Flowershop

Chapter Seventeen

Ugh. Why did no one get it? "Ma, I have to go. Why not? I can speak English now, I can speak English!" He ended the last part in heavily accented English, voice filled with frustration.

His mother said he wanted what was best for him, but not letting him go to America was not helping him, it was just holding him back. "And what? English? With that accent? How will you get around? You haven't haven't even finished college yet! The answer is no, Kiku. And with what money? What money do you have?" Yao said, starting to get angry and tired of his son constantly talking about moving to America.

"It will be so hard to find a job! How will you support yourself out there? New York, it is not a place for cheap living," He ranted, looking at his son's angry face. "Just listen to me!" He said in English, raising his voice at Kiku.

"Why should I listen to you?" He asked incredulously. "You're not my parent! You're just some man who found me on the streets!" He shouted, looking him straight in the eye, his unwavering gaze meeting Yao's hurt one, oblivious to all his siblings stares. Yao recovered immediately.

He got up quickly, and in an instant was standing two inches away from Kiku, leaning into his face. He directed his spiteful stare into Kiku's eyes, piercing him. "Okay Kiku. I am some man who found you on the street? Well, get your coat, because I can take you right back to that street."

He opened his eyes at once, the darkness of the room still present. He read the clock, seeing it was four am. Typical. He didn't like thinking about that. Why did he choose to dream about it now? He never wanted to think about that time again... He regretted it so much, and it made him feel very small. It made him feel like a child. It was almost four, five years ago already. But, he was here now, and that's all that really mattered. He rolled over on his side, trying to get back to sleep.

His dream unfortunately continued, making his sleep rather restless and uneasy.

He awoke abruptly to find Alfred's face staring down at his own with concern. "Hm? What's wrong?" He asked groggily, feeling terrible and unrested. "Well, I woke up and you had this really pained look on your face... you look really sad. Did you have a bad dream, babe? Wanna talk about it?" He said, yawning slightly.

"Mm, I guess. It's nothing really important though," he said uneasily. "Well, you know, I just had a dream about when I lived in Japan... it was just this one time my mom and I were in a fight over something stupid," he said, suddenly becoming very interested in the stray strings at the hem of his shirt. His accent got thicker with every word he spoke. "And I don't think we've ever really got past it... no one talks about it, my mom still loves and cares for me... but one talks about it, and I don't think we ever will," he ended sadly.

Unfortunately, even if his divided family loved eachother to death, they still never talked about their problems, and that was the biggest flaw. "Aw, hey. I bet your mom has gotten over it, I mean, from what I've heard, he totally forgives you and loves you still," Alfred said, rubbing Kiku's arm. "So, whatever it is you two fought about? It doesn't seem to matter. Your family loves you no matter what, Kiku," He said, sitting up straighter, a sincere sound in his voice.