The GrandMother

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CHAPTER 18: THE GRANDMOTHER

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I walked Yuki home on Wednesday.

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She didn't want me to. She said she was fine, she knew the way, she didn't need an escort. I said I was going that way anyway. She said I was lying. I said I knew.

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She didn't argue after that.

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We walked in silence through the neighbourhood and past the park and past the station. She stopped in front of a small house on a quiet street. It had a garden and a gate and a nameplate that said NAKAMURA.

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"This is me," she said.

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"Okay."

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"You don't have to wait."

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"I'm not waiting. I'm just standing here."

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She looked at me for a moment. Then she opened the gate and walked toward the door. She stopped with her hand on the handle.

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An old woman was standing on the porch.

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She was small and thin and she had the kind of face that had been old for a long time. She looked at Yuki and did not smile.

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"Yuki," she said. "You're late."

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"I had archery practice."

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"You're always at archery practice."

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"I'm on the team."

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"The team isn't going to help you."

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Yuki didn't say anything. She just stood there with her hand on the door handle and her shoulders tight and her eyes on the ground.

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The old woman looked at me. She didn't smile. She didn't frown. She just looked at me like I was a problem that needed to be solved.

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"Who is this?"

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"A friend from school."

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"A friend."

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The old woman looked at me for a long moment. Then she turned and went inside.

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Yuki opened the door and went inside. She didn't say goodbye.

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I walked home.

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───

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I didn't understand what had happened.

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I didn't understand the look on Yuki's face. I didn't understand the way she had shrunk. I didn't understand the old woman's words.

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But I noticed.

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I noticed that Yuki never talked about her family. I noticed that she never brought anyone home. I noticed that she was always at school, always at practice, always somewhere else.

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I noticed that she never wanted to be home. 115Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEpYHwsJjwT

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