Beautiful Affection

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 8

"Woahhhh, it's so pretty, Daddy!" Harumi exclaimed, staring at her image in the big mirror with a fulfilled smile. Her small hand touched every single curve of the neat braids around her head. Mitsuki who was standing beside the bed while holding a drawing block just stared at her sister with bright eyes.

This was one of Harumi's favorite moments with her father. Before Masato fell sick, he always styled her hair every morning before going to school. It had become the main reason for her to keep her hair long. She loved it when her friends praised Masato's dexterity.

"Then, do you want me to braid your hair with this style tomorrow?" Masato asked, smiling back at Harumi's reflection.

"Yes, I would love to!"

"Pretty. Oneechan pretty," Mitsuki said. She was standing on her toes so that her short hand could reach the braid. "Daddy, this is pretty."

"Do you want it, dear?"

"Yes!"

"Okay, come here," he lifted Mitsuki to sit between his legs. Unlike Harumi, it was harder to comb the girl's hair since she could not sit still. She was always animated and sometimes, she would giggle when the comb tickled her neck.

This was something that could not be replaced. It was always nice whenever Masato spent a bonding time with the girls every night. His sickness should never be a deterrent to him. He would ensure that not a lot of things in his family would be changed just because his health condition got poorer each day.

They spent some more time together, with Mitsuki insisted to draw his face. Yet, it ended up with a few crappy drawings which led her to cry hopelessly in Masato's arms. The entertained Masato and Harumi managed to coax her to stop crying before Haruka sent both of them to sleep in their bedroom.

After pampering the girls with goodnight kisses, Masato rested against the headboard. He reached the blue mp3 player which was a gift from his teammate, Otoya. It contained all STARISH songs which hopefully would help him to retrieve his memory. He put on the black earphones, slowly relaxing as 'Mirai Chizu', one of STARISH's old song echoed in his ears.

"So far, your memory lasted about a week or two."

On the spur of the moment, His doctor's statement crossed his mind.

It has been more than two weeks, right? Strangely enough, I still can remember everything, he thought.

He really did not want to lose this memory again. It was so priceless.

"We still can't identify your disease."

Seriously, where did it come from? How come my body suffers something like this? He pondered, staring at his legs. The disease had callously limited his agility. Every time he was alone in the room, he tried to move his legs without having to cling to anything but he would collapse after two or three steps. So, as the alternative, he would use the furniture as his support. He still embraced the hope that someday, his legs would recover and he did not have to cause more trouble to Haruka. His heart sank every time the petite Haruka had to use her scarce strength to support him. Her body must feel ached due to his heavy frame.

He did ask her to pay a caretaker for him but she said...

"I can't trust a stranger to look after you. Plus, I still can compose songs at home unless I have to attend a meeting. I can monitor your progress and maybe... when you see me every day, you will easily remember me every time you lose your memory again."