A hand reached over the desk, touched my head, and lifted my head as she said, "You don't need to listen to what those people say. Why are you silent?"
I replied, "Why do you care?" and bowed my head.
Suddenly, Ai asked me, "Why didn't you eat lunch?"
When I answered, "I don't have anything to make for you," her hand grabbed mine, and she led me up to the roof, took out a lunch box, and gave it to us both.
She put the food inside the lid of the lunch box and gave it to me.
Isamu (flatly):
"You didn't have to do that."
Akemi (quiet):
"Yeah, I did."
Isamu (without looking at her):
"They'll just come after me again. Maybe worse now. You made it worse."
Akemi (turning to him):
"And you were just going to let them keep walking all over you? Say nothing? Do nothing? That's not living, Isamu. That's surviving."
Isamu (tight-lipped):
"It's easier."
Akemi (a little sharper):
"No, it's familiar. That's not the same thing."
[A beat. Wind picks up. Isamu says nothing. Akemi watches him, then softens.]
Akemi:
"You're not weak, you know. If you were, you wouldn't still be here."
Isamu (bitter laugh):
"You don't know anything about me."
Akemi (gently):
"Maybe not. But I've been you. Maybe not exactly—but close enough."
[That quiets him. He finally glances at her.]
Akemi (looking straight ahead):
"Back in Hokkaido... they used to call me a freak. Rumors, lies—didn't matter if they were true. It just mattered that people believed them. I stopped talking to people. Stopped trusting anyone."
Isamu (barely audible):
"Did it stop?"
Akemi (shrugs):
"No. I left. But I brought the scars with me."
[Silence again. This time, it's softer.]
Akemi (turns to him):
"But I'm tired of running. And I'm not going to stand by while it happens to someone else."
[She takes a step closer.]
Akemi:
"So if they come at you again... they'll have to go through me first. I mean it."
Isamu (quiet, almost broken):
"Why... why are you doing this?"
Akemi (small smile):
"Because I see you. And I think… maybe you need someone to remind you that you still exist."
The wind blows again. He looks down, then finally meets her eyes. It's not a thank you. Not yet. But it's a crack in the wall.
Why was she being so nice to me? Was she looking for something from me?
After that conversation, everything was quiet. I still wonder what those pale pink eyes were looking for. As we ate, she was thinking in silence. When she looked at me, she seemed to be checking if I was eating properly. And the food she gave me was delicious. The chicken was perfectly cooked and the vegetables were amazing. It felt like home cooking, like when my mother was alive.
It had been a long time since I had home-cooked food. Whenever I eat cheap store-bought food or school lunches, it always ends up stale. I think i want this type of lunch every da,y but i can't ask her
She did soo much to me and i cant do anything. Thinking about the food is she made these items, if it is yes then she is totally a wifey material.
Both of us sit side by side against the wall. The breeze is soft now. Akemi's empty bento box is in her lap, Isamu's on the ground beside him, completely clean. They've just finished eating in silence.
Isamu (softly):
"...That was really good."
Akemi (casual, brushing crumbs off her skirt):
"Of course it was. I don't make crap."
Isamu (glancing at her):
"I didn't say you did. I just... haven't had something like that in a while."
[She doesn't respond at first. She stares out at the sky, thoughtful. Then—quietly but with conviction:]
Akemi:
"I'll make your lunch from now on."
Isamu (blinks):
"...What?"
Akemi (firmly, still looking forward):
"Every day. I'll bring you lunch."
Isamu (confused):
"Why would you—?"
Akemi (cuts him off, turning to him slightly):
"Because watching you eat that prepackaged convenience store junk makes me irritated. And because you don't complain. You just... eat. Like you're used to not being noticed."
[She exhales. There's a pause. Then she looks directly at him.]
Akemi:
"You don't have to ask. You don't even have to say thank you. Just eat what I give you."
[Isamu watches her, unsure what to say. No one's ever offered him something like this—no strings, no pity, just... presence.]
Isamu (quiet):
"...You're weird."
Akemi (shrugs):
"So are you."
[A beat.]
Isamu (smiles a little):
"...Okay. I'll eat it."
Akemi (leaning back with a satisfied huff):
"Good. You better. Or I'll force-feed you."
I chuckle under my breath, and for the first time, the rooftop doesn't feel so cold. The space between us feels less like a wall and more like a beginning