Being In the Mekakushi Dan!

A Family Time

It was the first day of the school holidays. I woke up and did my usual routine. However, when I walked out of my room, I saw my sister, Hiyori, looking through our photo albums. I was curious since Hiyori never looked at our photo albums before. As far as I recall.. that is.

"Nee-chan, why are you looking through our photo albums?" I asked as I was looking at Hiyori.

"Emiko, it's time I let you know the truth... about our family..." Hiyori replied.

I was so shocked at what Hiyori had just said. It felt weird that I've been kept secrets from my family members. But I'm shocked at the fact that I have no clue about my own family. What the hell does that suppose to mean? I stood there as my sister showed all the photos.

"Emiko, this is our elder sister. What I heard from our mum before she went for her business trip is that her name is Ayaka Asahina and she left before we were born. Now, I really have no idea where she is." Hiyori explained about our long-lost sister, Ayaka.

We had another sister in our family tree? I wondered why Mom didn't tell us earlier? Maybe she didn't want to burden us? Maybe she thought we were too young and not mature to understand? I had a lot of questions, but I held my tongue as Hiyori continued with her story. Seriously, I just wish I could see Ayaka. Why did she have to leave us alone? With so many questions bothering my brain, I blurted out one of the questions that were stupid.

"Nee-chan, do you know where we could find her? I really want to see her." I begged.

I was pretty forgetful and stubborn as Hiyori had just mentioned that Ayaka left us before we were even born. Sigh...what's wrong with me? Hiyori even shouted for my forgetfulness. I quickly say sorry to prevent Hiyori from being red.

Not wanting to feel Hiyori's rage, I went back to my room and took out my laptop and went to Google Chrome. I typed out Ayaka Asahina on my web browser. I searched and found a blog about this person named Ayaka Tateyama instead. It just sounded weird to me but I have no clue why it matches with the name that Hiyori gave me. Strange. Seems that I can read the future huh? (LOL) When I continued reading the blog, I realised that she said she ran from her original house and got married a few weeks later. I had thought deeply about this person and soon came to the conclusion that this is the person I was looking for. She even put down her email address on her blog. I decided to email her and just ask her if she knew who I was.

"Hello. You may not know me but I'm Emiko. I'm your younger sister. I don't think we've met before but it's true, I'm your younger sister, along with Hiyori. Hiyori told me about everything and I was wondering if we could meet up?"

I sent the email to Ayaka, anxiously waiting to receive her reply. Will she be in denial? Will she care about the mail? So many thoughts went through my mind. I felt like going insane.

Surprisingly, I received an email from her just one hour after I sent the email. My heart was pumping so quickly as I opened the email.

"Hi, I'm Ayaka. It seems you want to bring up something personal? Do you wanna talk over the phone instead? If you're willing, here's my phone number."

I quickly grabbed my phone and dialled the number. I had so many questions to ask her. I was filled with excitement, doubt, and anxiety. What if it was a bad decision? What if I disrupt her life? All of these doubts intensified when Ayaka ended up picking up the phone.

We spent an hour talking to each other on the phone. It felt like a serious conversation, even though it was between us sisters. We had talked about a lot of things. About Hiyori and our family. And finally I was able to get her address and she was also able to get mine so that she could pick me up later. I was pretty much glad! We were going to have a good ol' family reunion! Though, my thoughts soon snapped once I heard Hiyori calling my name.

"Emiko, we're having lunch soon!" Hiyori shouted.

"Coming!" I replied.

I closed my laptop and went to the kitchen to get ready for lunch. At the same time, I was thinking how I should explain to Hiyori about Ayaka. Several thoughts went through my mind as I was waiting for Hiyori. When lunch was served, I plucked up the courage to ask Hiyori to allow me to go to Ayaka's house. Obviously, her answer was no. Though I told everything from the blog to the conversation we had. Even though Hiyori felt a bit uncomfortable, she was okay with seeing her sister again and even get to stay together with her.

Soon, around 7pm, the doorbell rang. I knew who it was and I quickly opened the door. A lady, wearing a lab coat, while carrying a huge bag, stood by at the door.

It was definitely her.