Chapter 2

The apartment upstairs blasted dance music off before dawn, and the rain poured down for the third day, forcing Nakai to curl his toes inwards from the cold. Surprisingly, the apartment was silent this morning. Not wanting to be late, the five brothers awoke earlier than usual and set off to their workplaces, yawning as they entered the lift. Nakai watched at the bus stop as the rain poured down heavily. The bus had not arrived, and his stainless black pants were already having visible raindrops on them. When the bus finally arrived, Nakai heaved a sigh of relief after checking the time. He sat next to the window, staring out the window, still not totally awake from the previous night's dream.

At work, it was just like any other ordinary day, save the fact that there were lesser shoppers due to the wet weather. He worked as a salesman in a huge department store, and usually went around promoting items on sale or on feature.

When the day was done, Nakai emerged from the store, stretching his arms. He noticed a familiar figure slowly walking slowly along the other end of the mall, and recognised her as the next door neighbour. "Oi!" he called out, jogging towards Sayuri. He realised that he did not know her name. He received stares from some of the shoppers for his loud shout, but he was used to being stared at, and ignored them. "New neighbour right? We didn't have proper introductions the last time. Hi, I'm Nakai."

"Ah!" Sayuri exclaimed. "Yes I remember! That time I requested for your family of brothers to lower the volume. Hi, I'm Sayuri." Sayuri introduced.

Nakai noticed how Sayuri's gaze shot past his shoulder, and realised that she was blind. "Shall we get a drink somewhere?" Nakai offered. Sayuri smiled and nodded.They went into Hiki-dashi (A/N: It means 'drawers' in Japanese.) for a drink. It was Nakai's favourite hangout. The interior of the shop looked cosy with baby colours, and the tables had drawers where sugar, salt pepper, spoons and utensils like that were kept, hence its shop name.

At first, both of them only quietly sipped on their drinks, but Sayuri finally took the initiative and asked, "So, why are you here?"

"I work here, at the seventh floor department store. What about you? Shopping?" Nakai replied."No, I'm not shopping." Sayuri answered, laughing a little. "You see, I'm blind, and according to my source, most of the shops here are fashion stores, so I don't shop here since I can't judge the clothes with my sight. I'm working here, actually. At the level three bookstore. That apartment was the cheapest and closest I could find to my workplace. My parents abandoned me when I was young, so I grew up in an orphanage, and after that decided to go independent. I didn't want to trouble Mrs. Kazegawa to take care of me when there are so many other children."

Nakai did not reply. He did not know how to reply. "Ah, gomene! I really shouldn't have brought up such topics." Sayuri apologised.

"No, no, it's okay. It's just that...I didn't know how to reply." Nakai assured Sayuri. He then thought for a moment before saying, "Would you mind if I told you my troubles?""Not at all, though I thought you might feel better telling your brothers." Sayuri replied.

"I'm not ready to tell them yet."

"Oh."

There was silence as Nakai considered how to tell Sayuri. Sayuri waited patiently, sipping her apple juice. Finally, Nakai said, "A year ago, I had a girlfriend who was very fond of sports, and we often went to challenge each other in various sports. She was a very sweet girl, but...a month ago, I heard no news of her ever since. I couldn't reach her when I tried all means of contacting her. Until I received a call a week ago, that she had undergone an operation."

"And?"

"It failed." Nakai continued, with pain in his voice. "The previous girl before that...She passed away too. I was very upset to know what happened." Tears were already threatening to grace his face.

There was silence again after that. Then, as Nakai's tears fell, Sayuri heard him sniffed, and she slowly raised a hand uncertainly, searching for his face. Nakai looked up at Sayuri, whose hand found its way to his cheek. She was softly wiping away the tears, not saying a thing.

After a moment, Nakai's hoarse voice said, "I think we should head home. It's getting late." Sayuri nodded, and they finished their drinks before they exited the shop. On board the bus, no one spoke.

Sayuri stopped at the door of her apartment, and then said, "I'm sorry I couldn't help to make you feel better."

"But you did. Just by listening." Nakai replied. "Thanks a lot."

Sayuri smiled. "See you tomorrow then." With that, she retreated into her apartment, and Nakai, to his.