Curing the Storm

He’s really messed up. What was he thinking? Toshiki rubbed his forehead. Now what?

“Toshiki? Toshiki?”

He jerked his head upward. Don waved his hand in front of his face.

“Huh?” the veteran asked.

“Are you okay?” his boss asked. Toshiki frowned.

“No,” he said. He shut his eyes and gritted his teeth.

“I screwed up, sir,” he said. “It’s bad. Really bad.”

“What did you do?” Don asked. Toshiki buried his head in his hands. He broke down and told him the whole story.

“Wow,” Don said. Toshiki felt like crying.

“Why would you do that?” Don asked.

“I don’t know!” the veteran wailed. “It just slipped out.” Toshiki sighed.

“Now she won’t talk to me,” he said.

“I mean, I don’t blame her,” Don said. The veteran stared at him. His boss shrugged.

“You might as well have said that you like her because she looks like your old girlfriend,” he said.

“I know. I know.”

“So… what are you going to do about it?”

Toshiki lifted his head. “Huh?”

“You have to apologize.”

“I know.” He clenched his fists on his lap.

“I just… I… I don’t know what to say to her.”

“You have to try.”

Toshiki gave him an odd look. “I don’t get it.”

“Get what?” Don asked. The veteran thought about how to ask this.

“When did you get nicer?” he asked.  Don shrugged.

“You look like a hurt puppy, kid,” he said. He gave him a little punch on the arm. Toshiki sat silent. An odd look came across his face.

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While he tries to work through how to make it right with Yumi, the world keeps changing. Things might get complicated. Maybe for better. Maybe for worse. Either way, Toshiki froze. This situation felt oddly familiar. This sort of thing has happened before. Oh…

“Oh…” he said.