The Lying Counselor’s Eloquent Reasoning - Chapter 12
“I, I, if only I didn’t run out of the house earlier…”
On the sofa in the hospital, Tomomi cowered and shivered. She was in the corridor of the emergency room of the general hospital near the accident site. Tomomi’s mother had been brought here immediately by ambulance after the accident. She must be undergoing urgent medical care in the treatment room behind the door.
“Why did she save me… Isn’t this just taking my place…”
Her head felt like it was about to explode from anxiety. What would I do if she ended up dying like this? Cold sweat beaded on her palms.
“Hey, it’s you, Tomomi. What’s wrong with your face, you look like it’s the end of the world?”
A man approached from across the hallway. It was Uroma, a skinny, tall, hunchbacked man in a white coat with an unhealthy look on his face.
“You… why are you here?”
The encounter was indeed too unpredictable, and Tomomi was startled.
“What? This is nothing more than a coincidence. Just moments ago, I was passing by this hospital, and I spotted an ambulance stopped at the entrance. So I got curious and stretched my neck to check it out when I noticed you stepping out of the ambulance. The atmosphere seemed to be quite unordinary. That makes me even more intrigued as to what’s going on, doesn’t it?”
“And you came in the middle of it?”
“Yes. Thanks to this outfit, I was able to enter here with almost a free pass.”
Uroma pinched the collar of his white coat and fluttered it. Certainly, in that outfit, he appeared to be a member of the hospital staff. Even his pale complexion was somewhat reminiscent of that.
“So, who exactly are you accompanying here, Tomomi?”
“Actually??”
Even if she kept her mouth shut, she would only be subjected to annoying scrutiny. Tomomi was honest and revealed the situation.
“Hmm. That’s too bad to hear. Because of you, your mother was struck by a motorcycle. It was your fault, Tomomi.”
”I-I know! Don’t repeat it over and over!”
As always, he was a man who agitated people at any opportunity. Tomomi couldn’t help but raise her voice.
“But this is strange. When you visited me before, you were very critical of your mother, right? So, I wonder why you have such a concerned look on your face??If the person you loathe was hit by a motorcycle in your place, isn’t that rather a lucky thing??”
“How can this be lucky! Don’t be ridiculous!”
Is this man bound to say something that can only provoke people’s nerves?
“Even if I don’t like her, it is my fault she’s in this situation! I have to feel responsible for it!”
“Well, yes. Normally, conscience and guilt can be set. You would feel a tremendous deal of pain.”
Uroma’s tone was stilted as if he had something else to add. His eyes were as cloudy as ever, yet it seemed as if he could see right through her heart. Tomomi gradually began to feel suffocated.
“In the first place, how come you weren’t honestly rejoicing when your mother decided to move out? Your conduct seems to indicate that you didn’t want her to leave??”
“You’re right! Exactly what you think! Everything! All of it!”
Finally, unable to cope anymore, Tomomi shouted at the top of her voice. At that moment, something seemed to burst in her heart.
“After being so kind to me, suddenly leaving me like this is cruel! That’s not fair! If she moves out, I’ll be all alone! I absolutely don’t want… that!”
Tears welled up in her eyes as she spoke. They were hot tears.
“So, did you pull another suicide stunt to keep your mother from leaving?”
“Yeah… I only hoped that she would stay with me. I don’t want her to go anywhere else.”
That’s right. Why hadn’t I realized my true feelings before? It was all true, exactly as the man in front of me had pointed out before. All I wanted is to be pampered by her, my new mother. I simply wish to be cherished.
But I refused to be honest with myself. I was trapped in the belief that the only mother I could call my own was my biological mother who passed away two years earlier. Regardless of how kind she treated me, I thought I should not open my heart to her. I was only a child. That is why I did such a stupid thing as imitating suicide.
“What shall I do… I don’t wish for my mother to die any longer…”
With tears streaming down her cheeks, Tomomi looked down. The separation from her own mother had been abrupt. Therefore, she never desired to lose her mother again.