Prologue
The alarm clocked rang and, soon after, it was turned off. It was 5:00 in the morning, the usual time for Aoyama Ken to start his day. He got up from bed then stretched his arms and legs for a while. Early mornings such as this was the only time the orphanage was quite. Ken walked through the silent halls of the house, yawning as he went downstairs to the kitchen.
It was his duty to prepare breakfast for 13 people every day. For a while, only the sounds of him cooking can be heard. But as he got closer to finishing up cooking, he started hearing the noises the children made as they also start their day and made their way to the dining hall.
“G’morning, Ken-nii-chan!”
“Morning!”
Morning greetings were exchanged. It was a familiar morning scene for them on a school day. Everyone sat down on their usual chair and ate their breakfast heartily. After receiving some well-deserved praises regarding the food he made, Ken felt the warmth of their affection.
(Although it takes some effort, this is not a bad way to start your day.)
After the children were finished, Ken ate his share of the food, then, he cleared the plates off the table. As he made his way to his room, he was called by the head master of the orphanage.
“Ken! Come to my office before you leave for school.”
“Okay!”
(I wonder what it’s about.)
Ken had some idea. He continued to his room and changed to his school uniform. Then, he entered the head master’s office as instructed. Their eyes met for a moment, then, he was told to take a seat.
Aoyama Jun was a man in his late sixties. He was the sole operating staff of the orphanage aside from a woman from the neighborhood who helped in the afternoon. That is why Ken had to help out as much as he could.
“What is it, old man? I’m gonna be late for school!”
“Let’s just talk for a minute. This is your last year in high school. Any thoughts on what you’re going to do after?”
“Oh… Um… I think I want to work full-time and have my own place. I’ve been saving for a while now. I’m more than prepared already.”
“I don’t doubt it. You’ve always been diligent around the orphanage. I’m sure you can take care of yourself. But, how about college? Have you thought about it?”
“I’m not thinking of going to college. I can get a decent salary as I am right now, the foreman said so.”
“If you’re worried about the expense, you know I can help you a bit, right? I mean, you are my son after all.”
“I know… But that money is better saved for the orphanage. I don’t have an interest that I want to study anyway. But, can we talk about this later? I going to be late again.”
“Well, okay. But, think about what I said. We’re talking about your future here.”
Ken didn’t know what to say and the head master was looking at him with a complicated expression. He then hurriedly walked out of the room and head for school. Seeing Ken like that, the head master couldn’t help but be reminded of the time that has passed since he first met Ken.
***
It was already dark when he heard a knocked on the door. Jun, the head master, has been expecting them for a while, but, they were considerably late. When he opened the door, there were a man and a woman in their early thirties. They were the people from the social services he had been waiting for. Beside the man, seemingly being dragged by the hand, was a small boy around three years old.
“Sorry for the wait, Aoyama-san. This kid gave us a lot of trouble earlier. It took us the whole afternoon just trying to catch him. As you can see, he’s a feisty one.”
“Ha ha ha! I see! What a troublesome kid we have here.”
He leaned down to talk on the kid’s level.
“And what is your name, little troublemaker?”
“I don’t have to tell my name to a geezer like you!”
“Ho? Is that so? Then what should we tell the other kids to call you? Should we go with ‘Little Troublemaker, after all? It suits you well, I think.”
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“I’m not little! Ken. My name is Yoshinaga Ken!”
“Ken-chan, huh? It’s a cuter name than I expected.”
Despite his protest to the word ‘cute’. The young Ken blushes a little. They were invited in the house and led to the common room where a number of other kids were playing. Jun spoke.
“Everyone, come and greet Ken-chan. He’s going to be living here with us from now on. Get along with each other, okay?”
“Okay!”, said the children in chorus.
Jun and the social services people went into his office to tend to their business leaving Ken surrounded with the other children he didn’t know. The older of the kids approached him first.
“It’s nice to meet you, Ken-chan! My name is Aya. 5 years old”
“Ken. 3 years old. Nice to meet you.”
He was then surrounded by the other children as they all introduce themselves to Ken. After concluding their talk with the head master of the orphanage, the people from social services said their goodbyes to Ken.
And, that’s how Jun first met Ken. His impression was, even though he’s going through a hard time after losing his parents, Ken was a remarkably energetic kid. But still, there were days when he saw Ken alone and his loneliness can be seen on his face. When with the others, he was cheerful, or, when with him, he was defiant. Thinking back, he regretted that he could not help Ken to be more open with others.
Ken got along great with the other kids, especially with the older Aya. They all liked Ken and they could always rely on him. When a children from the orphanage was being bullied in school, Ken is always the first to come to their rescue. He was always in trouble in school and the head master was always called in to talk with his teachers. But instead of being harsher on Ken, the head master always just let it slide. He trusted Ken wouldn’t start a fight without a reason. And the reality was, children from the orphanage was always a target for bullying in school. He was relieved, in a way, that the children have a protector in places he couldn’t go himself.
Although, the sheer amount of troubles that Ken got into had an unexpected consequence. To prospective foster parents, he was seen as a violent, troublemaker child. And, the years went by as Ken remained un-adopted. One by one, he watched his friends leave with a family of their own. It was hard to watch even for a kid. And after ten years of being in the orphanage, he was formally adopted by the head master.
Ever since then, Ken has started really helping with the chores. He stopped being the cheerful child that he had been and he turned himself to be a responsible adult. Even understanding his circumstances, he couldn’t help but feel left out. He felt that he was being a burden to the orphanage and to the old man. He was in an uncomfortable situation. After some time, keeping in touch with his childhood friends had been bothersome for him.
***
On the way to school, Ken had a lot in his mind.
(I’m indebted to the old man. I know it. But, that’s exactly why I can’t be hanging out in the orphanage longer than necessary. Even I’m concerned about my future. But, I can’t always be depending on the old man like this. That is why I have to be independent. I can worry about college later.)
“Ken-chan, is that you? Ken-chan!”
He turned to the direction where his name was being called. From across the street, he saw Aya, his childhood friend from the orphanage who was 2 years older than him. Aya was adopted when she was only 10 years of age. They hadn’t seen each other since, but, they recognized each other despite the fact. For a while, they maintain communication through emails and phone calls.
Suddenly being called by a beautiful woman, Ken didn’t know what to say. Aya was wearing a simple white shirt and a blue skirt that extend just above the knees. She was carrying a shoulder bag on the right, and, her hair was flowing gracefully over her left shoulder. She had an adult charm that Ken had rarely seen before. Her face was brimming with a smile as she waved happily towards Ken, not caring as the people around them watched the spectacle.
But when she began to cross the street, the smile on Ken’s face became frozen. A truck was coming down from the top of the slope and she was on the on its path.
“Watch out!”
He shouted as loud as he could. As the truck sounded its horn, Aya was frozen from the sudden realization of her situation. The front tire skids, unable to gradually slow down the truck to stop its momentum. Ken moved quickly as he jumped oven the pedestrian guard rail and ran to the unmoving Aya. With all his strength, he pushed her off the road. As she fell out of balance on the side walk, she met eyes with Ken before he was hit by the vehicle.