Awakening with the greeting of the standard foul odor of the shelter, Miyuki was wide awake with a decent amount of rest. Usually every morning Miyuki wakes with a strong appetite and an even stronger will to never miss breakfast, but today was different. Her mind was too filled with thought to feel a need to eat. To regain that missing feeling of hunger, she needed to put her mind at ease from the jumbled number of ideas, questions, fears, and stressors that flooded her mind.
Miyuki's biggest area of concern was not her lack of hunger, rather the lack of people her age. At every direction and every angle, older people filled her line of sight. Elderly were the group that suffered the highest amount of poverty and homelessness in New Tako, which explains why so many come here. Though she understood that, Miyuki had hoped there was at least one person who was her age, but from where she looked, there was not even one to give.
("Yeah... this sucks.")
She continued to look around anyway. Nearly half an hour would be spent just moving up and down the shelter to find someone. At last though, she felt her long search had finally paid off when she spotted a young boy who couldn't be more than a year or two older than her. He had a fair light hair and a calm, natural smile he wore. From where she stood, she couldn't help but gaze upon this man, and feeling an immense wash of relief.
It wouldn't be long before this man noticed her staring, not hesitating to wave his hand in a friendly greeting. This greeting shook Miyuki back to her senses, who then shuffled one foot after the other to meet this person. He would greet her warmly, his cheery smile welcoming her to his spot in the shelter. "Hello there, I haven't seen you around here. Are you new?"
"Y-yes, I'm new..." Miyuki quietly muttered
"Ahhh. I'm sorry. You look like you've been hit by a truck, are you feeling okay?"
"H-hit by a truck?"
"O-oh, my bad, it's just an expression. It means that you look like you're miserable."
"Yeah, I guess you could say that. These past days have been pretty rough."
"I see. Mine were just as bad, you know? Don't let those days take your mood down, though."
How could he say 'just as bad' when he didn't even know what she had been through these last few days? There was no way someone could have it worse off than her, right? That was what she thought at least. "I can try, but no promises."
"What good is trying when there are no promises, huh?" the boy would playfully tease, giving Miyuki a small nudge. "Come on, I've been here for ten weeks and I've gotten adjusted. What are you in here for anyways? I know you don't have a home, but is there something else going on?"
"Yeah... a lot of things." Miyuki muttered again, holding her head from the new migraine that was beginning to surface.
The boy tilted his head, then folded his hands in his lap. "If you don't want to talk about it, I understand. It may seem like I am being tone deaf to what you are feeling, and that's what I am told a lot when I try to keep the peace.
"A bit of a reality check though: Everyone who walks through these doors are suffering too; and all they can bear to think about are the negatives that brought them to this shit hole. Personally, I wouldn't like to dwell on my problems for too long... it can't be healthy, can it?"
"I guess not... but that's easy for you to say..." Miyuki trailed off in thought, continuing to rub her aching head slowly. "Are you the only one?"
"Only one? No, there are tons of other people here!" the boy chuckled, gesturing to everyone else that surrounded them.
YOU ARE READING
Super Sekken Story 1: The Ki to the Headmaster
AzioneHope. Courage. Self-value. Friends. These all were traits that former junior high soccer champion and first year Miyuki Sekken had none of until she first walked into the doors of her local High School. Despite being a sports athlete phenomenon in h...
