༺053༻
After our little excursion to Maid-O! Café,
Mama and I paid a short visit
to Kanda Shrine.
We paid our respects
and I pray for mama's upcoming
medical tests.
I prayed that everything would go just fine
and that there wouldn't be any problem.
I hoped God would be able to hear me
among all the people here
who also prayed to Him.
༺054༻
"Did you pray for your
entrance exam in Tsukuba High, Chizu?"
Mama,
despite of her illness
still thinks of me
instead of focusing on herself.
I don't know if she is giving up on her life,
or simply wants to enjoy it
with
me.
༺055༻
"If I ever failed the exam,
will you be mad at me?"
I say as we walk along
Akihabara Electric Town,
back to the station.
Mama pats my head
and pinch my nose,
the same way she always does
to ease my worries.
"Of course not!
Mama won't be ever mad at Chizu.
But, it will make me happy
extremely happy
if you'll pass it
and continue your senior high
in Tsukuba."
"Zurui yo, mama.
You just said you won't be mad,
and yet you're putting me under pressure.
Tokyo high isn't the same in Kushiro.
At least in Kushiro,
I had Nagisa to teach me."
༺056༻
Mama giggles
and the shadow of sadness
when we are in Maid-O! Café,
vanishes from her eyes.
"You like Nagisa, don't you Chizu?"
I blush.
How can I keep a secret
if she is better at reading me
than myself?
"I- I like him only as a friend, Mama!"
༺057༻
As we get near the station,
Mama keeps on teasing me about Nagisa,
and tells me to wait
in front of Taito HEY
because she has forgotten something
in Kanda Shrine.
༺058༻
The noise coming from the game center
aches my head.
I am looking for a seat
inside the arcade shop
when a guy around my age
looks at me
and smiles michievously.
༺059༻
"Are you on your own, ojou-chan?"
Said the long, pale blond haired guy
with lots of piercing on his eyebrows and lips.
Instead of running away from him,
fear consumes me and paralyzes me.
I can't think of words
capable to tell him to stay away from me,
and mama told me to wait here.
I can't just leave.
Tasukete...
༺060༻
Beside me,
a white-haired clean cut guy
who is playing a shooting game,
curses loud and drops the gun.
He glances at me and the blonde guy.
"Oy Minato!
Stop scaring the girl,
or you'll never get
yourself a girlfriend."
The blonde haired guy blushes.
"Urusai Tomoe!
I'm just making friends with her
Since she's all alone here."
Replies the blonde hair guy named Minato.
༺061༻
Tomoe stares at me and smiles.
"You're not from here, are you?"
"Wha- what do you mean?"
"You're not from Tokyo.
Is what I mean.
You shouldn't be on your own
in a place like this.
Good thing it was just Minato."
He looks at Minato again and adds,
"Minato only looks like that,
but he won't bite."
༺062༻
I was about to defend myself
because I think Tomoe
misunderstood something,
when I heard Mama calling my name.
When she sees me,
Tomoe pats Minato
and points at the UFO Catchers and
they walk towards it.
But before they turn left,
Tomoe catches my eyes
and winks at me.
And then he mouthed,
"Nice to meet you."
༺063༻
"Who are those guys, Chizu?"
Mama gives me a small box
while her eyes are following Tomoe.
"I guess they're my first friends
here in Tokyo, mama."
Mama smiles at me.
"I'm glad that you don't look
at the outer appearance of people
but at their personalities."
If only she knew...
"Anyway, I bought you a present!"
I open the box mama gave me.
And in there,
a brand new phone
is waiting for me.