Chapter 9

He was gone. No one knew where he went or why he had left. Hakari-kun and I searched all over the city. Hoji-kun had been missing for several days now. His parents were hysterical; his mother became ill and his father practically lived at the police station trying to gather information on his missing son. They even cancelled school for a day so that all the students could go and search for him.

As the crimson rays of the setting sun washed upon the roof tops of crowded buildings, Hakair-kun and I slouched upon a park bench exhausted from a whole day of walking.

“This is all my fault. I knew his relationship with Hana and yet I never took the time to talk to him.” Hakari sighed while a look of concern filled his face.

I placed a hand upon his shoulder and tried my best to comfort him. “You really didn’t remember him until you found that picture. Plus Hoji-kun will come around eventually. He probably just wants some time alone. I’m sure he will show up one of these days and pretend as though nothing had happened.”

I tired my best to sound hopeful but I was very worried. Hoji’s last words to me kept playing over and over again within my mind. Where did you go? Why haven’t you contacted your family Hoji-kun? Can’t you see that you are making everyone worried?

“I can’t believe this is happening again...” Hakari’s voice interrupted my thoughts. I looked up as he continued in a distant voice: “I remember the day Hana disappeared. She told me that she wanted to talk but I simply ignored her, thinking that she was just having another one of her usual fits. Then she disappeared... Hoji... had called me just before he disappeared. He said he wanted to talk to me. But I... I was too afraid of what he was going to say so I told him to leave me alone. I should have talk to him! This is all my fault!” Hakari slammed his fist upon the rough bench surface.

I sat in silence and held my breath. I was too scared to even breathe. How could things end up like this? Couldn’t Hoji-kun understand the amount of pain his disappearance was causing? Didn’t he realize how important he was to everyone? And Hana... why couldn’t she understand that her brother loved her, that Hoji-kun loved her, that there were probably many more people that were affected by her death? Hoji... where did you go? Why must you follow Hana’s path?

Suddenly, I stood up. “That’s it! I think I know where Hoji-kun is!” without explaining, I began to run towards the train station. Hakari-kun quickly caught up with me and kept asking me where I was going. I was in such a hurry to catch the train, that I simply ignored Hakari. Once at the station, I walked over to the ticket counter. I ran so fast that I had trouble speaking but after I calmed down a bit I asked lady at the ticket counter for two tickets to Fukuoka.

It wasn’t until we were already seated upon the train, that I finally explained to Hakari what was going on. “I think Hoji-kun is back in Fukuoka. I know this may sound weird but I think he’s following Hana’s foot steps. I just hope that we are not too late.”

Hakari remained silent throughout the entire trip. I noticed that as we came closer and closer to his home town, he became more and more restless. I suppose this is the first time he has returned home since his family moved. I thought while I looked out of the window. There were several dark clouds within the sky looming over the city in the distance. I just hope Hoji-kun is okay... I hope we are not too late...

As the train pulled into the station, Hakari-kun remained seated with his head lowered. “Well this is it. Let’s get off the train.” I grasped Hakari’s hand and gave it a gentle tug. He remained motionless. In a quiet voice he said to me: “I can’t... I can’t go back. There is no way that I can...”

Angry and frustrated, I shouted back at him harshly: “Well you are going to have to! Stop being so damn selfish! Yes there are sad memories, yes it’s painful to relive the mistakes of our pasts but unless you face your fears you will always be running away and you will never be free of them! Come on! You’ve got legs, stand up and walk! This is no longer about you! This is about Hoji-kun’s and his parents and many other people’s happiness. So stand up now!” I stuck out my hand at him and waited for him to respond.

Hakari looked up at me with a stunned expression upon his face. There was a brief moment of silence. Then, slowly, he took hold of my hand. In a calm voice he said to me simply: “Arigato Megumi-chan.”

Without any further hesitations, we raced towards Hakari-kun’s old house. Luckily, it was quite close to the train station. However, it was situated upon a rather high hill and low rumbles of thunder brought fourth a raging rain storm. With Hakair-kun’s house in sight, we kept pushing ourselves forward. By the time we reached the black iron gates, we were already soaked through.

Hakari-kun signaled me to follow him towards the back. The ground was very slippery from the rain. I had to walk carefully to prevent myself from falling down. When we finally arrived at the back of the house, I immediately spotted the old fashion well. At first I didn’t see anyone. My heart began to race against its bony restraints. Where is Hoji-kun?! I screamed within my mind. The rain was causing the world to blur and the cool water that tumbled down my face further hindered my sight.

“Megumi-chan! I see him; he’s sitting by the well!” Hakari shouted as he pulled me behind him.

I wiped away the moisture from my face and looked up. Sure enough, there he was, slouching motionless against the rough stone well. I held my breath and prayed that he was okay. We were only a few feet away from him; Hoji-kun lifted his head and looked at us. Thank goodness he’s okay! I let out a huge sigh of relief.

“Hoji-kun! Are you alright? I was...”

“What are you doing here? What is he doing here?!” Hoji cut in and shouted at me angrily.

Hoji stood up, his shoulders shook as his fire filled eyes stared at Hakari. His fisted hands hung against his rain soaked body.

“Hoji, I came here...”

Before Hakari could finish his sentence Hoji marched towards him and smacked him hard in the stomach with one angry punch. Hakari fell backwards upon the muddy ground. I let out a loud gasp and quickly stepped in between the two. With my arms extended I called out to Hoji: “Hoji-kun stop! You have to listen! It’s not Hakari’s fault! Please!”

“Megumi-chan please move away... I deserve to be hit...” Hakari’s muffled voice was barely a whisper against the veil like waters that tumbled down from the dark sky.

Stubbornly, I remained where I was. Hoji then began to shout at us like a rabid animal: “There is nothing that you or that bastard over there can say that will change anything! None of you have any idea what Hana meant to me! It’s not fair! She was... was perfect to me... And that monster took her away from me!”

“No Hoji-kun you’re wrong!” I didn’t know where I found the courage but in an even voice I spoke out to Hoji: “Hana died because she was teased in school, because for their own selfish and cruel reasons, her classmates had to make her feel inferior, worthless and broken. They couldn’t see beyond their own insecurities and had to drag others down in order to make themselves feel superior. It wasn’t only Hakari’s fault that Hana died. Hakari was probably the last person that she held out her hand to. The real mistake that he made was not making it clear to Hana how important she was to him. There were probably many others that failed to make her realize... how much they all loved her and missed her when she was gone. So please Hoji-kun... come home. Do you realize how many are so worried about you right now? Please don’t make the same mistake that Hana made.”

Hoji-kun stood still for a moment. Then, he suddenly slouched down upon the ground; tension and anger slowly melted away from his body. In a sad voice he whispered: “I wanted to help her... I wanted to tell her how much I loved her. I just never had the courage to say it. I just simply stood by and watch as she slowly drifted away. If only I had told her... maybe... maybe...”

I walked over to Hoji and wrapped my arms around him. He leaned against my shoulder and began to cry. I looked down at him, an overwhelming sense of relief washed over me. Suddenly remembering that Hakari was still behind me, I turned around and found him looking at me with a similar look of relief upon his face. He stood upon and walked over and placed his arm around the two of us. The three of us all cried. We stayed huddled together for a long time but somehow I knew... that everything was going to be alright. Just then the clouds parted slightly allowing a ray of light to break through. Yes... I thought it’s going to be a beautiful day...

--The End--