Ailing Lands:

I didn’t think he would resort to harming my family. I got the call yesterday morning. I reached over to my cell phone on the nightstand.

“Hello?” I asked in a tired voice.

“Setsuna-chan?” a man’s voice asked on the other line. I paused as I recognized who it was.

“Papa?” I asked. “Papa, what’s wrong?”

“It’s your mother,” he said. “She collapsed at work this morning.” I sat up in bed lighting fast.

“What?” I asked. “What happened? Is she okay?”

“We don’t know,” Papa said in a trembling voice. “They took her to the hospital.” I searched around in the dark for something to write down on.

“What’s the address?” I asked.

“She went to Fujisawa City Hospital,” he answered. I wrote down the address from memory.

“I know where that is,” I said. “I’ll be right there. Stay where you are!” I hung up the phone and leapt out of bed. I tried not to think about the worst as I got dressed. Maybe it’s not even that, I thought. Maybe she just collapsed from exhaustion or something. However, I wouldn’t put it past him to sink so low just for him to have me.

An hour later, I stepped in front of the hospital. I found papa and grandpa waiting for me. Their grim faces did little to ease me over.

“Tell me what happened,” I said as I raced over them. My father held me in his arms.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “I don’t really know how this happened.”

“Let’s go inside,” Grandpa said. “We can talk in the lobby.” He pushed us into the hospital.

Inside looked like it had just woken up for the day. I could barely see many people around. The cafeteria section had just opened up. Come to think of it, I didn’t think about grabbing breakfast before I came here. I looked over at my father and grandfather.

“Hey, I’m going to go get something to eat, would you like anything?” I offered them.

“Coffee,” Papa said in a low voice. “Make it black.”

“I’m fine,” Grandpa responded.

“Okay,” I said. I rose to my feet and walked over to the cafeteria. As I stood in line, my head began to spin. So much keeps happening to me. I already lost my fiancé and one of my friends. I don’t want to lose my mother too. I shook my head.

If this is Kaoru’s doing, I have to stop him! I selected miso, rice, and a bottle of juice for my breakfast while I got Papa his coffee. After I paid for everything, I made my way back over to my family.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” I said as I handed my father his coffee.

“Thank you,” he said as he bowed his head. I took my seat next to him. I took a bite of my rice. I glanced over at my father.

“So tell me what happened,” I said. Papa took a sip of his coffee.

“Your mother got a call as she as she got home from the gym,” he began. “She told me it was a customer who wanted to deal with some rare paintings in his collection.” I leaned in with my eyes narrowed at him.

“Did she say who the client’s name was?” I asked. He shook his head over his cup.

“She wouldn’t say,” he replied. “That call didn’t last long before she rushed out the door.” My father stared down into his coffee. I could tell that this was hurting him to relive the moments before it came to this.

“Take your time it you need to,” I whispered. My father nodded as the steam fogged his glasses.

“I hadn’t even gotten downstairs when I heard a thud at the front door,” he picked up with. “I raced down the stairs and found your mother lying cold in the pathway.” I put the story together in my head. It could be Kaoru’s doing, but I’m not sure. I’ll have to wait and see what the doctor says. No sooner had I thought that, one of them came in to talk to us.

“Is the Hirata family here?” he asked. I stood up at his question.

“That’s us,” I said. “Is my mother going to be okay?”