Broken Arrows

20 | a story's end

"If I could have any superpower right now, it would be the ability to crawl through this camera and give you a big hug."

—Big Hero 6 (2014)

☁☁☁☁

The stack of suitcases and duffles near her door frightened her. Not in a terrible way, though. Each was filled to the brim with clothes and other obvious necessities, their zippers nearly popping with the effort to keep it all contained. She'd spent the good part of the night packing, even as her eyes began to droop, and she'd finished in the early morning—just on time.

Sachi scanned her bedroom one last time to double-check that she'd remembered everything. The room appeared bare to her, most of the posters torn down and the dresser emptied. There was no Sachi in it anymore; the Sachi she'd become over the summer was different. She needed a new beginning.

Slinging her arms through the straps of her backpack, she stooped to haul a duffle over her shoulder and lead a suitcase out of the room, its wheels creaking behind her. She padded down the stairs despite the jolt of her luggage behind her, and once she'd landed onto the floor, she straightened.

Akemi hovered in the entryway, watching her with anxious eyes. She beamed upon meeting her gaze, and as Sachi moved forward, she graced her with a kiss to her hair and a half-hug, which was the best she could manage with all the things she carried.

"Sachi," Akemi murmured against her forehead. She drew back to look her in the eye. "I can't believe this day has finally come."

"It had to come eventually. College is pretty much inevitable," she teased. Her tone grew serious. "Okasan, I'll be back for Thanksgiving and Christmas and I'll visit all the time."

"I know." She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her hair. "But it's natural for me to worry. My little baby is leaving the nest."

"Mom."

"Let me embarrass you today."

Haruto emerged from the living room, a somber expression on his face. "Do you still have more bags?"

"Yeah. Two more, I think." She watched as her father disappeared up the stairs to fetch them. She knew this was as hard on him as it was for Akemi; he just had a different way of expressing it.

Her phone buzzed from where she'd stashed it into the pocket of her jeans. She grabbed it and swiped her finger across the screen to view the latest text message.

Erin (6:16): are you on ur way yet? If not, hurry the hell up!!

Sachi (6:16): give me a sec. gosh.

"You're going to be okay, right?" she asked Akemi, jamming her phone back into her pocket. "You'll be fine?"

"It'll hurt at first," Akemi admitted, smiling sadly. "And we won't get over it, but we'll deal with it. We want you to have fun, Sachi. We want you to enjoy life."

"Don't worry." She wasn't sure she had ever said the words with such certainty before today. "I will."

"Good." Akemi enveloped her in a hug, her strong arms wrapping around her shoulders, lifting her up. She wasn't sure how she'd survive without the presence of her steadfast mother for these first few months. It was going to be a difficult feat.

Footsteps approached from behind, the telltale whine of the wheels following suit, and Sachi looked over her mother's shoulder to shoot Haruto a quick grin. She disentangled herself from Akemi to move past. Haruto set the suitcase down by the other, along with her duffle.