"H-Hey, D-Dad," Shizuo replied slowly. "What do you want, Shizuo? I don't have all day," he said, with an annoyed tone.
Shizuo could feel a lump forming in his throat. "So, he hasn't changed huh…" Shizuo immediately composed himself.
"EHEM… so I can't contact mom right now… her phone is still here, and she left me a note saying she's never coming back… do you know anything about this, dad?" his voice shaky, like he was on the verge of tears.
His dad let out a heavy sigh. "Look Shizuo… me and her talked about this for a very long time…" It sounded like all the arrogance left his body. "She told me she wasn't happy a while back… and look son… quite frankly… I think that is the last you will ever hear from her—"
He was cut off by Shizuo "But dad—," his father interjected "SHIZUO, you listen to me now… she is gone… and you have to deal with it… OK?"
Shizuo didn't try to speak anymore. "Son… look on the bright side… now you can move out of that small apartment and live by yourself… doesn't that sound good?"
Shizuo opened his mouth to scream, but his voice wouldn't obey him. "Yeah," replied with a low voice, gripping his cellphone. "Alright then… let me know when you have thought about my off… good bye then." Before he could say more, the line had been cut. The call was over.
Shizuo threw his phone on the center table and sat back on the sofa, as if he wanted to sink deeper and disappeared. He rested his head and stared at the ceiling.
His face had gone pale with an indifferent expression plastered. He couldn't blink, and before long, tears had started rolling down his face. One word had been circulating inside his head.
"Why… why… why… why…"
He sat up straight and he couldn't help but smile while the tears flooded his face.
"Why?" he whispered.
He shot up from the sofa as he repeated that word. He walked to the kitchen counter and picked up the letter. He stared at it blankly as his tears drenched the letter.
"Why mom... why would you ever do this…" he said, with the smile still on his face.
He walked around the house aimlessly with the letter still in his hand. He looked around the house again and again but he couldn't find her; she was truly gone.
The delirious smile he once had was now wiped off. He looked at the soaked letter once again, before falling to his knees and screaming.
"WHY… WHY… WHY… MOM… ANSWER ME… ANSWER ME…"
In a fit of rage, he picked up the letter lying on the floor besides him, and tore it to shreds.
"You know what… I don't need h—," he tried to force the words out, but they wouldn't come out.
He fell on his back on the cold ceramic, his face still overflowing with tears, and called out. "SAKURA!!!"
Shizuo barely left his apartment for the next few weeks. He would spend his days sitting on the cold floor staring at the loud TV. It was his way of avoiding the ringing silence.
He would often check his fridge only to find it empty every time. He sometimes tried calling his mother's phone only to find it ringing besides him.
After days of barely eating, he went on his phone and decided to order delivery. He sighed as he scrolled through the countless options, but he had decided he couldn't care what he ate so he looked for the cheapest option on the menu, instant noodles.
Day after day, he would order a dozen, just to let the pile grow bigger. Since Shizuo had shut himself in his apartment and barely went to school, he got frequent visits from teachers doing a welfare check.
Every time there was a knock at the door he would think "…probably them again…" before completely forgetting about it. Every time a teacher came by, they would slip a note under the door, but Shizuo never looked at them, and he realized it, it had already piled up.
Because Shizuo never answered to any of the teachers, they grew tired, and before long, the welfare checks had completely stopped.
But there was a person who checked on him every day, without fail; it was Dai. Every day just before the teachers stopped by for their welfare checks, Dai would stop by, dropping off the school work at the door.
He would always say, "You owe me for this one, dude," before running off.
Even though Shizuo never replied, Dai never gave up. But one day, Dai had decided he had enough. He knocked on the door at his usual time. He was more adamant than usual.
"Hey dude, listen… I know you are there… I can hear the TV… look, I know why the teachers stopped coming by…," he paused for a second and took a deep breath.
"There have been rumors at school…" Shizuo, who was sitting behind the door, flinched. Dai continued speaking. "Look… some people think you have turned into a shut in…" Dai clenched his fist, a tear running down his face.
"I might not know the reason… but Shizuo… I won't leave until you open this door." He slowly sat down on the floor, crossing his legs.
But Shizuo sat there quietly. He stared at the ticking clock, watching time fly by. But he could still hear Dai singing to himself.
Shizuo looked around his dark apartment, only illuminated by the TV. He thought "Man… I'm hopeless. Why do I need someone to always look after me? He must think I'm pathetic."
He got up and slowly turned the key to open the door. When he finally opened the door, Dai shot up from the floor.
Shizuo tried not to look Dai in the eyes. "Just give me a couple of days and I'll be—," before he could finish, he noticed Dai's huge smile, while tears rolled down his face.
"Sure, dude… just let me know when… you can talk to me whenever." Shizuo nodded slowly.
Dai flashed him a smile before running off.
He said "You still owe me big time," as he ran down a flight of stairs, his words echoing throughout the building.