Ayano sat in the back seat of her father's Land Rover in silence. She stared out of the window with her head in her hand, looking on in blissful wonder at her home town of Buraza. The Doctor's words were fresh in her mind, had said that she had mild Retrograde Amnesia. What she had not heard was when he had whispered to her mother that the cannula had failed, ceased to supply oxygen. It had only affected her room though, but he had assured Ryoba that the issue was being 'looked into'.
She seemed not to remember her town very well. In her memory, it was grey and dull, out of focus, like she had been ignoring the everything around her. The colours she saw seemed brighter than they did before. Everything felt so joyous, so alive. They were driving through the park, the dappled light of dusk streaming through gaps in the trees above. The world around her seemed to glow with amber light as she lifted her hand to shade her eyes from the warm glare of the sun. Through the trees she could see pathways where groups of people laughed and sat together, eating from wicker picnic baskets.
'Mother?' she said, breaking the silence they had been driving in, 'Can we have a picnic tomorrow?'
Ryoba hesitated momentarily, confused. Her daughter rarely spoke to her, let alone ask her for anything. Ayano had always been quiet, but she had never shown any hint of being anything but indifferent towards her parents. Turning in her seat to face Ayano, she smiled at her, nodding as she spoke.
'As long as you help me make it.'
Her daughter beamed at her,' Of course! I love you, mother.'
Those last words felt strange on her tongue, as if she had never told her parents she cared about them. She quietly reassured herself that she must have said it before.
Ayano went back to gazing out of the window, and upon seeing a boy with dark hair remembered her savour. His face was unclear in her mind, the most she could recall was black, messy hair and dark eyes. Looking in distain at a small bug that was clinging to the car, she realised she would never see him again. She didn't know anything about him, and he clearly didn't feel the same way; he hadn't even bothered to come and see her. Love at first sight was only in fairytales, and as the car drew up to her house, she wished she was in one. She sighed slightly and tried to shake off her feeling of disappointment.
'Come on, sweetheart. In we go.' her father said gently. Kyosei may have hated her mother, but he was determined to love his daughter. His daughter looked up at him, her face forlorn and creased.
Her mother was already in the house, bustling about to make coffee and cutting slices of her famous chocolate cake. Ayano could see her rushing about through the kitchen window, and hear her humming merrily through the open door. She looked up at her father, and without a word, she got out of the car and hugged him.
'Sweetheart, are you ok?' he was genuinely concerned for his daughter. Ayano looked up at him and grinned.
'I just needed a hug. I don't really tell you both enough how much I love you, I suppose.' She walked into the house through its open front door, leaving her father smiling. He had feared that she would end up like his wife, empty and hollow, but she seemed normal. He locked the car, then walked into the house and closed the door.
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Chapter Updated! First Update - (18/12/2016); Most Recent Update - (25/06/2017)
As much as I like the picture at the top, I want it in watercolour... if you see anything that reminds you of this chapter, message me with the URL!
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