Fists and Lipsticks 2: The Silver Crescent

CHAPTER 24: Locked Doors and Promises

CHAPTER 24: LOCKED DOORS AND PROMISES

Can I have a taste of your lips?

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I had a dream about the dog and the master.

The tale reeled on my mind like a movie. I was the actress in the classic drama movie. I heard the chugging of the incoming train, felt the frosty mist of the morning despite the sun rays that blinded my eyes, its warmth struggling but unable to penetrate my skin. In my dream, I was the master about to go to a place foreign, far, and cold. On my grasp was my tightly sealed baggage that contained my past – the past that I tried so hard to suppress, the past that caused my tears to evaporate, the past that molded me into a vessel of hate, sadness, and remorse. I was leaving to become a new person, to take this baggage to a place unknown and dispose of it, and then come back many years later to fulfill my revenge.

Overwhelmed with my grand plan, I forgot about the dog. It waited for me for many, many years, stayed in the train station with its gaze set afar, hoping for me to come back.

In the story, the master never returned, for he died in an unfortunate accident.

But what if the master never died?

What if she came back, but when she arrived in the train station, she could not recognize the dog anymore? That the dog welcome him, licked her shoe, wiggled its tail cheerfully, but she simply walked away? That the dog followed the master to her home, but she closed the gates, leaving it out in the cold?

She forgot about her dog, for she chose to suppress her memories of the hurtful past, in the process throwing away even the beautiful memories.

I forgot about the dog, but he stayed there on my door, waiting...

Waiting...

Waiting...

I slowly opened my eyes. At first, I thought that I was still dreaming. I was in a place unfamiliar to me. The ceiling was too low to be my room. I looked at my hand and saw an IV connected. I was not wearing my usual night clothes, rather, a white gown for hospital patients.

Hospital?

"Ugh..."

I immediately turned when I heard a groaning sound coming from my left. My eyes widened in surprise as I saw him sitting on a chair next to me, his head positioned on top of my bed as if he were a student sleeping on a classroom desk. I watched him as he slowly opened his eyes, his hair tousled to every direction.

"Kos... I mean... Y-Yamazaki-san?" 

"Ah, you're finally awake," Kosuke smiled handsomely.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. "What am I doing here?"

"You lost consciousness in front of the hotel restaurant," he explained. "The doctor said you were probably stressed out from too much work that your body gave up."

"I... passed out?"

He nodded, "Yeah."

"How long have I been staying here?"

"Two days."

"Two days?" I exclaimed in surprise. "But... what about..."

"If you're worried about the hotel, I already have everything under control," Kosuke said reassuringly. "For the mean time, you have to rest."

"I don't need to rest. I'm fine," I answered, pushing myself up from the bed.

"No, don't! You're still weak. You have to rest!"