Temptation (2)

"Nii-sama... I want to climb up too..." Aya started to hug the huge gingko tree. She looked at the boy who was up on the branch sitting while eating some onigiri.

"No... You can't climb... Girls should not climb trees." the boy shook his head.

"But... I don't want to be left alone here... I'm lonely... Can I climb up?" Aya stared at him with her large doe eyes. Seemingly so pitiful.

"I'll just come down... You don't have to climb... Your oka-san will get angry..." he said denying her request sternly.

Aya pouted. She wanted to see what kind of scenery when she's up on the tree.

"But... I want to see beautiful things..." Aya reasoned. She still wanted to climb up even though her brother strongly opposed to it.

"No buts... What if you'll fall down? It will hurt..." the boy tried to scare her.

"Really?" it got her. She doesn't want to get hurt.

The boy nodded.

"Alright but you have to buy me a sugar coated candy..." she bargained.

The boy looked at her helplessly. He jumped down from the tree and landed beside Aya.

"Alright but when your mother asked you, don't tell that it's me who brought it for you, alright?" the boy said. He's afraid of her mother getting angry at him.

"Wait for me... I'll be right back..." the boy ran towards the market.

"I'll be waiting for you nii-sama..." Aya shouted happily.

The boy waved back at her and smiled.

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"Nii-sama..." Aya's frail voice sounded in the middle of the night. Haruko looked at her daughter with a puzzle.

'Nii-sama?' Who was that?

She could not remember someone who named like that.

Aya had a head concussion. She slept for almost a week and had fevers like this tonight. Haruko stayed by her side during this times.

Luckily, the wound on her head was not deep and it did not damaged her skull or else it could be fatal for her.

Xander visited her for almost everyday but the boy did not say anything. He just sat beside her bed and looked at her blankly.

Then after, Xander will bade goodbye to Haruko.

Haruko felt sorry for the boy as she knew how much it made a toll on him but she could not do anything about it but console and speak some words of encouragement.

The next day, Aya sat straight up when she realized about the accident. Haruko was truly frightened by her initial reaction.

"Aya? What's wrong?" Haruko called out when she noticed her daughter's odd behavior. Aya then looked at her with wide eyes, and utter shock is clearly written on her beautiful face.

"Mother... How long did I sleep?" she asked.

"About a week..." Haruko tried to calm herself down. Maybe, her daughter was just in shock. "Don't move too much... You're injured..." she tried to remind her daughter.

Aya could not believe that she actually missed her college entrance exam.

"Ahhhhh!!! I'm so done for! I'm so done! Wahhhh!!!!" Aya screamed and wailed.

"Aya! Stop it! Stop moving! You're going to reopen your wound.." Haruko grew her worry over her daughter when Aya started to pound her head hard and pulled her hair.

Her scream brought attention to the doctors and nurses nearby so they rushed to the ward where Aya rested.

The nurses grabbed her elbows and the doctor shot her a tranquilizer to calm her down. She should not be moving or could not be agitated or else it will impede on her healing.

"Ms. Lin, how come your daughter behaved like that?" the doctor asked. Then Haruko began retelling the situation the moment when Aya woke up.

The doctor pondered for a bit.

"Hmmm... That's odd... The tests clearly showed that there's no brain damage and she's not either affected by the impact... Hmmm... but don't worry about it Ms. Lin, we can settle it down when the patient calms down. Here... I'll recommend you to a good psychiatrist." the doctor handed a calling card after saying his piece.

Haruko kept the calling card to her and did not have an ounce to call it. She accepted it out of respect from the doctor.

She believed that Aya had her reason why she behaved like that.

That afternoon, Xander visited her again and did not spoke a single word. He just stared at his friend with a complex emotion. Whenever he visited, Haruko will left him alone with Aya so that he could voice out his emotions. She had done this for how many times already and she just stood outside the room to listen if the boy will open up in front of her sleeping daughter but it did not happen.

That night, Aya did not wake up. She continually slept until the next day. She did not have any dream about her childhood playmate that night.

She woke up lazily and stretched her arms upward. Haruko observed her from the sidelines. She's paying close attention to her behavior but then she did not find anything odd.

Aya noticed her mother's hidden presence thus she deliberately greeted her.

"Good morning mother.."

Stunned, Haruko walked out from her hiding and strutted towards Aya's bed.

"Good morning... How are you feeling?"

"I'm good mother..." Aya smiled at her sweetly. Haruko nodded.

"Hungry?" her mother asked. She prepared some porridge for her.

"Quite a bit... Did Xander visited me?" Aya asked all of a sudden but then Haruko remained unfazed.

"Yeah.. He visited you yesterday but then, he did not talk.. He just sat quietly beside you..." Haruko said what she had been seeing this past few days in Xander.

"Is that so? What am I going to now? I missed the college entrance exams in University B. Xander might passed their exam with flying colors..." Aya said feeling dejected.

"Is that why you screamed yesterday?" Haruka asked carefully. She looked at her daughter with worry.

Aya silently admitted.

"I'm sorry mother..." she said shyly.

"Silly... I'm just worried.. Don't say sorry. Now eat.. I know you're hungry." she passed the bowl to Aya before she scooped for her own share.

The mother and daughter ate in silence early in the morning.

"Mother.... Can I go to father's place for a bit?"