Myne

eighteen

Day two. 

There was no change. Rain was still asleep. Emi could swear there was a smile on Rain’s sleeping face. Like Rain was having a nice dream. 

“Don’t you think she’s smiling?” She asked her mother, when the latter came over a little later in the morning. 

“What do you mean, honey?” Clara asked. The question was sudden, enough to pause her on her feet. 

“Look at her. Don’t you see? Doesn’t she look like she’s smiling?” Emi asked again. 

Clara did just that. She looked. At Rain, following Emi’s eyes. Then, at Emi, while Emi looked on at Rain. And then, she smiled, very, very sadly. A tear would complete the look of melancholy. But the honestness was already at full, whether the tear or not. 

“Yes, honey,” Clara said, hugging her daughter, the one who was awake. “She is smiling. That’s good, isn’t it?” She looked away from the daughter who was asleep. They thought this time would be better, because they had been through it once before. The last time, Rain had been asleep a whole week. This time, they hoped, would be shorter. It had to be. 

Only, now she was realising, they were wrong. Their hopes were wrong. This time wasn’t going to be any easier. If anything, it was worse. And for all the same reasons, and more. 

“That’s really good,” Clara repeated. And then, she had to leave. For work. For space. For calm. 

Emi wouldn’t leave. Her eyes said as much. She silenced any suggestions otherwise with just her eyes. She stayed. All day. Everyday. She would be right here, until Rain woke up. 

*

Day three. 

Rain was still asleep. Still smiling. But there was more in the smile. Like it was hiding what was underneath. And whatever was underneath, was important. 

Emi hadn’t slept well. The sofa wasn’t nearly as comfortable as her bed. But, it didn’t have to be. Maybe that was why. It was what it was. 

“You look terrible.” 

That was the first thing everyone said seeing her. She looked terrible. Then, good morning, or good afternoon, or any other greeting. Then, whether she was sure she didn’t want to go home, for a good night’s rest. Rain wouldn’t go anywhere. Rain definitely wouldn’t complain. She answered, no. She wasn’t going home. She perfectly fine. Perfectly happy even, right here, next to her best friend. This was where she needed to be. And then, they smiled, that sad smile that was sour and sweet and bitter all at the same time. And she would just stare back at them. The best reply she could manage. 

With them gone, it was just her and Rain, again. Was it strange that it seemed right that way? 

Of course, it wasn’t really just them. 

“I’ve taken the day off,” Yuki said. “I’ll sit with you. The three of us. When was the las time we hung out, just the three of us?” 

The two awake thought long and hard, and remembered two very different times. 

“The card game,” Yuki said. “Last year. We made a championship of it.” 

“Like we were at the world’s biggest casino. And it was the finals of the world’s biggest tournament. With the largest cash prize,” Emi said. 

“Yeah. That one. You remember. Your head is absolutely fantastic for all such things.” 

“What does all such things mean?” 

“Anything that’s a thousand kilometres from academics. That’s what all such things means. You don’t agree?” 

“Nope.” Emi shook her head strongly. “I absolutely completely agree. Here’s the thing though. You’re wrong. That afternoon, of the big tournament, was in the summer. During the vacations. Rain had a summer cold. Her temperature spiked in the middle of the night. And it was only because she and I were sleeping together did we even find out quickly. And since dear old Clara and the old men couldn’t make it, couldn’t get a day off on such short notice, it was you. I remember. I also remember that time we went shopping. For Rain’s dress for the ball. The three of us went out shopping. Mom joined us later. Since we were just the three of us for the first half of the day, it can be considered just us three hanging out. And this was a month after the end of summer vacation.” 

“The ball was after the vacation,” Yuki said, her expression doubtful. “The day we went shopping, that was during the holidays. During the vacation. And it was before the card tournament.” 

Emi snorted. “Yuki, honey, think about it. Who is it that absolutely cannot do without a calendar? Who is it that’s terrible with dates, be it those marked in the public calendar or the more private? Me?” 

Yuki couldn’t answer if she was being honest. And she hated being anything but. Silence was her only choice. “I still think you’re wrong,” she insisted. 

“Sure. Please yourself.” 

It ended with Yuki suggesting they play cards. With nothing else to do, they did just that. With the joker-cheater asleep, it was a close match. Both won and lost equally. They called it a tie at the end. 

That night, Yuki stayed over as well. Arrangements had to be made. They didn’t need a bed. Anon delivered a pair of futons. One for his darling wife Yuki. One for himself. Of course, he was also delivering himself, because he was spending the night with his wife and his two daughters. What that meant for Emi was a night no different from the previous. 

Emi was on the sofa. The exact same as the last two nights. But when she looked at Rain’s sleeping face, the night felt different. Changed. Like Rain was closer. Like they were both on the bed. Just like the summer nights, pushing each other as far apart as they could so they could both steal more of the cool air from the ac, while staying on the bed. Like the winter nights, snuggling under the thick blankets, revelling in the warmth from the blanket and in their bodily warmth. 

And that night, she had a dream.