Another: The Class of 1999

Chapter 12 - Aunt Mai

How do you cope when someone you care about dies? How do you survive on your own when the one person you needed most has disappeared?

You hear about how families suffer, but you don't realise just how long that pain can last, the torment, the weighted headache, the sympathy others give you to make themselves feel better, how people claim they'll be there if you need them but avoid you as if depression is contagious.

There were so many things that my father had done for me which I could never pay him back for. For him to be taken in such a cruel way... I needed him back... I didn't want to be alone. Have I not suffered enough in life already? What did I do wrong? I couldn't even remember my last words to him, I barely glanced at him before leaving that morning.

My father used to drink alcohol a lot before we moved to Yomiyama. Every night he'd go to a bar and drink as much as he could before returning home. Eventually, after a serious hospital visit, he made the choice to give up drinking. Apparently my father had been offered to be put on the waiting list for a liver transplant, but rejected that opportunity and made a promise to stay sober.

However, that morning after I had left, he couldn't resist the temptation of whisky. Just a gulp to calm his nerves. He ended up collapsing in the front garden after a heavy intake, and his liver stopped functioning.

I barely remember anything after that moment in the police station. I was stunned, frozen, not entirely believing what I had been told. There was a ringing noise in my ears, my mind went fuzzy, my vision blured. I just felt completely numb. I hoped I was just having a nightmare.

Suddenly a whole load of responsibilities were passed onto me. Would I have to think my father's funeral? His body? Not to mention what would happen to me - I wouldn't be allowed to live on my own, but I didn't know where else I could go. Who would want to take in a middle school student who was suffering trauma from a deceased father and abusive mother?

I just wanted nothing more than to cry. But no tears would come. Yes, I knew the officers were trying to help me, but telling me my father was dead and throwing information about alcohol and livers at me was just too much for me to process. I hadn't properly come to terms with the fact I didn't have a dad anymore.

The door behind me opened. I didn't around, just waited, bracing myself for whatever may come next.

"Tsuki-chan..."

The voice was warm but wavering, from my childhood.

I hesitantly turned my head. Stood there was a woman I hadn't seen in eight years. Bright pink bubblegum hair in a short, spikey ponytail - except for the long fringe tucked behind her ear - a white bandana, ripped jeans, and a green and purple tie-dyed blouse, converse shoes.

I stumbled out of my seat. "Auntie Mai?"

Mai wrapped her arms around me. I couldn't remember the last time I had been hugged by an adult woman and not flinched or hyperventilated. Although her grip was cautious and gentle, she held me like she was never going to let go.

After being informed on the whole situation and being given the things found on my father's body, Mai took me home.

"How... How are you here?" I asked her as we left the police station. Mai was almost carrying me because I couldn't focus.

"Would you believe I was passing by and decided to drop in and visit?" Mai said.

I couldn't tell if she was joking or not. I didn't have the energy to ask. I wasn't in the mood.

Mai pulled her keys out of her pocket and stopped at a white camper van. She unlocked the doors, and I scrambled into the passenger seat, smelling sand and salt. Once Mai was sat, I told her the address and we set off in silence. When we arrived, I unlocked the door using my house key.