The Left Out Memory

~PROLOGUE~

Aaron Kimura's POV

I remember it just like it was yesterday, the day that I met Mina...

It was a hot summer day and I was spending it alone in my room studying. My mother had always been very strict with me since I was young; she didn't want me to tarnish our family's name since the Kimuras had always been at the top in the world of business. My father was a very cold man; he was the CEO of a very famous Japanese fashion corporation and my mother was the main designer of that company. I had never felt any love from them and they barely ever came home to see me. From my window, all I could’ve seen were kids who were happily playing outside and it had always made me feel very lonely.

Around noon, while I was still studying, I heard something hitting on my window, so I went up to it. When I opened the blinds, I got directly hit in the face by a rock. The person who threw it from the window right across mine was a little girl around my age. She had short black hair, brown eyes and was wearing a beautiful white one-piece that made her look like an angel.

“Are you hurt?” she said worriedly.

“Huh? I-I’m fine.” I replied nervously.

“I always see you studying from my window, so I was wondering if you wanted to come out and play with me.” she said with a bright smile.

“I can’t. My mother wants me to stay home and study.”

“Hmmm, I can help you escape from there if you want me to.” 

I was hesitating for a moment since my mother would definitely be furious at me, but in the end, I accepted her offer because I was sick and tired of all the studying. I wanted to play outside like a normal kid for once in my life.

The little girl left her window for a few seconds and came back with a big wooden board that she was barely capable of lifting. She carefully placed it in between our houses and told me to go across it like it was a normal thing to do, so I did and I never regretted it.

Starting from that day, I played with her and everyday became a precious memory of mine. Sadly, it didn’t last for long. One day, our family maid caught me in the act and told my mother. So, I was grounded in my room with the window locked. I felt like I was an animal trapped in a cage.

One night, my mother came home and said that she had to tell me something important; I had a bad feeling about it. She decided that it was best for me to study abroad in France. She didn’t even listen to my opinion and just left like usual. My face was filled with despair and anger. I was mad at everything in the world including my powerless self. I ran up to my room and cried like there was no tomorrow.

In the midst of all the tears, I suddenly heard a rock hitting on my window; it was the same sound that I heard the day that I met Mina. I quickly rushed to the window and opened the blinds. There she was, smiling with the same angelic face as she did every day, but as soon as she saw my eyes full of tears; she stared at me worriedly and reached for a notebook and a pencil. She quickly started writing in it and then flipped it around to show me.

“Why are you crying?” she wrote.

I did the same thing and grabbed a pen and some paper.

“I’m going to study abroad, so I can’t see you anymore.” I responded.

“That’s a shame…” 

She looked as if she was going to cry as well, but she held back her tears and started writing again.

“But I will always remember you, so smile okay?”

I quickly wiped away my tears; I couldn’t let Mina see me acting so pathetic.

“I’ll definitely come back to see you.”

That night, I couldn’t sleep at all. The time I spent with Mina was the happiest time of my life. She was the most cheerful girl I have ever met and her smile was like the sun that shone on my dull world.

Ten years have passed since then and I’m finally returning back to Japan to attend university. Now that I think about it, Mina was probably my first love. Hopefully, I will get the chance to meet her again, so I could fulfill my promise.