The night air was cool and refreshing. The smell of the hospital was gone now. Everything was still illuminated in a pale grey though.
The sound of our footsteps were barely audible in the hush of the deep night.
“You came back to ask me to walk you to the station?” I asked hysterically. “How long have you been waiting?”
She looked at her toes. “I heard the first song you played from the CD…”
I looked at her dumbfounded. “So you saw everything.”
She raised her palms up in the air in mock surrender. “No! I didn’t look!”
“Why didn’t you say something earlier?”
She paused. “I didn’t want to interrupt…”
“Oh.”
There was silence.
“Don’t hate me..” She gave me her puppy eyes. I remembered every time we had an argument, Aoi would look at me that same way, rendering me completely senseless. I would melt under that look. And suddenly nothing mattered anymore, and any argument would just dissolve. All you wanted to do was to give her a hug.
“I don’t.” I said. “You’re forgiven.” I joked.
