Kokoro: behind the scenes

Later that evening.

Kokoro and Tomomi had just gotten off the bus and were walking home.

They both were quiet for a while. Kokoro still had streaks of dried tears running down the sides of her face. She had eventually broken down crying on the bus despite trying her hardest to hold it in. Somehow though, the students on the bus didn’t notice. Only Tomomi caught wind of the exact moment Kokoro began sobbing with her face still gazing out the window so nobody would see. But Tomomi saw, and as soon as she did, the girl quickly rushed over and wrapped Kokoro in a tight hug.

“So, I’ll catch you tomorrow alright?” Tomomi said to Kokoro as they stood in front of the orphanage where Kokoro lived. Kokoro responded with a slow nod of her head before Tomomi moved in for another quick hug.

“Hey, I’m here, okay?” Tomomi said. “Anytime you need me. I’m just a single text message away at all times. Don’t forget that.”

Kokoro hugged Tomomi even tighter and fresh tears rolled down the sides of her face. But they weren’t tears of sadness. They were the opposite.

Tomomi waved goodbye to Kokoro as the girl made her way to her house, which was located on the other side of the street. Smiling, Kokoro waved back. Kokoro then swiveled her wheelchair around so it was now facing the fairly large wooden house she lived in.

Most of the houses in the neighborhood were constructed in the style of 21st century urban areas. It was a clear contrast with the towering stories and technologically advanced high rise of the city, but where Kokoro lived was intentionally designed this way in an effort to preserve the land.

Not every place needed to have a metal skyscraper.

To Kokoro, the house in front of her was home and had been so for the past thirteen years of her life, ever since she lost her mother and father all those years ago. The place also served as a sanctuary to over twenty other kids who no longer had their parents in their lives, but now had each other for support. Kokoro took in a deep breath, before eventually pushing down on the forward button on her wheelchair and began moving towards the house. Then, as if on cue, the front door suddenly flew open, and out came rushing a dozen of the children, all excited to see their big sister home.

Kokoro hugged some of the girls among them, ruffled the hair of most of the boys, and picked up the smallest one for a ride on her lap as she made her way inside.

She was glad to be back home.

***

The following morning was a Saturday, so as soon as Kokoro woke up she smiled and readied herself for a full day of cleaning.

She got out of bed and climbed into her wheelchair. She wheeled over to her dress up counter where her pair of headphones sat on the table, and she picked it up before linking the device to her phone and putting it on.

Then she opened up her music app, pressed play on her favorite playlist, and began bobbing her head up and down in time with the music playing in her head.

That’s when she started cleaning.

With the music quickly reaching deep within her soul, Kokoro’s movements became as if on autopilot as the song took over her body and she began to silently hum to the tunes as she worked. Although the orphanage had several cleaning robots on standby, Kokoro had taken on the role of cleaning the house herself after she had asked the kind woman in charge to let her do so.

Kokoro dusted, swept, mopped, and washed. All the while, the music in her head never stopped. It was like an otherworldly source of energy to her. The tunes and lyrics were coursing their way throughout her system. Her veins were being pumped with the symphony of electric guitars, drums, violins, and so many other instruments. She was alive. And she wanted to remain this way.

But then…

The music in her ears suddenly stopped, causing Kokoro to almost crash into a wall after accidentally pressing the wrong button and losing control of her wheelchair. For a brief moment she was mentally transported to that night, the night when her father forcefully pulled her headphones from her head.

The music had also abruptly stopped back then in a similar fashion, and because her father wasn’t looking, they had ended up crashing into another vehicle. Both of her parents had died on the spot while she was saved and rushed to the hospital. Kokoro immediately began to hyperventilate following the memory, and it was not until she reached up and felt that her headphones were still on her head that she was finally able to control her breathing.

She pulled out her phone and discovered that the reason her music had stopped was due to an incoming call from…

She almost dropped the phone. It was an incoming call from Taro. She was surprised, but then she understood why he was probably calling.

She clicked on the accept call button and waited to hear his voice filter in through her headphones. She still remembered what he sounded like. His voice was gentle. Just like his eyes. She briefly wondered if he appreciated music the same way she did. Maybe she was going to share with him a few recommendations sometime now that she had his contact.

Normally, answering phone calls was something Kokoro never did. Because she couldn’t speak and thus, audibly reply to the person on the other end of the call, she preferred to exchange messages instead. But for Taro, since this was his first time calling, she was going to make an exception.

“Ah, hey. Umm,”

Listening to Taro fumble with his words made her smile. To Kokoro, it was one of the cutest things she had ever heard.

“So, about the class project. Would you like to come over, I mean meet up later today so we could discuss on any potential ideas we might have?”

Kokoro realized Taro was waiting for her to respond. And after making up her mind, she ended the call to send him a message.