The Disconsolate Maiden

Chapter Twenty-Six

At lunch...

Homura, now fed up from listening to Naomi and Totoko quarrel nearly all morning long, decided to go outside to eat her lunch.

Since it was a warm, spring day, cherry blossoms in bloom, many other students were outside too. So, at the very least, she didn't feel too out of place when she sat down on a small barrier of bricks around one of the cherry trees.

The wind blew, rustling the cherry blossoms, many showering down around Homura as she pulled out her bento.

Just as she thought she was going to eat alone, but in peace, she heard a familiar voice call her name from a short distance.

"HOMURAAAAA CHAN!" Jyushimatsu yelled, laughing as he ran at full speed towards the quiet girl, his arms open wide. He didn't even stop the think twice, not realizing the bricks around the tree cold possibly take the skin off of his knees. But, as usual, Jyushimatsu didn't care.

Colliding into Homura, the boy laughed, hugging her as tightly as he could.

"I didn't see you at all after Saturday morning! I haven't seen you today either up until now...." Jyushimatsu paused, staring into a confused Homura's delicate, brown eyes. "I'm so happy to see you!"

"Yeah," Homura laughed a little, forcing a smile on her face. The girl immediately felt embarrassed for having not been more polite to his kind gestures toward her. Quickly, she offered the boy her lunch. "Would you like some?"

"Did you make all of that?" Jyushimatsu said, his eyes as big as saucers. "It looks so pretty!"

"Y-Yes...I did make it!" Homura managed to laugh a little. "And thank you."

"I'd love to try some!" Jyushimatsu said, sitting down extremely close to Homura, their legs touching.

Dozens more of cherry blossoms fell on top and around the two of them.

Homura quickly pulled out her spare chopsticks and handed them to Jyushimatsu, allowing him to help herself. She really wasn't that hungry anyways, so she didn't mind.

For several moments, an odd silence hovered between the two as Homura just listened to the soothing, mysterious whispers of the annual spring trees in bloom.

"Hey," Jyushimatsu said quietly, pushing the bento back into Homura lap, looking up at the sky, blinking his eyes a little. "Is you mother-"

"She's," Homura inhaled. "She's..."

A sudden droplet of hot, salty water sprung from Homura's tear ducts, running down her cheek.

Shaking her head, Homura smiled at Jyushimatsu as he just stared with his mouth gaping open.

"Were you close to your mother?" Jyushimatsu asked kindly, his hand accidentally brushing Homura's. "You were always in a hurry to get home, I noticed."

"I-I wasn't the one anyone wanted still, I was the one who was given a name at random, the one who wasn't planned, the one who shouldn't exist in the first place. No matter what people tell me, I'll never agree with them. I'm not the one who should be here right now, and it's all my fault my mother is dead," Homura whimpered as Jyushimatsu pulled her close to him, hugging her from the side.

"No, no don't be sad! It'll be alright! I'm glad you're here, because you make me happy! You're really smart, pretty, and talented too!" Jyushimatsu said in a rush, only causing Homura to burst into tears. After all, she was a more fragile human than others thought her to be.

"I can never say I was close to someone...who only needed me as their servant or caretaker. I knew nothing about my mother. I only knew she was ill and needed my constant assistance. After all, is that not exactly what a servant would know? There is never any effort to get close to their master...they just do as they're told," Homura whimpered, clutching Jyushimatsu's short sleeve tightly as her hands trembled, getting wet from her leaking eyes.

"Who were you close to then?" Jyushimatsu asked, knowing, surely, Homura hadn't lived in such a way for her entire life. There just had to have been someone she was close to, even a little.

"My s-s-sis-sister," Homura struggled to spit out the words as she felt the stake being pounded even deeper into her heart. Choking, Homura looked up at the boy, her eyes swimming with tears. "I loved my sister, and she loved me too. She helped me get along with my father. She made the world a brighter place for me."

"I didn't know you had a sister!" Jyushimatsu exclaimed, suddenly more interested in Homura than he had been previously. "What's she like?"

"I don't know anymore," Homura smiled a little, standing up from the hot bricks, wiping away her own tears. "I'll have to ask mother."

"Do you mean she's," Jyushimatsu paused, quickly running off before he could finish his sentence.

Confused, Homura just stood next to the tree for a moment, wondering where Jyushimatsu had gone.

Only moments later, he came running back around to Homura, clutching something in his hands.

"Open up your hand!" Jyushimatsu exclaimed, and Homura did such immediately. But, she was rather confused when three acorns fell into her palm.

"I have to go to class now!" Jyushimatsu exclaimed. "Thank you for lunch!"

Then, he literally disappeared before Homura even realized it.

"Acorns...?" Homura thought, still feeling confused. Yet, her confusion didn't last long. Another vivid memory had just come to her mind.