Hana

The Little Indulgence

Yuzuru

It's 8 am when we enter the rink. Nobody is on the ice yet. I hear Meg compliments the beautifulness of the ice.

"That's why I love skating." I smile at her.

"I can see why! It's like a mirror, so pure and smooth. Even though I can't feel the joy of skating very fast, but I can feel the joy by watching you skate, Yuzu." She turns to me as I sit down on a seat to take out and tie my skates. She squats down to stare at my skates.

"I'm always fascinated by your speed of tieing your 'shoelaces'." She says.

"Years of experience." I answer her. "Do you want to see it live?"

"Yes please." She giggles.

To impress her, I tie my skates as fast as possible. I stretch my toes in my skates to make sure the skates are tight enough after I finish tieing it.

"Done!" I say.

"Yuzu! It's super cool!" She speaks like a child who has never seen an chocolate fountain before.

"Ah!" Meg suddenly exclaims. "Don't you need to stretch before wearing the skates?" She looks up at me.

"Oops!" I scratch my head. "I totally forgot! I just want to jump on ice right now."

We both laugh hardly. I'm embarrassed by my mistakes, and Meg is happy about my mistakes. She is utterly adorable to be so considerate and thoughtful. I took off my skates and spread out my yoga mat for stretching. Before sitting on the mat, I walk to the backstage to fetch for a chair.

"There you go, I don't want to see you squatting all the time. The chair will be more comfortable." I put it beside her and insist her to sit.

Meg sits on the chair and I spread my legs on the mat. My hands aim for the left end of my foot, and switch to the other side for another ten seconds of stretching. Then, I make sure that my back, arms, are stretched, knees and joints, all muscles are warmed up. Meg keeps quiet throughout the stretching period. I wonder if she's bored or she's enjoying the process. I think is the latter one, because when I look at her when I'm almost done, her lips formed a slight curve at the end.

"What are you smiling at?" I ask with a curious tone.

"I'm enjoying the view. You're so flexible." Meg answers.

"Are you flexible?" I turn my whole body to her, still smiling.

"No... My body is stiff and hard."

"Do you often stretch?"

"Sometime, only when I am forced by my mom. She always wants me to be more active."

"Stretching is a good way to let out stress, Meg. Come, let me help you." My hand invites her to the mat.

"Are you forcing me?" She laughs.

"Yes. I am." I say with a low voice. "Because you say you only stretch when forced."

"Why?"

"Ok, fine." I sigh. "I want you to let out the stress of being with Akira and all the stuff you've been through."

Meg says nothing, but looks at me with her charming big eyes.

"I want to help you." I add.

Then, she smiles widely.

"Ok." She accepts my hand.

She sits down on the mat. I stood up to give her more space and walk behind her back. As I give directions to her, she follows them obediently.