Chapter 28

* * *“Hard at work, huh?”Mom walked in with a smile. For the last two months, Maru was living by the same pattern over and over again. School, library, gym, study. It was no surprise that his mom would say something like this to him at this point.“But… there’s nothing happening, is there?”“What’s happening?”“Mom’s happy that you’ve matured, but you know… It’s a bit sudden.”Mom put down a bag of chips on Maru’s desk. He looked up at his mother, who gave him a slightly awkward smile.“Just talk to me if there’s something going on, okay?”“Alright.”“Good.”Mom closed the door quietly on the way out. By the time she was halfway through closing, she called out to him.“I’ll knock from now on.”“It’s whatever.”Maru exclaimed at amazement inside. His parents were very perceptive about how he changed. Then again, he was the same with his daughter. It would actually be strange if they didn’t notice something. Mom probably thought that Maru just matured all of the sudden. It probably felt surprising to her.Well, equal parts surprising and disappointing. Maru was well acquainted with the feeling of watching a child leave their parent’s grasps. That feeling of learning that their children didn’t need them anymore.“I… should treat them well.”Thousands of thoughts passed by in his head. He didn’t really feel like studying anymore today. He closed the textbook and laid down on the bed with a new book. This one was an autobiography written by an actor. The man was apparently famous, but Maru had no clue of who he was. He just picked it up because it was in the recommended section.Maru started turning the page. After a while of it, he turned off the lights. Today was also a good day. Probably…