Leaving it in the Past

The start of a brand-new week had come by fast. I had offered my assistance to help Misako get to university, and she for once accepted. It was on the account that Mister Takahashi was sick in bed that morning. Hiroshi had offered to walk Yuta to school in the opposite direction, as he had stayed over during the weekend. It left me and Misako to travel by ourselves that morning. As I pushed her up the hill to the academy gates, I noticed that the pocket watch was safely in her schoolbag. I was determined to understand how she and I had the exact same watch. If I had made two pocket-watches, I thought that my father would have seen me make two. The night before university, I contacted my father, asking him about my whereabouts as a child:

“Hey, David! Glad to hear from you.” My father said.

His voice was ever so energetic, filled with vigour.

“Hey, Dad.” I replied, “How are you doing?”

“Wh-What?” He asked me.

I’d forgotten to speak to my father in English, he hadn’t understood a word I said in Japanese.

“I’m good, dad.” I replied in English.

“How’s Japan going for you? Did you make any friends?”

“I-I did. Yes.” I stuttered.

“That’s great, no girlfriends?” He joked.

I spat my coffee out.

“No! I’m here to focus on university!” I yelled.

“I know… I’m just teasing, what’s up kiddo?”

“Well, you know about the pocket watch?”

“The silver one? What about it?”

“You did say I made it, right?”

“I watched you toil away in the evenings making it. I was so surprised; my son was such a smart kid! Imagine, at the age of fourteen, you made it!”

‘So he still believes that I made it at fourteen years-old.’ I thought.

“And I only made one of them, right?” I asked him.

“To my knowledge, yes, you only made one.” Then, a pause, “Why do you ask?” He enquired.

“No reason, sorry for disturbing you.” I replied.

Before I could say something else, I injected another question:

“Did I ever mention to you… a girl by the name of Misako?” I asked him.

My father took a second to think, I could hear him scratching his beard as he thought about my question.

“Not that I know of… You weren’t a talkative kid. You always kept to yourself. You started speaking more after your…accident.” My father replied.

“I see, thanks, dad.” I said, defeated.

“No worries. Please wear protection, my son.” He said before he ended the call.

“Idiot, dad!” I yelled as I stuffed my phone in my pocket.

Misako and I ended up at the entrance of the University, I wondered what I could do with my free time before classes started. The dawn of day made me hungry for something light to eat.

“David.” Misako said.

I was shocked to still hear her call me by my first name.

“What’s up?” I asked her.

“No, I just wanted to check on you, I thought you were dead.” She stated.

She’d caught me daydreaming to myself, I had to be more careful.

“How could I be dead and push you up the hill?” I said bluntly.

“You looked like you were lost in your thoughts.” She admitted.

“I was just thinking about my phone call with my dad last night.”

“You miss him?”

“No, I actually asked him about…” I trailed off.

My brain was in overdrive, thinking how much I should tell Misako about my conversation with my father. I did not want it to seem like I was talking to him about her.

“About what?” She asked me.

I half-heartedly heard her, still thinking to myself.

“…Wearing protection…” I mumbled unconsciously.

I was too busy in my thought process to realize what I had just said to her. Then I caught up to the present. I darted my eyes in her direction. Misako was almost strawberry-red in the face.

“P-p-p-p…” She stuttered.

“No! I didn’t-”

But before I could explain myself, Misako wheeled herself away from me, once again.

“My big mouth.” I scolded myself.

I decided not to pursue her, I preferred to not be called a pervert again. As I saw her speed off, I decided to meander around the sportsgrounds of the university. In the distance, I noticed the university’s rugby team practise on the grounds. I decided to spectate the rugby club practice before I went to find Misako and apologise. There were many students below, they all ran field-lengths with large truck tires tied to their waists.

“I wish I could play again…” I mumbled to myself.

I knew it was a bad idea to get back into sports, numerous doctors had informed me my condition could worsen or deteriorate my ability to play. The part I was most saddened by was my inability to remember any rugby training or sports games, I’d lost all my memories. All that remained was my love for the game. I understood that I would only be an onlooker for the rest of my life.

“I should apologise to Misako soon…” I said to myself.

I remembered that I wanted to ask Misako about her brother, and her family. If her brother lived so close to school, I wondered where her family lived, and why she decided to live at a sharing-house. She hadn’t mentioned her family to me as of yet. Perhaps there was more to the story than what I imagined there to be.

“Son, do you want to play?” A man asked, disturbing my thoughts.

The man was finely built, a massive boulder of a person. I assumed him to be the coach of the Rugby team.

“No, sir. Just watching.” I replied.

“You look like you’ve played before, you’ve got some nice muscles!” He responded with an energetic tone.

“Used to. Not anymore.” I said to him.

“Ah, but here you are, watching us play. I’m sure you have the urge, no?”

“I…don’t know. I left the sports life behind a long time ago, sir.”

“Hmm…” The man began, “Either way, if you want to try again, just come for a free practice session.”

“I’ll think about it, coach.” I replied.

I took myself a moment to think about his offer as I walked into class. I would love to try it again, but I knew I would endanger myself and my body if I ever got injured again. I could feel my arms and hands begin to quiver once again as I sat down by my seat.

“Not now, you idiot.” I said to myself.

“I didn’t say or do anything.” Hiroshi interjected. Like a ghost, he appeared from nowhere, sitting beside me.

“Stop doing that, you’re going to give me a heart attack.” I said to Hiroshi.

“If you die, can I use your body?” He asked me.

“For what…Hiroshi?” I asked.

Hiroshi did not respond. I turned to face him, and he was gone like the wind. I wondered If I truly just had spoken to a ghost, I prayed I did.