La-La Land, part 2

The taxi was gone. The worst possible scenario had appeared before our very eyes. We were in complete disbelief. We were in the middle of town, passersby’s eyed us as they made their way passed. Misako was still in my grasp, but without her wheelchair. I could hear her sigh.

“What are we going to do…” She spoke.

“Did you see the name of the company for that car?” I asked, thinking quickly on my feet.

Misako slumped in defeat.

“I didn’t.” she admitted.

I could tell she was depressed, I needed to do something to not worsen the situation any further.

“Let’s find somewhere for you to sit, I will look online to see if I can find the company name.” I said hastily.

I carried her to find the closest possible place to sit down. But no park or public benches were near us. However, there were numerous cafes and restaurants around. I thought the best place at the moment was to find a café or restaurant to sit inside of.

“Do we…” I asked.

“I guess.” She replied.

Misako was clearly sad. I could feel myself at fault, I was angry for not being quicker on my feet. I strode inside the building, a small café with no other customers inside. At the counter, an older man was surprised to see us walk in.

“Oh my!” He exclaimed.

I explained to the man our situation, and he understood from the get-go. I had asked him if he knew possible company names for the taxi as I described the colour of the vehicle to him, and he gave me a list of names to try and contact. I seated Misako opposite me on a chair in the corner of the café. I could see that she was severely sad.

“I will find it, Ishihara. I’m sorry.” I said to her.

She looked at me directly, some tears were forming in her eyes.

“N-no, you shouldn’t-” She began but I had unknowingly cut her off.

“Get something to drink and eat here, my treat.” I exclaimed.

I signalled to the café owner we were ready to order. He walked over to us, bringing two cups of something and a plate of biscuits.

“Here, some hot chocolate, on the house.” The owner said.

“No- I can’t let me pay.” I replied.

“I cannot, you two are in need of this.” He said, walking away before I could argue with him.

I observed Misako take a cup and sip it slowly. I could see her mood was in the deepest of depths.

“I’m sorry.” She said out of nowhere.

“You shouldn’t be sorry, it’s my fault. Just drink.” I said.

Without another word, she relaxed in her chair whilst I searched online for company taxis that fit my car description.

“I’m always a hinderance…” She mumbled.

“You are not.” I retorted.

I put down my cell phone to look her in her eyes.

“I am. If I weren’t like this…we could’ve enjoyed today.” She spoke.

I saw a tear fall down her face.

“You are not a hinderance. This is not your fault. You have not ruined today.”

“But I-”

“Listen to me, Misako. We are not going to let that stop us. We will enjoy today. And I will find your wheelchair.” I said sternly.

She nodded as she wiped her face.

We finished our delicious cups of hot-chocolate and biscuits. Before anything else happened, I rushed to Misako’s side.

“What are you doing?” She asked.

I picked Misako up, holding her tight. Misako instinctively wrapped her arms around me, and I walked to greet the owner of the café.

“Thank you, sir. We will be back later.” I said, walking out.

Outside, I looked around to find the videogame store we originally planned to go to.

“Why are you doing this, David?” Misako asked.

“I owe you a game, let’s go get it!” I yelled.

I ran with full force as I found the location of the store. Misako held me tight as we dashed by onlookers. I could hear some of them commenting on me holding her as we ran by. I was not feeling embarrassed in the slightest, rather, I wanted them to look. Inside the store, we wondered the isle to find the MayStation videogames, moving past onlookers as we did so inside.

“What did you want to get?” I asked Misako.

“Th-there was a Human-Hunter game that I wanted to play.”

“Human-Hunter?” I asked.

My brain began to swell, swirling with an intense force. Misako noticed my grogginess as I walked.

“What’s wrong, David?” She asked me.

“I-I don’t know, I just got a headache.” I replied.

“Why? Is it because of me?”

“No. It’s not. I think it has something to do with Human-Hunter. It seems like such a familiar name. Let’s look for the game.”

As we searched the aisle, we discovered the game. The cover was…familiar to me. I could not tell why. The more I looked at the game, the worse my headache grew. I could feel my brain attempt to escape out of my skull.

“David, leave it,” Misako said, “I don’t like seeing you getting hurt.”

“But-”

I could feel Misako tighten her grip on my shirt, her way to plead me to leave it alone. She did not care for the game, rather worrying for my health instead.

“Let’s find another game, or else I won’t forgive you.” Misako finalised.

I submitted to her request. I immediately turned away from the videogame and tried not the think about it. My headache subsided little by little. I wanted to stab myself, I was ruining our day together. We left the store with a purchased copy of Spectacular Jumping Sisters. I felt like rubbish, our day out together had ostensibly gotten worse – due to my forgetfulness and my condition.