"Welcome to my home, Kukyo."
As Kukyo turned to his left with a smile, he saw a tall, medium-sized building with metallic pipes coming out of the side. The sight stunned Kukyo momentarily as he realized that he would not have a usual happy night with his family; this thought placed a depressed look on Kukyo's face.
Grace's voice cut through his thoughts. "I know that look… You miss them, don't you? Your parents, I mean."
"I told them I don't remember anything from before," Kukyo said, forcing a strong resolve he didn't feel. "But… yes. I do."
"You don't have to fully remember them to miss your parents, trust me," said Grace with a sympathetic and sad expression as if she knew exactly what Kukyo was feeling.
"But that doesn't mean you should stop going; instead, keep them with you in your heart and carry on… so take my hand and come with me and move forward," said Grace with a smile that was both understanding and encouraging, a smile that could make you feel better.
"Ok, thank you for having me, Grace."
The interior looked the same as a modern house, but was lacking a few things, such as a television or an electric burner, and was instead connected by pipes as if it used gas.
"Grandmother, I'm home and I brought a friend with me!" said Grace
"Friend?" asked Kukyo with a playful and charming smile
"Well, we met, talked, exchanged names, and now you're in my home, I would say we're too close to be strangers, don't you think?" Grace replied with the same playful and charming smile
"I guess you're right," Chuckled Kukyo awkwardly and playfully
"Plus, I doubt you have any other friends or remember any of them right now, or is it embarrassing being friends with a girl?" asked Grace, keeping her smile
"No… I-I—ugh—no, it's not." Kukyo rubbed the back of his neck, glancing away before meeting her gaze again with a genuine smile. "And… I'd be happy to be friends with someone so kind."
"Ok then."
As Grace walks into the living room, followed by Kukyo, they see two people in the kitchen, an elderly man dressed in casual clothing for this world sitting at the table reading what seems to be a newspaper, and an elderly woman also dressed casually setting out plates for dinner, after all, it is after sun down and with good observation one could guess that it is around 6:00 pm
"Oh, hello dear, and you brought a friend, you say, how wonderful. Hello, my name is Iris Elvon, and the man you see sitting down reading is my husband, Arthur Elvon, and may I ask, what is your name?" said the elderly woman with a smile.
"Good evening, Sir, Ma'am, my name is Kukyo," Kukyo answered with a smile.
"That's a lovely name, dear."
They seem like a happy family, Kukyo thought to himself with a sad smile on his face.
Seeing Kukyo's expression, Grace wanted to cheer him up or, at the very least, distract him from any sad thoughts that he may have.
"Well, are you hungry?" asked Grace
"What?" asked Kukyo with a shocked expression
"What do you mean, 'what'?" Grace replied with a curious and angry expression
"Well, I was just surprised, that's all."
"Huh? 'Surprised', well, I did invite you to stay with us, did you not think I would give you food as well?" Asked Grace
"I guess so, thank you."
"Ok, ok, enough with the gratitude, let's eat," said Grace with a smile on her face while walking towards the Kitchen
"Hold it, right there, young lady," said Iris with a furious expression
Grace paused, while being shocked by her grandmother's words, with a fading smile, with an expression as if she was scared she was gonna be punished.
"What is it, grandmother? Did I do something wrong?" asked Grace
"Well, you just got home, and you're going to immediately eat without showering?" asked Iris
"Oh, right, I completely forgot," Grace replied, regaining her smile.
"Now what to do with you, Kukyo?" Grace said while looking at the dirt on Kukyo's face and clothes
I guess I must have dirtied them up while I was walking around today, and I don't even have a change of clothes since I didn't exactly plan this. Kukyo thought to himself with a sad smile while holding his head down.
"Well, your Grandfather should have something that can fit your young friend here, isn't that right, dear?" asked Iris
"I'll see what I can find," Arthur replied
Arthur then put down the newspaper while getting up and started to walk towards Kukyo and Grace, stopping while facing Kukyo with a smile, and said, "Follow me, young man…" and then turned facing Grace, said, "... and you, young lady, should go and take a shower."
"Ok, Grandfather," Grace said with a smile while walking up a set of stairs to the right of the living room.
"And you come with me." Feeling a bit scared as though he was in trouble with his own grandfather, Kukyo nodded his head in agreement.
Following after Grace, the two walked up the stairs. After reaching the top, Kukyo then saw five rooms: one room for Iris and Arthur, one for Grace, a guest room, and two bathrooms. Kukyo, following Arthur, went into the couple's bedroom, which consisted of a master bed at the far corner of the room, a wooden closet in which was parallel to the bed on the same side as the door, and a chest of drawers at the top left of the room, looking from the door.
Wow, it's not that different from the rooms in my
As Kukyo stood at the door admiring the room, Arthur walked over to the closet, rummaging through clothes after clothes. He then said in a relieved tone, "Found them." Lifting his body out of the closet, then walking to Kukyo, and said, "Use these," with a gentle smile, he then handed Kukyo a shirt and pants. The shirt was black with long sleeves and a lace at the neck, while the pants resembled formal black pants from Kukyo's modern world.
"Thank you, sir," Kukyo said, returning the gentle smile
"You can use the second bathroom to the right, furthest from the stairs," Said Arthur while pointing to the door of the bathroom
"Ok," said Kukyo while nodding right after walking towards the second bathroom, entered, shutting the door behind him, seeing a toilet and a sink with a mirror above it, and a simple shower opposite the door.
A shower? I guess they do have a sort of electricity, but I didn't see any television or telephone/ house phone.
After taking a shower and then getting dressed, Kukyo held his old clothes, looking down on them in his hand with a sad expression as he reminisced about his family back home. I will be back soon… hopefully with that thought alone, he placed the clothes in the basket after folding properly as if they were a keepsake, then exited the bathroom.
After exiting the bathroom, Kukyo then walked back down to the living room, then into the kitchen with a sense of food, almost like a guide.
"Those fit you, Kukyo."
Looking to the kitchen with astonishment, he saw Grace in a different attire, other than her school uniform, which consisted of a white shirt, a black skirt with grey stripes reaching down to the knees, a vest, and a big butterfly bowtie with the same pattern as the skirt. Instead, she was wearing a white dress(nightgown) and her long black hair reaching to her stomach, with at the end, her bright brown eyes illuminated by the light, and her bright, genuine smile made Kukyo feel as if his heart had skipped a beat.
"Same goes for you," Said Kukyo, trying to find the right words to distract himself from such a sight. Then, like a tidal wave crashing against the shore, then returning to the sea, Kukyo sees a faint glimpse of his family as he looks at the kitchen where Grace and her grandparents were setting out dinner. While seeing such a sight, he almost starts crying, but remembers what he had thought early that day, I will find a way home, with this thought held up his head with a firm posture.
"Are you ready for dinner?" Grace asked with a smile
"Yes, and thank you for having me."