The delectable aroma of grilled fish bounced around in the kitchen. The morning light somberly danced its way through the windows. It’s early in the morning and I couldn’t sleep much last night. I could feel the bags in my eyes pull me down but I’m not sleepy. No, this sensation is something more…taxing.

“Morning, Onee-san.”

The first to awake from her slumber is Hana-san. As she entered the kitchen, she greeted me, eyes still closed, with an over-exaggerated yawn. The poor thing.

“Morning, Hana-san.”

“W-Why are you…up so early?’

“Ah…I just figured I make breakfast for everyone.”

I’m in the mood for what I want, and I’ll make sure everyone else has it too! ...was what I wanted to say. But…well, to be honest that wasn’t the entire reason why I’m up so early…The thoughts of yesterday flowed violently through my head. My mind won’t be at ease unless I face a certain problem.

“Morning!”

“Eh?!”

Next in, my mom. She gave me a brief hug from the back.

“Thanks for making breakfast, Madoka!”

“Eh…it’s nothing.”

That was a scare…but thankfully it wasn’t…the problem in question. Mom sat down at the table and began humming to herself. It’s a bit calming seeing her in such a good mood.

“Ah! Hey Mom, are you coming to my school today?”

“Oh, yes, that’s right. I’ll be there, Hana!”

Now with their breakfast in hand, I twirl around and set them in front of my diners.

“Hm? You’re going to Hana-san’s school, mom? Why?”

Mom grins at Hana and pets her head like a cat.

“Yep, today is a parent’s day and Hana has been excited to show me her homeroom.

Abruptly, Hana sprang from her chair.

“I-I have not been excited!”

No matter how you look at it, my mom seems to have been a good mom for Hana-san. If she learned anything from anyone, I hope it’s all good things from Mom. She’s always been a hard worker and one of the most knowledgeable women I know. She taught me how to do my hair, make-up, everything a girl my age would want...I do look up to her.

“Oh, Madoka! Did you and Mari have fun watching your drama yesterday?”

“Huh? How did you know we were watching a drama?”

Mom took a bite of her breakfast then flashed me a wide smile.

“Oh, Mari said she was planning to watch it with you before I left. Was I wrong?”

“She did…did she?”

I looked away without answering her. Did that mean that Mari had this weekend…planned out? So, her baiting me to watching that show wasn’t out of nowhere?

Now growing anxious, I turned back to the food and continued cooking. It’s one thing if it just happened but chance…it’s a whole other when it was planned…meticulously. Why would Koda-san go through all that trouble…

“Onee-san.”

“Huh?”

“Were you spacing out?”

I rubbed my neck, slightly embarrassed I was caught in the act.

“S-Sorry.”

“Good morning everyone.”

A dagger stabbed into my stomach. That voice caused my face to feel warm. Hana-san was here…mom was here…that only left her.

“M-Morning.”

I tried to keep it firm, brief even, but I couldn’t turn to her.

“Oh, you made us breakfast?!”

Koda-san galloped across the kitchen. Her energy spike in the morning is too much for someone like me.

“Thanks, Madoka-san.”

“S-Sure…Koda-san.”

My voice lowered as my eyes tried their best to steal a glance at her. They stopped, revealing a solemn expression…Our eyes met briefly until she turned away and sat at the table without another word. For some reason…I felt like I did something wrong…

“So…what’s on the news today?”

She announced to her newspaper. I half-heartily expected it to respond but all I got in return was a rustle of papers. I noticed that Koda-san would always grab the paper from the same spot every morning. It was her routine. Even in the evening she would take any mail she received and open them and set them there. She has a way about her that I’m more in tune with now.

I sighed unconsciously. Lately, she’s been aggressively closing her distance on me. And it hasn’t made me feel any less uncomfortable. But then again…it might be rude of me by this point to call her Koda-san. But…I never gave her the okay to even call me by my given name.

Out of everyone here right now…Koda-san is the most like a stranger. She’s not like Hana-san who I’m near in age with. She’s not my mom who I’ve known my entire life. No…she’s a woman who stepped into my life and actively pursued me from the moment I woke up. She is a stranger in every sense of the word…So, why do I feel at ease when she does call me…Madoka-san?

I glance back to see her gliding her eyes across the paper. Something about her…

“Oh, that’s right. You have a parent’s day at your school today, don’t you Hana?”

Koda-san perked up, gazing at the flower picking at her food.

“Yep!”

“Am I the one who’s going?”

“Nope, not this time! I want mom to go!”

Koda-san shrugged.

“Well, that can’t be helped. But why Ayumi?”

“Because you’ve seen the school before! I want mom to see it!”

Now ready, I set the fox’s food down.

“Thanks, Madoka-san.”

I don’t know how close we were before my accident, but I plan to figure that out. If I don’t find out how we were before my coma then I won’t ever understand the enigma known as Koda Mari-san. Her “teasing” went a bit too far yesterday and I’m finding it hard to even look her in the eyes.

“Is there any more toast?”

I turn the heat down on the stove as I contemplate what’s swirling around in my chest. The smell of the food doesn’t even reach my nose anymore…

“Madoka…”

“Huh?!”

“Mari was wondering if you’ve made any more toast?”

“O-oh, yes I did.”

I meet them at the table and sit down, passing over the plate of golden-brown toast. Koda-san smiles and takes a few pieces before returning to her paper.

“Did you get enough sleep today, Onee-san?”

“Y-yeah! Sorry, I’ve just been thinking about...school.”

I’ll have to find the perfect time to talk with her. She’ll be going to work, and I’ll be heading to school. Once Hana-san and I get home both her and mom won’t be back for a few hours…No, wait…Mom is going to Hana’s parent’s day today. That means Hana and mom will be going home at the same time most likely.

But even so…Koda-san doesn’t get home until much later. Finding the time to have a one on one conversation without earning the attention of Hana-san and mom is quite difficult. It makes me…irritated that I wasted all yesterday avoiding her. No, hindsight is twenty-twenty.

I rubbed my forehead as a slight headache emerges in it. I look around to find everyone enjoying their meals…while Hana-san continues to poke at it.

“Hana, your Onee-san made that for you so, please finish it all.”

“Argg…”

“Mom, it’s okay. We all know Hana-san has a small appetite.”

Mom glared at me; fire lit in her eyes causing me to back down.

“Quiet Madoka! Now Hana, if you don’t finish your breakfast then I might not show up for your parent’s day…”

“B-But mom! You can’t do that!”

Hana shouted in protest. She then turned to Koda-san still buried in her paper.

“M-Mom! Tell Mom that isn’t right!”

“Listen to your mother, Hana.”

Like a lazy father, Koda-san effortlessly shifted responsibility back to mom. She plays the part well if anything.

“Madoka, are you ready?”

“Yes, mom.”

With breakfast over now, I exited my room and make my way down the steps, now geared with my school attire. All three of them wait at the front door. This has been a regular scene now that I thought about it. It’s become…more like everyday life. As we leave the home Hana spun around, back towards my mom.

“Be there, Mom!”

The flower warned, pointing her finger to mom’s nose.

“You finished most of your breakfast so, I guess we have a deal, Hana.”

Koda-san sighed and lifted her briefcase over her shoulder.

“Ah, Ayumi, are you going to take the car to Hana’s school then?”

“I was planning to unless you’d rather I walk?”

Koda-san scratched her nose.

“Well, the station can pretty much drop you off at her school. I was thinking of running some errands after work today before going home.”

Mom adjusted Koda-san’s hair as if better looking her in the eye.

“Oh, that’s just fine then.”

“Are you sure it won’t be an inconvenience for you, Ayumi?”

“Not at all. I know you’ve been busy outside of work too.”

“You spoil me…”

“I know.”

Mom and Koda-san speak as if they’re reading each other’s minds. It reminded me that a lot can happen within a year, let alone two.

If anything is true, they’ve grown close. They certainly…are a family.

But with Mom walking home with me and Hana-san this afternoon, I likely won’t find the chance to talk with Koda-san.

“Madoka-chan, are you ready to go?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, let’s go.”

“Are you sure you’ve got enough sleep last night, Onee-san?”

As we passed the park, Hana-san rushed to my side like a puppy. If she had ears, they’d be drooping right about now.

“You’ve been spacing out a lot. Are you sick?”

“Oh, no. It’s nothing like that!”

“Then what is it?”

Her small hand entwined with mine. Ever since we had our bath together Hana-san would walk to school with while holding my hand. She could pass as a grade-schooler so I don’t mind it one bit.

“Hm…Hana-san can I ask you a question?”

Hana-san slowed down and met my pace.

“Sure, what is it?”

“You said your mom talked about me a lot. Do you know when she and I first met?”

“First met?”

Hana put her finger to her mouth and looked to the ground.

“Nnnn…. Nope, I don’t know when you both met. She introduced me to you a few days after the incident.”

“That’s right…?”

“As I said before, I knew a lot about you but never spoke to you.”

Hana-san lifted her bag and gave me an over-enthusiastic nod.

“What kind of things did Koda-san talk about?”

“A bunch of stuff. Like how you were working towards a sports scholarship to make your mom’s life easier. Well, that was the biggest one I recalled.”

“What do you mean?”

“Everything else was pretty much that you were a hard worker and nice. Oh, and that you blurted out things from the top of your head every now and then. That’s so true.”

I brushed my head. I’ve always had this bad habit. Never did I ever break it either. That’s a tad disheartening.

Hana-san then stopped and turned to me.

“Did mom say something to you?”

“Huh?”

“It’s obvious that something happened between you while I was at my friend’s house yesterday…”

Hana-san put her head down then turned to the side.

“And…I don’t want you fighting with my mom…Onee-san.”

It seemed that Hana-san’s been worrying about this also. How I wouldn’t have known unless I brought up this subject.

“No…we didn’t have a fight. I’m just…curious about her I guess.”

“Hmm…”

“So, is that all Koda-san talked about?”

“Yeah, mom would go round and round about that for the most part. Almost like a broken record. It bewildered me why she spoke about you so often. Which is why I was so curious about you.”

“I see…”

“But now I see you as just a regular girl. No… you’re my Onee-san. A special regular girl.”

I could feel the blood rise to my face. Hana-san can clearly convey her feelings, something I yearn to be able to do one day. Now thinking about it…Her mom speaking about me must have put me on a pedestal. But when she met me Hana-chan must have concluded that I was no one special.

“One more thing…”

“Hm?”

“Do you know if Koda-san and I were…friends?”

Hana-san stopped and gazed up to the clear autumn sky.

“Friends? I’m not sure, Madoka-san. It sounded to me like you were just a daughter of a friend if that makes sense. Did mom say something about you being friends?”

“O-Oh no, nothing like that.”

“Hm…My mom and your mom started dating a few weeks later…after your coma. That’s when Mom started bringing me to the hospital occasionally.”

“I see.”

So, if I put the timeline together from our conversation…

Mom and Koda-san knew each other when she started working at the editorial company. There must have been a time during her working there that I met Koda-san. A bit down the line I fell into a coma and Koda-san frequently visited me, most likely with my mom.

Then they became a couple and Koda-san eventually filtered Hana-san into seeing me. If that’s the truth, then it seems my coma might have been the thing that brought Mom and Koda-san together? But one thing doesn’t add up…who talks about someone else’s child like that? Maybe I had a kind of relationship with Koda-san that she would tease me like this?

“Honestly, it sounds like a bunch of these questions you should be asking mom.”

“Eh?”

“What, are you embarrassed?”

I couldn’t tell but I think Hana-san was teasing me. Annoyed, I pulled her cheeks.

“Ouch! I’m sorry, Onee-san!”

She rubbed her face then perked up.

“Oh, c’mon, the trains here! We’re going to miss it if we don’t run!”

Hana-chan took my hand as we raced on. I must have looked like a fish out of the water, my thoughts still spinning in my head. Well, at least I have more information. Maybe I could take the time when mom comes to ask her about Koda-san then? Since Hana-chan already knows I’m a bit curious I don’t think it’ll be too embarrassing…