It was Saturday morning, and Saki woke up around 9:00 a.m., lazy and tired. She still lay in her bed. Outside, she could hear the siren of an ambulance. At first she didn't care, but it grew louder, and she sleepily poked her head outside to see what had happened. She saw the same lady she had seen yesterday scolding children for drawing pictures on her wall, being carried out on a stretcher, blood trickling down her left wrist as if she had tried to kill herself.
Saki's eyes widened in shock. She hurried to freshen up and rushed outside to see the scene as the ambulance drove toward the nearest hospital. She panicked—she had never seen the tough lady like this since her childhood. Memories flashed in her mind of how that lady used to scold her always, though she also cared. She remembered how she and Hisato used to butter the lady up when they were both toddlers, just to make the brooding woman smile.
Saki quickly put on a blue shirt, denims, and brown boots, tying her hair up on the left side in a high ponytail while running. She reached the lady's house and entered secretly. She spotted a letter on the tabletop. As she read it, her face went pale. She thought to herself how the lady's son could dismiss his own mother. She quickly ran to the lady's backyard and took the old rusty bicycle. Saki wheeled it out and tried to pedal, but it was rusty and hard to move. She pushed harder, putting in effort until she finally got it going. Once she caught the flow, she picked up pace and cycled after the ambulance.
After a while she parked it outside the hospital and went to the reception, asking for the lady and giving the information. The receptionist asked, "What is your relation with her, miss?"
Saki froze, knowing she was just a neighbour. She lied and said, "I am her… granddaughter."
The receptionist noted it down and said, "Room 304, third floor."
Saki quickly rushed upstairs and reached the lady's room just as a doctor came out after attending to her. The lady was asleep in the ward from the effect of the IV drip. Saki gasped slightly and asked the doctor for permission to visit. The doctor agreed. Saki entered the ward room, silently sat beside the bed, and massaged the lady's arm, caring for her.
Hours passed, and finally the lady woke up and spotted her sitting there. She froze—for so long she had been harsh with this girl, and now the girl was caring for her. She maintained her brooding stance and cleared her throat loudly. Saki stopped and smiled.
The lady's name was Mrs. Kondo. Mrs. Kondo looked at Saki with irritated eyes and shoved her away.
"What do you think, little girl? You can save me?!"
Saki froze at her sudden harshness, then spoke gently and softly. "Yes, I can save you…"
Just then the nurse entered, addressing Saki. "Patient's granddaughter, the doctor is calling you."
Mrs. Kondo froze as the nurse referred to Saki as her granddaughter. She looked away. Saki gently walked with the nurse, leaving Mrs. Kondo alone with her thoughts.
As they walked through the hallways, the nurse discussed the bits she knew about Mrs. Kondo's health. Saki nodded. Soon they reached the doctor's office. The doctor, a middle-aged man, sat in his chair reading the reports. He signaled Saki to sit and the nurse to give her a file of Mrs. Kondo's past health issues.
"You must be Miss Saki. Never heard of you being her granddaughter. Anyway, she is sick… and due to old age as well. She will have more difficulties with her daily tasks. As I read the reports, we need to make sure she stays positive, though she is always brooding."
The doctor wrote some medicines, then paused and spoke again. "Also, she has… well, half her heart is weak. She doesn't have much time left—probably a few months, six or seven."
Saki froze. She hadn't realized it was that deep. That lady was about to die, as if it were the most normal thing. But for Saki it wasn't. That lady had been there for her; even while brooding, she had cared. Saki just nodded, took the reports and medicine list, bowed, and left.
"Thank you for telling me," she said.
The nurse looked at her with slight pity and slight disgust.
Saki left and entered the room again, where Mrs. Kondo was muttering under her breath something about useless doctors, brats, and stupid medicine.
Saki smiled slightly and sat next to her, holding her hand. She had never learned to lie—not at least until she was with Hisato. Afterwards she had learned differently, though she was still more honest than most.
"So how are you feeling?" Saki asked.
Mrs. Kondo looked at her sharply. "Like hell," she stated bluntly.
Saki hid a giggle behind her hand.
"Well, the doctor says you…" Saki said with a heavy heart, "you have only a few months left."
She had expected silence, like always. Instead Mrs. Kondo took her cane and hit her lightly on the head.
"I already know about it, you idiot."
Saki winced at the hit. "Ow, what was that for?"
"For everything. For your cruel existence. And here I am still talking to you."
Saki went silent for a while. It hurt; she knew it would. She had never expected gentleness from her—it was off-limits. Then she looked at her and replied, "I think you should teach me some vulgarity. What do you say? I could use that for my defence."
For a moment Mrs. Kondo was dumbfounded at Saki's demand, then smirked. "You are really a pain in my old ass. Just leave and let this old lady die in peace."
Saki shook her head. "Well, I want you getting into heaven, then—"
Before she could finish, Mrs. Kondo interrupted. "With what I've done in my life, I think I won't even receive hell. Haha," she said sarcastically.
Saki massaged her old legs. "Then let me massage your stiff legs and earn some good deeds, Mrs. Kondo."
Mrs. Kondo yelled at her but couldn't deny the relief she was feeling. "You're seriously going to sit here all day?"
Saki looked at her and replied, "Yeah."
Mrs. Kondo softened slightly. "You're good at massaging… like someone I know. Your father, Sugi."
Saki froze at her father's name. She had never seen him since she was three. She forced a smile. "Oh? And how?"
"Your father was my son's friend. Both of them were like devils in their childhood. Sugi's mother—your grandmother—was my teacher once. Those were beautiful days. Though I still don't know how he produced a girl like you. You don't have his charm. Even Gisan, your elder brother, had some mischief. You're like pure."
Saki blushed at the comment, but the mention of Gisan hit a nerve. Her chest tightened as she held back tears. She missed her elder brother, though she never showed it.
Mrs. Kondo continued. "Your mother Aki was the most beautiful girl in the colony. She had migrated here to Kunshi from Nemuro. You have her eyes." Mrs. Kondo caught herself and cleared her throat loudly again, returning to her brooding tone. "Ahem. Though you still have different personalities. My son was in love with her, you know—teenage hormones." She eyed Saki up and down, specifically her chest area, and commented with zero shame for an elderly woman of her age, "You have quite small breasts compared to your mother when she was your age."
Saki went mortified and quickly fixed her clothes. "Everybody is different!"
Mrs. Kondo smirked and pressed further. "Her hair was crimson red. Your purple hair comes from your father's genes. Your brother had—"
Saki cut her off calmly. "My brother had half-red, half-violet hair. I remember."
Saki and Mrs. Kondo kept talking, unaware that it was past noon. Mrs. Kondo looked at her and noted the sadness hidden in Saki's bright eyes. She knew how it felt to lose someone; she had lost her entire family. Being an elderly woman, she decided to teach Saki and enlighten her with everything she knew—like a fairy godmother in the stories. She sat upright on the hospital bed now, gripping her cane. She looked at the clock and spoke to Saki without turning.
"Keep one thing in mind, always, brat. Your mother taught you kindness and forgiveness. But remember—you cannot forgive someone if they repeat the same mistakes. Learn to move on and punish."
Saki looked at her but stayed silent.
Mrs. Kondo took a deep breath, as if counting her last days. "Look, I may have been strict with you. But that doesn't mean I'll go soft on you. Never. Until my last breath I will brood. You can't change it."
Saki coughed out a laugh. "I know," she replied.
Mrs. Kondo smirked and adjusted her glasses. "If you think I intentionally cut my vein—no. It was an accident. My old hands trembled while slicing jackfruit."
Saki gave a warm smile. "I know a lady with a hot head like you can do anything, but she wouldn't suicide."
The old lady hit her with the cane again, this time gently. She looked at her with eyes that secretly disagreed about the suicide part. She said nothing more about it, but for once she spoke to Saki in a way Saki hadn't heard in years—words someone would actually tell her. The old lady spoke in a low, gentle, still-brooding voice.
"You are my reason to live."
Saki froze, tears about to fall, when the old lady, being her usual self, added and completed the sentence:
"Can't imagine—without me you'd be rotting in some pub. I help keep you grounded, you idiot. Never forget that. You owe me very much."
It was true. Saki owed her many things—not in money, but in the unconditional care that old lady had given her. Even while being strict and a brooder, that lady had never, at least in her presence, let anyone lay a finger on Saki or look at her the wrong way.
Saki didn't cry. She pouted slightly. "Aw, I really imagined getting something sweet to hear from your mouth."
The lady grunted. "Not happening. It's against my pride."