Chapter Text
Your body shook with a violent shiver as a particularly harsh and cold wind brushed by you, causing you to tighten your shawl draped over your shoulders around you with your free hand. Despite your fingers burning with the chill of the winter air, you stayed where you were, eyeing the grey gravestone before you with a sombre expression.
Tucked against your arm was a bouquet of flowers - white and softly shaded yellow chrysanthemums and a few white lilies scattered into the mix - wrapped in a thin paper and securely tied off with a white bow. You took a moment to readjust the crooked bow holding it all together, handling the neatly cut stems of the flowers before placing them into the empty vase on the right side of the tombstone, sparing a few seconds to arrange them in a flattering way and then stepping away. You observed the freshly placed bouquet, then glanced over to the one that had been placed maybe over a week ago on the left side, reminding yourself to bring another bouquet sometime tomorrow to replace the wilting flora.
Another chilly breeze wafted by, shifting your hair about your face, and your hands quickly came up to clutch at your shawl, wrapping themselves into the fabric and hoisting it upwards so that you could bury your numb nose into the cushiony material. Taking in a slow, deep breath, you could still faintly catch the musky scent just barely remaining on the shawl, steadily fading away with time. Your brow creased, and you buried your nose further into the garment as you stared at the name engraved into the tall tombstone.
It had been just over a month since she had passed on, yet the carefully carved kanji of your mother's name on the tombstone looked as if it was made just yesterday. Even the tombstone itself was still clean, void of any dirt, dust or dead leaves from the nearby oak trees standing tall around the cemetery. Fresh flowers were always placed in the small vases in front of it, either by you or your mother's friends – at least, you assumed it was them who were leaving them behind. You couldn't think of anyone else who would do such a thing.
The sigh escaping your lips was lost to the wind as it blew by again, your eyes now watering from the dryness of it, and after checking the thin silver watch strapped to your wrist for the time, you decided now was most likely a good time to leave. You released the lower half of your face from the shawl, already missing the warmth it provided, and smiled wistfully at your mother's name.
"I should get going now, mama. I don't want anyone from school to see me wandering outside when I'm supposed to be 'unwell'," you chuckled quietly. Silence fell once again as you stood still, unmoving, the faint smile on your lips quickly slipping away. "I love you. And I miss you, mama."
With your eyes stuck to the cracked earth beneath you, you turned and left, unsure if you wanted to run from the place or even leave at all. However, the heavy air surrounding the cemetery was enough to tell you that you should leave soon, before that same air pushed itself down onto you. Your pace soon hastened as the gates to the graveyard came into view.
Your head was still lowered to the ground as you approached the exit, rendering you unable to notice the large figure entering the area until you saw the dim shadow on the floor, almost bumping into you and knocking you onto the ground had the both of you not stopped in time. You took a slight step back as you froze in surprise for only a second, blinking dumbly down at your scuffed shoes, then shifted over to the stranger's shinier pair, figuring out that it was a man you had almost walked into just from the design of his expensive looking shoes.
"Sorry," you forced out, filling the silence hanging in the air between you and this man. The only response you got in return was a low hum, of acknowledgement, you supposed, before he continued to walk past you without another word, the arm of his black cloak brushing past your shoulder as he did so. You watched as his disfigured shadow stretched longer and longer the further he got away from you before finally moving off again, your shoulders now tensed and hunched up slightly as you left.
Your walks through the city nowadays were straightforward and short, with no detours or distractions to prolong the journey. You wanted nothing more than to bundle yourself up in a mass of blankets on the couch and sit in front of the television for the rest of the day, re-watching your mother's favourite movies over and over again, still trying to understand why she loved those cheesy romances so much. This was the unfortunate routine you had fallen into just over a month ago.
Until today.
Rounding the corner into a more secluded and luxurious neighbourhood, mansion homes and ritzy cars lining the sides of the walkway, you paused as an orange ball rolled towards you and bumped against your shoe. You stared at it with a raised brow, then bent down to pick it up, only to find that it wasn't a ball, it was just an orange. A fruit. Head tilting in confusion, you stood back up and lifted your head, quickly finding a small trail of loose oranges roaming around the empty street, all coming from a woman just a little ways ahead of you, crouched on the ground and frantically trying to catch the oranges laying near her before they could run away, too.
A plastic bag was clutched in her left hand, though its bottom was split open and fluttering freely in the breeze, a gaping hole left in the plastic. A soft 'oh' escaped you as you grasped the situation happening in front of you and without a second thought, you knelt back down and began gathering the fruits around you into your arms, inspecting them briefly for any dirt or bruising on their skin before tucking them against your chest.
"Excuse me?" you called out once you were done, lightly jogging towards the blonde woman still on the ground as she struggled to balance all the oranges in her smaller arms. She turned to look over her shoulder, craning her neck to look up at you with the brightest blue eyes you had seen, and her prettily painted lips immediately lifted into a smile at the sight of you. "I believe these are yours?"
"Oh, my! Thank you so much, dearie!" Her voice was just dripping with unbridled joy, her eyes crinkling as she spoke, the dimples on her cheeks deepening. She attempted to get up, only for a couple more oranges to escape her hold again. You were swift to catch them, placing them into your pile of fruit.
"I can help you carry them, if you'd like," you suggested with a small smile as she stood up.
"That would be very much appreciated!" She chuckled, gesturing with a tilt of her head to follow her as she began making her way down the sparse path again, this time with you in tow. She was quick to explain that this was her second shopping trip to the market today, seeing as she forgot to buy oranges on the first trip, and was in such a rush that she forgot her own bag from home. "Aren't I just so lucky today, though? First, my son volunteered himself to help me with my shopping earlier today, which he's never really done before! And now, a lovely young lady has come to help me, too! Oh, how lucky, indeed!" She laughed, her compliment warming your heart slightly. "What's your name, again, dear?"
You gave it to her with no hesitation. There was something about this woman - about Kujo Holly, as you had learned her name to be - that gave you a sense of security and safety, though you couldn't figure out why. Perhaps you should be more cautious about trusting strangers so easily in the future, but at this moment in time, you allowed yourself to throw that caution to the wind. Just this once.
"You look quite young, dear. Are you a highschool student?" Your faltered mid step, and she laughed again, catching onto your caught out expression. "Skipping school, huh?" She grinned, leaning in a little closer to you and whispering loudly, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me!"
You huffed a silent laugh with her, jokingly giving your thanks for doing so.
"My son does that all the time, too. Skipping school, that is. Although, nowadays, he doesn't do it as often, not since he came back from his trip..." Unlike most parents, who you have seen get quite angry about their child skipping classes for no particular reason, Holly wasn't mad at all about her son. She smiled with a motherly fondness as she continued talking about her son, an expression you had caught your own mother making towards you at times on her face. A tightness made itself known in your chest as you looked at the blonde, and you had to look away before it could get worse.
"I'm sure you and my son would get along so well if you met him!" Her enthusiastic tone brought you back to the present, and you realised that she was slowing her pace down as she came closer to a giant set of oak gates. "He's a sweetheart. Having another friend closer to his age will definitely make him happy!"
"Is your son not home?" Holly's smile suddenly gave off a different emotion as her movements faltered for a split second, her eyes filled with something distant and misty as she shook her head.
"No, not at the moment. He's gone to visit a friend."
She then proceeded to push open the gates, and you almost dropped all the oranges you had picked up at the sight that lay behind them.
Her house was huge. And beautifully traditional. Lush greenery, though covered in a layer of frost, covered the front lawn, with carefully carved stone pathways leading to different areas of the home and sturdy wooden verandas wrapping around the entire building. The curved roof of the home made it seem taller than it actually was, its looming shadow falling over you as you gawked up at it.
You heard a door sliding open, snapping you out of your shock, and a surge of embarrassment came over you as you realised you had been staring. Holly hadn't noticed, though, as she was already standing in the entrance hall, carefully removing her shoes whilst also balancing the fruit in her arms, still humming. Unsure if you were supposed to follow her inside or not, you stood awkwardly at the foot of the steps leading into her home, shifting from one foot to the other.
You felt your shawl begin to slip off one of your shoulders, causing you to huff lightly in annoyance as you couldn't readjust it with your hands, so you tried to shrug your shoulder upwards, only for it to fall further off of you. Hearing this, Holly turned to find you struggling with your shawl and quickly placed her oranges down on a nearby table before coming to you, delicately taking the shawl and lifting back onto your shoulder.
"Thank you, Mrs Kujo."
"Please, call me Holly!" She waved a hand in the air, then brought it back to daintily trace a finger along the floral pattern lining the hem of the shawl. "This is beautiful... Where did you get it from?"
"It's actually my mother's shawl," you forced a smile, "I'm not sure where she got it from. She's had it for years."
"Well, be sure to tell her that I love her fashion sense! This print is gorgeous!" she gushed as she patted your shoulder, then stepped back inside to pick up the fruit. Your smile relaxed a little, the corners of your lips twitching upwards as you nodded.
"I'll tell her for you."
You watched as Holly began to walk further into her home, until she suddenly stopped and turned around. "Don't just stand there, dear, you'll freeze! Come in, come in!" She urgently waved her hand, beckoning you to follow her, and you scrambled for a moment to remove your shoes and catch up to her.
As soon as you stepped inside, the warmth of the home flooded your skin from head to toe, chasing the cold away. You sighed, feeling your numb ears and tips of your fingers tingle as the heat began seeping into your body. Whilst you warmed up, you followed behind Holly like a lost duckling as she turned this way and that down the vast corridors of her home until she arrived into the kitchen, another large space with a lovely family dining table in the middle of it, six chairs surrounding the dark oak table and a vase full of pink lilies sitting in the centre of it.
"You have a lovely home," you complimented, to which Holly beamed.
"You're so sweet — thank you! Oh, you can just put them down here," Holly told you gently, placing all her oranges into a bowl. You did as she said, carefully placing them on top of one another so they wouldn't fall out. Once you were done, Holly thanked you again before asking: "Would you like something to eat or drink? Maybe something warm like tea or coffee will help warm you up. Oh, you poor thing - your nose is so red!" She began to fret, taking a hold of your hands and holding them between her smaller but warmer ones. "I bought some cocoa powder the other day, maybe some hot chocolate would be better?"
"Uh, Mrs Kujo–"
"Holly," she corrected. You nodded slowly.
"Mrs Holly." She narrowed her eyes but decided to let it slide. "This is very kind of you, but I wouldn't want to overstay my welcome." When Holly opened her mouth to protest, you quickly blurted out: "My cat is also probably starving, so I really should go and feed him."
"Oh, that is an issue... Well, let me at least give you something to say thank you!" She rushed around the kitchen until she found a small green plastic box and a matching lid, proceeding to place three oranges inside of it before closing it and handing it to you. "Here you are, dear! Be sure to share with your family when you get home, alright?"
You nodded, giving her a smile and quiet thank you as she led you back to the entrance of her home.
"And as lovely as this shawl is, please try to wear something thicker next time you go out! I'm sure your mother would agree that catching a cold at this time of the year is the worst."
You chuckled, nodding along with her. "Of course, Mrs Holly. I'll keep that in mind."
As you stood at the gates to her home, ready to give your farewells, she told you one more thing.
"Next time you decide to skip school, come down and stop by for a while! I'll be sure to make something for you to eat, too! That way, you won't have to wander around in the cold, alright?"
You blinked, surprised at her offer. Whilst you didn't know if you would ever take her up on it, you found her thoughtfulness very kind of her nonetheless, and you nodded again, a more genuine smile making its way onto your lips as you tucked your shawl more comfortably around yourself.
"You're too kind, Mrs Holly. Thank you." You bowed respectfully, bidding her a good evening, Holly returning the sentiment, then turned and resumed your walk home. Your mind made a note of where Holly's home was situated, just in case, you reasoned to yourself. As you walked away, you heard the hefty thud of the gates closing behind you, and you wondered briefly how Mrs Holly could open them by herself if they sounded - and looked - that heavy.
Mulling over your thoughts as you walked, you barely registered the tall and brooding figure walking past you, though by the time you rounded the corner, you had already forgotten all about them.