What To Do With All The Time

“Why are you… here, out of all places?”

Taking the kid under their wing, the four parkgoers looked around for anything to do. They couldn’t well have left him there on his own, even if Katie worried they just might make things even worse for him, or so she claimed before they went off to scout the shops and rides. Frankie was ready to buy him whatever he wanted. Tara did their best to scare off any other people who came too close to the group. Nate never asked for this, and none of them were sure whether this was an act coming out of kindness or just some implacable guilt.

That said, Nate didn’t mind the company.

“They couldn’t stand the grief anymore. Sent me to a relative here so they could deal with it instead, but she hardly talks to me. I don’t really know Japanese and her English isn’t very good.”

“Did you want to come here?” Frankie continued to converse with their new travel buddy. Not her strong suit, but the other two wouldn’t say anything.

“I did.” He nodded, digging in his pocket before pulling out a Die Rangers wallet. “I’m just fourteen, but I’ve loved anime my whole life, Rogue especially.”

“How… long have you been here?”

“It’s… been awhile.” He reminisced. For a second, he retracted what he was about to say- but reminded himself it made no sense to keep something private at this point. “I… don’t know when it’ll happen. I’ve been waiting for months now. The doctors keep getting it wrong.”

“You’re sure you’ve got it?” Katie suddenly piped up in a way Frankie honestly didn’t really care for.

“Yeah. I feel it inside. My body doesn’t wanna move, but I feel like I have to.”

“Damn… I’m sorry.” Frankie tried her best to comfort him. The way he spoke, it was like the idea didn’t even scare him.

“It’s okay. I’ve been waiting so long, it might be alright when it finally hits.”

“You can’t say that!” Katie practically exploded, making Frankie cover her ears. “What about everyone who’s already died to it? How would they feel about you just- just giving up?”

“Katie.” Frankie uttered coldly. Nate wasn’t bothered, still softly smiling.

“There’s a difference between accepting the inevitable and giving up. That’s why I’m still here, making memories. Even though it hurts.”

Katie shut up. There was something inside her that felt very, very bad.

“Do you… want to do anything right now?” Frankie quietly asked, afraid she’d impose on him.

“Just staying with you three seems nice. I can’t voice an anime, but… if there’s anything else I can do, I’d like to try it.” He chuckled. “I wanna help you guys.”

“Y-you don’t have to-“ Frankie was still walking on eggshells, scared to say anything, when the phone in her pocket started buzzing.

“I’m sorry.” She apologized for nothing, digging into her shorts. “Who the heck is this…”

It was an unknown number to her, but Tala knew it.

“Why is Miyano calling you…?”

“Huh? Her again?”

Frankie picked up before running to the nearest alleyway.