RECOLLECTION.

"Alright, are we ready?"

"Almost!"

"Almost?!"

"Nao isn't here yet!"

"Ah, right. Where is he?"

Why am I remembering this? Wasn't this the trip with the Harumi family? How old was I? 7 or 8? I don't remember.

"Good morning."

I was yawning. I slept a little late I guess.

"Good morning Nao-kun."

I greeted her with a nod.

She seemed a bit disappointed. Back then I wasn't sure why but now I know that it was because of the distant approach I had with her. As far as I remember from whatever I heard from Uncle Harumi, I was pretty close with both Yuki-nee and Rinko-chan, at times almost inseparable. But now, there's quite a distance between us. Almost an unforeseeable hidden wall that can never be shattered.

I greeted Yuki-nee and stuck by with Uncle Harumi helping him load all the stuff needed into the car, though looking back at it, I was more of an obstacle to him than help. But even though I was a little kid, I was still able to read the atmosphere and avoid sticking close to the, as it would have led to forceful conversations.

I didn't want to have an uneasy atmosphere. That was easy to understand. Atleast looking back now as a teenager now that is.

I don't know how much about myself from back then. What drove me to act like that and what was it that was kept me at bay with them.

Anyway...

"Nao, where do you want to sit?"

"Ummm....Anywhere's fine."

"Then he'll sit with me."

"Then he'll sit with me."

Both the mother and daughter pair unanimously replied at the same time. Wow!

"Me."

"No, he'll sit with me "

"Me!"

"ME!!!"

Even though it was commendable that Yuki-nee was voicing out her opinion, what wasn't commendable was Rinko-san's enthusiasm.

She's supposed to act like a mature adult but she was acting like a kid.

Anyway, with that aside, I think I had chose the winner.

"Yuki-nee, I'll sit with you."

Though she should have gotten excited and jumped with joy, sadly for her, there wasn't an ounce of excitement in my voice. It was lifeless, just like I am. Some things never change.

Rinko-san was kinda upset, but she put up with it as the responsible adult. We hopped in the van. Yes, a van. Normally, they were supposed to use the car, but since this was a week long camping trip, they rented a van.

I was tagging along with the Harumi family. More like Rinko-san was wary of me being with my mother without her around. Their relationship had been strained at that point and was fragile and thin as ice over a lake in the winter. One wrong step...

My parents were supposed to join us at the end of the week, as they had to attend to their busy schedule. Well, that was a relief.

I got in the back seat, and put my seatbelt on. Safety first. Simultaneously, Yuki-nee followed me from the opposite end and locked in herself tight.

Rinko-san checked up on both of us. She was still the doting mother. And the Caring aunt. And a reliable and sensible wife. Man, she was playing a lot of roles at once.

We started on our journey. We were supposed to reach our destination late in the afternoon, and then trek our way through the mountain pass and check in to our lodge. That was the plan.

Uncle Harumi started playing the music he had stored on his CD. He had some fine collection of English songs. And since Rinko-san would read English novels, she had no issues. In fact, Rinko-san often sung some pop songs at home back then. This woman...she could do it all. An ideal man's dream girl.

I would be lying if I said that, atleast for a moment, I would have never thought of wanting a woman like Rinko-san as atleast someone who I can spend time with. It doesn't have to be in a romantic sense, but atleast more than the relationship we shared. Like someone who is of the same age or a similar age group.

If there's any man who says that they're not interested in that kind of a girl, then I don't know what can I even say. Words wouldn't be enough to express my feelings at that point. Oh right, I have none. The lack of having any feelings to express is reassuring. I wouldn't have to feel the need to defend and play advocate to justify why my feelings are right and why you must also shed some of those feelings to what I have to say.

Anyway, going back to where I left off, we escaped City traffic and entered the highway in the nick of time. Any later and we would have been in a mess.

We carried on our journey. I remembered every detail of it, as I was gazing to the night sky, with the insects rustling out.

I yawned for a moment, and looked around. For a moment, I was sure that there was movement in the bushes. Looks like this ain't the time to be chilling around.

With that, I put a break to this recollection, and slowly boarded down and made my way to near the door of my treehouse ,very still and quiet.

I didn't want to grab the attention of what it was. Whether it was a predator, or just a nocturnal creature, it still was dangerous, since I could barely see anything.

But worse of all, it could be a human. And that is where trouble starts looming in. I certainly didn't want that. So, I entered the house and slowly latched it from the inside, and just opened my window, just by a little bit, for ventilation.

Before I knew it, I fell asleep. Dawn broke out, and I slowly opened the door, to check for anything dangerous. I boarded down the ladder.

At the bottom of the trunk, a knife was stuck to the bark of the tree. Was this a declaration of war? I wondered.

But that wasn't the case. Instead.

"I hope this helps you in your training."

A TRAINING MANUAL?