Chapter 8
Asha wakes up in her own bed, the familiar afternoon sunlight filtering through the window. As she sits up and looks around, she remembers what happened: the chase, falling on the sidewalk, and finally fleeing back to the skating rink. She kicks off her blanket and pulls up the leg of her pajama pants. The huge gash that she’d had after falling down on the cement had vanished without a trace. There was not even a band-aid where the wound had been. “Haru-san...” she murmurs.
Asha leaps out of bed, changes clothes, and bolts down the hall. Her parents hear her and her father meets her at the front door. “You’re awake!” he says. “How do you feel?”
“Good,” Asha says hurriedly. “I’ve gotta go out for a bit,” she says. “I’ll be right back–!”
Her father steps in front of her and blocks the doorway. “I’m afraid you’re not going anywhere,” he says. “You need to stay home and get some rest.”
“But I’m fine!” Asha argues. She lifts up her pant leg to show her father. “See? It’s gone! I’m okay!”
“Asha, get to bed,” her father says sternly.
“But–!”
He gives her that parents’ look that always means: “You’d better listen or you’ll be in deep trouble.” Asha trudges back toward her room.
Her mother stops her halfway and asks, “Is something the matter?”
“Why can’t I go see Haru-san?” Asha cries.
Her mother avoids Asha’s eyes and gives her an uneasy grunt. “Well...” Asha looks at her questioningly. Her mother kneels next to Asha. “Your father and I aren’t sure if you should see him anymore,” she says gently.
“Why? What do you mean?”
“You see...” Mrs. Hirahara begins uneasily, “That boy is not exactly...normal.”
“Just like I’m not,” Asha comments. “What’s wrong with that?”
Her mother doesn’t know how to answer. “That’s not what I mean,” she says. “It’s more like...he’s...” Mrs. Hirahara sighs. “It’s hard to explain. I guess, when people don’t understand something...it can be scary...”
Asha still doesn’t know what she means. “What are you scared of?”
Her mother hesitates. “You know what your friend can do, don’t you?” she asks.
Asha pauses. “He’s an expert,” she says. “He’s real good at doctors’ stuff.”
It sounds like she really has no idea, her mother observes. “...Your friend somehow...healed your leg,” she says.
“Healed? Like how?”
“Without even using any medicine, the cut just...vanished.”
Asha finally begins to understand. Her eyes widen in surprise and shock. “Haru-san...can heal..?”
Her mother nods. “I’m grateful that you’re all right,” she says, giving her daughter a hug. “But at the same time...his ability is...disturbing.”
Asha nods slowly. “I understand...”
They hear a light knock on the door. Asha’s father answers it as Asha and her mother come to see who it is. Hikaru steps in. “It’s you,” Mr. Hirahara says. “What do you want?”
“I just wanted to tell Asha something,” Hikaru replies.
“What is it?” Asha asks, stepping forward.
They meet right on the porch. “Asha...” Hikaru begins, “Haru...well, he’s gone.”
“WHAT?!”
Hikaru explains what happened after Asha’s parents took her and left the skating rink. “After that, he just picked up his things and left.”
“I can’t believe...” Asha shakes her head to clear the thought away for the moment. “Where did he go, Hikaru-san? Do you know?”
Hikaru shakes his head. “I have no clue where he is.”
“So, what do we do?”
Hikaru rests his head in his hands. “There’s nothing we can do,” he says. “He’s got this notion in his head that he’s gotta go it alone. I can understand why he feels that way, but still...”
There is a moment of silence. “We should follow him,” Asha says decidedly.
“What?! That’s crazy! We don’t even know where he’s gone off to, and he’s already long gone! There’s no way we’ll catch up to him now!”
Asha looks at him pleadingly. “If Haru-san is really in trouble, he can’t be alone,” she reasons. “We have to help. Besides, I promised. I told you that I’d help you however I could.”
Hikaru gestures toward her house. “What would your folks think?” he asks. “If you just suddenly disappeared, don’t you think they’d be worried sick about you?”
Asha looks ashamed. “I know that. I know they would. But we can’t just leave him all alone.”
Hikaru glances behind him into the window, then turns his attention back to Asha. “How do you plan to get out of here?” he asks. “After your folks got so scared of ‘im, I doubt they’d come with us, or even try to help some other way. They’re not gonna let you go.”
Asha knows that Hikaru is right. Her parents would never let her go. They would be too afraid for her. “I’ll just...have to sneak off,” she whispers. “There’s no other way.”
Hikaru sighs. “You sure you wanna do that to them?”
Asha takes a look back into her house. “I’ll stay for the rest of the day,” she decides. “And I’ll meet you in the back yard first thing tomorrow morning. Before they wake up. Meet me there.” Asha gestures toward the steps in front of the back door.
Hikaru nods. “If that’s what you want... I’ll be here.”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
First thing the next morning, Asha meets Hikaru by the back steps, as planned. “Do you still wanna do this?” Hikaru asks, waiting with a backpack slung over his shoulder.
Asha only has a small bag of belongings. She nods. “I made sure to leave them with a goodbye gift. I’m ready to go.” Asha and Hikaru make their way off while Asha’s unknowing parents sleep the morning away, their keepsake sitting on their night stand.
