Me and Ai

Chapter 84: Question

Chapter 84: Question

*ring ring ring ring*

Hearing my alarm ring, I get up immediately and turn it off. I go towards one of the windows in my room and open the curtains. It's a little before six o'clock in the morning and the sky looks beautiful; the night sky and the morning sky are both present as one relieves its position and the other takes over. I decide to open the window and the morning breeze enters my room; the calm cool morning breeze feels good. It's slightly too cold but having the wind blow towards my face feels good and calming. The neighbourhood street is still empty and quiet; the only sound you can hear is the sound of the birds that are happily welcoming the morning sun. I think I can hear someone cooking in the kitchen; it might be Mama-san. I should prepare myself; it would be rude of me to be late for our appointed time to talk.

After staying by the window for a few more minutes, I enter the bathroom to do my morning rituals. When I washed my face, the water really woke me up; it was really cold. At least I'm wide awake now. After my morning rituals, I wore some thick clothing since it was cold and when I was all set and ready, I went to Kaori's room to check up on her.

*knock knock*

"I'm coming in."

I gently open the door and as I thought, she's still sleeping. I check her temperature and it has gone down; she's recovering fast. Maybe her fever will be gone by New Year's Day; I hope that that would be the case so that she can greet the New Year in good health and be with us to celebrate.

The towel on her forehead has become cold and so I decided to remove it. As I took the towel, I start to observe her. I've noticed over time that her sleeping position barely changes at all. She always sleeps on her right side and if ever she would change her position, she would sleep on her back. But the most interesting part that I've noticed about her is that when we sleep together, she would always be smiling as she sleeps. She's so cute; I'd just want to monopolize her all the time if I could. It's funny how the mind and the heart would not get along and create trouble in one's self.

I wonder...if ever I would ask you to marry me, would you say yes or would you say no. Would you be happy that I asked or would you have wished that I never had? Whether you would say yes or no, whether you'd be happy about it or not, I will still ask you.

"Because I really do love you." Those words quietly slipped out of my mouth.

A sudden urge to touch her grows inside of me and so I unconsciously and gently pat her head.

"Hnn...Ai?" Kaori opens her eyes.

"I'm sorry for waking you up; I came to check up on you. How are you feeling today?"

"I feel much better." She says happily.

"That's good. Your temperature has gone down and it's near back to normal but you should just continue to rest for a full recovery."

"That's good to know; I can't wait to recover. I want to get out of my room already; I've been kept here for two days now."

"You're getting bored?"

"Not really...Since you always come to check on me, I don't get bored or lonely."

"Do you want some water?"

"No, it's okay. I'm not thirsty."

Kaori looks at the clock beside her bed. "Ai, it's just a few minutes past six o'clock. What time did you wake up?"

"A little before six."

"Eh? Why so early?! Well...not that it's strange for you to be up early. Um, but you usually sleep longer when there's no work so today would be unusual..."