Haruka Tokugawa
549 Words
Suddenly, Sakura enters and says, "Oh, so you're thinking about who she is. My sister is interested in
reading history, so this is her favorite historical figure, the samurai queen. I don't know much about her, but
my sister told me that people used to call her *い* Tsuyoi hikari."
"*い* Tsuyoi hikari, hmm," Akira muses, "You mean 'strong light.' It seems that she was strong. 'Light'
may refer to her good behavior or her bright leadership."
"You are generous, Akira. Don't think too much about it. She has just passed," Sakura says reassuringly.
Akira ponders deeply, "I feel like we're stuck in a loop, unable to make any real impact. Every day feels the
same, every job repetitive. It's as if we're just waiting to fade away. What legacy will we leave behind?
Even those who do wrong leave a mark. Some end their lives prematurely, perhaps because they never
discovered their true potential. Others toil away, only to vanish into obscurity. Why do some shine while
others fade into insignificance? Why? And where do I fit in this spectrum of purposelessness?"
"Sakura says," may you have also not known how much potential and legacy you are going to leave by
changing your future. Well, I think you are thinking too deeply. Let's watch a movie together. Come on,
don't dive so deep because everyone has something that you don't know. Think of it—they are all hiding
something from you. The fact is, people make their lives useless themselves, not God. God gave us a chance
to see what we can do... Now, stop thinking. Let's watch a movie until the cake is ready.
(03-1-1990)
Akira stands by the window of her room when Sakura calls out to her. Sakura rushes towards
Akira's house door, but Akira's brother, Tokugawa Haruka, opens it. Sakura pushes past him and runs
upstairs to Akira's room, shouting, "So, why didn't you attend college today? You know I was so bored!"
"I wasn't feeling well today," Akira responds.
Sakura retorts, "So you're again thinking about Kaito's boring fake-real concepts. You are a crackhead!"
"Shut up, Sakura! I'm not in the mood to joke right now. I saw... I saw that I was killing people in old
dresses, and I didn't even know them. But after I cut someone's head... I don't want to tell you who he was,"
Akira confesses sadly.
"Who?" Sakura asks.
"He was Haruka... No, I can't bear to think that. My brother, how!" Sakura comforts Akira, saying, "Akira,
it was just a dream. I argue with my sister in almost every dream I have."
"You wouldn't understand how it feels. Why would God show me a dream like that?" Akira questions.
"It might be Satan's doing, Akira. Your mindset, Satan. Come on, you're thinking too much. Let's go to the
library. Seeing you like this worries me. You're alright. So come on," Sakura says, heading back from
Akira's room's door, pushing past Haruka who was coming to Akira's room.
Haruka enters Akira's room in anger. "Can you not tell your friend not to push others? Alright, leave it,
Akira, I want to ask you something."
"What do you want to ask me all of a sudden after so many years?" Akira questions.
- Writer
