Prologue Scene 02 -- Lack of Perception
*****
My throat hurt. It felt raw, hoarse. My forearms were itchy and sore, too.
The fact that I was still alive to feel my throat and arms hurting was a surprise.
I opened my eyes. Rather, I tried to open them. Vision slowly cleared in my left eye and I could feel it moving around as I took in my surroundings.
My right eye wouldn’t open. I tried to force it, but pain prevented me from continuing. I hissed in frustration and lifted my head weakly. Looking down, I saw that my forearms were bandaged from wrist to elbow.
A surprised gasp alerted me to someone’s presence. I couldn’t see them with my right eye, impaired as it was.
“Mama, Mama! Ryo’s awake!”
I heard footsteps quickly approaching me, and I turned my head to see a little girl looking at me, her expression worried yet hopeful.
“Ryo! Ryo, you’re awake!”
“Yes, Asami,” I managed. “Ryo’s awake.”
“Ryo...”
I lifted my head with a wince to look at the woman addressing me. She had a look of sorrow and contrition on her face as she walked around the bed and wrapped her arms around me gently.
“Mom...”
“I’m so sorry, Ryo,” she whispered so softly I barely heard it. “I’m so, so sorry.”
I didn’t know what to say, so I attempted to embrace her. The simple task of wrapping my arms around her proved to be too much, and I put my arms back down in defeat.
“I’m sorry,” I spat bitterly. “I can’t even hug you.”
“Don’t,” she said. “Just rest.” She straightened up. “I’ll be right back. Your friends wanted me to let them know when you woke up. Same with your brother.”
My brother...
“Satoshi?” I asked immediately. “He’s here?”
My mother nodded. “Yes. He’s waiting outside with your friends.”
The budding excitement suddenly deflated.
Kensuke, Noriko and Yumi... I turned away, shame suddenly settling over me like a wet blanket. “Can I...” I paused, a bitter taste on my tongue. “Can I talk to Satoshi alone first?”
My mother furrowed her brow but held her tongue. Instead, she nodded and turned to my sister. “Come on, Asami.” Gently guiding her by the shoulders, she walked over to the door of my room and stuck her head out. After a moment, she stepped back, and the door opened wider to accommodate a tall, clean-shaven bear of a man with wide shoulders and a straight jaw. His eyes were filled with a mix of worry and relief, and he strode towards my bed with a purpose. He stopped at the foot of the bed, and immediately, his hands were a flurry of motion.
[Ryo, are you okay? Can you talk to me?]
I nodded and lifted my hands, wincing as I slowly signed my reply.
[I can talk to you slowly. My hands and arms hurt.] I frowned. [I couldn’t even hug Mom.]
A sad smile darkened his features as he glanced away from me briefly. [You had me worried. Mom was hoping you’d wake up tonight.]
[Why?] I asked. [How long have I been out?]
[Three hours,] he replied. [I came here as soon as I heard.]
[What happened?] I asked, immediately regretting it. I tried to sign as quickly as I could to tell him not to answer, but his hands were already moving, and the answer was one that I half-dreaded. His face relayed some of the offense in his response.
[Why don’t you ask Noriko?]
I turned my head away. Even though he couldn’t speak, I could feel the accusation in his eyes. [She wasn’t supposed to know. No one was supposed to know.]
[You could have told
me!] He poked vehemently at his chest.
[I didn’t want
you to know!] I pointed at him with equal intensity.
Frustrated, he whirled around and walked to the door. The second he turned to look at me, I’m ready to sign, but before I can even begin, he whipped the door open and poked his head and arms out the doorway. He signed to them. I couldn’t tell what exactly he was saying, but I could tell he was frustrated by the look on his face and how quickly his shoulders bounced.
As soon as he finished signing, my mother and Asami, Yumi, Ken and Noriko slowly filed into the room. Ken looked unsure of himself and shrugged when I looked at him, an awkward smile slowly tugging at the corners of his mouth.
Yumi looked worried, and her concern only seemed to grow when I looked at her.
Noriko’s face was completely ashen, and I turned away the second we made eye contact. She knew too much.
“What did your brother say?” Ken asked slowly.
“He said that maybe you could do a better job of making me talk,” my mother replied. I glared at my brother.
“Ryo, why didn’t you tell us?” Yumi asked in a tiny voice. I shut my working eye. I did not want to have this conversation. “We could have helped you.”
“Yeah,” Kensuke piped up. “I mean, we’re your friends. We could have called the cops or something for you. You could have stayed with me.”
I turned to Noriko, who seemed to jump back in surprise when I regarded her.
“Noriko…”
She shook her head, turned around and ran out of my room.
“Nori?” Yumi glanced at Kensuke and followed her out.
“Your dad didn’t hang up the phone when Noriko said who she was,” Ken replied. “She heard everything your dad said, and…”
He let the sentence trail off. He didn’t need to say any more. She heard me calling for Satoshi as my father tried to kill me.
“She used her home phone to call the police,” he said feebly.
Satoshi snapped his fingers. I looked up to see his scowling face.
[How long has this been going on?]
I shook my head. [I don’t want to talk about it now.]
[Damn it all, Ryo, I’m not going to take that for an answer!] His gaze was smoldering. [How long has he been doing this?]
I looked away. Before he could sign any more, a doctor strode into the room, looking down at a clipboard. He lifted his gaze and surveyed everyone in the room.
“Ryosuke Tachikawa, yes?” he asked, looking at me over his glasses. I nodded weakly.
“Your arms aren’t too badly scratched up, though there will be scarring. You’ll need to keep the bandages for a while, yet.” He glanced down at the clipboard again and frowned. “Your eye, however…”
“What is it?” Mother asked from behind the doctor. He turned to face her and she flicked her gaze towards Satoshi. I didn’t realise she was translating for him. “My oldest son was asking. He’s deaf.”
The doctor looked to Satoshi and nodded. “Well, simply put, your right eye is severely damaged. You’ll no longer be able to see through it.”
I felt a mix of anger and shame.
I’m blind in one eye. I glared at Kensuke.
“You could have waited until I called,” I said in a low voice.
“Hey, don’t blame me for this,” he snapped, pointing behind him at the open door. “And don’t blame Noriko, either.
You didn’t charge your phone, and
you decided not to tell anyone that your dad beats you.”
I wanted to rail back at him, but Satoshi slashed his arm through the air between the two of us, cutting me off.
[And consider yourself lucky that she did call, Ryo,] he signed crisply. I could tell he was getting angrier because his signing was becoming more pronounced. [What if she didn’t call? You probably wouldn’t even be alive right now!]
“Satoshi!”
All eyes turned to my mother.
“That’s enough,” she half-shouted, her voice quavering slightly. “I’ll have none of that with your sister here.”
“Why? What did he--”
My mother shook her head. “I’m sorry, Kensuke. I’ll not translate that in front of Asami.” She glanced out the door. “You might want to check if Noriko’s all right.” She looked down at my sister, my mom’s hands covering her shoulders. “Asami, your brothers and I need to talk.”
Kensuke looked at my mother for a moment before nodding. Without another word, he took Asami’s hand and stepped out of my room.
“I’m afraid that I’ll have to ask you both to leave as well,” the doctor cut in tersely before my mother or brother could start. “It’s very late in the night, and I’m sure that your son is not in the best of positions to hear or argue about the current situation.
“You can visit him tomorrow,” he said with finality. He shot me a look before he nodded at my mother and brother. “Perhaps after some rest, the three of you will be better able to continue your...discussion.”
Satoshi took a deep breath and raised his arms to sign, but a slow shake of my mother’s head stopped him. Instead, he looked at me then back at the doctor and bowed.
[Thank you,] he signed. [I leave him in your care.] Judging from the final glance he shot at me, he was trying very hard to let the matter drop for now. Without another sign, he strode out of my room.
“Thank you, Doctor,” my mother said softly.
“You’re welcome,” he returned. He led my mother out of my room, closing the door behind him but leaving it ajar.
I let out a breath and let my body go limp, the soreness in my arms increasing tenfold. I shut my eye tightly.
Fuck, I thought.
I’m blind in one eye, and now my family and friends know that I have an abusive father…
Satoshi’s accusation cut through my thoughts.
What if Noriko didn’t
call?
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