• “Tamaki, where is Kaoru?” I asked the butler.
    “Young master is at the office right now. The Missus has called your attention.” My expression stayed calm, but on the inside I was trembling. The last time I had spoken with Kaoru’s grandmother was four years after I had moved in.

    “Do you know why I have called you here Sakurada Yuki?” The elderly woman had asked.
    “No.” I said in a small voice.
    “I do not know what you and my grandson have together, and I wish not to know at all. I had thought that Kaoru would have gotten rid of you, or at least find your parents by now.” I held my head down, where it stared at the rug. I was sitting on a sofa, as she stood by the window; just watching the outside view.
    “Once Kaoru sets his mind to something, no one can waver his decision. So the other party, must make the move.” I didn’t know what she was saying, and I didn’t like how this was going.
    “Did you know, I can’t stand the slightest bit of you?” Automatically my head looked up towards her. This woman…“I don’t care about any of the hardships that have befallen you. There must have been a reason that you have become so unlucky in life. The only thing great that has ever happened to you is Kaoru. He is your savor, and it sickens me. Kaoru never had to depend on anyone in his life. At a young age, his own mother had disappeared on him as well. So his father and I took him in and raised him to be our next successor. He has become intelligent and mature in many ways.” Suddenly, her head turned to me sharply, “I won’t let you ruin what I have built and strived for. I have done all that I could in my power to find my grandson and bring him back home. I did whatever I could to make him look at life from a different perspective. It was all going great, until you so happened to have mysteriously fallen into his life. What I want from you now, is to leave him be. He has enough things to worry about in his life, since he won’t make the change; I advise you to do it for him. Leave at once!” I wasn’t surprised really…to hear this woman’s true feelings towards me. I already knew it was bound to happen. She didn’t like me the first time she had met me, so why would it be any different after only four years?
    “Yuki!” Kaoru barged in. He was wearing a business suit, and even though he was only fifteen at the time…he really did look like an adult.
    “Grandmother what is the meaning of this?!” Kaoru yelled for the first time. I’ve never seen him so angry before.
    “Kaoru, what do you see in this girl? Why is she so important, that she must stay here?”
    “The reason is not of your concern! She is my responsibility not yours. I don’t like you pestering into my personal affairs.” Kaoru grabbed my hand, and rushed me out of the door. This side of Kaoru, I had never met before.

    “Miss Yuki, this way please.” Tamaki opened the door for me as I entered the same old sofa room. Truthfully, this was the only room I’d been in when I came to the main house. It didn’t really bother me, since I didn’t really care what the other rooms looked like.
    “Ah, here she is Mrs. Yamashiro.” As soon as I walked into the room, this is what came out of that old woman’s mouth. And sitting across from her, a lady turned around in her seat. My eyes widened in horrific shock as the woman stood up and walked gracefully in front of me.
    “Hello Yuki, it certainly has been awhile.” It was her! The woman who abandoned me right after my father did. The woman who hasn’t even been around for eight years of my growth.
    I didn’t say anything, how could I?
    “I shall leave you two alone.” The old woman left the room.
    “Why don’t you have a seat Yuki.” The woman instructed. I crossed the floor and sat down in the other sofa facing her. She looked at me with a slight unsure smile. Was she uncomfortable just as much as I was? I smiled my own smile, and I hope she couldn’t tell it was fake. Inside I was screaming like I was being attacked by wolves. In my dream, I’ve actually been attacked by wolves; and Kaoru would always save me. But in this reality, he is not here; and so I must face this on my own. I’m not sure what I should say, when I should speak…
    “You certainly have grown up well, Yuki.” She spoke first. I nodded and said thank you.
    “You’ve done well for yourself. You‘ve matured in so many ways. How old are you?” She commented. Was she serious?
    “Fifteen.” I replied in a shy voice. I don’t know why I was shy, I actually wanted to ask her so many questions; but I didn’t know how.
    “I heard you have a great deal of wonderful friends?”
    “Yes, ones who won’t abandon me.” My eyes went wide…Did I just let that slip out?
    “Yuki…” The woman’s expression became sad. Why should she feel sad? She the one who left in the first place!
    “I would apologize, but I can’t, because I don’t feel sorry that I said that just now.” I said. I couldn’t hold my feelings in any longer, they were just giving way and slipping out. The woman’s whole posture became deformed in a way, while I just sat there like I always did. Tears began to stroll down her cheeks.
    “Why did you come here? After fours years of searching, I decided to stop. Obviously you didn’t want to be found, so why have you come here now? How did you know I was living here?” I asked.
    “Yuki, please understand. When your father left me, it was for another woman. He later took her name after they had gotten married, and changed everything about himself. He wanted to completely forget his past.” That’s why I couldn’t find any record of him.
    “Then why did you leave?” I asked.
    “I left because I couldn’t deal with it all. It was such a shock to me. With your father around we barely made rent and bought food. But after he left, I couldn’t provide for you. I was selfish and only thought about my feelings, so I left town by myself. After three years, I had started to do better. But I had lone sharks after me because the first year I was poor, I had borrowed money from the wrong people. I didn’t know what I was getting myself into, so I hid myself carefully. If anyone came looking for me, I would hide. I was too paranoid. But after three more years, I had been able to pay them all back. One year later, I had gotten married and…pregnant. Her name is Yui, she’s one years old.” This woman…she already has another baby?
    “If your life is complete again, why are you here?”
    “…A month after I gave birth, I started to feel depressed. So I went back down to the old apartment, I didn’t know what I was supposed to find there. I was hoping that you would have somehow gotten able to provide for yourself. I probably sounded like an idiot for admitting that, but I just needed to see you. So I started my own search for you.”
    “Well you’ve found me, so what would you like me to say? If you’re looking for forgiveness, I won’t give it. If you want me to pity you for all your rough patches all these years, I won’t do that either.”
    “Yuki, please.” The woman pleaded.
    “As far as I’m concerned…you’re not my mother.” I finally said it. And in that same instant, I was slapped. This woman…she had reached across the table and slapped me. Was that how my worlds felt to her? Was it painful? Well it should have been a lot more painful. Just because I have a great home now, it doesn’t mean…it doesn’t mean…
    “Yuki…” The woman’s eyes became wide. I held my hand to my cheek, and began to cry.
    “Young master, you are prohibited to go in there right now.”
    “Yuki!” Kaoru barged into the room. When he saw me, he came over quickly and cradled me into his arms.
    “Who are you? What did you do to her?!” Kaoru yelled at the woman.
    “I…” The woman stood up and exited the room. I got out of Kaoru’s gold and ran after her, I knew he was following me.
    “Mrs. Yamashiro!” I yelled. The woman didn’t turn around, so I continued, “Don’t think, just because I’ve done well for myself…that I’m already healed.” The woman sniffed, and kept walking.