Return to Rockkenjima

Chapter 22

It seemed that she was getting used to living here. The woman's kids welcomed her with love, but there was one who was older than the two, who didn't seem to enjoy Ami's company. The woman had told her, that her daughter was that way with everyone. Of course, she wasn't sure about that girl but she didn't allow such a thing to bother her. Ami played with the other children, earning their trust quickly. 

That night at the dinner table, the younger kids played around with their food as the woman tried to clean their faces. The oldest daughter continued looking at Ami like she was a threat. It wasn't until afterwards she had confronted her. 

" Why are you always so calm?" she asked. Ami stopped in the middle of the stair and shrugged. 
" I don't know, it's just a trait I inherited I guess." 

" You guess?" she scoffed. " I don't understand why my mother has someone like you here. She must have been forced into something like this." 

Ami shook her head, " I don't want to be here either. I wasn't given a good reason for such a thing, but you might as well get over it." 

She sneered and shook her head, " I don't to have someone like you in this house. You stink and I think cats can clean themselves better than you." 

" What about you? Your face will still stay the same." 

Ami continued to walk upstairs and entered the guest room. They were nice enough to give her a room instead of resting on the couch for the time she would be here. There were also some clothes in the closet that were washed. 

After she changed, she jumped in the bed and sighed of relief. It was almost like she owned the room. On the shelf, they gave her a collection of books. She had told them that she enjoyed reading from her older sister and father, whom used to read to her almost every night. She grabbed a book from the shelf and looked at it. It was an old graphic novel that seemed to be back in her parents' days. 

It had been her favorite book. 

Both her father and sister would read it to her. She fell in love with that book and asked for it every night. She didn't care if they were annoyed with the plot or characters. It was something that made her excited for nighttime. She flipped through the pages, examining the artwork. Jamie would have admired it dearly. 

Even when she fell asleep, in her dreams she imagined that she met her family once again. The smiles on their faces when she came to join them. The reunion of her and her cousins, along with her brother and sister. 

But that would never come true. 

She had tried to kill herself once after she was released from the hospital. That plan had failed when the rope snapped. She was taken back and was given some depression pills. They had worked, but she still wanted to join them. 

When she woke up in the morning, her face was dry with tears and the book rested by her side. She had thought that her family didn't want her to die just yet. There was something she had to do. She sat up and walked downstairs to see the family eating their breakfast. 

" Oh, Ami you're awake." 

" Yeah, I'm not hungry." 

" Alright, we're all heading out this morning. Do you want to join us?" the mother asked. Ami shook her head and placed her hand on her forehead, " I haven't been feeling well lately." 

The oldest daughter looked at her mother, hoping that she wouldn't allow her to stay home. However, she allowed such a thing. " Alright, stay here and we'll be back by noon." 

When the family left, Ami took her chance to look around. The house was too big to know in one day. She decided to find the parents' room. She went through three rooms before she found the right one. It was a mess compared to the other ones. Clothes were spread out over the floor with some suitcases. 

Had they been packing for something?

Ami looked around and opened the closet. There was a bag of dirty clothes just sitting there. She almost had to block her nose from the smell. Before she closed the closet, the noticed a small box hiding in the corner. She reached and grabbed the box. There was a little bit of dust on it, but it looked like it had been recently taken out. 
She opened it, finding pictures and notes. The writing was hard to understand, but she found something strange in the picture. Once she picked it up, she found a picture of two young girls. One girl looked like the woman, but the other girl made Ami wonder. 

She put the picture aside and continued looking through the notes. 

Rokkenjima was the only thing that was familiar to her. She took the paper and stuffed it in her pocket. She took once last glance at the photo and finally figured out who the other girl was. 

It was Jamie. 

Ami had faintly remembered it, but Jamie had a thin scar that ran along side her neck. Jason had told her that she earned it when she younger, but never told her the actually accident. She carefully put in her pocket and closed the box. There wasn't anything much to her knowledge. Her objective was finding out who the hell that woman was and how she knew her older sister. 

When the family returned in the evening, Ami pretended that she was sick having a box a tissues nearby and covering herself in the blanket. The TV was on, but she didn't stop to figure out what kind of show it was.  

" Are you feeling better?" the mother asked. 

" Yes, I guess I needed a day home." 

" Since when are you calling this place your home?" the eldest daughter asked. The mother glared at her, causing her to avoid her mother's eyes. 

" I wanted to ask you something," she told the mother. " It's about my family." 

The mother nodded and looked at her family. The husband understood and took his children upstairs. Once they left, the mother looked back to Ami, waiting for her question. 

" Do you know anyone in my family?" she asked. 

" No I don't. I thought we already gone through this?" 

" Really? Because I found a picture with you and my older sister." Ami pulled the picture out of her pocket and showed it to her. Of course, the woman's eyes widened. " Where did you get that?" she asked. 

" It doesn't matter. You know my family. What was your relationship with them?" 

The mother sighed and sat down on the couch, a headache occurring. " I guess you were too young to remember me. I was your sister's friend." 

" But you're older than her," Ami pointed out. " She wouldn't be friends with someone like you. Also, I found something related to your old days. You were once in a rebel group, or what they call these days, a gang." 

The mother flinched when Ami mentioned that, " I guess you're right. My name is Kasumi and I was your sister's friend. I was also in a rebel group." 

" What happened between you two?" she asked. 

" Nothing really. But, there is something I have to tell you." 

" What is it?" 

" Do you remember when your sister got in trouble, because she wasn't in school?" Ami nodded, wanting to hear the rest of this. " That's because she was hanging out with me all that time." 

" Wait, that meant-" 

" That's right, your sister was part of that rebel group as well. She wasn't the same heir you once knew."