The House

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I walked Hana home on a Friday.

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She had forgotten something at school — a notebook, or a textbook, or something she said was important — and I offered to walk with her. She said no. 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 shopping street and past the bakery and past the park. She stopped in front of a house. It was a small house, well-kept, with a garden and a gate and a nameplate that said MIZUKI.

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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 to the door. She stopped with her hand on the handle.

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"You can come in," she said. "If you want."

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I didn't want to. I didn't want to be inside anyone's house. I didn't want to see anyone's life. But she had asked. And I had nothing else to do.

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I followed her in.

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───

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The house was immaculate.

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Everything was in its place. The shoes were lined up perfectly. The floor was polished. The walls were bare. There were no photos. No decorations. No signs of life.

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It looked like a house in a magazine. A house where no one actually lived.

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Hana's mother was in the kitchen. She was tall and thin and she had the same smile Hana used in class. The performed one. The one that required effort.

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"Hana," she said. "You're home early."

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"I forgot something."

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"You brought a friend."

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"He walked me home."

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Her mother 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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"Hello," I said.

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"Hello."

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She turned back to the kitchen. She didn't offer me tea. She didn't ask my name. She just went back to whatever she was doing.

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Hana's smile flickered. Just for a moment. Then it was back.

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"I'll get my notebook," she said. "Wait here."

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She disappeared upstairs. I stood in the hallway and looked at the walls. No photos. No decorations. No signs of life.

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The kitchen was silent. Hana's mother didn't speak. She just cooked.

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Hana came back down a minute later with a notebook in her hands.

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"Ready," she said.

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I nodded. We left.

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We didn't talk on the way back to the station. We didn't talk on the train. We didn't talk when I got off at my stop.

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But I noticed.

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I noticed the bare walls. I noticed the silence. I noticed the way Hana's smile had flickered when her mother looked at her.

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I noticed everything. 125Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo3FmTXQx6L

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