“Talking.” ‘Thinking.’ @;->-- Change of scene/time /Quick flash back./ @;->--@;->--@;->--@;->--@;->--@;->--@;->--@;->--@;->--@;->@;->--@;-> Ami giggles at the note. It was another silly note from Makoto. She’s had two other ones since they...ah...found out about the plane crash. She shakes her head and tucks it away in her pocket. “Another note?” Kaya straightens her glasses, grinning. “Yes. Another note.” Ami shakes her head and continues writing her book report. “’Som’in Silly’” Ami shakes her head and laughs. ‘Where does Makoto get these ideas?’ “Makoto’s?” “Yep.” Ami continues to write until the phone rings. Ami carries the book with her and picks up the phone. “Mizuno Residence...May I ask who’s calling.” Ami sets her book aside and points to the other phone. She crosses her lips with her index finger. “Sorry but she can’t come to the phone right now. May I take a message?” Kaya takes the cordless and brings it up to her ear, covering the mouthpiece. “Are you Mizuno Ami?” “Yes I am.” Ami nods her head, even though they couldn’t see. “We’re calling from St. Boniface, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. We seem to have your father.” “...My father?” Ami suddenly goes pale. She drops her book; pages go flying in different directions. Ami collapses to the ground, her knees finally giving way. “H-How is he?” “Well...” On the other end, you could hear shuffling. The woman starts talking in hushed tones. “I’m sorry, miss. But he...he’s in critical condition and asked to see you...at least for me to call...” “Thank you...” Ami bites back tears and swallows the lump in her throat. “What is your name?” “...Wanda. Wanda Winfield.” “Thank you Wanda. I’ll be there as soon as I can-“ Ami breaks off in tears and hangs up the phone, Kaya right after. She runs over to Ami’s side and takes her in her arms. She didn’t talk or rock her; Kaya just stayed stock-still and let Ami cry it all out. That night, Ami stayed awake with no more tears to shed. ‘He’s on his death bed and here I am, moping around.’ Ami looks over at her mother. “I’ve got to go, mom. I’ve got to see him.” “I know, honey, but...” Kaya runs a hand through her hair. How could she say no? “Then I’m coming with you.” “But your work-“ “I’ll say it’s a family emergency.” Kaya states sadly. She reaches over to brush away Ami’s hair. “Then we leave in the morning.” Ami’s voice cracks but she still sits up. “Call and book the tickets, then. I want to leave in the morning.” She looks at her digital clock. It read 2:09. “Four days...” She mumbles. @;->-- 6 September 2003 Makoto finishes tying up her hair and applies her earrings. She takes her school bag and walks into the front room. Something catches her eye. She walks over to her message machine and presses play. ‘Welcome to call answering; you have one new message. Message one received today at two, forty-five a.m. ‘...Sigh...hello Makoto, I...damn it! Listen, tell the others I won’t be come—I won’t be coming to school for a while’ Ami clears her throat and shuffles around. ‘Don’t worry about me. I’m fine and with my mother...god Makoto...’ Ami sobs and, presumably, collapses. ‘My father, he’s...’ ‘Ami...’ Some more shuffling, the crying fades into the background. ‘Ami’s father...’ Kaya sucks in her breath. ‘He’s in bad shape and we’re-‘ click ‘End of message; to play the message again press – ‘ click. Makoto sets the phone down and stares blankly at the receiver. She shakes her head and picks up the phone; she quickly dials a number and waits for the recording. “Hello Minako, it’s me Makoto. Tell the others that Ami’s helping me with...how to deal with the death of my parents. Tell them what you know if you want, but be sure to tell them we won’t be—we won’t be around for a while.” Makoto places the phone down and wipes the tears away from her eyes. She takes out her communicator and does a search for Ami. ‘She’s nowhere in Tokyo...’ Makoto shakes her head and hurries into her room. ‘I’m going to find her.’ Makoto starts up her computer and enters a hidden room. Green_thunder: SHINO!! Makoto waits for Shino to reply, wracking her brain for everything she knows about Ami’s father. For one, he’s never around. Two, he’s a painter and three, he travels a lot. Blue_lighting: What Green_thunder: I need you to find someone for me Blue_lightning: if it’s important I’ll have the information for you in an hour Green_thunder: I need you to track down Ami and Kaya Mizuno Blue_lightning: isn’t that girl your friend? Green_thunder: yes. That’s why I need you to find her Makoto waits anxiously for blue lighting to answer. Eventually he does. Blue_lightning: give me half an hour. @;->-- Makoto walks unsteadily with her bag at hand. She didn’t even bother grabbing her coat. Makoto shivers and rubs her arms to fend off the chill. Before Makoto left Tokyo, she called her uncle for a favour. He was going to wire her a ticket and arrange a ride. All she had to do was wait until she got the ticket and the driver would drive her to St. Boniface hospital. Inside Winnipeg, Manitoba. There was no choice really. Makoto knew she couldn’t get back on a plane again, not after what had happened with her parents and her...counter part. Yet she couldn’t just let Ami face this thing alone. Ami had called, after all, and she even tried to tell her where she was going until her machine cut them off. It had to mean that Ami wanted Makoto with her. Makoto thought about real hard. She now knew where they were going and she could have wired, but in Ami’s state it wouldn’t have brought her back. Makoto knew she had to do something, and soon, if anything was to be done at all. And then, as though she could see Makoto’s face in front of her, she knew what he would have done. Where he was going and why. He was going to help his sister, his family. Makoto clutches the ticket to her chest and watches another plane take off. ‘Jupiter help me.’ @;->-- Makoto had had a really hard time boarding the plane. She boarded the plane first-class, with a small bag she had brought with her. She was still in her school uniform and had no jacket. Her only goal was to get to Ami before anything happened to her father. And that was the only thing that got Makoto on the plane, as her legs trembled beneath her. She was shown her seat by the stewardess, and she closed her eyes and sank into the chair, trying not to remember the last plane she was supposed to be on, or who she was supposed to be with when it happened. “May I get you anything, Madame?” The stewards for first-class were very attentive. Looking very pale, Makoto shook her head with a wan smile. “It helps some people to look out the window.” He suggests. “I’m afraid I really don’t think so.” As they were pulling out of the airport a little while later, Makoto found herself thinking about the other Makoto’s father and how much he looked like her own. The stewards observed Makoto with a mixture of disappointment and concern. They were having trouble understanding what ailed her. They assumed she was motion sickness but quickly crossed that off. It was common that they had people afraid to fly but they never had a case this bad. She never left her seat, she kept her curtain drawn, and whenever they walked past her, she looked dreadful and terribly pale. She looked more like someone suffering from grief or terrible trauma. “Madame is sad?” The man asks with fatherly concern. Makoto smiles up at her from something she was writing. At least it kept her mind occupied while she tried not to think about where she was. ‘She’s a young woman, but a very serious one.’ The steward takes a seat down beside Makoto. After a while, they were beginning to wonder if she was a writer. “It’s really a beautiful view, Madame.” Then they were beginning to wonder if she was traveling to escape a broken love affair. “It’s nothing like that, really.” Makoto chuckles nervously, gripping the armrests to her seat. “Would Madame please eat something?” The French man offers her a sandwich. “At least get up and stretch your legs. You’ve been sitting for hours.” “I...uh...” Makoto takes the sandwich cautiously. It reminded her of Ami, Makoto smiles. “Thank you, sir.” “Declan.” The man offers. “Thank you, Declan. I’m Kino Makoto.” She shakes his hand, surprisingly firm. “Aw...so Madame is a fighter?” “Yeah...” Makoto pulls her arm back, incidentally hitting the curtain making it recoil. She smacks her hand against the window in her haste to keep it down. She sees the ocean beneath her and tries to look away but finds it impossible. She starts trembling a little, her face seemingly going paler. The man reaches over and closes her curtain. “Are you okay?” “Ah...y-y-yeah.” Makoto gulps and pries herself from her seat. “I need to go to the washroom.” She stands rock-still in the middle of the isle. The man quickly stands to assist Makoto. He walks her down the isle, towards the washroom. “T-thank you, Declan.” “I’ll get a woman to assist you, when you...finish.” Declan blushes and slowly makes his way back. He watches Makoto stagger into the washroom and hears her throw up. True to his word, he finds an older woman. “She says she’s a fighter.” “What’s her name?” The woman asks. “Kino Makoto.” “Kino. Makoto.” The older woman runs that through her brain. “Why’s that sound familiar?” “Edwina.” Declan gently takes the older woman’s arm and leads her to the washroom. “Keep the blinds closed and don’t let her out of your sight.” “Hn.” Edwina leans against the opposite wall and waits. Declan just grins at her and leaves. Behind the door, Edwina could hear the poor girl trying to throw up. ‘Gotta hurt her stomach.’ She reaches over to knock on the door when it opens by itself. Still a little hazy, Makoto drops into a fighting stance. “Down, Cherie.” Edwina laughs and takes Makoto’s fist in her hand. “I take care of you.” “What?” Realization dawns on Makoto. She goes pale and starts trembling lightly. She stands up and walks past Edwina. “I don’t need to be taken care of.” She walks coolly down the isle, past the stewards and straight to her seat. Hoping Edwina left her; Makoto sinks into her chair and sighs. Instead, she sits down next to her. “Are you from Kyoto?” Edwina asks. She had been basically talking to herself for the past hour since Makoto was trying to make a point for her to leave. “No, I’m not.” Makoto replies reluctantly. Edwina just wouldn’t get the point. “Tokyo.” “I see. And you are going where?” “I’m going to Canada to help my friend.” Makoto whispers into the hot cloth. “Quite a long way to meet a friend.” Edwina mumbles into her own cloth. “Well, that’s just like me.” Makoto takes the cloth off and smirks. “Ami would probably say something like ‘you have a chronic impulsive disorder’.” “And this Ami’s the one you’re going to find?” Edwina prods gently. She takes off her cloth to see that Makoto had gone grim again. ‘At least she’s not pale.’ “Uh huh.” Makoto fingers the spine of her notebook. She subconsciously pulls it on her lap and takes out the pen. She leans over and starts writing a few things before closing it again. She comes back up, some of her colour drained. “I’ll never get used to flying on a plane.” “What ever it is, Makoto, it can’t be all that bad...I’m sorry.” Edwina touches her arm but she didn’t turn to face her. Then, in the kindest voice Makoto’s ever heard, she asks a very difficult question. “Has something really awful happened to you?” She couldn’t bear to see the suffering in her eyes, and she had looked that way since as long as she could remember. “I’m usually not this mawkish.” Makoto smiles and wipes the tears away with a graceful hand. “Any particular reason?” “I just don’t like planes anymore...they’re just too many...” Makoto stopped at the word memories, and decides to throw caution to the wind. She didn’t know who Edwina was but at the moment, they were friends. “I know planes crash every-“ “You survived a plane-humph!” Makoto clamps her hand over Edwina’s mouth. “Sh!” Makoto chuckles nervously. “I...kinda did...” She cautiously removes her hand and runs it through her hair. “Almost nine years ago...I accidentally sent a friend on the plane I was supposed to be on...” “And the plane crashed.” Edwina finished. Makoto nods and places the hot-cloth back on her face. Edwina mentally rakes her brain for any such memory. ‘Nine years ago...’ “They labelled it ‘the Kino Crash’.” Makoto offers, her voice thick with emotion. “But Makoto died in the hospital.” “Aino Makoto.” Makoto agrees sadly. She takes off the cloth and opens her book again. “One of my best friends’ brother.” Makoto sniffles and jots something down. She closes her book again and puts it away. “I lost everyone close to me that day.” She leans over and rests her head on Edwina’s shoulder. “I’m sorry...” Edwina strokes her hair gently, eventually putting her to sleep. @;->-- 7 September 2003 Ami walks solemnly into her hotel room. “What are they waiting for, mom?” Kaya looks down at her daughter. She looked so sad and scared right now. “They’re waiting for another transfer of blood.” “What type?” Ami asks, already regretting the answer. “Oh positive.” Kaya kicks off her shoes and collapses into bed. “Ami...we’ve been at the hospital all night. Take a bath and try to get some sleep. He’ll still be there tomorrow.” “Will he, mom?” Kaya opens her eyes and looks across the room at Ami’s tear stained face. “Can you honestly tell me that you know he’ll be there tomorrow? That he...he’ll still be alive...”? Ami turns away and walks into the washroom, locking the door behind her. “Ami!” Kaya knocks on the washroom door. “Ami, open the door.” “No!” “Ami...” Tears well up in Kaya’s eyes as she slides down to the floor. “Please, Ami?” She knocks weakly on the door. “I can’t promise you anything...” Ami slowly opens the door and collapses into Kaya’s arms, crying. “I can’t promise you anything, Ami...” “I’m sorry...”
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