Kinship

Of all the people I would have wanted to meet, she was the very last on the list. I had been trying so hard during those days to improve the person I had been in the past and, in some way, even if in small increments, I was succeeding. But she managed to throw all my progress in the trash in an instant. Our gazes met, and I started to feel a type of discomfort inside me that sent me back in time. Her look was not serene either. She, like me, did not expect such a meeting after so long. She hadn't changed much. She was just taller and physically more mature. I immediately recognized her delicate face framed by long black hair, topped by two eyes that reminded me of the night's blue. Her features, the thin nose and lips that were neither too thin nor too full left no room for doubt. It was her. Of course, even her style of dress had changed; her faded shorts and shirts with small patches were replaced with fashionable clothes. She wore a light blue shirt with a small neckline, a blue jacket that matched her eyes, and shorts in a shade of blue darker than the shirt, with long socks underneath. Chika-san and Yuto-kun, who had meanwhile approached the door, looked at each other in confusion. They didn't understand the reason for our reaction. What the girl did next left even me taken aback.

"Hello. I'm Harada Euiko."

She said with an air that was calm and irritated at the same time. Why had she introduced herself as if we didn't know each other? I almost blurted out the question aloud. She certainly didn't want them to know we actually knew each other, but the reason was unknown to me. Maybe she didn't want them to know about our past or she was taken aback to have found me in that house. Perhaps she had preferred to pretend to have nothing to do with me to avoid uncomfortable questions. I must say that, unlike me, she was good at hiding it. There was one thing I was certain about, she was genuinely annoyed by my presence. It was comforting to know that the feeling was mutual. In fact, between the two of us, I was almost certainly the more annoyed one. It came naturally to think of calling her by her real name, but it would have been strange since she had introduced herself to me as a stranger. So, even though I was panicked, I decided to play along with the game she had set up. The only thing that managed to give me courage was Yuto-Kun's presence there beside me.

"H...h...hello, I'm Maeda Ayame."

My voice was trembling just like the night before, but for a much different and more serious reason. Before me was the person because of whom I had begun to distrust others. She was the friend who had turned her back on me during middle school.

"Hey Euiko, what brings you here?"

Yuto-kun asked, addressing the girl. That sentence added to my confusion. He had called her by name so naturally, so they must have known each other for a while, or at the very least, have a good relationship.

"I wasn't able to visit the hospital these days, so since Chika was coming back, I asked if I could come with her. But I didn't expect that you were busy with a girl in the house... alone..."

I saw Yuto-kun hurriedly run a hand through his hair. Perhaps, before someone explicitly mentioned it, he hadn't given it much thought. Or maybe he had paid attention and the mere fact that someone had openly described the situation had made him uncomfortable. Somehow, seeing him flustered stirred me as well, despite nothing remarkable happening.

"Don't talk nonsense. She's a friend of mine. We were just celebrating my discharge from the hospital. That's all." He blurted out, almost as if apologizing for something he didn't need to explain. Despite us being no more than this, the word 'friend' made me feel guilty for even thinking that the evening could be a pretext for something else.

"I see." She said, slightly furrowing her eyebrows and letting her gaze wander from Yuto-kun to me.

"Sorry, you said you came here to see me, but then how do you plan to get back home?"

"Obviously, I'm staying here," she retorted tersely.

"We don't have an extra bed," Yuto-kun hurriedly added.

"We'll gamble for the futon," she said undeterred, not giving up her air of superiority.

"What? I'm going to sleep peacefully in my bed. Just because we're cousins doesn't mean you can treat me any way you like."

Cousins? I wondered, hoping I had heard wrong. Alas, it was not so. Yuto-kun had indeed called her cousin. The girl who had stabbed me in the back was related to my current and only friend. It couldn't get any worse.

"Well guys, why don't we go inside instead of standing at the door?" Chika-san said to everyone present, even though I wanted to distance myself as much as possible. It's one thing to put effort into trying to improve the character that I had always carried with me, it's another to have to deal with a living part of my past again. I definitely wasn't ready or strong enough to face this last situation. Trying to maintain some distance, I decided to bid them farewell before heading to my house, next door.

"Sorry guys... I have some things to do at home before my aunt comes back," I said. It was a blatantly false statement. Even if I had errands to run, since I literally lived a stone's throw away, I could have started them a bit later. Euiko, seeing me move away, cleared her throat.

"Why don't you stay too? I'm curious to know more about my cousin's friend."

Sure... why not. Given that we knew each other, I didn't understand the reason for her request. Perhaps she wanted to know what kind of relationship we had. After all, she was his cousin, I was his neighbor and friend of his sister, so it would be normal if she wanted to know more about me.

"I'm sorry, but I really can't. Maybe another time."

"Okay... next time then."

I moved towards my house door, pulled out the keys from my bag, inserted them into the lock and entered, closing the door behind me.

Once inside, I let out all the stress that had accumulated. My legs could no longer bear the weight of my body, and slowly, sliding my back down the door, I sat down on the floor. I began to lose myself in my thoughts.

What will she tell Yuto-kun?

Why her, of all people?

And what will I do now?

For a moment, my trust in Yuto-kun began to waver. I couldn't stop thinking about what his cousin might tell him. Given her familial bond with Yuto-kun, she would certainly manage to persuade him in some way and make him believe things that weren't true, just like she had done in the past…

In a flash, the day at the park resurfaced in my mind. "You won't be alone anymore." His words had been simple and clear. He was different from other people, he knew the burden I was carrying, and I knew his. Reflecting on this was enough to calm me down and bring me back down to earth.

"Come on, let's start preparing something for dinner."

-From Yuto-kun-

After Ayame-san left, the three of us entered the house to talk more comfortably. The scene before had left me quite confused. When my cousin and Ayame-san saw each other, they wore a strange expression. It was their first encounter, yet I felt a sort of tension in the air. While Chika was preparing tea, my cousin and I sat at the kitchen table to discuss her real plans:

"Well, are you really planning to stay here tonight?"

"Yes."

"And what about school?"

"Don't worry about that. With my performance, I can afford it. Besides, I've decided to change schools." In the meantime, my big sister had poured tea into our cups and sat at the table with us to join the conversation.

"Oh, I didn't know that."

"I just decided recently."

"And where do you plan to go, have you looked around? Have you found one you like?" I asked while sipping my tea.

"Yours, obviously." She said with a perfect smile. I choked on my tea.

"What, excuse me? Why?" I coughed out.

"Why? You just got out of the hospital. What if something happened to you while you're alone and no one could help you?"

"There are teachers."

"I'm talking about less academic situations. Knowing you, I know you keep everyone at a distance to avoid getting attached to anyone. I doubt you have many friends."

"Well, there is Ayame-san." Chika-san interjected.

Euiko's expression darkened a bit after hearing that.

"The girl from before?"

"Yes. They are in the same class."

"And does she know about your situation?" She asked me.

"Yes. I was with her when I fell ill. She was the one who called for help. I didn't want to tell her, but in the end, I had to."

"So... are you two very close?" Her face darkened even further. I couldn't understand the reason for this sudden change in expression. A doubt crept in. What if they had already met and were pretending otherwise? I started thinking about possible connections, and only one came to mind: what if they had gone to middle school together?

That would explain the reactions the two girls had at the front door. Perhaps Euiko was one of the people who bullied her. It wasn't a nice thought towards Euiko, but the more I thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. I decided to ask:

"Listen, do you and Ayame-san know each other?"

I saw surprise in Euiko's eyes, but she promptly answered my question, without hesitation.

"No. It was the first time. We even introduced ourselves." She said, shifting her gaze slightly in a suspicious manner.

More or less, I was able to recognize when she was lying, but I decided to ignore it. It could also be that I was wrong and this was their first encounter.

It would be better that way. I didn't want my cousin and my friend to be enemies, much less take sides. However, I decided that I would also ask these questions to Ayame.

"Well, since you have to stay here, go take a bath." Chika told our cousin, unaware that, during her journey to the bathroom, she would stop in my room and take my cell phone without permission to get Ayame-san's contact information.