"I feel happy...

---

My mom is standing by the white door, smiling. She looks pale. To be very precise, she looks paler than most patients here. Her skin's almost green like jelly fish if jelly fish are really green, and I can see the veins on her face. She's got thinner. 

"Mom" 

I walk to the door to take her hand, but before I could do that, she's shooing me away. 

"Emma?!? I can walk, my dear" 

Her laughter feels like a the morning stream, fresh and genuine. She then says I acted just as dramatic as the Taiwanese drama she'd watched yesterday. No matter how thinner she's got during the last two years, her smile never once wavers, even on the brink of pain and disease. She's got a paper on her hand, it must be the prescription from the doctor. 

I also want to talk to Doctor Floyd about her staying home. 

"Mom, I'll go to doctor Floyd for a second" 

She holds my hand, and gently, my mom shakes her head. 

"There's no need, Emma" 

"Why?" 

"Tomorrow's going to be the The Last Day, isn't it? Let the doctors have a nice last day too" 

Before I could reply, my mom has continued.  

"Kenji-chan, you must have met my daughter - Emma" 

Fukishi-san, who was standing near the window, slowly grins, and just naturally and very trivially complements me on my appearance. Fukushi-san then continues to ask my mom about what doctor Floyd said, she narrates exactly in the doctor serious voice "You'll survive the Last Day with this", then they both break into laughter. 

I feel a bit out of place, so I ask my mom to go get the prescription meds. She nods cheerfully and thanks me. 

The pharmacy is right on the first floor, where there are a lot of people also waiting. After taking the order number from the machine, I try to look for a place to sit down. The night has already dawned on us. Mosquitoes are eagerly out for work. 

"Hey, you can sit here!"

It's the girl back there when I just parked, the one who reached her mom passionately. She must love her mom a lot. I mean, who wouldn't, right? 

"Thank you!" 

I sit down next to her, and start to wait. The crowd in this CC Ward is quite a new scene to me, most of the time, this section of the hospital is as deserted as Sara, except some weekends. 

"Hey, do you think tomorrow is really, truly The Last Day?" 

She's the one who breaks the silence between us first, I'm not so surprised, because she looks like the type of person who initiates the conversation. But I think I heard something unnatural about her voice. 

"They all say so" I choose my words carefully to reply her. 

"Oh, is that so?" 

I'm a bit surprised that the girl's voice sounds low and, scared. Well, maybe most people are scared and I shouldn't be surprised, since I'd witnessed such a ruckus on the way home from work earlier. But hearing this from her, it's quite distressing. 

There are people you don't want to see them sad. My mom is that kind of person to me, my brothers, Jules. But strange enough, this girl, in a way or another, also makes me want to unburden what's on her shoulder. 

"You've got regrets?" I decide to ask her. 

She slightly nods, and then smiles a little to me. The moment she looks away, her smile becomes bitter like a lemon's skin. 

"I don't know anymore... You know, I've got a house on White Revenue... I'm the top executive of a company, I've a great boyfriend..." 

Despite that, she looks gravely heart-breaking. I really want to say something, something empathetic to sooth her sadness, but the more I'm trying to look for those words, the more puzzled and lost I am. Instead, I put a hand on her shoulder. 

"Only today, today... did I realize I haven't visited my mom for the past two months... What's with all the money I made, but I've ignored my only family... I've lived a shallow life..." 

Her every word shakes me, so hard that I feel like my heart could throb out of my chest. What's a shallow life she's talking about? 

She sobs, and her tears fall down slowly one after another on those hands she's trying to cover all over her face. 

"It's... good that you've got your mom by your side now, isn't it?" I finally utter something. I feel like I could taste the bitterness of the lemon's skin just now too. I don't know what has happened, but my heart all of a sudden becomes a ton heavier. 

Later, when we already parted ways, I thanked her. I return to my mom's room only to see Fukushi-san pouring a glass of juice for my mom, while she's meticulously arranging her clothes in the backpack. They were talking about something just now, and both of them are smiling. 

I completely get it by now. They... completely sync to each other. It feels weird. I know my mom and me don't get along well, but having someone closer to her in just merely a week is... unordinary, isn't it?

"Oh, Emma, you're back already? Was it crowded in the pharmacy?" My mom turns to me, who's just opened the door. 

"Yes, it was, a bit more crowded than usual, I've got all your meds and some vitamins also!" 

"That's nice!" 

The room falls into a silence, that I can hear the sound of the air-conditioner. My existence in this room is just so awkward, right? I can feel it too. Not long after than, my mom suddenly raises her head, as if a brilliant idea has just popped up in her head. 

"Kenji-chan, why don't you join us for The Last Day? It'll be fun!" 

Which... it isn't. 

I didn't predict this move at all. Fukushi-san, not a second in delay, shifts his stare to me with some dark intention. However, his face look like a puppy's, wishing for a warm fireplace, a plate full of tasty food, and a roof over his head. 

"I'm afraid I'm going to be a bother for you, Yamaoka-san"

Yamaoka-san??? Isn't that referring to my mom and... me too? What a clever choice of words, you have my compliment, Fukushi-san. 

"Emma? Why don't we invite Kenji-chan only for a day?" My mom looks at me, her gaze softens my heart. 

Only for a day? Another clever choice of word, Yamaoka-san. 

I didn't have a choice, did I? 

It all looked like the two of them were planning all this upon me. 

In the car, my mom and Fukushi-san are chatting crazily over the news about some man going to the mountain of the dead or the haunted Canavas to build a temple. The story was too ridiculous to be true, but it's true. 

It feels like something's changing. 

It feels fun.