Lost and Found
The sound of my alarm woke me up, It was a beautiful Monday morning.
"Mmm?, 6:00 let me sleep for a while longer" I said as my next alarm rung
"Argh, Geez okay I'm up now, Why do I always set two alarms consecutively"
My mornings before going to school is pretty normal, Just breakfast with my parents followed by a twenty five minute bath and preparation.
As I pass by the Hashibara household it was quiet as always, I remember how I was ditched yesterday.
"How will I face him today" I thought
But the real question was
"Will he actually go to school"
I started to walk towards the direction of our school and the morning breeze greeted me.
It was already super cold for an August morning.
In the streets I notice people whispering and looking at something, they looked mesmerized so it caught my attention so I went to look.
"Hmm, So they were looking at a girl huh"
But the closer I got I recognized that silky long hair and wheelchair
"Iris" I mumbled.
Iris, who was also on her way to school was as usual feeling irritated about the way people look at her and how they whisper when she pass by.
Everyday it's the same look people give me, I just hope they would look away. I feel really uncomfortable who knows what they are whispering about, who knows what kind of insults they are murmuring, who knows what goes through those simpletons minds.
I sighed as I wait for my chance to cross the road. And then I heard a familiar voice shouting my name as it gets closer to me. As I turned around I saw Miyamoto Chika running towards me.
"IRIS! IRIS! IT'S ME REMEMBER ME?"
"Why is she shouting" I thought
"I'M CHIKA YOUR FRIEND!!"
"Friend?, When did we become friends? This girl is really peculiar"
"Uh, Hi Chika?" I said
"Geez what a cold response Iris"
"Oh, Sorry I was just shocked because you were shouting around and saying we are friends, so I thought you might've mistaken me for someone else"
"Eh, Not really I was calling you and yes we are friends aren't we?" She said with a bright smile in her face
She looked very happy and serious about it,
I nodded and said "How could I refuse that" in response
Her smile got bigger and she hugged me
"What d- do you thin- think you're do- doing" I said in embarrassment
She giggled and replied
"I love you Iris"
"What is wrong with this girl" I thought
And so we moved towards school
She was humming as she pushed my wheelchair
She seemed happy.
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At their school, A certain young man was getting pissed.
"I wanna punch these people staring at me, It's like they have seen a ghost I mean my injuries are still here and I haven't been to school lately but don't leer at me like that" Hajime thought to himself
"It's that girl, she's the cause of this, Tch" Hajime added
As they wait for everyone to arrive Hajime could hear a familiar voice laughing in the halls
"Chika huh, I wonder of she's angry" I thought
As she entered the room I pretended to be asleep
"Hm, My seatmate is present now"
Said by an unfamiliar voice,
"He looks hurt"
I raised my head to greet her
"Ah, yeah I was hurt but don't worry I'm fi-"
Our eyes locked
I would remember that face everyday
"IT'S YOU!!" I shouted
Everyone was startled even Chika
"Eh!?, You" She replied
"This is your fault if only you kept quiet"
"Eh, But you were so rough to a maiden you just met so I resisted"
I heard everyone say "Eh? What?" and they started whispering, I felt like there was a misunderstanding.
They were staring daggers at me
"Uh, You know guys it's not like that, O- okay?"
"NO IT'S TRUE" She shouted
This bitch stop making this worse than it already is
"You know him?" Chika asked
"Uh, Yeah kind of" The girl replied
Chika turned her gaze at me and said
"I don't know what happened between you guys before, but Iris is our classmate now so treat her with kindness and respect"
"So her name is Iris huh" I thought
She looked really angry, Well of course I ditched her before it's only natural and I was also screaming at her friend.
The teacher entered the room and looked surprised to see me there,
"Okay everyone settle down now"
As everyone was sitting down and returning to their seats
"I wonder what happened between those two before" Chika thought with a heavy feeling in her chest.
Classes has begun.
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It was lunchtime now, I waited for Chika to leave the room and when she finally did I stood up
"Hey, You come with me" I said to Iris
"Huh?, Why should I" She replied
The way she looked at me pissed me off, It was like she was looking at trash
"Tch, You're coming with me whether you like it or not" I said as I pushed her wheelchair towards outside
"Eh!?!, Stop it, Any- Anyone He- Help Me!!!"
After taking her by force I brought her behind the school building
She was staring daggers at me and said
"You really are disgusting, What do you intend to do to a fair maiden in this circumstances"
"Tch, Shut it I don't give a damn about your body we have something to settle"
On the other hand Iris was really startled with the sudden development of events
I was really scared who knows what this rascal might try to pull off, I had no choice but to act tough
He seems to be really hurt though, He was covered with bandages and has bruises.
I suddenly remembered he was being chased by those adults before, Did they catch him and beat him up? Was it my fault?
He walked towards me while glaring at me
"No, Stop get away from me, Please anyone help!!"
It was scary thinking about the things he might do to me specially when he's angry at me
I was about to cry, How pathetic.
Before he got close to me and got to do anything, we heard a voice behind us,
"Hey what are you doing Hajime!?"
"Tch, Chika? Ah shit" He said as he ran away
I turned around and saw Chika walking towards me
"Geez, What did he do to you? Don't cry now it's alright" She said as she stroked my hair
This was really pathetic
I cried in front of Chika.
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Before taking Iris anywhere while she was crying Chika decided to take her to the school garden as she thought it might calm her down.
She was curious why the two of them was outside at the first place but she couldn't ask about it as Iris was still crying.
"Iris wait here okay? I'll get you something to drink and a handkerchief" Chika told Iris as she left her in the garden
While walking Chika thought to herself
"What are you doing Hajime? You even dragged Iris into this"
Chika also remembered about the way they interacted earlier. It seemed like they already know each other. She felt uneasy because of this.
After a while she returned to Iris who was still crying. She gave her water and a handkerchief to wipe her tears away.
Since Iris was still crying Chika decided to take Iris back inside while she waited for her to stop crying.
"Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Chika asked Iris as she stroked her hair while comforting her
"Y- yes and n- no I'm not h- hurt" Iris replied while her lips trembled
"That's good. You can stop crying now it's alright"
After a few minutes Iris stopped crying and Chika gave her water to drink while Iris wiped her tears away
"You okay now?" Chika asked
"Ah yeah sorry about that"
"It's okay you might've been scared"
"Of course I was who knows what that rascal might've pulled off! Hmph!" Iris replied as she pouted
"Sorry about that no one really knows what Hajime is up to sometimes"
"Grr! I hate that guy since the first day I met him!" Iris responded furiously
"When did you meet him exactly?" Chika curiously asked
"Huh? Well on my first day at school. Before I reached the school I was actually lost so that's why I was late and that was where I met him" Iris replied
"Did something happen between you two?" Chika asked again
"Well when I met him he was running away from some people and he tried to shut me up by covering my mouth and I didn't like it so I bit him"
"Bit him?"
Iris looked at Chika and replied
"Yeah I bit him"
"But why?" Chika asked
"Well you know self-defense?"
"Eh!? Is that so?"
"Yeah I mean who does that to someone they don't know he should be glad that I didn't call the cops on him" Iris said empathically
"I hope you can forgive him Iris, It wouldn't be be good if you start to hate him too" Chika mumbled
"Hmm? What do you mean Chika?" Asked Iris
"Oh nothing don't worry about it" Chika replied while laughing shortly
"You look sad Chika"
"Eh?! Sad? No don't worry"
"I don't like it when people look sad!" Iris replied empathically
"Well Hajime is going through a lot for a while now, He might smile sometimes but I know that he has problems which I wish he would share so I could help him you know"
"Going through a lot?" Iris asked out of curiosity
Chika nodded
"Can I ask about it?"
"You see Hajime actually lost his mother in a very young age and his dad remarried after that it caused a rift between them. Ever since that happened he changed and started to be distant from everyone"
"I see, So he acts tough and distant around others just to hide his pain?" Iris replied and asked
"I guess so, I don't understand him that well too" Chika replied
Iris and Chika stayed quiet for a while before they heard the bell ring signaling the start of classes.
"That's the bell now, Let's talk again later" Said Chika as she returned to her seat
Iris nodded in response.
As classes was about to resume Hajime was nowhere to be found.
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While classes were ongoing Iris thought about their topic earlier.
"That was actually heavy and sad I feel bad for hating him. Now that I think about it he did have some reasons to be mad at me" I thought to myself
I can't get it out of my mind it was making me feel guilty since I know how it feels to change because of a bad experience in your life. Like him I too distanced myself from others after I lost the ability to walk.
I buried my face in my textbook and glanced at the empty seat next to me.
"I want to apologize to him" I mumbled
While contemplating about it I started to feel sleepy and as I was starting to doze off I recalled a conversation from my past with a person I could vaguely remember.
And when I finally fell into slumber I had a dream about it.
"Iris veut aller quelque part ensemble?"
(Iris want to go somewhere together?)
"Non, laisse-moi tranquille"
(No, Just leave me alone)
"Allez Iris, on s'amuse commetoujours"
(Come on Iris, It will be fun like always)
"J'ai dit laisse-moi tranquille!"
(I said leave me alone!)
"Laisse-moi t'aider Iris"
(Let me help you Iris)
"La ferme! Comme si voussaviez ce que je ressens!"
(Shut up! Like you know anything about how I feel!)
"Désolé, je voulais juste que tu te sentes mieux"
(Sorry I just wanted to make you feel better)
"Sors de là"
(Just get out)
"Je suis encore désolé. Ami d'adieu"
(I'm sorry again. Goodbye friend)
After that person left I felt guilty about what I did but I couldn't go after her. I can't go after anyone anymore. I got discharged from the hospital shortly after but it was too late as everyone knew about it and started to distance themselves from me. Even the people whom I thought was my friends avoided me now just because I felt sad for myself and lashed out onto one of them.
As time passed by I got used to it. Before I tried to be like my mother, A social person that everyone admired and liked. I made many friends but after the accident I was involved in I became a loner and didn't feel sad about it anymore since I knew I'll just drag anyone down if they are ever associated with me.
But when I got transferred to Japan Chika immediately befriended me. I should've turned her down but I couldn't, it was because the friendship she offered to me was different from others it seemed genuine.
I didn't realize that I have been sleeping for a while now and classes have already ended. Chika who came up to me said that they tried to wake me up earlier but they couldn't so the teacher just let me sleep but told them to tell me not to do it next time. Thinking about what I actually did earlier made me feel really embarrassed about it.
After I was woken up by Chika she left, she told me that she was being summoned by our teacher so she had to go immediately.
While moving towards the school gates I told myself
"I can't believe I dozed off during class that was really shameful of me. Let this be the last time since I am a proper lady so I should start acting like it. Sleeping in class are only enjoyed by delinquents"
When I mentioned the word delinquent he was the first thing that came to mind. I remembered how I feel guilty for what happened to him because of what I did.
I really wanted to apologize to Hajime but I was hesitating if I should go and look for him or just go home. I spent a lot of time thinking about it in front of the school gate and after a while I once again recalled my dream from earlier. I realized that I shouldn't hesitate about things like this anymore since I was the only one stopping myself from doing so. And if I hesitated again it might cause something irreversible to happen again.
So I decided to go and look for Hajime and apologize.
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It was now 5:00 pm, Classes has ended
At the school roof top someone was sleeping, It was a young man, It was Hajime.
The sound of the bell woke me up, I never returned to class after what happened during lunch time.
"If only Chika didn't interfere, She was about to cry, Tch" I mumbled to myself
Realizing school was now over and I have nothing else to do I decided to go straight home after picking up my things that was still in our classroom.
But that was a mistake.
When I got home I opened the door to the sight of my so called parents sitting across the room
"Oh you're actually here? What do you want?"
"Sit down" My father ordered
"Huh? Why should-"
"SIT DOWN!" He shouted as he interrupted me
"Tch"
He lectured me for an hour straight telling me to go to school and such.
"Why did you become like this, Where did we go wrong? You disappoint me and your mother" My father said after letting out a sigh
That sparked something in me
"THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? YOU ALWAYS INSULT ME AND COMPARE ME TO OTHERS AND NOW YOU SAY THAT? AND WHAT RIGHT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY THAT ABOUT MY MOTHER?? WHAT ABOUT YOU? SHE DIES AND YOU JUST MOVE TO SOMEONE NEW YOU ASSHOLE!!"
"I compare you because not like you they have a future and dreams, And I'm well aware about my remarriage, Don't drag your new mother into this" He calmly responded
His cool and composed attitude pissed me off more
"TCH, A FUTURE HUH? I HAD DREAMS AND AMBITIONS BEFORE BUT YOU ALWAYS SHIT ON THEM FORCING ME TO ABIDE BY WHAT YOU WANT, SCREW YOU YOU'RE AN ASSHOLE, AND NEW MOTHER MY ASS YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE WHO THINKS THAT SHE'S MY MOTHER YOU BASTARD!!" I shouted and that felt good I finally told him off
His wife was silent and had a sad look on her face.
My father got up and walked towards me and said "I don't trample over your dreams and ambitions. I was giving you advice to choose something that would help and benefit you"
"SHUT THE FUCK UP, I'M TIRED OF HEARING SUCH THINGS FROM THE MOUTH OF A BASTARD LIKE YOU!" I responded
He sighed one more time and told his wife to leave the room
His wife was reluctant about the idea of leaving the two of us alone after what has transpired. But father told her again to leave us with authority so she had no choice but to abide with his his order.
When she left my father turned his attention towards me. He slowly walked towards me
And then he beat the crap out of me.
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After being hit by my dad a few times I finally managed to escape and run away again, I went to the bridge near school where I was beaten up recently.
I finally told him off but when he wanted a fight I ran away huh, How pathetic.
Once again I'm back to where I was recently, the river below the bridge connecting our street and the way to school.
I always seek refuge here because no one will find me here it was safe and quiet, No one will bother me, A lost sheep with nowhere to go to and no one to look for him.
As my eyes start to close and tears began to roll down my cheeks, I heard a familiar sound.
It was the creaking sound of a wheelchair.
I raised my head to look.
I stared at her in awe. It was really pathetic, tears was falling down my face. But there she was looking at me under the moonlight and she looked divine,
She had a worrying and puzzled look on her face.
She moved her wheelchair towards me and touched my cheek
It was really comforting, her skin was smooth and soft it also smelled good.
She smiled at me, Her smile was so gentle and genuine it could melt the heart of anyone who sees it.
Her lips moved and she said
"What are you doing here? Chika told me everything about you, I wanted to apologize to you. You got beat up because of me, I was looking for you but I never thought I'd run into you here"
"Why is she here? How did she find me?" I thought to myself
In a place where I hid most of the time spending my time and pain alone in the dark, With no one looking for me,
You showed up
And found me.
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P.S. I used bing translator to translate the conversation between Iris and the anonymus person in her dream into French so I'm sorry if it's not that accurate.
Did you like the story? If yes then please let me know.
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-Ecclair