Second Road

Episode 9: Past story 2

Today, the rainy season in June. Water drops should hit the ground. But that didn't happen at all today. The land is still dry and dry.

Today is the eleventh day in June. When the cloud should overshadow every inch of land, but he did not appear even a small item.

The sky had let me have a good time, but the dark past was coming.

The fate that I've been trying to avoid is even more crazy. He didn't let me turn a little. Yeah, not one bit.

It just occurred to me to start a new life with a new family. But he's not happy to see me forget it. He sent trouble to me, which finally opened the old wound.

Scratch wounds and bruises that have dried will get wet again. And maybe in that very moment, the real truth will be revealed.

***

Clamps

"Haru, I brought you milk and chocolate cookies. We can eat while listening to you."

Grandpa placed a plate full of chocolate cookies and a glass of milk on the bedside table.

"That's what?"

I pointed at the other glass that was on the wooden tray that grandfather had brought.

"Ah, this is just green tea. Green tea is popular and good for health. So I want to try it."

I grabbed a glass of milk. Water vapor from hot milk sticking out upwards. I grabbed a chocolate cookie, then dipped it in milk.

Tasty...

If I keep eating more and don't control myself, maybe I should skip dinner. My stomach capacity may not be able to hold everything.

I also ate ice cream and crepes. If I eat too much, I can throw up. But I can't refuse this either.

"Haru, how about we go on again. I want to know how you ended up in Agnes' place. Ah, you know agnes, right?"

What kind of question is that? Of course I know him. One of the women I hate the most. He was the one who lied and betrayed me.

"Well, I know him. Miss Agnes, she's a very assertive person, also good at speech. He was also the one who came to our home. Grandpa remember when I said they applied for a condition? Miss Agnes is the one who put forward those conditions."

Grandfather nodded slowly, like he fully understood my story.

"Actually the head of the parlour initially rejected that condition because I was worried that I would go to replace sister Hana. But he said that I could visit the parlour if I took the day off, and of course it made me relieved."

I took the glass of milk, then drank a sip. That sweet warm milk was sliding from my mouth towards the hull. My stomach feels warm. Then I put it again on the table.

"After working as a dishwasher for three months, Ms. Agnes added to my work as her personal coffee maker. Somehow, after a week he took me away by car to a far place."

I shuddered when I imagined it. Miss Agnes, who pulled my wrist and told me to get in the car, scared me. He treated me harshly, but that's how he is. It's one of my bad memories about cars.

"I thought I made a mistake before, so I was so scared. In that new place, I was locked up in a small room for a few days. And in the end I was taken again to another room that was shaped like a hospital room."

My head was filled with shadows about that place. Square room measuring 2×2 meters painted white. I still remember there was a small bed and a table beside it.

"Miss Agnes came to me at the time and said this is a new job for me. He said I should not complain and should obey whatever he said. He also kept bringing up the future of the parlour that would end in ruin if I didn't comply later."

I sighed, then pulled the sleeves that had been sagging ever since.

"Then, what exactly is the job Agnes gave you?"

"My job is.simple. I just have to receive the liquid that people there are pouring into my body. It's like..infuse, but it's fundamentally very different."

"It's just like the Agnes I know. Let's continue." Grandpa went back to sipping his green tea.

"Hm...The first time they put it in, I almost went crazy because it made my body hot and sick. It lasted for three days until I was completely healed. For three days I could not sleep, and eat. Even breathing is difficult. I can only cry. After that, they put it in again on the tenth day, I was sick and healed again. They do it again and again."

That memory makes my breath go bad. The worst memories I've had over the last few years started to torment my mind. It was the perfect torture if you wanted to take revenge on someone.

"That explains everything. About your pain and the strangeness of your blood and chromosomes. Also a substance that inhibits your growth. I also understand why you ran away from them."

Grandfather immediately drew the conclusion from the sentence I said.

"Actually, I'm withdrawing myself not because of that."

I was quick to interrupt grandfather's conclusion.

"Didn't you? Then what?" Grandpa also looks impatient.

"I have absolutely no problem with the pain. Even while I was there I was taught various things. I ran away because Miss Agnes broke her promise."

"What do you mean?"

"Grandpa remember when I said they were applying for a condition and they'd let me come back to the parlour if I took a day off?"

Grandfather nodded.

"After three years there, I asked to meet Miss Agnes, but the people there wouldn't let me go. Then I even made a little fuss so Miss Agnes came to me. I asked her to take a day off because I wanted to go back to the parlor for a day. But..."

My voice is a little stuck in my throat. My tongue seems to have begun to be lazy to talk about what the woman is doing.

"But he won't let me. Then I asked when I could go and he said 'never will'. And it broke my heart. I got angry and tried to run, but that place was a chincilla whose safety was so tight it couldn't have gotten out of there."

"Why do you want to go back to the parlor?" Grandpa looked at. His eyes looked at me, like a look of pity or concern.

"I.want to meet with sister Hana. I promised to visit him. She's like a light to me."

Grandfather smiled at me after hearing my last sentence.

"So then, you turned out to be a loyal person huh. So, you don't forget me later either. Keep remembering your grandfather."

Grandpa rubbed my head. I want to laugh when I say that. Am I really a loyal person?

"Is that so? Because Miss Agnes reneged on her promise, I was unable to meet sister Hana for a long time. For the past year, I've been trying to run from there. I did things but never succeeded. Until one day, I realized that I wasn't the only experimental material there."

I bowed my head, then straightened the legs that felt sore from sitting too long.

"There was a child who was also from the same parlor as me. We didn't really meet, just talked through the walls that separated our place. He said that our parlour was on the verge of collapse. Hearing that, I felt guilty and sad. Then I went back to seeing Miss Agnes."

"And Agnes broke her promise again because there was another child besides you she was carrying?" I immediately recited the words grandfather.

"You're like you never learn, Haru." Grandfather placed the empty tea cup on the table.

"Yes, it seems like I'm a little lousy about that. But that's why I can get out of there." I raised my head, looking at Grandfather's face that looked clueless.

"I don't really remember either, and I don't really understand either. But it felt like someone was controlling me until I could get out of there."