Life and Death

"I can come here if I wish," Sachie replied without getting up from the chair where she was. She was not going to sink to his level. Not that day. "I want to see my mother. I want to confirm if she is well, if she has been treated as she should be."

Haruto did not dare to answer her. At that moment, his priority was Himawari, his only daughter who had more chance of survival. Akiko, on the other hand, with more serious injuries but alive, was not his choice.

He had been told that Akiko needed urgent surgery; she had lost a lot of blood, and the hospital did not have what was necessary to treat her. Haruto had discovered that the train tracks were destroyed by the earthquake, so patients like his wife had to wait for another type of transfer.

"How did you manage to get in?" Haruto asked. He saw his daughter's appearance for the first time. "You haven't told anyone you are an Apricot, have you? You know you are no longer my daughter."

"I helped the Shibasaki family," Sachie replied without hesitation.

"Liar!"

Sachie did not answer him. She stood up to face her father, but someone approached quickly. It was Kakeru.

"Miss... Sachie, right?" the young man said, looking at Haruto confused. "My father wants to see you again."

Kakeru finally recognized Haruto and bowed to him. Sachie followed Kakeru, who guided the one who healed his companion to the room where the rescued man was. Haruto, who only received a dry greeting, was offended.

"Young man, can you tell me what is going on?" Haruto said to Kakeru, who finally began to speak.

“The woman helped my father," Kakeru explained, somewhat ashamed, remembering that he did nothing in the urgency. "She was the one who took control, surprising all of us. We owe a lot to her."

Kakeru guided Sachie to the room where several people were already gathered. Sachie recognized Takumi and averted her gaze. At the same time, Takumi's father even with her peasant kimono, even with the dirt caused by the tremor, he recognized her. Haruto, almost immediately upon seeing the Takaharas, tried to flee. But with a look, Keiichi forbade him.

"Is this some kind of joke, Shibasaki-san?" Keiichi said angrily.

"The young woman helped me," Mr. Shibasaki insisted with calm. "Kakeru can confirm the story."

“Apricot Haruto!" Keiichi shouted, not caring that he was in a hospital. "I thought you had disowned your daughter and that she had left Shimizu."

The confused and surprised the Shibasaki family. They were watching the awkward scene without knowing what to do. But Yuuta, still a grateful person, seemed to care the least.

"I would like to know your name, girl," Yuuta said calmly. "Your real name."

Haruto grabbed his daughter's shoulder, forbidding her to do so. Takumi, who was nervously watching the situation, tried to approach, but his own father did not allow him. "Don't do it," Haruto whispered. Sachie knew what was right.

"I was born under one name," Sachie said fearlessly and full of confidence. "And that is Apricot Sachie."

Immediately, Keiichi connected the rumors he had heard a week ago with his son. Although he had behaved admirably during the last few days, he trembled upon knowing that he was involved with her.

"I don't care who you are, Apricot-san," Haruna said to Sachie. "I care more that you saved my father. If there is anything we could do for you…"

"I just want to see my mother," Sachie said. "That is all I ask."

As requested, Yuuta ordered a nurse to guide his saviour to see her mother, who had been abandoned along with several wounded people in a ward. The scene was terrible; the inpatients had several serious injuries that were not being attended, surely to prioritize people like Yuuta Shibasaki, who had superficial injuries.

"Mrs. Apricot, you have visitors," the nurse whispered. Akiko saw the person who spoke to her. She barely moved but tried to see who was behind that woman in white.

Akiko, still in her pain, still in her weakness, upon recognizing her daughter, tried to sit up, being stopped by the nurse, who asked her to calm down. When she managed to stabilize her, the woman left mother and daughter alone so they could spend time together.

Akiko was grateful to see her daughter, to feel her hand, to hear her voice. She was really weak and she her mother pain only with her breath. She superficially looked at her mother's injuries. She suspected that she had internal bleeding, some broken bones that needed immediate attention.

“My dear daughter…" Akiko said, holding her daughter's hand. Sachie was already crying. "I'm glad to see you."

"Mom…" Sachie whispered, looking at her mother, who struggled to speak.
 
"Why are they keeping you in this state? Why hasn't Haruto ordered you to be treated?"

"Sachie… you and your sister always gave me a lot of happiness," Akiko continued ignoring her daughter's questions. "When you were born was the happiest moment of my life. And now that I see you, I can leave peacefully."

"Mom… don't say that!" Sachie shouted desperately.

Sachie had so many things to tell her mom: her plans, her dreams, about Takumi… for the first time, she felt guilty for abandoning her, for leaving her just for a whim and to prove something to her father that maybe she could have done differently.

"I will find a way to take you to a better hospital so they can treat you," 
Sachie looked desperate; she did not want to say goodbye to her mother now that she had finally reunited with her. Her mother stopped her before she tried to seek help.

"I want you to stay with me," the mother said. Her breathing was irregular. "I have so many things to tell you…"

Sachie continue crying. Her mother did not blame her, did not reproach her for leaving. Rather, she spoke to her about her childhood, about what she treasured: how she played with Himawari and how they fought over who was going to be Princess Kaguya.

Akiko remembered the days her daughter spent with Tooru, the grandfather. She specifically recalled when she first became interested in herbalism and flowers.

"You always liked sunflowers and gardenias," Akiko said almost in a whisper. 

"I always wanted to put the kanji for happiness in your name… now I only ask that you find it. I want you to be happy in your own way…"

Both women remained silent for a while until Sachie stopped feeling her mother's hand on hers. In the chaos, Sachie did not realize when she got separated her from her mother. She didn’t see the people who took the body to the morgue.

Sachie, with nothing else to do at the hospital, slowly left, dragging her feet. She had no other objective now that she had finally seen her mother.