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The Gift Words checked = [5510] Words in Oxford 3000 = [94%] 1 town which located in the middle part of Taiwan, and to catch bees and butterflies. Now she is growing up and acts more like a normal girl. “My mother used to describe me as a wild horse, but now I’ve changed she lived in a small village with her beloved the rural life. Despite the bustling streets of the town, a lot.” 2
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The Gift
1
Words checked = [5510]
Words in Oxford 3000 = [94%]
2
The author
Celia Shen was born and grew up in a tranquil
town which located in the middle part of Taiwan,
Yun-Lin County. Her childhood memories were full of
the rural life. Despite the bustling streets of the town,
she lived in a small village with her beloved
grandmother. The things she used to do were to chase
and to catch bees and butterflies. Now she is growing
up and acts more like a normal girl. “My mother used
to describe me as a wild horse, but now I’ve changed
a lot.”
3
The story “The Gift” combined many elements
such as family, friendship and love. When people ask
whether the girl in the story was actually Celia herself?
She just smiled without answering.
4
Introduction
‘For me, winter was a season of snow. The ground
was colored white, so pure and innocent, but the
memory long time ago left me only sadness.’
Sakurako was a normal senior high school student.
Her mother died in an accident which left a shadow in
her mind. She deemed that the death was her fault and
lived unhappily. One day, one of her classmates
committed suicide. She was very sad and wanted to
stop the event happened, and then she succeeded! She
accidentally found out that she could go back in time
5
and prevent accidents. What kind of events she would
get herself involve? In what way did she use this
magnificent power? Would her life change?
6
Contents
Author 01
Introduction 02
Chapter 1 Memories of Winter 07
Chapter 2 Someone Committed Suicide 11
Chapter 3 Return to the Past 21
Chapter 4 Accident 32
Chapter 5 Alarmingly Dangerous 41
Chapter 6 Reflection 47
Chapter 7 Heart-Searching 55
7
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Chapter 1- Memories of Winter
For me, winter was a season of snow. The ground
was colored white, so pure and innocent, but the
memories of long ago left me only sadness. It had
snowed for three days running, and the whole
neighborhood was covered with snow. Despite the
severely cold weather outside, my room was
extremely warm. I stood by the window and watched
the scene from inside. On the snow crested street, a
group of adventurous children had gathered and tried
to build a snowman, with some of them throwing
snowballs against each other. The joyful laughers
broke the dead silence of the chilly winter. Suddenly,
9
a strong desire entered my mind; I wanted to go out,
at once! I quickly grabbed my coat from the chair and
ran hastily downstairs. When I opened the door, the
icy wind that blew on my face made me step back a
little, but I still stepped out into the street. I lifted up
my head softly and stretched my arms slowly, turned
my left palm upward trying to catch falling
snowflakes. Watching those snowflakes falling from
the sky and melting fast due to the heat of my palm,
brought back memories which made me cry. I closed
my eyes steadily and stood, felt the cold wind blowing
though my cheeks. My name is Sakurako Hamano.
My mother gave me the name “Sakurako” because I
10
was born during the time of cherry-blossom seasons.
“Sakura symbolizes diligence, courage and wisdom,”
my mother used to tell me with her gentle soft voice
saying things like, “You should work hard and be
independent to find your purpose in life.” I still kept
profoundly these words in mind even today. My
mother died in a car accident when I was six. I was
chasing a butterfly and was too small to notice the
drunken truck driver barreling down the road. My
mother, who saw the high-speed truck, immediately
rushed toward me and pushed me away. I fell to the
ground scraping my knees on the icy road, I cried out,
“Mummy!” A terrible screech was all that was heard.
11
That was winter time, a snowy day. All I could
remember was blood. A snow white world dyed
scarlet. The accident took my mom’s life away, but
the getaway truck was found. The driver had drunk
too much alcohol. Tears streamed down my cheeks. I
hate it. I hate drunken people. I hate winter. I
hate……myself. Who was that thief that stole my
mother’s life from me?
12
Chapter 2- Someone Committed Suicide
Monday morning, the sunshine was blinding. Winter
mornings always made people idle. I slowly opened
my eyes, stretching my body. Unwillingly getting up
off the bed, I quickly glanced at the alarm on the table
peering at the calendar on the wall. Well, the clock
on the wall showed me that I still had plenty of time
to get ready for school, and it was December third. I
turned on the radio, and it was my habit to hear the
news every morning. “Japan’s economy has recovered
earlier and more strongly than any……” economy? I
turned off the radio immediately, and I didn’t really
13
care for this type of news. Economical issues were for
adults, not a free and easy student like me. I am a
senior high school student, and just like others, the
routine of a student is simple and sometimes boring. I
finished washing up and went downstairs to have my
breakfast which my father prepared for me before he
went to work. He had to take the subway for an hour
to his company, so he always got up early. I only
drank the milk and decided to take the toast to school
since I had no desire to eat.
On my way to school, I walked slowly and kept
looking around while walking. Well, the Yamada
14
family’ new car was so……weird! I just could not
understand why any person would want to buy an
orange car like that! Orange! By the way, where in the
hell did they find an orange car? In front of the house
of the Hamasaki family, there stood a snowman who
wore a red scarf and black hat whose nose was made
of a carrot. It must be the work of the naughty
Hamasaki twins. I kept walking to the central park.
There was a person sitting on the swing and wearing a
white shirt and on the left side of which had the same
mark as mine. It seemed I met a school mate, and she
was apparently not in a good mood. I walked close to
her, and pat her shoulder lightly. “Hey,” I said to her
15
“come on, we’re going to be late for school!” Of
course I was kidding; I knew there were still thirty
minutes left before school starts. I just tried to say
something to her, hoping she could forget what she
was worrying about. The girl slowly lifted her head.
“Ah, it’s Miki-chan!” I said when I saw her face. I
knew her. She was my classmate. I was a little bit
embarrassed for not recognizing her earlier. She was
always quiet in class and nobody knew what she was
thinking.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, feeling
concerned “Are you alright? Do you feel sick?”
“No…thank you,” she answered briefly.
16
“Ok…then…I’m going to school, do you want to
come with me?”
She shook her head, “No, I’m waiting for Kimiko…”
“Alright then, see you in class.” I gave her a big smile
and walked away. I didn’t know at that time that I
would soon regret what I hadn’t done. You see, I
should have insisted to stay and go to school with her.
(In class)
“Now turn to page 48 in your textbook,” the teacher
said, “read the first paragraph silently and answer the
17
following questions .”
The girl sitting beside me was nodding her head in a
regular frequency. She fell asleep as soon as the class
bell rang, which really amazed me. She slept during
classes and merely woke up at break time. How could
she still pass all the quizzes and exams? I looked
down at my own test paper, and sighed. I had better
hide the paper to make sure Dad doesn’t see the grade.
I looked around the classroom to find something
interesting. Two boys were drawing a picture with the
teacher at the front of the class. They secretly smirked
at each other and continuing finishing their
“masterpiece”. Suddenly, I noticed a seat. It was
18
empty.
‘Why isn’t Miki in class? Where is she?’ A bad feeling
rose in my mind. ‘Don’t think too much. She will be
fine,’ I said trying to comfort myself.
Suddenly, someone stood up and shouted. ”What’s
that?”
“I told you before not to interrupt my class! You…”
“Bump!” everyone heard a great sound before the
teacher finished her sentence. ‘It sounds like
something crash to the ground from the top of…the
school building?’
The sound triggered a disturbance in class, and
everyone was curious and some even left their seats
19
and running to the window to see what had happened.
“Be quiet! Yamada, get back to your seat! And you…”
the teacher shouted trying to regain control of the
disordered class. It was totally no use since the
hallway was getting noisy. Students in other classes
must have heard the sound, too.
“Someone has committed suicide! Itakawa Miki in
class 5 committed suicide!” someone in the hallway
shouted loudly.
‘What?’ I was shocked. ‘No way! I just saw her this
morning, and I even talked to her……How could
she…’ Miki’s unhappy face this morning suddenly
appeared on my mind.
20
The class dismissed early due to the incident. It was a
scandal. A student committed suicide on campus, and
all the teachers were gathered by the school principal,
and even some journalists who got the news were
wandering around the campus trying to gather any
news they could collect. Unlike other students, I
didn’t go home right away as the teacher announced
that we would not have class in the afternoon and
asked us go home as soon as possible. Instead, I
stayed in the class room. My mind was in a terrible
mess. I walked slowly to Miki’s empty seat, and sat
down in her chair. I reached my hand to touch her
21
desk softly. I opened her drawer under the desk; and a
picture of her was lying on the books. I picked it up
and brushed the dust away. At the moment I touched
the picture, a sudden ache attacked me. The last thing
I could remember was that I fell on the ground losing
conscious.
22
Chapter 3- Return to the Past
I woke up and covered my eyes with my hands, and
the sunshine was blinding……Same as
yesterday. ’Wait! Where am I now?’ I quickly jumped
off my bed and realized I was in my own room. I was
confused. I remembered I touched Miki’s picture then
losing conscious……And at this moment, I was in my
room?
Did somebody take me home after I fainted? But what
was the reason that caused me to faint? I scratched my
head, tried to recall my memory……but I could
remember nothing. I gave up and turned around to
23
tear off the calendar paper. I looked at the number on
the calendar, and read “December 3rd, December 3rd,
December…THIRD???” I cried out loudly. I tore off
the calendar paper yesterday. There couldn’t be a
second ‘December third’ in a calendar. I hesitated a
little bit, then slowly reached the radio and turned it
on. A familiar woman’s voice began to speak.
“……economy has recovered earlier and more
strongly than any other country……” Same…the
same news as yesterday. I…I was back? Back to the
previous day? How could this have happened? Was I
dreaming? I pinched my cheek with all my strength.
“Ouch!” I cried out in pain…It was reality. I was not
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in my dream…
‘Miki!’ The name and the event happened the
previous day jumped into my mind. I quickly ran to
school. ‘I have to stop Miki from what she planned to
do!’
I ran as fast as I could. Finally, I arrived and the
park where I should meet Miki. I walked around but
could not find a shadow of her. I was extremely
worried, and decided to go to school first.
I opened the classroom door and successfully
appealed to everyone’s attention. As all the people
surprisingly gazed at me, I shouted “Has anyone see
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Miki today?” I really hoped that someone would have
spoken out.
“I saw her going upstairs to the top floor,” a voice
answered me. But I had no time to see whose voice it
was.
“Thanks!” I quickly ran and hided from an angry
teacher who was shouting at the students who was
running in the hallway.
On the rooftop, at the moment I saw Miki, I held my
breath. She was standing by the edge of the roof,
looking over the edge.
“Miki,” I called out softly. “Come on, don’t do that,
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it’s too dangerous.” I stopped to gulp. I tried to
persuade her to calm down but I failed. She wasn’t
even listening to me.
“Please,” I begged. “Let’s talk, ok?”
She stayed still without a sign of jumping. I was
annoyed and impatient because of the nervous
atmosphere. I decided to leave for a while to find
someone to help. I ran downstairs thinking frantically
who I could find at this urgent moment. It was class
time and all the students were attending their classes.
Luckily, I saw a student who seemed to be skipping
class. And I knew him. He was my classmate, Otomo.
I made up a plan in my mind and walked toward him.
27
When he saw me, he said with a careless tone,
“Wow, I didn’t know that you like to skip classes too.”
As he finished, he walked away.
“Hey,” I stopped him. “I need your help. Come with
me.”
“What?” Otomo asked looking at me with an
uncertainty. “Ah, I see, it must be the teacher who
asked you to find me, right?” He sent me a disgusted
eye and walked away.
“Not the teacher, it’s me who needed your help.” I
thought for a while, and then said threateningly. “If
you don’t come with me, I’ll call your father and tell
him that you’ve been cheating during the test and was
28
punished by the teacher.”
“What! How did you know that I’ve been
cheating…uh, not, whatever you do, I bet that you
don’t even have my Dad’s number, right?”
When I mentioned his father, he acted like he was
almost peeing in his pants. I let out a smirk and took
out a piece of paper then read out. “093…” He
interrupted me before I finished the third number.
“Ok, ok,” he said while shooting me a murderous
stare. ”I’ll do whatever you want, just don’t call my
father.”
“Come with me!”
29
As we reached the door to the rooftop, I stopped and
turned to him. I needed to explain the situation to
Otomo, or he might not understand what I wanted him
to do.
“Well, you are a man, right?” trying to let me voice
sound free and easy. He gave me a doubtful eye and
answered.
“Have you got no eyes? What do you want me to do?
Do not test my patience!”
“Uh, I need your help to pull someone down…Since
you are a man, you must have enough strength to
force her…”
“What? Who’s her? You want me to use violence?
30
You…”
“Miki will commit suicide if you don’t act now, quick,
you rush to her and pull her down…” I was extremely
jittery.
“What? How do you know someone is going to kill
herself? Are you girls kidding me?”
“No, I’ am not kidding you…” I bit my lower lip and
took my cell phone out from my pocket. “09…”
“Not again!” He was frustrated.
“All I need to do is to grab her down, right?”
“You’re smart!”
“Ok…”
Then, he suddenly opened the door and rushed in. The
31
act surprising me, how could he…what if he scared
Miki? Oh, my……I covered my eyes with my hands,
and slowly walked onto the rooftop…I let out a
relieved sigh when I saw the scene inside.
Both of them fell down onto the roof, and Miki was
crying loudly. Otomo, who was sitting beside Miki
turned his head and saw me. He lightly lifted his hand
and gave me the “OK” gesture. I opened my mouth
slightly and said voicelessly, “Thanks…”
The weather that day was cold, minus 10 degrees with
snow. Strangely, I felt a warmth rising in my heart.
Watching the snow falling, I stood still and smiled at
32
the blue sky.
33
Chapter 4- Accident
“Class dismissed.”
“Thank you teacher, see you tomorrow.”
As soon as the class finished, I collected all my
belonging on the desk and put them in my bag. I
intended to go to the library to study for my math test,
but my uncle and aunt were coming from Hokkaido to
visit us. Dad reminded me to go directly home and not
to wander around the streets. Just as I was leaving…
“Hey stupid girl, where are you going?” It was Otomo,
who helped me to save Miki a week ago.
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“Going home, of course! Goodbye, dumb boy.” I
walked out of the class.
“Going home? I thought you were going to the
library?”
“I changed my mind, get away!” I pushed him away
with all my force and left him behind. After the event
with Miki, Otomo tried several times to ask me how I
knew Miki was there. But I just kept my lips sealed,
as I knew he would not believe me even if I told him
the truth.
(At home)
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“Sakurako, isn’t he pretty? Oh my baby…” My aunt
cooed softly as she cuddled the baby in her arms. My
uncle was standing proudly beside her, arms
surrounding his wife and smiling so widely you could
see all of his teeth. I smiled at the little family in front
of me. I felt so happy for them. The baby was so
lovely.
“Sakurako, could you help me get a bottle of soy-bean
sauce? I’m going to prepare our dinner,” my dad
asked from the kitchen. “Ok,” I replied. “I’ll be back
soon.”
36
“Let me see, the sauce area…” I watched the bottle
carefully. “Ah, got it.” I took one bottle of sauce and
walked straight to the check-out counter.
“It’s 1,200 yen. Thank you.”
I walked out the store and was amazed by the crowd
outside.
“What happened?” Due to my strong curiosity, I stood
there and waited to see what was going on. Not long
after, two police officers came over and asked the
people to leave. As the crowd melted away, I saw
what had happened. My face paled. It was an accident,
a car accident. I could see the car and the body…with
blood. The memories of my childhood flashed on my
37
mind. I felt sick and kneed down. There were two or
three passersby stopped to ask if I needed help. I just
kept silent and shook my head. I had no idea how
much time I had been here. I thought of my aunt and
her baby, and I stood up. ‘I had to go home quickly,’ I
thought. ‘They must be worried.’
“Kenji, how…how come…?”
As I attempted to walk away, a familiar voice stopped
me. I turned around and recognized who the person
was. It was my neighbor, the Fuji family. There were
only two people in the family, a boy who was also my
school’s senior and his mother, Mrs. Fuji. She was a
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nice person, always treated me like her own child. She
told me that she always wanted a daughter. Every time
she praised me and criticized her son, Kenji would
protest loudly by saying a list of advantages of having
a son. And I would laugh happily and saying
something to make my senior get angry. Of course he
was not really angry, he just pretended to be annoyed
and then we would laugh together.
I saw Mrs. Fuji running to the bloody body and cried
out loudly. The crying scene was breaking my heart.
Thinking of Kenji’s smiling face, my tears streamed
down my cheeks.
39
“Did you see the whole event?”
“Yes, it’s really…oh, I don’t know how to say, but the
boy is brave…”
“Really brave, indeed.”
I stood on the street and heard the people gossiping
about the accident. Kenji intended to save a boy
whose balloon had gone with the wind. The boy trying
to get the balloon back ran into the middle of the road.
He did not notice the traffic light had turned red, and a
high-speed truck came speeding by. Kenji was also
there at that time. When he saw the scene, he ran fast
to push the boy out of danger. The boy was safe, just
had some little wound not too serious. The boy went
40
home with his family, but Kenji would not come back
anymore.
My steps were heavily, and I thought of the accident,
Kenji and my mom. My mother was killed in order to
save me, and Kenji died for the boy. During dinner, I
gobbled down my food finishing it quickly. I
pretended that I was enjoying the food but actually I
just wanted to get back to my room. I did not want my
tears to spoil the dinner. I went upstairs and stayed in
my room. There was a thinking came in to my mind. I
had no idea if it would work or not, but I would like to
try. I opened a drawer and took out a photo book. I
41
turned the book from page to page, finally… ”Kenji!”
I took a breath and slowly reached out my fingers to
touch Kenji’s happy face… “Uh…” I felt my head
was aching as if it was going to crack…the last thing I
knew before I fell unconscious was…I succeeded!
42
Chapter 5- Alarmingly Dangerous
“Umm…” I opened my eyes and remembered what I
had done. I came back again. The mission today was
to stop the tragedy yesterday…uh…not yesterday, I
would not let it happen today. I grabbed my school
bag and told my father that I would not come home
early today. My father just nodded his head and said
“Ok, be careful! And remember that your uncle and
aunt will arrive around 4:00. They will stay five nights,
so you don’t have to rush home if you really have
something to do,” he said graciously. I apologized to
my family in my heart, but I had more important
43
things to do.
“Class dismissed.”
“Thank you teacher, see you tomorrow.”
This time, I immediately rushed out of the classroom
and left Otomo who was shouting noisily behind me. I
ran to the street where the accident occurred and
waited there nervously. I didn’t know when exactly
the event would happen, so I needed to concentrate on
the surroundings.
“He…hey…you… you stu…stupid…” hearing the
voice, I turned around surprisingly. It Was Otomo!
44
The last person I wanted to meet at the moment.
“Get away. I have no time to explain,” glaring sharply
at him. I said, “Don’t bother me!”
“Hey! How could you talk to me in that way?” he
protested unfairly. “I helped you last…” I quickly
walked away to avoid his annoying voice. Suddenly, I
noticed a boy who had a red balloon in his hand. ‘Is
that him?’ My heart skipped a beat, and I tried to walk
closer to the boy. But soon after my first step, I saw
another boy with a balloon! I looked around and
realized there was a person who was giving colorful
balloons to young children, and almost all the children
on the street were holding a balloon! ‘What could I
45
do?’ almost crying and feeling helpless. I saw Kenji
walking from the other side of the road. I had to stop
him. As I was hesitating, a cold wind blew…I saw the
boy…and his balloon! The balloon had gone with the
wind and the boy…’ I have to stop him!’ I ran to the
road and tried to take the boy back. From my left side,
I could see the truck was coming. I pushed the boy
away and tried to get away myself, but I fell. The fear
and nervousness occupied my body; and I closed my
eyes hopelessly to wait for the oncoming truck. I
could feel the strong wind blowing and screaming
from the crowd. I saw a shadow come to me, and
someone pulled me up then we rolled on the ground
46
together. I opened my eyes and saw an angry face in
which the eyes looked piercingly at me.
“You are really stupid!” I was surprised. Otomo ran
into me and…he saved me…
“What’s your brain for? I can’t believe it! Do you
know how dangerous that was?” he s
“I just wanted to save the boy, I…” trying to plead for
myself.
houting at me, as
all the people on the street were watching. I felt
embarrassed.
“I just couldn’t believe,” he said calmly and coldly to
me. “Don’t you ever think of your family before you
47
act?”
“I…” I opened my mouth, but could not pour out a
single word. He shot me a complicated eye and
walked straight away without looking back.
That night, I lied on my bed. I was thinking and could
not fall asleep. What did the expression in his eyes
mean? I got up out of bed, and looked outside. It was
snowing……
48
Chapter 6- Heart-Searching
“…so cold,” I closed the window and went back to
my warm pillow. ‘I just couldn’t believe.’ ‘Have you
ever thought of your family before you act?’ Those
phrases kept appearing in my mind. And I could not
forget the serious face of Otomo. Family was
undoubtedly important to me. I already lost my mom;
I should spend more time with my father. My father
was always busy, and I knew he worked very hard to
support the family. I rushed out to save the boy, what
about me? What if I died? Otomo was right, I should
think about my family before I did something
49
dangerous. I didn’t even mention the strange events
I’d been through these days. I should tell Dad that
I…I could time travel, but how…? He might not
believe me… “Hey Dad, I just had two December 3rd
s,
and I saved a boy yesterday because I can time travel
back to the past.” Well, I could image how my father
would act. He would pat my head lightly and asking if
I had a good sleep, or he might think I caught a cold.
With these thoughts, I decided to find Otomo and tell
him the truth.
“So, what’s the important thing you mentioned on the
phone?” Otomo asked which handing me a cup of
Comment [k1]: ^ on___
Comment [k2]: WF
50
milk tea.
“I can time travel,” I stopped to drink the milk tea,
“ by touching people’s photos…”
“Ha, Are you watching too much science fiction these
days?” he did not believe me.
“That’s how I knew Miki would commit suicide.” I
watched his face changing. “And I went to save the
boy because I knew there was something going on.”
He remained silent He might be confused or scared, I
thought.
“Well, no wonder you know my father’s phone
number…uh, I say,” he looked at me seriously.
“What did your family say about that?”
51
“I didn’t tell them…”I replied honestly.
“What? You should let them know to see if they have
any…any idea about it.”
“That’s why I want to see you today,” I said. “I don’t
know how to tell my father the truth.”
“Just tell him,” he said shaking his head. “He’s your
father, not mine.”
“But…” I hesitated. “What if he doesn’t believe me?”
“No idea,” he said simply. “You should have more
confidence in your father.”
“Hey, somebody stops him,” a voice shouted. “He
robbed the bank.”
52
“Bomb!” It was a gun shot. And we saw someone
falling, and the crowd gathered again. All the people
around the streets were pointing and the falling body
and gossiping.
“Only idiots would rob a bank,” Otomo said distantly.
“There are many ways to solve the problem, not
this……” He suddenly stopped, and I lifted my head.
“Keep going, I’m listening,” I said.
“…that’s…that’s m-my brother…” he said quietly.
“Your brother?” I looked up, and the police revealed
the man’s face. It was pale.
Otomo walked toward me, and squeeze himself into
the crowd. I saw him walking straight toward one of
53
the policemen and talking to him. Otomo seemed to
be very agitated, even grabbing the policeman’s
collar. ‘What’s he doing?’ I ran over toward him and
tried to take him away.
“Come on, Otomo,” I begged and pulling at his sleeve.
“Let’s go, you can not do this to a policeman. They
will arrest you and take you to the police station…”
“I don’t care! Don’t touch me!” He turned to the
officer saying, “This must be a mistake. My brother
would not want to rob a bank!”
“Get away,” the police saying getting angry. “Would a
robber mark himself as a robber? Kid, go home
quickly and staying away. I will notify your father.”
54
“No, you can’t! You cannot tell my father.” He’s face
was nervous. “I’m his younger brother, I’m his
family, I’ll go with you,” Otomo begged the
policeman.
“How old are you, uh? We need to see your guardian,
I’ll ask him to come to the office later,” finished the
policeman and walking away.
“Otomo, let’s go.” I tried again to persuade him.
“No, it couldn’t be…”
We sat on a bench in the park for hours, but Otomo
said nothing. During that period, I tried to say
something and asked some questions. But he just
didn’t answer.
55
The sky colored orange, and soon darkness covered
the surroundings. He told me his story. His parents got
a divorce when he was young. He lived with his father
while his brother went and lived with his mother.
Otomo’ s relationship with his father was not very
good. At the end, he walked me home and almost
crying.
Seeing his lonely long-narrow shadow under the street
light, I made a decision. I would time travel to the past
again.
56
Chapter 7- Heart-Searching
I closed the window, and secretly walked outside
without telling my father. I made a phone call just like
what I had done the previous day. This time could be
dangerous as well since Otomo’s brother had just been
shot.
“Hey, where are you going?” Otomo said following
after me and feeling confused.
“Ah, I know! Are you trying to say that you have a
crush on me?”
“Ok, let’s stay here.” It was the bank which was
robbed.
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“Help! Get him! That man in black just robbed the
bank.”
“Wait! Otomo, come back.” It was too late. He had
rushed out to grab the robber. What would happen if
he found out his brother was the robber? I sighed
lightly. Otomo was removing the mask of the robber,
and I covered my eyes. I didn’t want too see Otomo’s
shocking face. Soon the police arrived and arrested
the robber. This time, Otomo did not argue with the
police. And I even heard Otomo was being praised.
What happened? Was he not trying to explain for his
brother? I looked toward them surprised. The robber
was different; it was not Otomo’s brother whom we
58
saw yesterday.
“Could you tell me what happened? So many people
are here.” Hearing the voice, I turned around amazed.
I pointed at him and could not say anything.
“You…you…”
“Otomo! What a coincidence!” shouted the man
greeting the people behind me.
“Hey, long time no see. How have you been?”
I looked at them in disbelief.
After I went home, I clarified the whole event.
Otomo’s brother was actually hiding from the police,
but it was because he was riding his motorbike
over-speeding. When there were police asking him to
59
stop, he parked the car in an alley. He did not take off
his helmet and walked out from the alley. When he
walked into the bank, he saw the police and got
nervous. He tried to run away but got shot. But at
present, they were hugging each other and laughing
loudly on the streets.
I went home that day and told my father the events of
these passing few days. He said nothing but put his
hand under his chin. I knew he was thinking. He
might not believe me…I was a little lost. He was my
only family. What if he could not accept me and
considering me a…monster or…
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My father looked at me thoughtfully and said slowly,
“So you have the power too?”
“Uh?” I looked up at him and could not understand.
‘too?’ What’s that mean?
“Actually, your mother…has the ability to travel in
time.” There was something resembling loneliness on
his face. “ She always left me behind without telling
me anything,” he signed lightly. “I found out the truth
one day when I read her dairy secretly when she was
not home…”
“Sorry, Sakurako,” he said sincerely. “I should have
told you earlier. You must be very nervous and not
know what to do…I…don’t cry…”
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Now it was my father’s turn to get nervous. He saw I
was lowering my head and covering my face. He
thought I was crying. Actually…
“Dad…” I said with a smooth voice.
“Uh, wha-what?”
“How could you hide the truth from me? You know
how much I care for mother and you…” I started to
shout shaking my hands at him.
“Forgive me…I didn’t know you would be…, that
hurt, hey, you should not attack your…hurt…your
father.”
I opened the window of my room and stretching my
62
hands to catch the snowflakes. I now knew why I have
the ability to time traveling. It is a gift, a special gift
from my dear mother.
“Hey, lazy!” I heard someone’s shouting. I looked
down through my window seeing a repugnant smiling
face. “Are you still sleeping? You are so…”
“Are you blind? I am totally awake!” I smiled. “Just a
minute. I’ll go downstairs!”
For me, winter was a season of snow. The ground was
colored white, so pure and innocent, and it was my
favorite among the four seasons.