My lovely lady

Keigo, wake up soon! Keigo.”

A familiar voice, accompanied by a knock on the door, woke me up. Is that mother's voice? What time is it?

I slowly sat up, took a deep breath and exhaled. My eyes looked up at the running wall clock.

Is it eight o'clock in the morning?

"I'll be right out, mom."

I woke up a little later than usual today, probably because I was too busy reading and learning about Tokyo last night.

I quickly grabbed the beautiful clothes that were prepared in advance from the closet, then opened the door and ran to the bathroom.

"Be careful, kid."

Just as my mother mentioned it, I fell over from slipping in the bathroom.

“D- It hurts!”

"I told you."

Fortunately, my head is fine, now I can shower and get ready quickly. The first thing is to wash your face.

"What is this?"

I held a strange bottle in my hand and read it and realized it was a facial cleanser. Ah yes, I bought this bottle yesterday.

“My memory is not very good these days.”

I spent about fifteen minutes getting ready in the bathroom, straightening my hair and putting on my brand new clothes, and went downstairs.

Black pants and a white shirt always look good on me, and then put on another winter coat and you're done.

"You're wearing it well, Keigo."

The person who just praised was my father, he was the same as usual. Reading the newspaper before going to work.

"Daddy's a little late for work today, isn't he?"

"I took my first shift off today."

My father is currently working as an employee for a company in town, my mother is a housewife and sometimes sells goods in the market. My family is not very well off, but living in the town should help a bit.

"And are you ready, kid?"

"I'm ready, Dad. It's just Tokyo, and don't call me kid. I'm sixteen years old."

After hearing my answer, my beer belly dad laughed.

"You stayed up all night studying Tokyo, didn't you?"

"There's no such thing as that, Dad."

I got caught by my old man, I can't seem to beat him.

“Do you have any food, Mom? I'm so hungry."

"I made boxed rice for you."

So today I won't eat at home, I have to bring lunch box to go and eat. It all happened quite unexpectedly for me.

"Just put it in my backpack."

About two weeks before entering my second year of high school, my school officially stopped teaching. The new policy forces students here to look elsewhere to study, and I am no exception.

I could wait for them to build a new school, but that seems like a long time. I must have given birth by then.

“And the family doesn't have to send me all the way to Tokyo. Tuition there is both expensive and commuting.”

Suddenly my parents became serious again. My father started telling me all sorts of things.

"It's okay, Keigo. My parents have calculated it well… and even if I don't have enough money, I will still borrow money for my children to study.”

My old man… he touched me so much. Unable to disappoint my family, I had to study hard when I went to Tokyo. Let me be filial to them.

“Thanks you two! I won't let anyone down."

This family has only me, so the future will be decided by me. This town is not a place for everyone to get rich, so it is my honor to come to Tokyo to study and develop.

"But it's almost time for the train to arrive. You must wait at the station first.”

Before leaving, I hugged my father and mother tightly. My gentle mother also checked, double-checked my backpack a few times to see if I had forgotten anything.

"I'll go, you two. Parents, remember to take care of your health.”

I don't know why, but I feel so sad right now, I feel like I want to cry. Seeing them standing in front of the house, and I am going further and further away makes my heart hurt so much that I can't stand it.

"You go carefully."

"I love you so much son."

Waved at them a few times, then I turned my head away and moved forward. From my house to the train station is quite close, it only takes about ten minutes to walk to the place.

Tokyo must be very different from the countryside, the Japanese countryside is usually sparsely populated, the roads are wide and clean. Usually I go to school by bicycle, but when I go to Tokyo, I will probably walk.

Because I have found myself a hostel near the school and it is on discount, it is very suitable for students like me who cannot afford it.

“Where are you going? Dressed so well, it must have gone a long way, right?”

It's the uncle who works at the train station, I rarely go to the station so he probably won't recognize me. And I know this uncle, because only he works here.

"Yes, I'm going to Tokyo."

"It's going to be a long journey, isn't it?"

What's the journey? Which… can be considered as a new journey, a new life is waiting for me.

"Yes sir."

"It's almost time, you better get on the train and sit down."

The train station where I live is usually very empty, so moving and checking in is super easy. I really like this spot in the countryside, people here are sociable and friendly too.

Not sure how friends in Tokyo will be…

I sat inside the train for about five minutes, then the train started to run, there are only about six people on the train now if you include me.

An elderly woman sat near me, a young man in a very elegant suit sat opposite. He must have come from the city to visit his hometown. And finally a small family consisting of a husband and wife and one child, this kid must be about four to five years old.

I don't know this family, but they must have been going to the city to find a new life.

“Are you hungry?”

Looks like the old woman heard my stomach growl.

“A- Ah… yes, but I have food. I'm fine, thank you for your kindness."

The old woman was worried that I was hungry, so she invited me to eat her meal, but I refused gently. But I'll have to open it to see what my mother did for me today.

“Who made you that part? Must be very skillful."

"Yes! It's my mother, ma'am."

My mother is so attentive, just one meal but she makes two servings of rice balls, one beef rice, two shrimps and some vegetables.

This is enough for me to eat until I'm full.

"Thanks for meal."

After saying that, I quickly took my chopsticks and started eating, the taste was the same as usual. Today was a bit more delicious, I'm sure my mother knew that this was a meal to see me off to Tokyo, so she made it carefully.

I'm so happy to eat my mom's food...

After eating and drinking, I looked at the scenery in my town for the last time, in this town I don't have many friends. So when I went, I went alone, and maybe because I was too focused on studying, I wasted my time making friends.

Regardless, I still choose to study first to help support my family, instead of making friends and hanging out.

I was still sitting there looking at the scenery while the train ran, time just kept going. Sitting on the train like that makes me so nervous, I want to see what Tokyo is like in real life.

It won't take long to get there, I'm looking forward to it.

…