Getting Over Differences - Part 2

We arrive at our hotel at past 10. This is the first time our group will be staying overnight in a hotel. Normally, we’d go back home by night, but since we all saved enough from our part-time jobs this summer, we decided to book a room at the nearest hotel. We’ll also take the opportunity to attend a festival and watch the fireworks display tomorrow. 

Before we go to our rooms, we agreed to settle in, then meet up before lunch. 

“I thought I’d share a room with Yumi, and you guys will be in another room,” Nozomi says, then immediately drops her bags and flops on the bed. 

“Why would I want to share a room with them if I had a choice?” 

I put my bag beside the bed and then turn on the AC before sitting down. 

“I should have brought Shori with us.” 

“If only he were a bit smaller.” 

Nozomi turns to me with a sad expression. She did try to find a way to bring the plushie, but she wanted to bring her kimono for the festival. I can’t help but feel bad for her, so I crawl to her side and give her a hug. 

“We can bring your sheep next time, when it’s just the two of us on a trip.” 

She smiles in approval and then snuggles me. We stay that way for a few minutes until she says, 

“This is actually comfortable. It makes me sleepy.” 

“We have to meet up with everyone.” 

“Just a quick nap. I was so excited for this trip, so I wasn’t able to sleep well last night. Wake me up after 20 minutes.” 

She closes her eyes and immediately falls asleep. 

After spending a few nights with Nozomi, I found out that she’s a quick sleeper. Ten minutes after she lies down, she quickly falls asleep. I feel jealous, but I also realize that being with her brings so much comfort that I fall asleep minutes after she snoozes. 

Watching her sleep in peace is an invitation to dreamland. I try to stay awake, but my eyes are getting heavy. 

I wasn’t able to sleep well in the past few weeks. Taking a nap shouldn’t be a problem. 

I close my eyes, and the next moment I open them, I wake up to my phone constantly vibrating in my pocket. 

Nozomi is still asleep and snuggling into me, so I reach for my phone, making sure that I won’t wake her up. My screen is flooded with notifications, and I tap on the last one. It’s a message from Takuma. 

Takuma: Hey! I don’t want to disturb you, but we’re going to have lunch now. 

“Lunch?” 

When I roll my eyes at the time on my phone, it’s already 12:31. 

We didn’t just take a nap. 

I might have talked louder than I intended because Nozomi murmurs something and then turns to the other side of the bed. 

Another thing that I found out about Nozomi after staying with her for a few nights is that she’s a bit grumpy when she wakes up. She doesn’t get mad or anything, but you can say that her bright sunshine aura is off when she just woke up. However, I need to wake her up, so I lightly shake her and whisper, 

“Nozomi, it’s past 12 noon already.” 

I shake her a few times before she finally moves and murmurs something unintelligible. 

“Nozomi…” 

“I hear you,” she clearly responds and tries to get up with her eyes still closed. I get out of bed while she sits on the edge, seemingly still asleep. 

“If you want, we can just meet them at dinner,” I suggest, but she simply shakes her head. 

“It’s fine. Once I get out there under the sun, I’ll be completely energized.” 

“Like photosynthesis?” 

I know it’s an unfunny joke, but she starts giggling. She turns to me and says, 

“No. It’s more like recharging using solar energy. The photosynthesis is funny, though.” 

Am I the weird one here? How does she find that funny? 

Nozomi stretches her hands up. 

“I think I’m 50% energized now.” 

I walk in front of her. 

“Your braid is a mess. Want me to fix it?”

“You can?”

“Surprisingly, I can. I have a younger sister. I used to braid her hair when she started going to school. Where’s your hairbrush?” 

I get her bag and open it. She takes out a pouch and pulls out a brush from inside. She hands me the brush, and I sit beside her. She turns her back, and I untie her hair. I undo the braid and gently brush the ends of it first. 

“How old is your sister?” she asks in a low tone, as if being careful. 

“She’s 12 years old now. She was born with a hearing impairment, and she also can’t talk.” 

“How do you communicate? Sign language?” 

“I only know the basic signs. Most of the time, I type on my phone. It was really difficult when she was very young and couldn’t read or write yet. It was trial and error for me and my father.”

It is bittersweet to remember those times. I care about my sister, and I know it’s unfair to feel any resentment towards her. That’s why I decided to stay behind when she and my father left. We also don’t communicate unless she video calls me first. 

If Nozomi only knew… 

“You know, I also have siblings,” Nozomi says. 

“I have two older brothers, although I don’t see them often now. My eldest brother lives in Australia now. He’s getting married soon. My second brother studies in England. They’re both doing very well in life right now — living their dreams. Meanwhile, here I am living alone, without a clear direction in life,” Nozomi opens up. 

“I briefly mentioned my brother to you when we went to the arcade. I almost told you everything, but I managed to stop before I dumped unnecessary information on you.” 

I remain silent while listening to her. After I brush her hair, I divide it into three sections and start braiding. 

“The day we first met,” Nozomi continues, “My brother actually visited me for the first time in 5 years. He said that he’d get married soon and he wanted me to be there. He even said that he’d pay for my flight and I could stay in their house. I faked a smile and congratulated him — not confirming if I would be present at his wedding or not. When he left, I realized how alone I was. How I didn’t have anything going on in my life. I live day by day without a goal or purpose. Then we met in the train station.” 

I had finished braiding her hair when she said that last sentence. 

“What do you mean?” I ask. This is the first time she’s told me this story. I haven’t asked her because I thought it was a personal matter, and I didn’t want to force her to tell me something she wasn’t ready to tell. 

“That day, I felt extremely down. I, myself, couldn’t understand it. It felt like everything around me was unreal. I have no recollection of what I did on that day. All I know is I went to work, took the train home, then an idea popped into my mind.” 

“You wanted to jump in front of the speeding train?” 

I feel a pinch of pain in my chest. I know how it feels to be alone. To wake up every morning not knowing why I even bother waking up. Morning comes and goes fast, but it doesn’t feel like I’m doing anything worthwhile. 

Nozomi leans back until the back of her head is resting on my chest. I wrap my arms around her waist. 

“To this day, I still don’t understand why I thought of that. But when you pulled me and saved me, it felt like I woke up from a nightmare. I realized that I still have so many things that I want to do, like creating my own brand and merchandise, putting up cute cafes and doing more collaborations.” 

She looks up at me and smiles. 

“And fall in love.” 

I don’t know how to react to her statement. It sounds cheesy, but it makes me happy. 

“What are you talking about?” I say to hide my embarrassment. 

“I’m talking about the truth. We haven’t been together for that long, but when you collapsed, I panicked so much. I panicked because I was scared to lose you. I realized how much I wanted to be with you. Isn’t that love?” 

“Maybe. I’m not an expert.” 

The fact that I’d feel the same if you were the one who collapsed in front of me only means one thing. 

“You're not good at lying or hiding your feelings,” she says teasingly. 

“And you’re too vocal about your thoughts and feelings.” 

“Not often. Since you opened up about your sister, I thought I should open up about my brothers as well. Since it’s connected to our first meeting, I thought I should tell you everything. You never asked me about the train incident, and I thought it was your way of being considerate. I really appreciate that.” 

“You do the same for me. I know you do.” 

“Am I busted again?” 

She turns around and hugs me. My arms remain wrapped around her waist, and I tighten my hold on her. 

“I love you,” she says sweetly. It’s so sweet that I think my heart melts. I’ve never felt like this before. 

“I love you too. You have no idea how much I love you.” 

“I think I do, but we’re on a trip with your friends, so we should go and meet them now.” 

She giggles, and I feel embarrassed. 

I’m ready to give an excuse to Takuma just so I can stay with her a little longer. She’s too perceptive.