Don't tell, okay?
"Okay."
If you tell Naruo, he'll be mad at me.
"I won't tell."
And she kissed me in secret.
- - - -
You can leave any time.
"Alright."
I ask if he has any dinner plans.
Wouldn't you like to know, huh?
He runs his hand through his hair and says no.
"Today, could we-"
You know we can't do that very often.
And so he sent me home.
- - - -
I like to think that houses simply become scrapbooks in the end.
The shelves lined with dust, stamps, and books in a language that I
cannot read, only there because they hold ghosts.
These are the things that my father left to me before he disappeared like fog.
This is the place I live with my aunt. She enjoys decorating with old cans
and making jewelry out of scrap metal.
Opposite from me, she talks animatedly with her fingertips over a plate of cold noodles.
