Fate. A predetermined supernatural power. The will of the universe. Fate is order. It writes, and rewrites, gives and takes. It spins vibrant red strings that flow into the world and connect people who are destined to meet, to love, to share a story...
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My alarm rings, telling me that it's 6pm in the evening already, so I shut my textbooks, stack them together and pile them into my desk drawer. Nee-san doesn't like it when I leave my books and papers scattered about, so I've started to clean up after myself a little. Dad's staying in her room with Mai-san right now, so she's sharing a room with me.
It's a bit strange, living with someone I don't know, but Mai-san...she's kind. She greets us with smoothies and a smile every morning and comes up the stairs to peek through our bedroom door and wish us a good sleep every night. It's a bit cramped in the kitchen during breakfast, and I have to wake up early if I want to catch the bathroom while it's still empty, but...she loves him.
My father.
She loves him.
I can see it in the way she gets mad when he lazes around too long and in the way she shoves him aside when it's too hot. In the way she sings his favorite songs while they work in the kitchen and in the way she drags him to bed at the same time every night so that he doesn't oversleep the next day.
She really loves him, and watching them together makes me smile, and that makes me realise that I love him too, and I think I'd forgotten that.
So it's nice having her around.
I haven't had to go shopping or work the bills with Nee-san at all since she got here, because she and Papa take care of everything. It's left me with more time on my hands than I know what to do with, and it's a little strange, not having to glance at the clock every ten minutes, because our uniforms won't dry in time if I don't wash them soon or the store closes at 9 or Nee-san isn't back yet, should I make dinner?
More than once, I've startled awake after dozing on my desk all night, scrambling down the stairs to the kitchen in a rush, thinking oh no, I'm late, I'm late, only to walk in on a table laid with steamed rice, grilled fish and miso soup.
A gentle hand on my back, Mai-san always sits me down, handing me a pair of chopsticks. "I wouldn't touch the fish if I were you. Your father made that," she playfully warns once in a while. Papa feigns offense everytime, and they start to bicker, while I simply stare down at the food, an ache in my arms, my legs, my soul, because...I've been tired. So tired.
But I know what it's like now, to be taken care of. This sort of warmth, it's been a long time since I've felt it.
It's quite nice.
The door to my room creaks open. "Akito? You done?"
I turn in my chair and smile, stretching my legs out. "Yes."
"Great! It'll still be a while before Rubi and the others get here. Wanna finish organising the cupboard in the meantime?"
"Sure," I say, standing up with a yawn, and she steps into the room, closing the door behind her. We kneel before the cupboard together, and she helps me move some of my boxes around to make room for the rest of her clothes, humming all the while. It makes me smile, because it's a song she's picked up from Mai-san.
