Thirteen Months

"Mr. and Mrs. Sawamura, this is Mizuko," Ms. Miko said, gesturing to the small girl beside him. The girl didn't even look up, instead staring fixedly at the floor.

Mrs. Sawamura knelt down so Mizuko was forced to look at her. "Hi there, sweetie," she said gently. "We're so excited to have you staying with us. Know that we're looking forward to getting to know you better." Mizuko gave a small nod and looked to the side. Eye contact scared her. It made her so nervous she could feel her heartbeat increasing, her palms growing clammy, and her vision blurring slightly.

Daichi, who had been standing slightly behind his parents watching the scene, noticed the girl's change in behavior. He stepped forward slightly and put his hand on his mom's shoulder. "I think we should give her a little space, Mom," he said. "She's a little shy."

"Yes," Ms. Miko agreed. "It appears that Mizuko has a case of select mutism. I've personally never heard her speak."

Mrs. Sawamura smiled apologetically at the girl, "Sorry about that, I didn't mean to make you nervous." She took a step back and held her husband's arm. She nodded at Daichi, "How about you show Mizuko her room while we finish signing the papers," she suggested. Daichi nodded. He held out a hand to take Mizuko's backpack for her, but she flinched away at the movement, gripping her shoulder straps tighter.

"Sorry, uh, I guess you can just follow me then," he said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. She slowly followed behind him and Daichi made his way up the stairs. He opened the door at the end of the hall and gestured for her to go inside. Mizuko peered around the room cautiously, and Daichi thought he saw a trace of a smile on her lips. The room was small, complete with a bed, nightstand, dresser, mirror, small bathroom, and closet. Turning her gaze to Daichi, she cocked her head in a questioningly look. "What is it?" he asked. She just stared at him with her large brown eyes. She pointed a finger at him and then gestured around the room. "I look around?" Daichi guessed. Mizuko shook her head. She held up her hand, and Daichi slapped it, giving her a high-five. She smiled faintly but shook her head again. Daichi looked at her puzzled. "What is it?" She held up her hand again and pointed to his own hand with the other. Daichi raised his hand, mirroring her. Mizuko slowly reached towards his hand and held it in her own, palm up. With her finger, she traced characters into the center of his large hand. Daichi's eyes widened, finally realizing what she was doing. "Oh!" he exclaimed. "Are you tracing the words?" Mizuko nodded. Daichi watched as she traced what she had been trying to say. "Your...room?" Daichi guessed. She nodded. "Your room, what does that mean?" She just looked at him. "You...want to see my room?" He asked. She nodded quickly, and she smiled. Mizuko actually smiled. Daichi felt his own wide grin spreading on his face. "Aha!" He pumped the air with his fist. "I finally got it!" Mizuko nodded. "Wow am I bad at this," Daichi laughed. "But now that you're staying here, you can teach me to get better!" He walked to the door and gestured for Mizuko to follow.

"This is my room," Daichi said as they entered the room next to Mizuko's. "And my parents' room is the one at the end of the hall, closest to the stairs." The girl nodded. She glanced around the room, her eyes resting on the window seat. She pointed to it and cocked her head, which Daichi quickly realized was her way of asking a question. "You can sit there if you want," he invited, hoping he had guessed her meaning correctly. Moving to the window seat, Mizuko pulled herself up and gazed outside at the surrounding neighborhood. Daichi watched as the girl seemed to drink in everything she saw. Slowly, she turned to look around the rest of the room. She pointed to a picture taped above his desk and cocked her head to the side. "Oh, that's my volleyball team," Daichi said. "That's Sugawara and Asahi-- they're both third years like me." He pointed to three other boys. "That's Ennoshita, Kinoshita, and Narita." He moved his finger and pointed to a short boy on the shoulders of a bald-headed boy. "That's Nishinoya and Tanaka, they're crazy," he said chuckling a little. "And those are the first years, Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, Hinata, and Kageyama," he finished, pointing to each of the remaining boys in the picture.

Mizuko signed, Awesome! Daichi looked at her.

"What does that mean?" She signed it again. "Is that sign-language?" he asked. She nodded. She reached out and traced the word into his palm "Ahh," he said understandingly. "Can you teach me?" Mizuko nodded and smiled. Such a sweet smile, it made her face relax, the pain in her eyes dulling for a fleeting moment. Daichi decided to make it his goal to make that smile appear on her face more often.

"Daichi, Mizuko, Ms. Miko is getting ready to leave!" Mr. Sawamura called from downstairs. Daichi and Mizuko exited the room and walked back downstairs to the living room where the adults had been conversing.

"Alright, Mizuko. It's been a pleasure getting to know you. I will be making monthly visits to make sure the fostering period is going well," Ms. Miko said, bending down so Mizuko would have to look her in the eyes. Mizuko managed to hold eye contact for a few seconds before turning her head to the side slightly.

"How long is the fostering period, exactly?" Daichi asked, looking at his parents.

"Thirteen months," Mrs. Sawamura said. "Unless we decide to switch to a long-term foster plan."

"That's right," Ms. Miko nodded.

"Well, we should probably just let Mizuko get comfortable first before we start talking about the future. How about some dinner?" Mr. Sawamura asked.

"I'll get it started," Mrs. Sawamura said. She turned back to Ms. Miko. "Thank you so much for everything."

"Of course! If you need anything or have any questions, feel free to contact me, you have my number. See you at the end of the month," Ms. Miko said, smiling. Facing Mizuko, she said, "Be good, I'll see you in a month, ok?" Mizuko just nodded, still avoiding eye contact. "Alright, sweetie, see you soon." Ms. Miko straightened up and exited the house.

The Sawamura's all stared at each other for a moment, and then at Mizuko. "Well," Mr. Sawamura said, clapping his hands together. Daichi noticed how Mizuko flinched at the abrupt noise. "Let's get started on dinner, huh?" his father continued.

"Daichi, set the table, will you?" his mother asked. He nodded and moved to the kitchen to grab the dishes.

"Well, this is going to be an interesting 13 months," Daichi murmured to himself.

***

Daichi glanced at the clock. Nearly two in the morning. Yawning, he closed his laptop. He really needed to stop working on volleyball strategies so late. He rolled to the side to switch off the lamp on his night stand, but he paused. Holding his breath, he listened in puzzled silence as a small sound reached him. Sitting up, Daichi curiously crept from his room into the hallway. The noise was coming from Mizuko's room. He moved to stand outside the door, cracking it open slightly. Peering in, Daichi was met with a pitiful sight: Mizuko was curled tightly into a ball on her bed, trembling slightly as she cried softly. Daichi closed the door quickly, embarrassed and unsure what to do. Should he go in and make sure she was ok? That's a stupid idea, of course she's not ok, he thought, mentally facepalming. She just moved into a new home. She didn't know anyone. Daichi didn't know anything about her past, but he sensed that it was a heavy topic. What could he possibly do that would help her? She's probably better off without me saying anything....save us both the awkwardness, he thought. Quietly, he shuffled back to his own room. For the next hour, he listened to her muffled sobs. Finally, the two of them eventually drifted off into a restless sleep.