That Summer

Chapter 21

"What's your name?"

"Hiro."

"Nice to meet you, Hiro. My name is Mirai."

"It's nice to meet you, Mirai."

"How old are you?"

"10. How old are you?"

"9."

"You're close to my age."

"Why do you sound so surprised?"

"I don't have any friends around my age. I'm going to be graduating high school soon."

"Already? You're so smart. Can I be your first friend?"

"If that's okay with you."

"Of course it is. Come on let's play. It's boring being in this hospital."

"But, I have to meet my mentor for my research."

As the leaves turned from green to red to brown and the sun set earlier and rose later, a whole year passed. The pond finally unfroze and the flowers bloomed in the summer heat. The wind whistled quietly as kids played on the simple playground. There was a flock of ducks swimming together in the pond. The birds chirped along to a piano tune that could be heard from the window of the hospital chapel.

"You wrote that song all on your own?"

"Even though I didn't graduate from high school at age eleven like you, I can compose music. I've been taking lessons and entering competitions."

"Did you write it for your dad?"

"Yes, I've been praying to God every day hoping that my dad will be able to see me play the piano again. But he's bedridden right now because his heart isn't strong right now."

"At least his bypass surgery was successful."

"We don't know that yet. He needs to fully recover. What if he gets an infection? I don't think my family could handle it if anything happened to him."

"It seems like everything is going to be okay though."

"My mom and sister fight every day. It's stressful for my mom trying to take care of my sister and me and look after my dad."

"It'll be okay when he gets better. When he hears your song, he'll be happy."

"You think so?"

"Of course. It made me happy."

"You're saying that because I'm your only friend. You don't even know how to play the piano. We can't play duets together." 

"No, I mean it."

"I'm going to get jealous when you make another friend."

"Why?"

"Because I won't have as much time with you. We see each other every day. You're like family to me. I'm closer to you than I am with my sister."

"I have to admit, I'm closer to you than my older brother."

"Maybe it's the age difference."

"Or something else."

"I'm just happy to have you in my life. If I didn't meet you, I think I would be unhappy because I would feel incomplete without you."