The Gift

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Words checked = [5510]

Words in Oxford 3000 = [94%]

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The author

Celia Shen was born and grew up in a tranquil

town which located in the middle part of Taiwan,

Yun-Lin County. Her childhood memories were full of

the rural life. Despite the bustling streets of the town,

she lived in a small village with her beloved

grandmother. The things she used to do were to chase

and to catch bees and butterflies. Now she is growing

up and acts more like a normal girl. “My mother used

to describe me as a wild horse, but now I’ve changed

a lot.”

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The story “The Gift” combined many elements

such as family, friendship and love. When people ask

whether the girl in the story was actually Celia herself?

She just smiled without answering.

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Introduction

‘For me, winter was a season of snow. The ground

was colored white, so pure and innocent, but the

memory long time ago left me only sadness.’

Sakurako was a normal senior high school student.

Her mother died in an accident which left a shadow in

her mind. She deemed that the death was her fault and

lived unhappily. One day, one of her classmates

committed suicide. She was very sad and wanted to

stop the event happened, and then she succeeded! She

accidentally found out that she could go back in time

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and prevent accidents. What kind of events she would

get herself involve? In what way did she use this

magnificent power? Would her life change?

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Contents

Author 01

Introduction 02

Chapter 1 Memories of Winter 07

Chapter 2 Someone Committed Suicide 11

Chapter 3 Return to the Past 21

Chapter 4 Accident 32

Chapter 5 Alarmingly Dangerous 41

Chapter 6 Reflection 47

Chapter 7 Heart-Searching 55

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Chapter 1- Memories of Winter

For me, winter was a season of snow. The ground

was colored white, so pure and innocent, but the

memories of long ago left me only sadness. It had

snowed for three days running, and the whole

neighborhood was covered with snow. Despite the

severely cold weather outside, my room was

extremely warm. I stood by the window and watched

the scene from inside. On the snow crested street, a

group of adventurous children had gathered and tried

to build a snowman, with some of them throwing

snowballs against each other. The joyful laughers

broke the dead silence of the chilly winter. Suddenly,

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a strong desire entered my mind; I wanted to go out,

at once! I quickly grabbed my coat from the chair and

ran hastily downstairs. When I opened the door, the

icy wind that blew on my face made me step back a

little, but I still stepped out into the street. I lifted up

my head softly and stretched my arms slowly, turned

my left palm upward trying to catch falling

snowflakes. Watching those snowflakes falling from

the sky and melting fast due to the heat of my palm,

brought back memories which made me cry. I closed

my eyes steadily and stood, felt the cold wind blowing

though my cheeks. My name is Sakurako Hamano.

My mother gave me the name “Sakurako” because I

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was born during the time of cherry-blossom seasons.

“Sakura symbolizes diligence, courage and wisdom,”

my mother used to tell me with her gentle soft voice

saying things like, “You should work hard and be

independent to find your purpose in life.” I still kept

profoundly these words in mind even today. My

mother died in a car accident when I was six. I was

chasing a butterfly and was too small to notice the

drunken truck driver barreling down the road. My

mother, who saw the high-speed truck, immediately

rushed toward me and pushed me away. I fell to the

ground scraping my knees on the icy road, I cried out,

“Mummy!” A terrible screech was all that was heard.

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That was winter time, a snowy day. All I could

remember was blood. A snow white world dyed

scarlet. The accident took my mom’s life away, but

the getaway truck was found. The driver had drunk

too much alcohol. Tears streamed down my cheeks. I

hate it. I hate drunken people. I hate winter. I

hate……myself. Who was that thief that stole my

mother’s life from me?

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Chapter 2- Someone Committed Suicide

Monday morning, the sunshine was blinding. Winter

mornings always made people idle. I slowly opened

my eyes, stretching my body. Unwillingly getting up

off the bed, I quickly glanced at the alarm on the table

peering at the calendar on the wall. Well, the clock

on the wall showed me that I still had plenty of time

to get ready for school, and it was December third. I

turned on the radio, and it was my habit to hear the

news every morning. “Japan’s economy has recovered

earlier and more strongly than any……” economy? I

turned off the radio immediately, and I didn’t really

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care for this type of news. Economical issues were for

adults, not a free and easy student like me. I am a

senior high school student, and just like others, the

routine of a student is simple and sometimes boring. I

finished washing up and went downstairs to have my

breakfast which my father prepared for me before he

went to work. He had to take the subway for an hour

to his company, so he always got up early. I only

drank the milk and decided to take the toast to school

since I had no desire to eat.

On my way to school, I walked slowly and kept

looking around while walking. Well, the Yamada

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family’ new car was so……weird! I just could not

understand why any person would want to buy an

orange car like that! Orange! By the way, where in the

hell did they find an orange car? In front of the house

of the Hamasaki family, there stood a snowman who

wore a red scarf and black hat whose nose was made

of a carrot. It must be the work of the naughty

Hamasaki twins. I kept walking to the central park.

There was a person sitting on the swing and wearing a

white shirt and on the left side of which had the same

mark as mine. It seemed I met a school mate, and she

was apparently not in a good mood. I walked close to

her, and pat her shoulder lightly. “Hey,” I said to her

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“come on, we’re going to be late for school!” Of

course I was kidding; I knew there were still thirty

minutes left before school starts. I just tried to say

something to her, hoping she could forget what she

was worrying about. The girl slowly lifted her head.

“Ah, it’s Miki-chan!” I said when I saw her face. I

knew her. She was my classmate. I was a little bit

embarrassed for not recognizing her earlier. She was

always quiet in class and nobody knew what she was

thinking.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, feeling

concerned “Are you alright? Do you feel sick?”

“No…thank you,” she answered briefly.

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“Ok…then…I’m going to school, do you want to

come with me?”

She shook her head, “No, I’m waiting for Kimiko…”

“Alright then, see you in class.” I gave her a big smile

and walked away. I didn’t know at that time that I

would soon regret what I hadn’t done. You see, I

should have insisted to stay and go to school with her.

(In class)

“Now turn to page 48 in your textbook,” the teacher

said, “read the first paragraph silently and answer the

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following questions .”

The girl sitting beside me was nodding her head in a

regular frequency. She fell asleep as soon as the class

bell rang, which really amazed me. She slept during

classes and merely woke up at break time. How could

she still pass all the quizzes and exams? I looked

down at my own test paper, and sighed. I had better

hide the paper to make sure Dad doesn’t see the grade.

I looked around the classroom to find something

interesting. Two boys were drawing a picture with the

teacher at the front of the class. They secretly smirked

at each other and continuing finishing their

“masterpiece”. Suddenly, I noticed a seat. It was

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empty.

‘Why isn’t Miki in class? Where is she?’ A bad feeling

rose in my mind. ‘Don’t think too much. She will be

fine,’ I said trying to comfort myself.

Suddenly, someone stood up and shouted. ”What’s

that?”

“I told you before not to interrupt my class! You…”

“Bump!” everyone heard a great sound before the

teacher finished her sentence. ‘It sounds like

something crash to the ground from the top of…the

school building?’

The sound triggered a disturbance in class, and

everyone was curious and some even left their seats

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and running to the window to see what had happened.

“Be quiet! Yamada, get back to your seat! And you…”

the teacher shouted trying to regain control of the

disordered class. It was totally no use since the

hallway was getting noisy. Students in other classes

must have heard the sound, too.

“Someone has committed suicide! Itakawa Miki in

class 5 committed suicide!” someone in the hallway

shouted loudly.

‘What?’ I was shocked. ‘No way! I just saw her this

morning, and I even talked to her……How could

she…’ Miki’s unhappy face this morning suddenly

appeared on my mind.

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The class dismissed early due to the incident. It was a

scandal. A student committed suicide on campus, and

all the teachers were gathered by the school principal,

and even some journalists who got the news were

wandering around the campus trying to gather any

news they could collect. Unlike other students, I

didn’t go home right away as the teacher announced

that we would not have class in the afternoon and

asked us go home as soon as possible. Instead, I

stayed in the class room. My mind was in a terrible

mess. I walked slowly to Miki’s empty seat, and sat

down in her chair. I reached my hand to touch her

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desk softly. I opened her drawer under the desk; and a

picture of her was lying on the books. I picked it up

and brushed the dust away. At the moment I touched

the picture, a sudden ache attacked me. The last thing

I could remember was that I fell on the ground losing

conscious.

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Chapter 3- Return to the Past

I woke up and covered my eyes with my hands, and

the sunshine was blinding……Same as

yesterday. ’Wait! Where am I now?’ I quickly jumped

off my bed and realized I was in my own room. I was

confused. I remembered I touched Miki’s picture then

losing conscious……And at this moment, I was in my

room?

Did somebody take me home after I fainted? But what

was the reason that caused me to faint? I scratched my

head, tried to recall my memory……but I could

remember nothing. I gave up and turned around to

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tear off the calendar paper. I looked at the number on

the calendar, and read “December 3rd, December 3rd,

December…THIRD???” I cried out loudly. I tore off

the calendar paper yesterday. There couldn’t be a

second ‘December third’ in a calendar. I hesitated a

little bit, then slowly reached the radio and turned it

on. A familiar woman’s voice began to speak.

“……economy has recovered earlier and more

strongly than any other country……” Same…the

same news as yesterday. I…I was back? Back to the

previous day? How could this have happened? Was I

dreaming? I pinched my cheek with all my strength.

“Ouch!” I cried out in pain…It was reality. I was not

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in my dream…

‘Miki!’ The name and the event happened the

previous day jumped into my mind. I quickly ran to

school. ‘I have to stop Miki from what she planned to

do!’

I ran as fast as I could. Finally, I arrived and the

park where I should meet Miki. I walked around but

could not find a shadow of her. I was extremely

worried, and decided to go to school first.

I opened the classroom door and successfully

appealed to everyone’s attention. As all the people

surprisingly gazed at me, I shouted “Has anyone see

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Miki today?” I really hoped that someone would have

spoken out.

“I saw her going upstairs to the top floor,” a voice

answered me. But I had no time to see whose voice it

was.

“Thanks!” I quickly ran and hided from an angry

teacher who was shouting at the students who was

running in the hallway.

On the rooftop, at the moment I saw Miki, I held my

breath. She was standing by the edge of the roof,

looking over the edge.

“Miki,” I called out softly. “Come on, don’t do that,

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it’s too dangerous.” I stopped to gulp. I tried to

persuade her to calm down but I failed. She wasn’t

even listening to me.

“Please,” I begged. “Let’s talk, ok?”

She stayed still without a sign of jumping. I was

annoyed and impatient because of the nervous

atmosphere. I decided to leave for a while to find

someone to help. I ran downstairs thinking frantically

who I could find at this urgent moment. It was class

time and all the students were attending their classes.

Luckily, I saw a student who seemed to be skipping

class. And I knew him. He was my classmate, Otomo.

I made up a plan in my mind and walked toward him.

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When he saw me, he said with a careless tone,

“Wow, I didn’t know that you like to skip classes too.”

As he finished, he walked away.

“Hey,” I stopped him. “I need your help. Come with

me.”

“What?” Otomo asked looking at me with an

uncertainty. “Ah, I see, it must be the teacher who

asked you to find me, right?” He sent me a disgusted

eye and walked away.

“Not the teacher, it’s me who needed your help.” I

thought for a while, and then said threateningly. “If

you don’t come with me, I’ll call your father and tell

him that you’ve been cheating during the test and was

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punished by the teacher.”

“What! How did you know that I’ve been

cheating…uh, not, whatever you do, I bet that you

don’t even have my Dad’s number, right?”

When I mentioned his father, he acted like he was

almost peeing in his pants. I let out a smirk and took

out a piece of paper then read out. “093…” He

interrupted me before I finished the third number.

“Ok, ok,” he said while shooting me a murderous

stare. ”I’ll do whatever you want, just don’t call my

father.”

“Come with me!”

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As we reached the door to the rooftop, I stopped and

turned to him. I needed to explain the situation to

Otomo, or he might not understand what I wanted him

to do.

“Well, you are a man, right?” trying to let me voice

sound free and easy. He gave me a doubtful eye and

answered.

“Have you got no eyes? What do you want me to do?

Do not test my patience!”

“Uh, I need your help to pull someone down…Since

you are a man, you must have enough strength to

force her…”

“What? Who’s her? You want me to use violence?

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You…”

“Miki will commit suicide if you don’t act now, quick,

you rush to her and pull her down…” I was extremely

jittery.

“What? How do you know someone is going to kill

herself? Are you girls kidding me?”

“No, I’ am not kidding you…” I bit my lower lip and

took my cell phone out from my pocket. “09…”

“Not again!” He was frustrated.

“All I need to do is to grab her down, right?”

“You’re smart!”

“Ok…”

Then, he suddenly opened the door and rushed in. The

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act surprising me, how could he…what if he scared

Miki? Oh, my……I covered my eyes with my hands,

and slowly walked onto the rooftop…I let out a

relieved sigh when I saw the scene inside.

Both of them fell down onto the roof, and Miki was

crying loudly. Otomo, who was sitting beside Miki

turned his head and saw me. He lightly lifted his hand

and gave me the “OK” gesture. I opened my mouth

slightly and said voicelessly, “Thanks…”

The weather that day was cold, minus 10 degrees with

snow. Strangely, I felt a warmth rising in my heart.

Watching the snow falling, I stood still and smiled at

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the blue sky.

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Chapter 4- Accident

“Class dismissed.”

“Thank you teacher, see you tomorrow.”

As soon as the class finished, I collected all my

belonging on the desk and put them in my bag. I

intended to go to the library to study for my math test,

but my uncle and aunt were coming from Hokkaido to

visit us. Dad reminded me to go directly home and not

to wander around the streets. Just as I was leaving…

“Hey stupid girl, where are you going?” It was Otomo,

who helped me to save Miki a week ago.

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“Going home, of course! Goodbye, dumb boy.” I

walked out of the class.

“Going home? I thought you were going to the

library?”

“I changed my mind, get away!” I pushed him away

with all my force and left him behind. After the event

with Miki, Otomo tried several times to ask me how I

knew Miki was there. But I just kept my lips sealed,

as I knew he would not believe me even if I told him

the truth.

(At home)

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“Sakurako, isn’t he pretty? Oh my baby…” My aunt

cooed softly as she cuddled the baby in her arms. My

uncle was standing proudly beside her, arms

surrounding his wife and smiling so widely you could

see all of his teeth. I smiled at the little family in front

of me. I felt so happy for them. The baby was so

lovely.

“Sakurako, could you help me get a bottle of soy-bean

sauce? I’m going to prepare our dinner,” my dad

asked from the kitchen. “Ok,” I replied. “I’ll be back

soon.”

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“Let me see, the sauce area…” I watched the bottle

carefully. “Ah, got it.” I took one bottle of sauce and

walked straight to the check-out counter.

“It’s 1,200 yen. Thank you.”

I walked out the store and was amazed by the crowd

outside.

“What happened?” Due to my strong curiosity, I stood

there and waited to see what was going on. Not long

after, two police officers came over and asked the

people to leave. As the crowd melted away, I saw

what had happened. My face paled. It was an accident,

a car accident. I could see the car and the body…with

blood. The memories of my childhood flashed on my

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mind. I felt sick and kneed down. There were two or

three passersby stopped to ask if I needed help. I just

kept silent and shook my head. I had no idea how

much time I had been here. I thought of my aunt and

her baby, and I stood up. ‘I had to go home quickly,’ I

thought. ‘They must be worried.’

“Kenji, how…how come…?”

As I attempted to walk away, a familiar voice stopped

me. I turned around and recognized who the person

was. It was my neighbor, the Fuji family. There were

only two people in the family, a boy who was also my

school’s senior and his mother, Mrs. Fuji. She was a

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nice person, always treated me like her own child. She

told me that she always wanted a daughter. Every time

she praised me and criticized her son, Kenji would

protest loudly by saying a list of advantages of having

a son. And I would laugh happily and saying

something to make my senior get angry. Of course he

was not really angry, he just pretended to be annoyed

and then we would laugh together.

I saw Mrs. Fuji running to the bloody body and cried

out loudly. The crying scene was breaking my heart.

Thinking of Kenji’s smiling face, my tears streamed

down my cheeks.

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“Did you see the whole event?”

“Yes, it’s really…oh, I don’t know how to say, but the

boy is brave…”

“Really brave, indeed.”

I stood on the street and heard the people gossiping

about the accident. Kenji intended to save a boy

whose balloon had gone with the wind. The boy trying

to get the balloon back ran into the middle of the road.

He did not notice the traffic light had turned red, and a

high-speed truck came speeding by. Kenji was also

there at that time. When he saw the scene, he ran fast

to push the boy out of danger. The boy was safe, just

had some little wound not too serious. The boy went

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home with his family, but Kenji would not come back

anymore.

My steps were heavily, and I thought of the accident,

Kenji and my mom. My mother was killed in order to

save me, and Kenji died for the boy. During dinner, I

gobbled down my food finishing it quickly. I

pretended that I was enjoying the food but actually I

just wanted to get back to my room. I did not want my

tears to spoil the dinner. I went upstairs and stayed in

my room. There was a thinking came in to my mind. I

had no idea if it would work or not, but I would like to

try. I opened a drawer and took out a photo book. I

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turned the book from page to page, finally… ”Kenji!”

I took a breath and slowly reached out my fingers to

touch Kenji’s happy face… “Uh…” I felt my head

was aching as if it was going to crack…the last thing I

knew before I fell unconscious was…I succeeded!

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Chapter 5- Alarmingly Dangerous

“Umm…” I opened my eyes and remembered what I

had done. I came back again. The mission today was

to stop the tragedy yesterday…uh…not yesterday, I

would not let it happen today. I grabbed my school

bag and told my father that I would not come home

early today. My father just nodded his head and said

“Ok, be careful! And remember that your uncle and

aunt will arrive around 4:00. They will stay five nights,

so you don’t have to rush home if you really have

something to do,” he said graciously. I apologized to

my family in my heart, but I had more important

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things to do.

“Class dismissed.”

“Thank you teacher, see you tomorrow.”

This time, I immediately rushed out of the classroom

and left Otomo who was shouting noisily behind me. I

ran to the street where the accident occurred and

waited there nervously. I didn’t know when exactly

the event would happen, so I needed to concentrate on

the surroundings.

“He…hey…you… you stu…stupid…” hearing the

voice, I turned around surprisingly. It Was Otomo!

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The last person I wanted to meet at the moment.

“Get away. I have no time to explain,” glaring sharply

at him. I said, “Don’t bother me!”

“Hey! How could you talk to me in that way?” he

protested unfairly. “I helped you last…” I quickly

walked away to avoid his annoying voice. Suddenly, I

noticed a boy who had a red balloon in his hand. ‘Is

that him?’ My heart skipped a beat, and I tried to walk

closer to the boy. But soon after my first step, I saw

another boy with a balloon! I looked around and

realized there was a person who was giving colorful

balloons to young children, and almost all the children

on the street were holding a balloon! ‘What could I

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do?’ almost crying and feeling helpless. I saw Kenji

walking from the other side of the road. I had to stop

him. As I was hesitating, a cold wind blew…I saw the

boy…and his balloon! The balloon had gone with the

wind and the boy…’ I have to stop him!’ I ran to the

road and tried to take the boy back. From my left side,

I could see the truck was coming. I pushed the boy

away and tried to get away myself, but I fell. The fear

and nervousness occupied my body; and I closed my

eyes hopelessly to wait for the oncoming truck. I

could feel the strong wind blowing and screaming

from the crowd. I saw a shadow come to me, and

someone pulled me up then we rolled on the ground

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together. I opened my eyes and saw an angry face in

which the eyes looked piercingly at me.

“You are really stupid!” I was surprised. Otomo ran

into me and…he saved me…

“What’s your brain for? I can’t believe it! Do you

know how dangerous that was?” he s

“I just wanted to save the boy, I…” trying to plead for

myself.

houting at me, as

all the people on the street were watching. I felt

embarrassed.

“I just couldn’t believe,” he said calmly and coldly to

me. “Don’t you ever think of your family before you

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act?”

“I…” I opened my mouth, but could not pour out a

single word. He shot me a complicated eye and

walked straight away without looking back.

That night, I lied on my bed. I was thinking and could

not fall asleep. What did the expression in his eyes

mean? I got up out of bed, and looked outside. It was

snowing……

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Chapter 6- Heart-Searching

“…so cold,” I closed the window and went back to

my warm pillow. ‘I just couldn’t believe.’ ‘Have you

ever thought of your family before you act?’ Those

phrases kept appearing in my mind. And I could not

forget the serious face of Otomo. Family was

undoubtedly important to me. I already lost my mom;

I should spend more time with my father. My father

was always busy, and I knew he worked very hard to

support the family. I rushed out to save the boy, what

about me? What if I died? Otomo was right, I should

think about my family before I did something

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dangerous. I didn’t even mention the strange events

I’d been through these days. I should tell Dad that

I…I could time travel, but how…? He might not

believe me… “Hey Dad, I just had two December 3rd

s,

and I saved a boy yesterday because I can time travel

back to the past.” Well, I could image how my father

would act. He would pat my head lightly and asking if

I had a good sleep, or he might think I caught a cold.

With these thoughts, I decided to find Otomo and tell

him the truth.

“So, what’s the important thing you mentioned on the

phone?” Otomo asked which handing me a cup of

Comment [k1]: ^ on___

Comment [k2]: WF

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milk tea.

“I can time travel,” I stopped to drink the milk tea,

“ by touching people’s photos…”

“Ha, Are you watching too much science fiction these

days?” he did not believe me.

“That’s how I knew Miki would commit suicide.” I

watched his face changing. “And I went to save the

boy because I knew there was something going on.”

He remained silent He might be confused or scared, I

thought.

“Well, no wonder you know my father’s phone

number…uh, I say,” he looked at me seriously.

“What did your family say about that?”

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“I didn’t tell them…”I replied honestly.

“What? You should let them know to see if they have

any…any idea about it.”

“That’s why I want to see you today,” I said. “I don’t

know how to tell my father the truth.”

“Just tell him,” he said shaking his head. “He’s your

father, not mine.”

“But…” I hesitated. “What if he doesn’t believe me?”

“No idea,” he said simply. “You should have more

confidence in your father.”

“Hey, somebody stops him,” a voice shouted. “He

robbed the bank.”

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“Bomb!” It was a gun shot. And we saw someone

falling, and the crowd gathered again. All the people

around the streets were pointing and the falling body

and gossiping.

“Only idiots would rob a bank,” Otomo said distantly.

“There are many ways to solve the problem, not

this……” He suddenly stopped, and I lifted my head.

“Keep going, I’m listening,” I said.

“…that’s…that’s m-my brother…” he said quietly.

“Your brother?” I looked up, and the police revealed

the man’s face. It was pale.

Otomo walked toward me, and squeeze himself into

the crowd. I saw him walking straight toward one of

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the policemen and talking to him. Otomo seemed to

be very agitated, even grabbing the policeman’s

collar. ‘What’s he doing?’ I ran over toward him and

tried to take him away.

“Come on, Otomo,” I begged and pulling at his sleeve.

“Let’s go, you can not do this to a policeman. They

will arrest you and take you to the police station…”

“I don’t care! Don’t touch me!” He turned to the

officer saying, “This must be a mistake. My brother

would not want to rob a bank!”

“Get away,” the police saying getting angry. “Would a

robber mark himself as a robber? Kid, go home

quickly and staying away. I will notify your father.”

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“No, you can’t! You cannot tell my father.” He’s face

was nervous. “I’m his younger brother, I’m his

family, I’ll go with you,” Otomo begged the

policeman.

“How old are you, uh? We need to see your guardian,

I’ll ask him to come to the office later,” finished the

policeman and walking away.

“Otomo, let’s go.” I tried again to persuade him.

“No, it couldn’t be…”

We sat on a bench in the park for hours, but Otomo

said nothing. During that period, I tried to say

something and asked some questions. But he just

didn’t answer.

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The sky colored orange, and soon darkness covered

the surroundings. He told me his story. His parents got

a divorce when he was young. He lived with his father

while his brother went and lived with his mother.

Otomo’ s relationship with his father was not very

good. At the end, he walked me home and almost

crying.

Seeing his lonely long-narrow shadow under the street

light, I made a decision. I would time travel to the past

again.

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Chapter 7- Heart-Searching

I closed the window, and secretly walked outside

without telling my father. I made a phone call just like

what I had done the previous day. This time could be

dangerous as well since Otomo’s brother had just been

shot.

“Hey, where are you going?” Otomo said following

after me and feeling confused.

“Ah, I know! Are you trying to say that you have a

crush on me?”

“Ok, let’s stay here.” It was the bank which was

robbed.

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“Help! Get him! That man in black just robbed the

bank.”

“Wait! Otomo, come back.” It was too late. He had

rushed out to grab the robber. What would happen if

he found out his brother was the robber? I sighed

lightly. Otomo was removing the mask of the robber,

and I covered my eyes. I didn’t want too see Otomo’s

shocking face. Soon the police arrived and arrested

the robber. This time, Otomo did not argue with the

police. And I even heard Otomo was being praised.

What happened? Was he not trying to explain for his

brother? I looked toward them surprised. The robber

was different; it was not Otomo’s brother whom we

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saw yesterday.

“Could you tell me what happened? So many people

are here.” Hearing the voice, I turned around amazed.

I pointed at him and could not say anything.

“You…you…”

“Otomo! What a coincidence!” shouted the man

greeting the people behind me.

“Hey, long time no see. How have you been?”

I looked at them in disbelief.

After I went home, I clarified the whole event.

Otomo’s brother was actually hiding from the police,

but it was because he was riding his motorbike

over-speeding. When there were police asking him to

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stop, he parked the car in an alley. He did not take off

his helmet and walked out from the alley. When he

walked into the bank, he saw the police and got

nervous. He tried to run away but got shot. But at

present, they were hugging each other and laughing

loudly on the streets.

I went home that day and told my father the events of

these passing few days. He said nothing but put his

hand under his chin. I knew he was thinking. He

might not believe me…I was a little lost. He was my

only family. What if he could not accept me and

considering me a…monster or…

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My father looked at me thoughtfully and said slowly,

“So you have the power too?”

“Uh?” I looked up at him and could not understand.

‘too?’ What’s that mean?

“Actually, your mother…has the ability to travel in

time.” There was something resembling loneliness on

his face. “ She always left me behind without telling

me anything,” he signed lightly. “I found out the truth

one day when I read her dairy secretly when she was

not home…”

“Sorry, Sakurako,” he said sincerely. “I should have

told you earlier. You must be very nervous and not

know what to do…I…don’t cry…”

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Now it was my father’s turn to get nervous. He saw I

was lowering my head and covering my face. He

thought I was crying. Actually…

“Dad…” I said with a smooth voice.

“Uh, wha-what?”

“How could you hide the truth from me? You know

how much I care for mother and you…” I started to

shout shaking my hands at him.

“Forgive me…I didn’t know you would be…, that

hurt, hey, you should not attack your…hurt…your

father.”

I opened the window of my room and stretching my

62

hands to catch the snowflakes. I now knew why I have

the ability to time traveling. It is a gift, a special gift

from my dear mother.

“Hey, lazy!” I heard someone’s shouting. I looked

down through my window seeing a repugnant smiling

face. “Are you still sleeping? You are so…”

“Are you blind? I am totally awake!” I smiled. “Just a

minute. I’ll go downstairs!”

For me, winter was a season of snow. The ground was

colored white, so pure and innocent, and it was my

favorite among the four seasons.