Happy pt.7

Lobert and Reiko made their way home, today was very eventful and Lobert needed a little rest.

But it didn't take ten minutes for the next incident to occur.

A car flew up behind, flashing red alarm lights at them; Reiko went on alert; Reiko went on alert.

Lobert was pretty tired, so his first reaction was to be a little annoyed.

But he quickly got an uneasy feeling about this.

Could it be? Had Mr. Kirinumi already noticed what Lobert was up to? But how?

That could mean trouble.

"Should we run?" Lobert asked.

"I'm thinking about it right now. We're slower than them, for sure, but we're armored." Reiko explained.

"How about we call for help?" Lobert suggested.

"That would be worth a try." Reiko acknowledged.

But before Reiko could do anything, it sounded from the speakers of the flashing car behind them: "Lobert Natus, we are here to inform you that your mother's condition has become critical. If you follow us, we can lead you to her."

This news made Lobert's heart skip a beat.

"We should run, this must be a trap!" Reiko warned.

But when it came to his mother, Lobert couldn't take any chances.

"We'll follow them." Lobert announced.

"That's not a-" Reiko wanted to object, but Lobert didn't listen to her.

"Let's go!" Lobert demanded.

Reiko did as she was asked of and followed the car.

"If I die because of this I will haunt your spirit." Reiko scolded.

The ride was tense and cold sweat poured down Reiko's forehead, but Lobert was determined.

After a while, Lobert could see them approaching a red cross.

It was probably not a trap after all.

The guiding car stopped on a landing area and Reiko parked their car next to it.

The men were dressed like paramedics, but strangely enough they were also lightly armored; still, they seemed to be authentic.

"I'll lead you to her." One of the paramedics said.

Without hesitation, Lobert followed the man inside the hospital.

The man stopped in front of one of the patient rooms; a familiar situation for Lobert.

He opened the door. His mother was asleep.

Her fingers and lips were bluish and she had a ventilator on.

With each breath, she could be heard wheezing.

Lobert sat down by her and looked at her with a face full of worry.

"What happened?" he asked the paramedic.

"We tried a bullectomy on her, but her condition didn't improve. In fact, it got worse."

"You said you could save her!" Lobert cried angrily.

Lobert's mother coughed up with mucus.

"There's nothing to worry about." the paramedic said.

"We still have a miracle solution for this case."

Something tugged at Lobert's sleeve.

His mother drew on her reserves of strength to get his attention.

Instantly forgetting everything else in the room, Lobert leaned over his mother to hear her feeble words.

She found it hard to breathe and words came out of her only weakly and one by one.

"I..am..so..glad..."

She coughed briefly.

"You..make..me..so..proud....I..am..the..luckiest..mother..on..earth..that..I..got..to..be.. there..to..watch..you..grow..up."

Lobert tried to hold back his tears, but couldn't.

"You..are..a..good..boy....my..everything....I..am..so..sorry..that..I..have..been..such..a.. burden.. to..you..over..the..last..years....that..I..could..not..give..you..a..rich..childhood."

Her coughing got worse, formulating those words took her enormous effort.

"But my childhood was rich, rich in precious time and joys I could share with you."

Why was his mother blaming herself for something like that, which to him was just a trivial problem; something he gave a flyspeck about.

"I..feel..that..I..don't..have..much..time..left."

Normally, Lobert was always quite composed, but she was his weak spot.

"Don't say that, the doctors have another miracle solution!" Lobert assured her.

"If..this..is..my..end....so..shall..it..be....You..will..do.. fine..without..me."

Even Reiko didn't remain entirely unaffected, her outer facade seeming to crumble a bit.

"You..are..now..the..Arbiter....You..will..accomplish..great..things....I..have..no..doubt."

It took Lobert's mother a brief moment to catch her breath.

"Let..me..feel..your..face."

Lobert took his mother's hand and brought it to his cheek.

"You..are..a..blessing..to..me....A..blessing..to..the..world."

The dam finally broke and a flood of sorrow sounds streamed out of Lobert.

For a while Lobert remained like that, but then the paramedic chimed in.

"Excuse me, but visiting hours are actually long over and I'd like to go home. So if you can please finish up." The paramedic informed.

"My mother is dying and I can't be with her?!" Lobert ranted outraged.

"Be glad you can be here at all, it was a courtesy from the boss that he didn't have to do."

Lobert's mother tugged on Lobert's sleeve again.

"Lobert..my..boy....Please..don't..cause..any..trouble..for..the..staff..here....Seeing..your.. face..is..already..more..than..I..could..have..wished..for."

He couldn't object to his mother.

"Alright, if that's what you want then I will leave for today, but i will come visit you again. Until then, Mom." Lobert said as gently as he could.

"Until..then....my..sunshine." his mother said, far more gently than he ever could.

Hesitantly, Lobert left the room, not taking his eyes off his mother until the door closed.

Lobert looked at the paramedic with wide eyes, "Save my mother, whatever it takes."

He couldn't let his mother die; it was way too soon for her.

"Understood." The paramedic replied; the message had probably gotten through to him.

Reiko led Lobert to the car, where she then took him home.

×

Arriving home, Lobert saw that Kotono was cleaning again...or still?

Actually, Lobert didn't really care right now.

He went straight to his room and got into bed without washing himself first.

Reiko followed him and sat down not on the chair next to him, but on the bed.

"You really love your mother a lot...don't you?" Reiko said a little awkwardly.

"Of course I do. She raised me, always taking care of me before she took care of herself. When my father died, she had to take care of me all by herself, in this hostile world. All. By. Herself. I know, looking back it's laughable, but when I was little I wanted a Christmas calendar for Christmas. A very specific one, with cool chocolate characters from the series I liked so much. But chocolate was expensive and we didn’t have the money for it. When Christmas time finally came and I had already forgotten about the calendar she surprised me with it; I was as happy as a child could be. But being the child that i was, i didn't even question where the money came from, and I don't know if it was out of ignorance or greed, but when my mother wasn't around I ate all the chocolate in the whole calendar in a single day; the precious chocolate that should be enjoyed spread over several days. And when my mother saw what happened, she didn't get angry, she just laughed and stroked my head: 'As long as you enjoyed it sweetie'. It's such a small gesture but it left a deep impression on me. I owe her so much." Lobert reminisced.

"Your mother is a pretty lovely person." Reiko commented.

"What about you, what about your parents?" Lobert asked.

Lobert remembered how it went the last time he asked about her father, but now he felt he could dare again.

"My father raised me on his own. He was the best father I could ask for. After a hard day's work, he would come home and pretend he wasn't exhausted. Even though he was busy, he would make time for me and play with me. Even though he was full of worries, he always wore a smile on his face. I didn't appreciate that before...I was such an ungrateful brat."

"What did your father do?" Lobert asked carefully.

"He was a cop, the best one there was. I'm sure he saw a lot of bad things, but I didn't notice any of that. He was very talented in shooting and he was also gifted in martial arts. When he wasn't playing with me, he taught me things. I also got my sense of justice from him, even if it is not as pronounced as his was. He also had unparalleled intuition, but these qualities are not what a policeman should have."

"What happened to your father?"

"He's dead now, messed with the wrong people. But I don't want to go into details...you know, talking with you has somehow lessened the invisible weight on my shoulders my mind has forgotten about...so…thanks." Reiko said, proceeding to sit down on the chair next to the bed.

“Sometimes a simple talk can be really healing…for me, too.” Lobert replied.

Speaking from his soul like that was also therapeutic for Lobert, he was really glad that he had Reiko by his side. 

“Good night Reiko.”

“Good night Lobert.”

Lobert probably wouldn't find out any more than that, so he closed his eyes and got some much needed rest.