Shelter Confessions:

The van drove up the storm shelter. I shook Sappoto-san on the shoulder.

�Sit up!� I whispered. �We�re here!� Sappoto-san sat up as the rain hit the windows. She sniffled for a bit. The men helped us out of the van. My friend grabbed onto my arm. I had to grin and bear the whole walk. The men ushered us in as fast as they could. Once the glass doors closed, I got a good look around inside. Majority of the people looked like beach locals and travelers like Sappoto-san and me. My friend grabbed onto my arm. I tried to push her off.

�Let go,� I whispered. She looked up at me with me with those big eyes. I looked away, snorting. I let my eyes wander around for a place to wait for the storm. The corner near the back looked rather welcome at the moment. I nudged Sappoto-san on the arm. She looked up at me, silent.

�Come on,� I whispered. �Follow me.� I lodged onto her arm and dragged her over to the empty corner in question. I sat down when we got there. Sappoto-san stared at me blankly at first. I glanced up at her.

�Come on!� I said. �Take a seat. We�re going to be here for a while.� Sappoto-san didn�t move for a second before she sat down next to her.

�Good,� I said. Sappoto-san stayed by me, but with her back turned. Only the howling wind and pounding rain outside filled the silence between us for the next moments to come.

�Miho-chan,� Sappoto-san spoke up at last. I almost leapt back when I heard her voice.

�Yes?� I asked.

�Why did you take this journey in the first place?� she asked.

�To get away from my older sister,� I said without thinking.

�But why?�

I groaned to myself. �She�s annoying, lazy, and slutty.�

�But don�t you miss her?�

�Nope.�

�Why not?�

�I�m just happy to be far away from her whenever I can.�

�How can you say that?�

�Have lived with Umiko at all?�

Sappoto-san slowly shook her head. �No��

�Exactly!�

�But she�s still your family!�

�Yeah, that�s all she is. There is no other bond than that.� I paused when I saw her face. I forgot for a long moment that she was a woman purely devoted to family. In fact, that was her only means to exist. I thought about a way to fix so that I wouldn�t sound like a further asshole to her.

�Well, I do miss my girlfriend.�

Sappoto-san watched me closely. Saying that, just made my heart hurt. Andi� I haven�t seen her since I left after that first night. I miss the scent of her wavy red hair. I missed seeing her smile. I missed hearing her laugh. I missed feeling the warmth of her body next to mine. I missed the taste of her. All of those things made my eyes well up with my own tears.

�Miho-chan?� Sappoto-san asked. I lowered my head not to show her my face.

�Aw, come here,� she said. My dopy friend took me into her arms and held me to her chest. I finally broke down and cried.

�Shhh,� Sappoto-san whispered. �It�s okay, we�ll go home soon.� I must have looked like a sight crying in my whinier friend�s arms like a baby at the thought of my girlfriend. I bet people were even staring at us.

�We okay�� Sappoto-san said in her best attempt at English. She turned back to me a stroked my hair.

�Are you okay?� she whispered.

�No!� I wailed. I looked up at her with her own desperate trademark in my own eyes. �Let me stay like this! Please?� Sappoto-san gave me a calm, little smile.

�Alright,� she said. I put my head back to her chest and cried again. I practically cried myself to sleep right there in Sappoto-san�s arms.