"Perhaps."
I'd like to say I'm not that man I saw in that picture, but even so, I can't deny the similarities he and I share. I am that person, I just can't accept it. Which is why I'd like to choose to be someone different; but that won't be an option if I'm caught.
"You have to figure out why she's lying. Or, something bad will happen."
"Hmm, you're saying this like you know."
"...Nothing good, comes from lying."
...
By the time we made it back, food was prepared as three plates of noodles lay against the table.
"S-Sorry it's not fresh... I haven't been cooking and-... It's just microwave food."
As though she felt the need to apologise, I can't complain about it. I for one am excited. I can't say the same for the girl however as she wouldn't make eye contact with Mari.
"Thanks, Mari. I haven't had noodles in a long time, so I'm excited to- Oww!"
The girl jabs my side.
"I, made noodles. For you."
"W-Well, you did but. I guess I should've been more specific, I wanted noodles made from flour."
"Hmph."
Not taking the plate of food, she instead walks over towards the couch and sits on her lonesome.
I can't say I blame her, I understand her actions; Mari's lying. She hates liars. But I too had lied to her, but I think I made up for it. So in time, if Mari really is my wife, I'd like for her to make up with her.
"I'll buy her some buns later."
"...I feel as though I may have offended her. It's hard to trust people, especially now."
"Hmm. Why's that?"
Taking a seat, we both begin to eat as Mari explains the situation, though I already experienced first hand as to what's going on. The other Mafia group, though remaining hidden for the most part, the civilians are on edge. An all-out war could occur at the drop of a hat.
"I see... Well, it's not really my business anymore."
"But, you're part of one are you not?"
"I'd rather remain a dead man than to walk the path my previous self took."
Committing crimes of all sorts, not knowing if I'll live to see another day. I don't think I can live like that anymore. I did so because I had no other choice, I enjoyed it because I didn't know about anything else. But now, my hearts at a different place; it's with the oath I pledged to her. The apprentice of the woods.
"...Then, how about me? You truly don't remember me, do you?"
Unable to answer with words, I could only nod as I finish my plate.
"Thanks for the food. Could I look around upstairs? It might help with my memory."
"Okay."
Rising with me despite not finishing her portion, we head upstairs. There's a total of five rooms; two bedrooms, storage, bathroom, and laundry room.
"Two bedrooms? Is one spare?"
"No, one belongs to you and the other belongs to me."
She says so like it was the most obvious thing in the world. But from what I hear, a married couple usually shares one.
"You weren't..." trying to find the right words to say, it's as though she's thoroughly choosing her words to avoid a misunderstanding, "You didn't like the idea, of sharing a room."
Marriage is a bond forged by love; with such a strong emotion, naturally, trust also comes into factor as they equal to form an unbreakable bond. And yet. When I look into her eyes, it's as though, she's avoiding something; a ghost from her past.
Once bitten, twice the shy. Something happened in the past in which wouldn't like to repeat.
"Umm, okay. May I see mine?"
Opening the door to the furthest room on the right, I step in and gaze around at the seemingly ordinary room. A bed, closet and an office desk with a few pages and folders stacked about. A laptop lays upon the bed as it's still charging.
Looking back to Mari, she's still at the doorstep peering in.
"What are you doing?"
I ask her as though in her eyes, there's an invisible wall separating the two of us.
"Y-You didn't like me... Going into your room, let alone see... I-I'm sorry..."
About to walk away like she was afraid of the repercussions, I step towards her and take her hand before bringing her in.
"...It's fine."
Letting go of her frail, trembling hand, I further inspect the area and the pages stacked upon the table.
"...Whenever you look at me, you look so relieved. When I saw you a few days back, you truly did look like you missed me."
From one page to the next, I skim through them, however, the text seems to have become blank; incoherent as my mind isn't focused on finding myself. Instead, it's finding out about her.
"H-Henr-, I-I..."
Stuttering before coming to a blank as though she's unable to find the correct words to say, I turn to her as tears are already falling down her cheeks.
"But, during that... Something about it seemed wrong, behind that weary face; it's as though you were afraid of something."
The lie. I want to know what it is. I want to know why.
"N-No, I-I wasn't afraid of anything..." grasping her arm with one hand, her other pinches her thigh as though to tell her body to stop trembling, "You were right... I was happy to see you, so much that I couldn't breathe."
Unable to lock eyes with me, she stares at a blank space.
"You know, fear can also play a factor with how one breathes."
As though she caught on, she finally looks to me as though I saw through her.
"N-No, I-I wasn't... How could you say that? How could you doubt your own wife? I-..."
As her words fade into nothingness, what she just mentioned; in reality, it means very little to me.
After all, as cruel as it is. I don't know her. If a stranger says that you're their significant other, of course it'll come off as fishy and most of the time being an outright lie. Most of the time, people would laugh it off and not think anything of it.
I may or may not be Mari's husband, but that doesn't mean I don't have any correlations with her.
I'm sorry if I hurt you, but, as of now, I must know the truth.
"We can tell. You are lying, and you're a bad one at that."
The girl steps in from the corridor as she must've overheard us. If it weren't for her, I may have not even found out about Mari's lie.
"W-Why... Why do you accuse me of lying?"
Trapped within this very room, she could push past the girl and run, however, I expect it'd serve little use.
"I trusted too many in the past; and all, were liars. I thought I'd never trust one again."
Stepping into the room, Mari backs away equal to her steps as she pushes herself up against the wall.
"...Y-You. H-Henri-... You choose to believe her over me..?"
"When I thought, I could use this one as a sacrifice to see her one last time. It all changed."
Looking up to me, I think back to the days I spent with her. Teaching her all sorts of things. Although her current hatred towards lies is immense, there's a minuscule gap in which a lie can be acceptable depending on the matter.
A transparent lie can easily be seen through, however, if its pigment is changed to white. It may be acceptable.
As Mari looks to me as though to plea, It'd be a lie if I said it didn't hurt me.
"...I believe her, I trust her with everything I have. Because she saved me; not once but twice. Our encounter may not have been optimal, she may have killed me in the end. But, she chose not to. So, yes. I believe her over you, Mari."
"...T-That... hurts... I-" sliding down the wall as though her legs cannot hold her up any longer, she grabs hold of her chest as her expression warps in pain, "You... said that to me when we first met... and now, you... you don't even know me anymore."
As the girl grasps my hand, she looks back up to me as I could tell by the look on her eyes. Her emotions; Mari's emotions towards Henrik isn't a fabrication, it's the truth.
"I... don't know what I should do... Everything... it all-" crying as though she truly has loved a beloved, seeing her in such way, it tugs against my own heart. "Why did it come to this, I didn't want it to be like this..."
"Mari, I want to know. You don't have to lie."
...
Sitting in the living room, we both watch TV as the girl rests against my lap. The shows haven't exactly been amusing and the moment I thought to stick to a children's animation, she nudged her elbow against my wound.
And so we sat for awhile watching an animal documentary as the girl voices all sorts of nonsense. The forest she lived in and the more normal ones are vastly different; to the point where she calls the normal ones weird.
We gave Mari some time to think, an hour to be exact; and just before it ticked over, footsteps resound from behind as she descends down the stairs. Turning the TV off to greet her, we hop off to meet her halfway by the dining table.
"So, Mari, have you decided?"
I told her, if she continued in her attempts to pull the wool over our eyes, I'll leave her without looking back. There is a reason she greeted me that day and I don't think she'll simply let me walk; especially if I truly am the person she loves.
"Yes... I'm sorry, for lying to you."
Taking a seat as she rubs her fingers against her temple, she heaves a heavy sigh.
"...There's just, no way I could've ever paid you back. For what you did for me," revealing a warm smile, it's as though she's reliving the memories of her past, "I'm in debt to you, and I thought I always would be. I hated that, I knew that no matter what I could do for you, I could never receive your honest gratitude."
"...Just, what kind of person was I. I can only remember fragments, and everything I do remember doesn't add up."
"I..."
As her voice trails off, I grab a seat and sit in front of her.
"Please, I want to know. What you're keeping from us, and why. Can't you tell me at least that?"
"...You were, a very easy going person. When I met you, you changed my life for the better. I was happier, knowing someone was there for me. That there was reason, to love myself and reason to be proud of myself."
Unfolding the events of the previous life I spent with her, she works an office job and is exceptionally well at what she does. She devoted everything she had into it so she could be recognised for what she's worth. Her parents died when she was little and was then adopted by her grandparents of whom never truly cherished her. She grew up not knowing how to act, and what exactly is considered to be great.
"An upstanding person..? Me?"
I can't say I believe it.
"...You were, until... something changed. You came back one day, turning down my advances, and then, you became brash. You threatened me and never looked at me in the same way you did back then."
"...If that's the case, then why continue to love such a person?"
"Because," taking my hand with both of hers, her touch is both soft and warm as she places them against her cheek, "You still, agreed to marry me. So I chose to devote myself to you, so you could find it in yourself to love me again. You changed my life, so I thought, I could change yours."
Staring at me as her eyes glimmer, a small memory resurfaces.
"...We met, at a coffee shop."
I was there for a cup of coffee before going to work, however, back then, I was only working as a news reporter. Not looking where she was going, she bumped into me as her cup slipped and stained my coat. Being an upstanding person in her eyes, I forgave her as she offered to wash my coat at her apartment, we both spoke over a cup of coffee and came to understand each other.
I investigated further into her work firm in which she was getting overworked and was holding withstanding money to other companies, so I found a way to ultimately place her boss's position in jeopardy via the spread of information online as it became visible to the public face.
However, it seems she didn't fall in love with me for that. It was because I was just myself.
After I got my neck too deep into the underground, I was forced to work for the Big Boss. Instead of being a news reporter, I was instead made to put those talents into incorporating schemes under his wing; I took many jobs in which to pay off my debt to the Big Boss.
I told her I quit being a reporter and simply became a salaryman.
"How could I have forgotten about you? I'm the worst..."
Pulling away from her, I step out to the balcony to clear my head off. Accompanied by the wind, I sometimes just stood here and gazed out at the town I came to hate. No matter where I went, I couldn't escape from him. So instead, I chose to focus solely on the work and not think too deeply into things.
"Henrik..."
Calling out to me, Mari stands just by the entrance to the veranda as I stare back to her.
"I think I'm coming to terms with being Henrik, but. Mari... there's just one more thing."
I take out the ticket and show it to her as I watch her expression shift dramatically.
"W-Where did you get that?"
"...She found it in your room."
Turning to see the girl, she's already standing a few feet away with her attention fixated solely on Mari.
"...P-Please, don't get the wrong idea, Henrik I-"
"It's yours, isn't it? Or is it that ma-"
"No!!"
Suddenly raising her voice, a long silence persists after as her breathing becomes haggard.
"He... It's not him, that man..."
Sure enough, it seems she has admitted that man to have been here. Long enough for the girl to notice his lingering cologne.
"Who was that man? What was he doing here?"
"...A few days after you left, that man came knocking. He said he knew you very well, and so I thought he knew where you were so I..."
"...What happened?"
"...I-I was so scared... He said you owed someone a lot of money, and since you ran away... It fell onto me. I thought he was trying to trick me, so I said I couldn't, and then he-"
Collapsing on the spot, tears drip down her cheeks as I rush to her aid.
"After I declined... he got angry and, said that I'm in no position to refuse and then he... threw himself onto me."
"He what?"
Feeling a strange constricting feeling against my gut, it's as though something's pulling inside me
"H-He didn't do anything to me in the end, but... He could have, so I took it as a warning..."
"And, you sold yourself."
The girl abruptly speaks as though showed no real concern of her.
"I, have only seen the outside of those places. But. The women they have outside, inviting people in. It's obvious to what they do."
"..."
She stays silent as though what the girl said was indeed the truth. Somehow, I wanted to deny it, however, I couldn't. And after the long prolonged silence, she musters up a light laugh of defeat.
"...It's like, you can see into peoples hearts, witch apprentice."
Looking to me, it's as though she's pleading for me to say something, anything. But, what can I say? Did she really commit such deeds despite being married?
"...You know, I really wanted you to deny that. You aren't lying, are you?"
"..."
Comments (0)
See all