Something Real

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"Well, then, since my big brother already did what I was supposed to do here, I will leave you to rest. I'll see you on the weekend at the family house." she grinned, clearly teasing her.

"Thank you, Mei Mei. I truly appreciate you and your family's help."

"No need for thanks! What are we friends for?" She said, stepping backward, waving her hand as she gets out of her room.

"Yeah, thanks were totally unnecessary when I saved you from jail. Does your husband already know about it?" she asked, yelling.

"Don't you dare!" she answered as she giggled, walking down the stairs.

She took a deep breath and dropped herself on the bed. She remembered being in this same room many years ago. She used to stay here when she was a student exchange and she didn't remember this room to be this small.

How we look at things really changes as time passes by. Just like this room, in her memory from the past, this room size was just a regular room. Like any other room, she used before. But now that she's here, the room feels and looks too small for her. Was it because she grew in size, or was it because her idea of 'enough space' widened up as her world broaden up.

She rolled over and lay down on her back, she put her arms over her eyes, she could still feel the end of summer. Lying down in this narrow bed with the window open, the humidity of the air encircled the room. Her armpits were sweaty.

How long has it been? She was in her fourth year of high school in her high school but was placed in the second year of high school here in Japan. She didn't mind, she just wanted to experience high school in Japan, it looked so romantic back then - blame anime and manga. But in reality, it wasn't really a rose-colored school experience she thought.

The language barrier made it difficult. Being an outsider was another factor too, especially since it was just a semester immersion program, and she entered the school in the middle of the school year when everyone already has their own circle of friends, she ended being the kid who has no friend and was eating her lunch at the fire staircase.

Wasn't so bad. It was the best thing that ever happened to her. She met Mei Mei there. She was also an awkward kid who just wanted to get away from the crowd. And that's how they became friends.

And after many years, they are still friends. And there is still the possibility of them becoming more than just friends. That's if she marries her older brother, she scoffed at the notion of it.

She was startled with her musing when Bella marched inside her room, "I prepare some sandwiches, come down and let's eat."

She sprung up from the bed and ruffled her hair, "Is your room comfortable?"

"Yeah, it is. I don't use it other than for sleeping anyway." she shrugged off her shoulders as she surveyed her room.

"You are writing in the tatami room on the first floor?" She tugged her shirt off her head and pulled her jeans down. She put on a green dress with small daisies print, with a sweetheart neckline that made it comfortable to wear in this weather.

Bella watched her as she changed clothes, and then tilted her head like she thought of something, "Your dress looks so pretty, go ahead downstairs. I will also put on a dress and let's take some photos in the garden. In celebration of you being here," she grinned as she pivoted to her room.

Hearing Bella talking about taking photos, she grabbed her makeup kit from her backpack and swiped a matted old rose lipstick on her lips, and put some blush on her cheeks. She remembered seeing some photos of girls on Instagram with fake freckles, that she decided to put some across her nose.

She cocked her head left and right in the mirror, liking the fake freckles. She stood to go down as Bella instructed.

She found a plate of tuna sandwiches on the kitchen counter and decided that it's a good time to drink some wine. She glanced at the green door next to the main door. If her memory serves her right, that door led to the basement, and there used to have some wine in the old liquor cabinet there.

She glanced up the stairs and thought that Bella won't come down any minute, she had time to go down and grabbed some wine.

The door creaked noisily when she pushed it, she had no idea where the light switch was so she kept the door open behind her. She trod the narrow hallway and took the stairs down. She was startled when she reached the landing.

The basement doesn't look like how she remembered it. It is now illuminated in soft white light. It has a kitchenette on the right, a small booth in front of the door, and on the left was the old liquor cabinet.

She walked to the cabinet to grab some wine when she noticed the end of the room that had a huge leather couch pushed on the fake brick wall, facing a glass wall of the booth. She wondered who is using the basement now, and why does it look like a recording studio.

She shrugged her shoulder, grabbed her wine, and left. She didn't see the man who peeked from the booth. She was already climbing the short flight of stairs back to their receiving room.

Bella was already waiting for her in the garden. She put a pink and white checkered picnic on the patch of grass she lied down when she arrived. She didn't notice that she was back because she was setting up a tripod for the camera.

"Are we really going to take real photos?"

"What do you mean by real photo? Are there photos that aren't real?"

"The one that you fake laughed." she scoffed.

"Oh!" Bella chuckled. "You can do that too."

"Is there anything real left in this world?"

"Uhm, love?"

"Shut up!" She said while they stared at each other and then threw their heads, laughing.