Gave Everything Up - V1C4
Volume 1, Chapter 4:
Acceptance
It had been a week since then. Today was my
birthday.
Well, nobody would probably remember. That
matter was going to be decided this morning. Were my efforts going to bear
fruit?
I thought about the matter as I heaved
myself out of bed. The results every morning had been terrible. Mom, as usual,
was focused on work that she couldn’t even spare to look at me.
Nana had been ignoring me again since that
day she spoke her first words to me after a long six months.
Sayaka kept accompanying me to school every
time, even though she liked that senpai of hers.
As I went down the stairs, I reflected on
everything that had happened up until today. I wondered if they would suddenly
start loving me again by mistake. I doubted that.
As I got down, my mother was still as busy
as ever.
"Good morning. Mom."
Greeted them again like usual.
"Good morning. Manato."
As was the norm, my mother responded in
that same manner. It was a sight I'd grown accustomed to seeing.
That hadn't changed this past week.
"...Hey, Mom. For dinner tonight. I'd
like to eat the food you made."
"Sorry, Mom is too busy to cook
today."
"..."
Haha, I knew that. That was clear to me.
"Manato?"
"That's right, huh. Mom is always
busy, isn't she?"
"...Sorry."
Mom apologized while she was got ready for
work. Like I thought, work was more important.
"Then, Mom is off now."
"Take care."
After seeing off my mother, I took 1,000
yen and went back upstairs. At the same time, Nana came down.
"Good morning, Nana."
This was also the usual.
"..."
This was just the usual. I just greeted her
and continued upstairs.
"...-chan?"
I thought I heard Nana's voice behind me,
but that definitely was just my imagination. Because Nana would never talk to
me.
"I'm off."
I quickly got ready for school and walked
out the front door. I closed it without waiting for an answer. Even if I
waited, no one was going to respond back.
"Oh, t-take care..."
Such a voice didn't reach anyone.
After Manato left home to go to school,
Nana received a call on her phone. Nana looked at who it was, and saw that it
was from her mother.
"Hello, Mom? What's wrong?"
"Nana, I can't make it to Manato's
birthday party today."
Nana was surprised to be suddenly told such
a thing.
"Huh?! W-why?!"
Nana asked her mother, distraught.
"I just got a call from the company,
and it was something I couldn't skip on. That's why let's move Manato's
birthday party tomorrow."
"...I understand. Instead, let's hold
a party that would definitely surprise Onii-chan, okay?"
"Yes, of course."
Nana was worried. It was about the look on
his brother's face this morning.
She had never seen that expression on him before.
He looked like he had completely given up on something.
-------------------------------------------------------
"Good morning, Manato."
Same.
"Good morning, Sayaka."
Same. The same routine kept on repeating
itself. No change, just the same old every day.
"I'm going to get some
breakfast."
"...Manato?"
After buying breakfast, I came out the
convenience store.
"Then, let's go."
I urged Sayaka.
"Y-yeah."
Why was Sayaka coming to school with me
even though she had someone she liked?
During this past week, I was always
thinking about that.
But no matter how much I racked my brains
about the matter, I couldn't come up with an answer.
"Sayaka."
A familiar voice rang out behind me. It was
her senpai.
"Ah, Senpai."
Definitely, Sayaka liked this senpai of
hers. She was talking to him with a twinkle in her eyes. If she wanted to talk
to her senpai so badly, she didn't need to go to school with me.
"I'll go first."
"...Yeah."
"He looks somewhat grumpy."
"Yes...he's been like that since this
morning..."
Sayaka told her senpai.
"...Sayaka, aren't you forgetting
something important?"
"Something important?"
Sayaka thought about it at her senpai's
suggestion as she cupped her chin.
"...Ah!"
Then she remembered.
"It's Manato's birthday today!"
"...Sayaka, you can't forget that. You
should at least remember the birthday of the guy you like. Besides, he's your
childhood friend, right?"
That was the case, Sayaka reflected.
"Ugh, I did it now..."
Sayaka had forgotten Manato's birthday.
Because she forgot, of course she wasn't able to prepare any presents.
"Tomorrow, let's celebrate
again and give him a present."
She made up her mind. She decided to
celebrate tomorrow.
-------------------------------------------------------
I came home, opened the front door, and
entered the house.
Today was my birthday. But no one
celebrated it yet.
It might be a bit of an unpleasant idea for
them, but none of them did anything.
I thought at least my family would.
Nana was already home.
"I'm back."
"..."
Well, I already anticipated this. Somehow,
I felt exhausted.
I went upstairs, shoulder slumped.
"Welcome back."
And so, I missed her saying that in a small
voice.
I should move on to the next one.
Mom returned very late at night. Around 1AM
to be exact.
"Manato...? Why are you up at this
hour? You have to go to bed now, don't you?"
"...Mom, today's my birthday. No,
that's wrong. It was my birthday yesterday."
As I said that, my mother's expression
turned plainly awkward. Finally, the cracks in my heart weren't able to be
contained anymore.
My heart shattered like glasswork.
"Of course, I remember."
"...You're lying."
"Huh?"
"If that's true, why’d you look so
unpleasant just a while ago?"
I asked my mother that.
"That's..."
Mom couldn't answer.
"It's fine. I understand. Mom never
loved me."
"!!! Manato!"
Mom was about to say something, but I
wasn't about to listen to her. So, I turned on my heels and went back upstairs.
I didn't have any expectations any more. I
was someone who was unwanted. I had come to realize that.
I was already tired.
btw you might wanna change 1pm to 1am.
ReplyDeleteotherwise oof have they really failed. i still can't really think of a reason why his family would treat him like that but I suppose that is going to be revealed later on in the story. (well i hope so)
Thanks for pointing it out, corrected it now! ψ(._. )>
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