That Summer

Chapter 24

 "For the last time, Mirai. You need to wake up!" I heard a voice screaming from the other side of the wall.

I could hear the quiet sound of metal chimes singing in the steady wind. I slowly opened my eyes and my hand was touching a white chrysanthemum. I looked around and saw my old room with the same white walls and boring furniture. I looked to my side and saw my dog, Kiku, completely spread out snoring her cares away. I rubbed the grogginess out of my eyes and felt tears on my face. I was back in the present.

I didn't know what day it was or what time it was. But, for the first time, my body felt well-rested and I didn't feel the need to go back to sleep. I looked at the windowsill and thought about the first time I saw Haru. Hana was wrong, I never thought of Haru as Hiro. I was forever grateful for having him appear in my life. Without him, I don't think I would have gotten my memories back. I felt tears coming when I thought about how that strange spiritual being became so important to me. There was such a strong connection we had that I couldn't explain it. Haru was just as significant as Hiro so I would never mix them up. 

"Are you up, Mirai?" My mom burst through the door and scared my dog awake.

"You woke up Kiku, Mom," I said as I pet my Kiku's fluffy hair.

"This dog is your twin and she's picking up all your bad habits. Isn't that right, Kiku?" My mom rubbed her floppy ears.

"Why are you screaming at me?" My ears were still ringing.

"Well, if you would stop sleeping all day, you wouldn't have lost track of time. It's time to move back into the dorms. Classes start next week." My mom told me.

"Really?" Did I just time-skip?

"Come on. You have to pack up. We're leaving in the afternoon." My mom walked around my room examining what needed to be packed.

"What time is it now?" I asked as I tried to find my phone.

"It's 10:15 am. You have to start packing now." My mom started throwing clothes at me.

"We have to leave early so I can be back in time to pick up your sister from work." My mom rushed me to pack up.

Before I could even gather my thoughts about my adventure into the future, I was already moved back into the dorms. I didn't have the chance to even ask my mom about my dad and what really happened when he died. But, wasn't it always like this? My mom and sister never spent a lot of alone time with me. Maybe it's because they didn't want to trigger my memories or they didn't want to remember it themselves. Either way, I had to find a way to talk to my mom about it. I guess I would have something to do over my next school break.

"Come on Mirai, let's go to class." My roommate pulled me out of my room and we headed to the business building.

"Welcome to Special Topics in Finance. I'm Professor Murray. Come to my class if you want but the more you don't come, the more your grade will plummet like stock market during the Great Depression." He laughed.

"Professor, are we graded on participation?" The kid who never stops asking questions asked.

"No, I see so many familiar faces, I feel like I'm talking to my colleagues. Why grade them?" Professor Murray looked around the classroom.

I remembered that Professor Murray was interested in Hiro's research. I wondered if Hiro's project would be a success. But, it would be several months down the road before Professor Murray would visit Hiro. In this timeline, I never visited Hiro as a teenager so maybe he was living differently. I hopelessly sighed thinking about Hiro. I missed him. Honestly, I was kind of upset that I wasn't able to tell him my feelings. At that moment, I believed I knew why I loved him because I didn't want to lose him. But, he and I knew if we were going to be together it had to be in this timeline. I had to accept my memories without the help of spirits and the supernatural.