Dream [Open]
You're walking down a corridor, there's a big bunch of flowers in your hand and someone's holding the other. You look up, up, up and there's a face smiling down at you.
"You know, today's a big day for you."
"Mm hmm!" Your voice is young and childlike, and your hand in his is tiny and gripping his firmly. "'cuz I'm a big brother now!"
He laughs, and then he scoops you up in his arms and ruffles your hair.
"Tou-chan!" You cry, ruffling your hair back to how you like it. "No! Tou-chan I'm a big brother, not a baby, put me down!"
Your Tou-chan laughs and sets you back on the floor before clapping his hand on top of your head and flattening your hair down.
"That's right, you're a big brother, and that's a very special job. Look, here they are!"
You're in front of a big glass window, but you can't see. You're too little. You try jumping up to see but you still can't, and the chairs are fixed to the wall.
"I can't see! I can't see them!"
Tou-chan picks you up, and you look really carefully at all little plastic cribs with so many babies in them, but there's one with two new babies in the same bed, covered up in a pink blanket, and you peer really hard at them. They're wearing pink caps on their heads, one has little tufts of fuzzy black hair poking out from underneath it. You reach out and press your finger against the glass, leaving your print on it.
"Is that them? My sisters?"
"That's them alright. That's Yuzu, and that's Karin with all the hair. Aren't they beautiful?"
You can't say anything for a moment, but you press your whole hand against the window, trying to touch them through the thick glass to let you know that you're there and you're their big brother and you're going to look after them forever.
"They're pink."
Tou-chan laughs.
"Just for now. Come on, shall we go and see Kaa-chan? One of the nurses will bring them in and we can all be a family together."
You squirm to be put down onto the floor, and you run along to find your Kaa-chan. You find her room easily. You know the number, you got good at numbers at school this week.
15.
You push the door open, Kaa-chan's right there in front of you. You walk towards her, flowers in hand.
"Yo, Ofukuro." Your voice is husky and grown up, tight with emotion. "Sorry I'm late. You wouldn't believe the stuff I've had to deal with lately."
You bend down, and place the flowers by her grave marker.
