phase

Forgotten

The wind blew the scarf into his face, and Kaitou had a taste of the wool fibers as he fumbled and tried to get it away from his mouth.

While it was not raining now, the weather didn’t feel any less bitter than it had when he’d first arrived in London. In fact, it felt more so—the day he’d arrived had been one with a sunny, cloudless sky with temperatures on the high end of the range of usuals. He regretted not savoring it more, the warm weather that the unfamiliar city had provided as a way of softening the transition of going from home to foreign shores.

He felt his phone ring in his pocket, and answered it before thinking to check the caller ID. “Hello?”

“Kaitou?”

His mother’s voice was a much-needed comfort that he’d only just realized he’d needed; he smiled and looked up at the sky. “I’m sorry for not calling sooner.”

She laughed, and said, “Your father wanted to tell the police you were missing after your not calling for a month.”

“Did you stop him?” Kaitou looked up at the overcast sky as people passed him by on the street he was walking on.

“Of course. Otherwise I would’ve said that you were wanted rather than just telling you about it.”

It was his turn to laugh, and he did so whilst still looking up. This action garnered some rather unpleasant looks, but he tried to brush them off as he said, “How’s Mika?”

“Energetic as usual. She talks about you every day, you know. ‘Where’s oniichan?’ And the like. I tell her ‘I want to know that too!’”

“Really?”

“Well, it’s true that I want to know, but I don’t do that, know.” He could hear the familiar muffled background noises of boiling water with vegetables and running footsteps alongside delighted squeals. “You should come back home. Why don’t you just go to Todai instead?”

“Okaasan.”

“Ah, do you need to use such a harsh tone when you know I’m joking? Although it’d be nice if you took me seriously on that. They did offer you a full scholarship.”

“And so did these guys, only they have more of what I’m looking for.”

“You’re looking for things away from home? I see…”

“You know that’s not what I mean.” He sighed. “Anyhow…I’ve got to go.”

He didn’t want this to turn into something like the night before he departed, when they’d had a huge fight involving him coldly arguing his case while she practically screamed hers. Is Tokyo not good enough for you? Are we not good enough for you?

And it’s not as though she didn’t know full well that he loved her and Mika and his father. What was really the underlying question was something entirely different. Am I not a good enough mother? Is biology more important after all?

“I want to ask lots more, but I’ll keep it short. Are you eating enough? Resting well?”

“Yes, yes,” Kaitou shook his head with a small smile. “I am.”

“Can I trust you when you say that?”

He stopped at the corner of a building, waiting for the sign to cross the street, and turned to see himself reflected back in the glass of an office building. Neatly-combed but still somewhat tousled black hair; dark brown eyes that were more teardrop than almond, with paper-white skin; a button-down under a sweater with jeans and a casual suit jacket; sneakers. “What would make you not?”