Early morning, August 7th..
It was quiet. Quiet enough for the silence to actually ring uncomfortably in his ears.
He sat indian-style beneath the blanket of the kotatsu table in May's living room. There was a cardboard box in front of him, and it was huge, a lot bigger than any of the boxes he would be able to carry now. A red word was written on the side of it in Japanese, and it was taunting his inability to read it the longer he looked at it. A slight mound of multicolored fabric rose above the top edges of the box.
"H-here you g-go!" and the giant box were all he had to work with. He couldn't believe that the entire thing was filled full of clothes. May hadn't even been able to get it out of her room by herself.
He didn't know how long he had been sitting there, but his legs were most definitely asleep. ...She had to be sleeping too. He couldn't hear the soft murmur of her unintelligable voice anymore. He doubted that she had meant for him to start on the box now, but he didn't want to leave. Why not get a head start now? It would be a surprise when she woke up.
He grabbed the edge of the box with both hands and pulled until it tipped over. The tumble of clothes spilled over the top of the kotatsu in a peachy smelling rush. A pleated skirt like the one she had been wearing earlier slithered onto the floor in a puddle of light fabric.
He chose the closest piece of clothing, a white button down shirt, and searched it for..anything, really. Aside from all the crackling wrinkles from being stuffed in the box for so long, there wasn't anything even wrong with it. Unless..
"That's it?" He tugged at the collar of the shirt. The tear in the seam wasn't even two inches long, and its hem was so barely frayed, it didn't even count as a problem. Every piece of clothing he went through was the same, some with slightly worse tears, others with only a single button loose. The elaborate dress that she had packed only had severe wrinkles.
His eyes wandered to her closed bedroom door.
Why did she think there was anything wrong with these..? Was it just because she knew that there were small problems..? Did she think everyone could see them? He wouldn't have even found them if he hadn't been looking for them.
It was sweet..kind of. He started to smile as he sorted the clothes into separate piles. He always thought that she didn't care what people thought of her..didn't want them to notice her. But she wanted to look nice. Completely, without pretending. The idea that she worried about that too made him feel just slightly closer to her.
His hand paused when he felt the cool softness of a hoodie, he pulled it free to look at. It was white, a little thick, something he guessed she'd wear in early spring or fall when it was just starting to get cold. His fingers curled into the fabric, he brought it to his nose and inhaled deeply. The overpowering scent of skin rushed into him. Peaches were an afterthought.
It was like he was holding onto her all over again. A thinner, flatter, more limp, cotton version of her.. But the hoodie was soft. It had touched her body. He wished that it had held onto some of her warmth instead of sitting in a cold box.
He was dizzy from holding his breath so long. He hugged the hoodie tight to him, pressing the cotton up against his mouth and nose.
He shouldn't be doing this now. Now, when May could walk out of her room and see or Tracy could show up at any moment and hit him. She could be watching right now.
But even with all of that, he lowered the hoodie slowly to his lap, folding the sleeves in with the tips of his fingers as if they were made of delicate paper. He rested his hands on top of it, his fingers affectionately stroking the outline of its front pocket.
They all had trivial things wrong with them, it wouldn't take him more than a couple minutes for each piece..but he had the feeling he would be there for a while.
******
It was later in the morning. The sun had been up and shining for a couple hours by the time he'd let himself back into the apartment. It had the hollow, quiet feeling of emptiness. He left two large paper bags on the top of the kotatsu and just as silently hurried out of the apartment.
Inside the bags were the freshly cleaned and folded clothes he had mended. They were free of wrinkles, both bags still warm, the light smell of flowers drifting up from them.
The white hoodie had mysteriously gone missing.
It was quiet. Quiet enough for the silence to actually ring uncomfortably in his ears.
He sat indian-style beneath the blanket of the kotatsu table in May's living room. There was a cardboard box in front of him, and it was huge, a lot bigger than any of the boxes he would be able to carry now. A red word was written on the side of it in Japanese, and it was taunting his inability to read it the longer he looked at it. A slight mound of multicolored fabric rose above the top edges of the box.
"H-here you g-go!" and the giant box were all he had to work with. He couldn't believe that the entire thing was filled full of clothes. May hadn't even been able to get it out of her room by herself.
He didn't know how long he had been sitting there, but his legs were most definitely asleep. ...She had to be sleeping too. He couldn't hear the soft murmur of her unintelligable voice anymore. He doubted that she had meant for him to start on the box now, but he didn't want to leave. Why not get a head start now? It would be a surprise when she woke up.
He grabbed the edge of the box with both hands and pulled until it tipped over. The tumble of clothes spilled over the top of the kotatsu in a peachy smelling rush. A pleated skirt like the one she had been wearing earlier slithered onto the floor in a puddle of light fabric.
He chose the closest piece of clothing, a white button down shirt, and searched it for..anything, really. Aside from all the crackling wrinkles from being stuffed in the box for so long, there wasn't anything even wrong with it. Unless..
"That's it?" He tugged at the collar of the shirt. The tear in the seam wasn't even two inches long, and its hem was so barely frayed, it didn't even count as a problem. Every piece of clothing he went through was the same, some with slightly worse tears, others with only a single button loose. The elaborate dress that she had packed only had severe wrinkles.
His eyes wandered to her closed bedroom door.
Why did she think there was anything wrong with these..? Was it just because she knew that there were small problems..? Did she think everyone could see them? He wouldn't have even found them if he hadn't been looking for them.
It was sweet..kind of. He started to smile as he sorted the clothes into separate piles. He always thought that she didn't care what people thought of her..didn't want them to notice her. But she wanted to look nice. Completely, without pretending. The idea that she worried about that too made him feel just slightly closer to her.
His hand paused when he felt the cool softness of a hoodie, he pulled it free to look at. It was white, a little thick, something he guessed she'd wear in early spring or fall when it was just starting to get cold. His fingers curled into the fabric, he brought it to his nose and inhaled deeply. The overpowering scent of skin rushed into him. Peaches were an afterthought.
It was like he was holding onto her all over again. A thinner, flatter, more limp, cotton version of her.. But the hoodie was soft. It had touched her body. He wished that it had held onto some of her warmth instead of sitting in a cold box.
He was dizzy from holding his breath so long. He hugged the hoodie tight to him, pressing the cotton up against his mouth and nose.
He shouldn't be doing this now. Now, when May could walk out of her room and see or Tracy could show up at any moment and hit him. She could be watching right now.
But even with all of that, he lowered the hoodie slowly to his lap, folding the sleeves in with the tips of his fingers as if they were made of delicate paper. He rested his hands on top of it, his fingers affectionately stroking the outline of its front pocket.
They all had trivial things wrong with them, it wouldn't take him more than a couple minutes for each piece..but he had the feeling he would be there for a while.
******
It was later in the morning. The sun had been up and shining for a couple hours by the time he'd let himself back into the apartment. It had the hollow, quiet feeling of emptiness. He left two large paper bags on the top of the kotatsu and just as silently hurried out of the apartment.
Inside the bags were the freshly cleaned and folded clothes he had mended. They were free of wrinkles, both bags still warm, the light smell of flowers drifting up from them.
The white hoodie had mysteriously gone missing.