Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume27 Chapter7 3

The Door That Opened. Part 3

The 300 yen per person lunch they had was surprisingly tasty.

Upon arriving at Touko-chan's grandfather's hospital, the first place she took Yumi was the cafeteria, so that they could fortify themselves with a meal.

It wasn't a restaurant as such, but if you made a reservation in advance you could get lunch for 300 yen or dinner for 500 yen. At any rate, there weren't any other shops nearby, so without it there would be nowhere for attendants or visitors to eat. Incidentally, today's lunch menu was a rice omelet, salad and a consomme soup.

"Ohh, Touko!"

While they were eating, a scruffy looking old man entered the cafeteria, walked over to Touko-chan and hugged her tightly.

"I heard you were coming, but I had to do my rounds. You're looking well. Why did you run away from home and cause mama and papa so much heartache? You little scoundrel."

He pinched Touko-chan's cheeks and smiled.

"You're always going on about that, grandpa. That was last year already, it's getting old."

"You're right, you're right."

The corners of his eyes drooped as he spoke. From Yumi's position, it was easy to tell he found Touko-chan so cute that he couldn't resist.

He was wearing a white doctor's robe, that looked like a long open-collared shirt, over the top of a turtleneck sweater. It would appear that this was the grandfather Yumi had heard so much about. The one that would retire in three more years. Although it looked like he was still working as a doctor currently, and quite lively too.

"Grandpa. This is a senior of mine from school, Fukuzawa Yumi-sama."

As they'd reached a break in their conversation, Touko-chan introduced Yumi to her grandfather.

"Yumi … -san, are you, perhaps, Sachiko-san's?"

"You know of that?"

"Well of course I do, Saiko-san would often talk about you."

The Saiko-san he referred to would be Sachiko-sama's grandmother who had passed away the previous year. Sachiko-sama must have talked about Yumi when she came to visit, and Sachiko-sama's grandmother must have got the impression that Yumi was one of her friends.

"I see, you're Yumi-san. Please take good care of Touko. Make sure you work her hard."

"Umm, … ahh, okay … "

Work her hard? What was he going on about? Just as Yumi was getting flustered, Touko-chan stepped in.

"Don't worry about it. It's just a sports saying."

"Ah, right."

Apparently there was no deeper meaning to it. Yumi hadn't thought he meant that if Touko-chan became her petit soeur that she should start her on hard labor, but she had been a bit nervous.

"Will you be taking your time?"

Touko-chan's grandfather asked.

"I'll be going home after I've shown Yumi-sama around the area. After all, mama and papa will worry if I'm back late."

Touko-chan answered.

"Alright. Next time, you and mama and papa should all come together."

"And stay over night."

"Please do. I'll be waiting."

Leaving them with those words, Touko-chan's grandfather hurried out of the cafeteria. Apparently off to visit the patients, one by one.

Listening to their conversation, it seemed unthinkable that they'd have differing opinions on the fate of the hospital.

"In the end, I was small."

Touko-chan said, after they'd finished eating, as she picked up her tray. She also picked up Yumi's, so Yumi hurried after her.

"What do you mean?"

"Like how Sun Wukong couldn't escape from Buddha's palm. I would cry, and struggle, and throw a tantrum … but I'd still be safe and sound in some adult's palm."

"Huh?"

Yumi sort of understood, and sort of didn't.

"Even Noriko told me that. "Since you're in this small place, you can't see the big things," she said."

They thanked the lady for the meal and returned the trays. Then they left the cafeteria, Yumi with her head down trailing Touko-chan.

The hospital buildings were made of wood, and they had the appearance of an 'olden days elementary school' from a movie or commercial. But while the floor retained its original wood coloring, the walls had been painted in bright colors – white, light blue and cherry.

As they walked down the corridors, from time to time a voice would call out to them, saying, "Touko-san," or, "Young miss." When that happened, Touko-chan would stop and greet the caller, or wave hello. The people that did this were both staff members and patients, and it was further proof that Touko-chan came to visit from time to time, and chatted with the various people.

"Waaaah"

Hearing this crying voice so suddenly, they turned to look and saw an elderly lady holding a six-month old baby in a sunny corner of a common room. A young couple, apparently the baby's parents, were beside her smiling happily. They were probably saying something along the lines of, "If you get well soon, you can come and visit your grandchild." Although, it may even have been her great-grandchild.

Touko-chan smiled happily too. They stopped and watched for a while, it was the kind of blessed scene that Yumi could watch forever.

"Shall we go?"

At Touko-chan's prompting, they left. They temporarily exited the hospital grounds and walked alongside a road through the woods. From memory, Touko-chan had said that she was going to show Yumi around the area. However, it didn't feel as though they were walking aimlessly. Touko-chan strode as though she had a definite goal. Yumi followed silently, wondering if there was some famous location nearby.

How long had they been walking? It was probably after they'd been walking for about 15 or 20 minutes that Touko-chan stopped.

"Sixteen years ago, there was a car crash."

"A car crash?"

Yumi took a closer look at her surroundings. The country road was properly paved, and it made a gentle curve as it followed the mountain around. Visibility didn't seem that bad –

"See how the branches that overhang the road are all the same length? I don't know the exact spot, but I'm sure it was somewhere around here."

At the time of the accident, they were probably much thicker. Had they been cut back as a result of the accident?

"It was a collision between a truck and a car, and the married couple in the front seats of the car died. A baby was sleeping in a child seat on the back seat of the car, and that child alone was rescued unharmed."

Where was this story going to end? Yumi's heart beat faster. She was scared to hear what happened next. But she couldn't stop Touko-chan.

Why did Touko-chan look so pained? Her right hand was shaking slightly as she used it to clasp her left hand to her chest. It was something she had to say, she was willing to go to that extent. Yumi had to listen.

"About the size of the baby from before, … no, at one month old, I was probably even smaller."

"Huh?"

"The baby that was rescued. That child was me."

– Ahh.

Yumi grasped Touko-chan's hand and, still holding hands, embraced her. She didn't know if it was the right thing to do, but she wouldn't have been able to stop herself from doing it anyway.

Touko-chan's body stiffened, but with the addition of Yumi's strength, her closed heart had been unwrapped.

The door had been opened from the other side. The illusion had been dispelled.

Touko-chan was probably crying, but because Yumi was holding her so tightly she couldn't see her face. But she kept talking, as though feverish.

"I've lost my parents once already."

"That's enough."

Yumi said. Since the story was so painful to Touko-chan, there was no need to go further. However, Touko-chan shook her head.

"No, please hear me out."

Still not enough. It looked like there was more she had to say.

"When my parents died, the only family member left was my father's elderly mother. That grandmother was a patient at this hospital."

When she said this, Touko-chan extricated herself from Yumi's grasp and turned to look at the hospital, the Matsudaira Mountain Base Hospital.

"She was in no position to raise me. So she decided to send me to an orphanage, but just before that happened the Matsudaira family took me in and adopted me. Mrs Matsudaira had been pregnant a number of times, but had never brought a child to term. Even at that time, she was recuperating at her father-in-law's hospital after suffering through the heartache of miscarriage. So it seemed like deliverance."

The mother that had lost a child from her womb, and the child that had lost both parents in an accident, together they could provide the parts each had lost and start a family. That sort of thing.

"Mother Matsudaira is this person."

Touko-chan took out the photo from before and showed it to Yumi again. The girl with the same hairstyle as Touko-chan. Even though Yumi had thought they looked so much alike, apparently they weren't blood related at all.

"And this person."

After pointing out 'Mother Matsudaira,' Touko-chan shifted her finger across two people, to another smiling young girl.

"This person is the woman that gave birth to me."

"Huh … so, then – "

"Quite the coincidence, isn't it. They were classmates back in high school."

With her short-cut hairdo, Touko-chan's birth mother didn't really look much like her, although there seemed to be some faint resemblances around the brow. However, it was such a small photograph that it was hard to tell for sure.

"I only found out about this recently. But I've known that I wasn't the Matsudaira's child for a long time. My parents were always careful not to mention anything, but some insensitive adults, probably thinking I was just a kid, talked about my bloodline in front of me, and others who weren't aware of the situation would comment that I didn't look like either of my parents. Because of all those things, I started to wonder about it when I was still just a child. When I was smart enough, I looked at the family register and knew."

At one time or another, everyone harbors doubts about whether they are their parents child, but to have the proof thrust in front of her must have been quite a shock.

"My birth mother was apparently an actress in a small troupe. When I found that out, I thought about quitting acting. But then I thought that if I quit suddenly, my parents might attach too much significance to it."

Yumi thought that Touko-chan was the one who had been attaching too much significance to things.

"I love my current parents dearly. So I never once wanted to swap them for my deceased parents. But I've hurt them. My parents agreed with my grandfather about the hospital. I told them, "You don't need someone like me anymore then." Even though, up until that point, they didn't know that I knew. After that, my mother started to unravel a bit. She has nightmares, and calls out about her baby being taken away from her."

"I see … "

This must be 'Touko-chan's secret' that Kashiwagi-san mentioned. Even though he'd offered to tell Yumi, it really wasn't something she should have heard from him.

"Why are you telling me all this?"

"Because I want you to know everything, Yumi-sama. That's why I've told you."

That's why Touko-chan had asked Yumi to hold off on her response. She wanted Yumi to decide only after hearing everything.

(Are you ready to deal with that blow?)

Kashiwagi-san's words came back to her. Yumi took a short breath and shook off the illusion.

Regardless of any kind of blow, Touko-chan had chosen to confide in Yumi. How could she refuse?

No, it wasn't even at that level any more. Yumi had obtained her petit soeur.

As long as Touko-chan was Touko-chan, everything was fine.

When set in front of that resolution, any argument about dealing or not dealing with a blow was completely meaningless.