“You seriously live here?” Shinsuke asked in disbelief. He stepped through the front gate and into the well-tended garden. Pond, little bridge, the works.

“Have you seen my sister? Living in a house like this should be the first thing you think of.”

“I’ve seen your sister, but I’ve seen you too.”

“Get in before I change my mind,” I pulled open the door and beckoned him inside. He took off his shoes and stepped into the hallway. He was still wearing his school uniform. He must have ran away from home before he could get changed. My mother wouldn’t like that. Not one bit.

“Are you sure your parents are okay with me staying here for the night?”

“I keep telling you not to worry. They’d give you a kidney if you asked nicely enough. It’s a spare room. It’s no skin off their back.”

“…They’re not going to say hello?”

“I don’t know. Mom! Dad!” I called out. Dad peeked his head through one of the sliding doors.

“Oh, is this your friend Miyako?”

“Yeah – he can use the spare room tonight, right?”

“Of course! Mom already laid out the spare futon. It’s all yours.”

“See, nothing to worry about. Go use the bathroom,” I pushed Shinsuke down the corridor and to the bathroom door, closing it behind him so he could get… cleaned up. I stepped away from the bathroom and sat on the floor. Dad emerged from his hovel and got close enough to me so that Shinsuke couldn’t hear.

“Why is he staying with us?”

“He ran away from home.”

“Why?”

I shook my head and clenched my teeth. Dad was no idiot. He understood what I meant, or was trying to hide from him, immediately. “You can’t say it?”

“I don’t want to. He doesn’t want anyone to know.”

“You can’t keep this a secret Miyako. He’s in danger.”

“I know. Let me talk to him again before you come busting through and causing trouble.”

Dad left it at that and retreated back into his studio. Shinsuke emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later. He’d rinsed himself off in the sink. I escorted him through to the front room that looked out over the garden. I sat down on the raised wooden decking that ran around the outside of the house.

I looked down into the pond. Dad’s favourite koi was swimming around in the moonlight. Shinsuke took a moment to collect himself, “It’s not fair. Why don’t… why can’t my parents love me like yours?”

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“I think they love you, and they think they love you. But some people are just destructive and selfish. They hurt people around them and never realize why. They think that’s normal. They don’t think twice about it.”

He sat down next to me, “Yeah. They always act like it’s the best thing for me. Even when…”

I cut him off, “Or I could just be talking a load of shit. I don’t know your parents. Life’s unfair though – we all get dealt a different hand. And we can only do what we can do to try and change things to be the way we want.”

But it was a big fat lie, wasn’t it? There was a God looking over my shoulder right now. Who could snap his fingers and stop all this madness. If his words were true though, Shinsuke would need to accept it on his own terms. He’d need to believe or be vouched for by someone who believed. With all the suffering in the world why couldn’t one God put an end to it?

While I was stood there looking into the pond, Shinsuke’s haggard face staring back at me I realized the reason why. Some people wanted others to be miserable. I only lived in Reina’s house because she and her family allowed me to. On the flipside, Shinsuke couldn’t leave his own because his family wouldn’t allow it. or because in some way he felt like it was what he deserved. He didn't earn anything better.

All the wars in the world couldn’t be ended by a God. All of the malice in the world couldn’t be washed away so easily. When both sides think they’re right, they won’t back down. Humans made their own misery and shared it with other people freely. Would my grandmother be happy for me? Was she happy for me?

“Shinsuke. I’m not going to pretend that I know your situation. But you need to say something.”

“I know.”

“Because I don’t want to see this get any worse. If they go too far…”

“I don’t have anybody waiting to take me in Miyako. I can’t just ditch my family.”

“Shinsuke. There’s no way that staying in that house is better than the alternative.”

“It might be. Do you know how messed up the whole system is? I’d probably end up with someone even worse. Or left to fend for myself.”

“I can’t say that everyone else will keep quiet too. My Dad figured it out on the spot, you don’t just ask for a spare room suddenly like that. I don’t know if he shares your opinion on it. He might go to the police on his own. Don’t you want to do it on your own terms? What if Johnny finds out? That guy can’t keep a secret to save his life.”

Shinsuke hid his face between his hands, “I don’t like this. I don't want to choose.”

“You’re only going to find people encouraging you to tell someone,” I stood back up. The setting sun made the garden look even more beautiful than usual, “But I know that it isn’t helpful. Just remember though - if you need a room, I’m sure that Mom and Dad will let you crash with us.”

“Thanks. Really. I know I don't talk much, but I'm really thankful to all of you for being here.”

“You hungry?”

He nodded and stretched out, “I feel like shit.”

He looked like shit. I’d only caught a glimpse of the aggressive purple splotches and yellow after marks that had been left. It sickened me to my stomach. I needed to deal with it somehow. My own disgust was nothing compared to the pain that he must have been feeling. I needed to remind myself of that. He was the victim here, not me. I needed to only do things he was comfortable with. Like, for example, offering him a place to go when his own home gets too heated. I led him through to the dining room where my Mother was cleaning.

“Mom, can you make something for Shinsuke? I don’t think he’s eaten yet.”

“Oh! We can’t have that. I’ll make something quick for you. Just wait a minute.”

“Thank you,” Shinsuke bowed his head slightly. We sat across from each other while she trotted away to the kitchen to work her magic.

He moved back onto a lighter subject, “I can’t get over your house, this place is crazy.”

“I know. A lot different to the new houses they build around here.”

“How old do you think it is?”

“I don’t know. Few hundred years?”

“I would say that I’d love a house like this, but I’d probably get sick of it after a few weeks.”

“The walls are very thin; you should hear my Dad when he gets frustrated.” My ears pricked up as a masculine voice cried out in anguish, “See, exactly like that.”