1943. Shanghai. A soldier of the Japanese Army happens by a club one night purely out of boredom. What he expects to find are uncouth drunks. He actually meets a beautiful African-American performer by the name of Beatrice. Throughout the next three...
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ichi
one
"Jii-chan?" Old withered hands gripped the window ledge and distant clouded eyes looked out past the glass of the window into another world.
"Grandpa, are you hungry?" Not even her question could move him and she swallowed, glancing at the caregiver who appeared solemn.
"How long has he been like this Mere?" The caregiver, a sweet caring girl of 22, swallowed thickly.
"Mr. Matsuda has been talking about her again. All day." Her.
"Grandma?" The younger woman nodded. Eyes glanced back towards the man who seemed unmovable from the window.
"It's been like that since she passed away." It had been 15 years since her grandmother had passed away. And ever since then... his health had been on the steady decline.
"He misses her terribly. In his sleep he talks to her. When he wakes, his eyes search for her." Giving a small sad smile, she cleared her throat.
"Mere, why don't you leave us alone for a bit? Has Grandpa's clothes been washed and folded?" The girl blinked back tears and straightened up.
"No ma'am. I'll-I'll go do that now."
"Okay. I'll see if I can convince him to lay back down."
"Sure." Meredith quietly exited the room, the soft click of the closed door the sign of her complete departure. Swallowing, she took a breath.
"Grandpa?" Still he hadn't moved.
"Grandpa, maybe you should lie back down."
"Who are you?" His voice that had once been smooth and clear now gritty and gravely. His diagnosis of Laryngeal cancer had only grown worse over the years and she knew he was in a lot of pain. He refused medication. He refused treatment of any kind. Rather, he was for some reason punishing himself silently. It hurt her to witness.
"It's Asami-chan. Your granddaughter." His hands which had been tight on the window sill loosened and palms fell flat against the cool surface.
"Ah...Asami. Have you went out to garden with Grandma yet?" Her fingers balled into fists and she couldn't respond immediately. Mentally, he still viewed her as the energetic little girl she'd once been. She didn't have the heart to tell him that now she was an adult.
"No not yet." A short stiff grunt of a laugh came from him and it twisted her heart.
"That woman still rises so early in the morning to tend to her plants. Creature of habit." Feeling her heart break, she slowly came closer.
