was awful, but still, all that hate was suddenly washed away. Makoto felt his own tears fall down his face and couldn't help but hug his mom.

He had needed a mom for so long. And now she's in front of him. He wasn't angry anymore, he was just hurt.

"Mama!" He cried into her neck.

She too was sobbing as she was finally able to wrap her arms around her son again. "I'm so sorry, Makoto."

After holding each other and shaking with sobs, all of their tears that they held in were gone. She held onto Makoto's hands as she began to speak.

"If you would let me, I would like to explain why I was so terrible to you and your siblings."

Makoto nodded and braced himself for her next words.
————————————————————————