Spiderman From the Ashes : Volume One

Chapter Seven - Highlight Reel pt.1

While Vicky returned from central park with Arisu, the woman closed her umbrella as her soaked boots met with the wet carpet as they enter the apartment. The woman was is still with her white hair sticking out her head. When Arisu was taking out her jacket to toss it to the next clothes basked.

Vicky crouched a bit to see the many portraits placed together on the shelves. One of them has a young boy and a young man in it. She never urged to at leask ask who are those people, but that would be too personal for her.

"Haru turned 4 this year! he was so excited for this birthday that he ate almost all the cake than his friends! - Aaron, 2004" she read the back of that portrait. A picture of a boy riding his first bicycle, looks like it was taken by his father.

"New Year's Eve! - 2008" it was a picture of a couple kissing at a beach, fireworks bloom was blurring the photo a bit, but the woman could deduce it was Arisu and "Aaron".

The other photos, laid out on the table, were a mixture of blurred descriptions and missing portraits. Vicky couldn't resist the urge to take a peek at them, despite feeling like she was intruding. She couldn't help but feel curious about her roommate, who seemed to have a stable family despite never mentioning them.

"Vicky?" Arisu's voice broke through her thoughts as she appears from the bedroom in fresh clothes, still adjusting the sleeves of her sweater.

"Vicky? What are you doing?" Arisu asked, noticing her looking at the pictures. "I was just seeing one of your portraits... nothing special." Vicky replied sheepishly.
"Didn't your mother ever teach you to respect people's privacy?" Arisu scolded, disappointment evident in her tone.

"I may not be much older than you, but I am not a child." Arisu stated firmly.

"I didn't mean to offend you." Vicky assured her. "You didn't..." Arisu replied with a calm sigh. "It is getting late, and I should probably go home." Vicky advised, as she approaches the door, grabbing the knob to turn it and close the door, it feels like a door is the main reason that was dividing both of them. Like something wasnt letting them to be honest with each other. Like a stop sign before she spoke a word.

But she blocked the passage with her leg, as a way to stop Vicky.

"Not before you dry off," she added, grabbing a towel and handing it to Vicky with a warm smile that seemed less chaotic and more serene than before.

It made Vicky wonder what kind of person Arisu truly was behind closed doors.

As the hours ticked by, Arisu organized the wardrobe, Arisu stacked towels and clothes meticulously in their designated spots. She stretched on her toes to reach the top shelf, but lost her balance and tumbled onto a nearby stool, causing a domino effect of items falling to the floor. She quickly grabbed onto a nearby wall for support before hitting the ground. As she untangled herself from the pile of clothes, she noticed some scattered CD cases. 

With a hint of annoyance, she began picking them up until she came across an old camcorder. It triggered a distant memory - did it still work? She searched through the clutter and found an old DVD labeled "My Final Goodbye." Curiosity peaked, she also stumbled upon another DVD titled "Belle Isle Beach - 2002." Eager to see what was on them, Arisu inserted the first DVD into the recorder and waited for the TV's static noise to fade away.

"Here is our boiii, who is the smartest boii on this planet? who it is? who it is?" a playful deep voice soars at the beach while holding a camrecorder, focusing on a young toddler who babbles some random words. He puts his finger on his mouth, not understanding the man.

"Honey, you know that he can't fully speak yet, right?" a lighter voice came out, this time from a woamn, who only her legs are showing at the footage as the camera focuses on the young baby.

"Can at least spell your name?" the man asked. "Haru." the kid said, the man made a squeaking voice of full joy after seeing Haru spelling his name.

"Yayyyyyy!" the man cheer up. 

"You're so stupid Aaron." Arisu scoffed as the baby starts to bury his toys on sand. the camera now focuses on Arisu's face, which is gazing back at Aaron while he let a mischevious laugh.

"So do you, milady." Aaron teased, running from Arisu chasing him up to beat him up.