The Secrets Behind the Mask

Chapter 6 - Returning of Past Memories

“Um, hello.” The woman greeted which brought me back to my senses. She was smiling brightly along with her eyes. Anyone who would see that will probably think that she’s friendly and approachable. But it was different for me. “I came to say hi and introduce myself since we will be living together in this neighborhood starting today. I hope I’m not disturbing you.”

I stared at her for a while, then took a deep breath before flashing a small smile on my lips. “Hi,” I greeted as I walked towards her. “No, it’s okay. We’re just watching movies inside.”

“Oh, that’s great!” She happily exclaimed. “I saw you a while ago, and you really caught my attention. I’m happy to know that my neighbor is, I think, the same age as me. By the way, I’m Naoko Uchida, 21 years old, and I came from Tokyo.”

A surprised expression flashed on my face upon hearing that she came from Tokyo too, but I tried to conceal it as fast as I could. For some reason, a thought came into my mind that what if we had already seen each other before. But then again, Tokyo is a large city, and there was a slim chance that we were living in the same district.

I watched as she extended her right hand towards me for a handshake, but she took it back when she noticed that my right hand was injured.

“Oooops. Sorry about that.” She said, then extended her left hand so I could shake hands with her, which I reluctantly accepted.

“It’s fine. Nice to meet you. I’m Annika Turner, 21 years old.” I introduced.

I intentionally did not mention that I came from Tokyo too, and I did not want her to know. Because what happened to me in Tokyo has been broadcasted in the local news there, though Aunt Claire tried her best to ask news publishers and journals in Tokyo to not mention anything about my name, or anything personal about our family.

She was worried that it might affect me and our family, and that was also one of the reasons why after I got discharged from the hospital, I immediately transferred here to Sapporo, while Aunt Claire’s family transferred to Osaka. And even though the news did not mention anything about my name or our family, all our neighbors in that neighborhood knew that it was me. For sure that information has been passed down to others – probably in the whole city of Tokyo.

“Nice to meet you too, Annika. You have such a good name.” She complimented, still wearing the same bright smile.

“Thank you. Yours too.” I complimented back. The meaning of her name is really beautiful because Naoko in Japanese means ‘sincere child.' But it was kind of contradicting to how I felt about her.

Naoko giggled. “Thank you. And oh!” she exclaimed before showing me a white box that she had been holding since she got there. “Before I forgot, here. I brought some desserts for you as my way of introducing myself as your new neighbor.”

In Japanese culture, there is a custom of people giving gifts to their neighbors after they transferred to a new place or neighborhood. This is one of their ways to build a good relationship with their neighbors. The gift can be anything. But for practical reasons, others might give consumable products such as soap, cookies, green tea, and noodles.

I looked at the box and accepted it with a forced smile on my face. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I know I should be giving you something like cookies or noodles, but I thought that you would like American desserts. You’re an American, right?” She shyly asked.

“Yeah, I am. You don’t have to worry about it. I love desserts, and honestly, anything would be fine for me.”

To my surprise, she gasped excitedly, then clasped her hands together in front of her. “That’s great! I love making desserts, and I’m studying at a culinary school here in Sapporo. The next time I try making desserts, is it okay if I share some with you? I want to know your opinion about it.”

“…Um…yeah, sure.” I reluctantly agreed. “That would be my pleasure.”

Naoko sweetly chuckled. “Thank you. I’m looking forward to it.” She said, then bowed her head. “I think, I already took much of your time. I’ll go back to my house now.”

“Yeah. Thank you again for your gift.”

“Don’t mention it.” She said.

However, the smile and facial expression on her face suddenly changed. Her eyes, which were shining brightly a while ago became too dark, and her lips stretched more like a sneer than a smile. Someone might not notice the subtle changes in her, but I can, considering how close I was standing from her spot. My guard went up as I kept my eyes on her.

“I’m really glad to finally meet you, Annika. I hope we can be friends.” She said in a low tone, which made me feel more alert than before. “See you next time.” She added, and with that, she waved goodbye before turning back to her house.

I watched her with both a surprised and horrified expression. Who would not when someone you just met showed something like that to you. I don’t really feel good about her, I thought to myself. My gaze shifted at the box I was holding. I had no idea what it was because it was kept in a closed box. But…

She did not put anything in here, right? I suspiciously asked myself. I knew I sounded ungrateful, but I can’t help it. First, she showed me that kind of smile as if she was hiding or planning something. Then second, I saw her staring at me as if she was watching me. And now, she showed that expression which made me feel worst about her.

Did she really mean something with that? Or…she’s just like that? I thought to myself and looked at Naoko one more time, but she was not there anymore. I sighed in my defeat and decided to return to the house. I passed through the hallway and headed straight to the living room where I left Mika.

When I came into the living room, the movie that we were previously watching had already ended, and I saw Mika holding the remote and choosing some movies on the screen. My eyebrows furrowed as I walked towards her.

“Not yet done watching movies?” I asked.

“One more movie.” She answered without turning at me.

I rolled my eyes and sat beside her on the couch. “The last time you said that it took you three more movies before you stopped.”

“That’s always how it is.” Mika reasoned while chuckling, then she turned towards my direction. I saw her eyes traveled down from my face down to the box I was holding. She tilted her head on the side in her confusion. “What’s that?”

“Naoko Uchida, our new neighbor, came to introduce herself and gave this to me as a gift. She said it’s an American dessert.”

“Oh,” The excitement was visible in her face because, like me, Mika loves dessert. “What dessert?”

“I don’t know. Check it yourself.” I shrugged my shoulders and handed her the box.

Mika got the box from me without any hesitation, and I watched as she opened it with too much excitement like a child has when their parents give them their favorite toy. I turned away at her and was about to stand from the couch to head towards the kitchen when suddenly, I heard Mika loudly gasped.

“Oh my god,” she exclaimed, which made me turn at her. My eyes instantly landed on whatever was inside the box and was taken aback when I saw what kind of dessert it was – a cheesecake. “Annika, this is my favorite!”

I looked at Mika, who was so into the dessert as if she would eat it all down if I told her. Then my gaze shifted back at the innocent food inside the box and felt my stomach churned in disgust. It was not because I hate it, but because…it reminded me of my past when I was seven years old.

I used to love cheesecake, in fact, I could eat nothing but cheesecake in a whole week if only Mom would allow me. But it has changed after what Paul Jackson did to me and my family. Paul Jackson used to make those for me, and he would always give me some whenever he visited our house. There were times that Mom caught me eating too much cheesecake that she refrained me from eating more than one piece a day.

I protested and cried because I wanted it so bad, and Paul Jackson saw how sad I was. It was at that time when Paul Jackson and I became like partners in crime. He gave me one cheesecake every time he visited the house, and before he left, he would ask Mom if I could walk him to the gate. My mom always allowed me, but the truth was, that was just an excuse Paul Jackson made up so he could give me one more piece of cheesecake.

I was so happy during that time, and Paul always told me how he wished to have a child like me. I was not sure if he had a child because he never mentioned it, and he never brought his kid to our house, so I assumed he and his former wife did not have any kids. That day, was the time when he asked me if I can consider him as my second dad, and he asked me to call him Papa.

My eyes immediately looked away from the dessert. Just remembering those things made me feel sick and want to throw up. I tightly shut my eyes for a while to calm my mind and forget about that memory, but I reverted to reality when I heard Mika called me.

“Annika, it looks delicious. Let’s eat it.” She invited in a lively tone.

I turned back at her and saw her eyes shone in both excitement and crave. I forced a smile on my lips as sincerely as I can, even though I knew that Mika would easily find out that I was only faking it. It took her only a second before she noticed that something was off about me, and her smile faded.

“Why are looking like that? Is there something wrong?” She worriedly asked.

“Nothing,” I said while shaking my head. “It’s just…I don’t eat cheesecake.”

Mika stared at me for a while before her eyes widened in surprise. “No way! Why? It’s one of the most beautiful things that was created in human history.”

My eyebrows furrowed, and I stared at her with a judging look. “Now, you’re overreacting.”

“I’m not! It’s the truth, and its taste is superb. Haven’t you tried it even once?”

“I…I tried it once when I was a kid, and I…didn’t like it.” I lied.

“What? Why?” Mika asked as if what I said about the cheesecakes was so important to the world. “You should try it again. Here, have some. Maybe the first one that you’ve tried was not that delicious.” She persuaded. I watched in horror as she got me one piece of the dessert from the box.

“No, no.” I declined while I waved my hand in the air to show how much I did not want it. “I don’t want it, really. Besides, I’m already full, so you can have it all if you want.”

I knew so well that line would work against Mika. But it still surprised me when her hand stopped as she got the dessert, and she slowly stared at me with eyes full of expectations. Like, she wanted me to confirm if she heard it, right.

Just how much does she love those cheesecakes? I thought to myself while I tried to stop myself from laughing.

“Are you sure?” Mika asked, filled with hope.

I flashed a small smile. “Yeah. You can have it all.” Her eyes looked at those six pieces of cheesecake, then back at me.

“Okay. Thanks,” Mika said without any hesitation while beaming as she smiled. She turned at the television again and started munching the dessert without paying much attention to me nor the movie playing on the screen. I silently let out a deep breath in my relief that my plan worked.

“I’ll go in my room and will be back later,” I said. I knew that Mika would not go against it because her whole attention was on the food in front of her. She nodded repeatedly in response with puffed cheeks and unable to speak.

I took that chance to escape and hurriedly stood from the couch to head towards my bedroom upstairs. As soon as I reached my room and closed the door behind me, I immediately went to my bed and lazily lay down. I sighed in contentment when I felt the soft fabrics of my bedsheets against my skin. It has been a long day for me, and I felt really tired even it was only past 4:00 PM.

I felt the sleepiness slowly crept into my body, and I was about to close my eyes when suddenly, I noticed the shoulder bag I used that morning, lying in a disorganized manner on top of my bedside table. I stared at it for a while as I contemplated whether I should put it back on my cabinet before I sleep or just leave it like that and put it back later when I woke up.

It should not be a big deal. But I cannot really take it whenever I see something disorganized inside my house. I cannot leave it that way and do nothing about it, especially when I’m fully aware of what I must do. The urge to stand up and put it back in the cabinet was as strong as my urge to sleep, creating a severe disturbance in my head. In the end, I decided to stand up and do what should be done.

Fine. I’ll do it. It won’t take half a minute, anyway, I thought to myself as I slowly pushed my body up with my uninjured hand. I reached for the bag and was about to put it back in the cabinet when I felt something unusual about it. I stared at it for a while and tried to pull it up, then down, twice, then my eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Why does it feel heavier than usual? I asked myself. I only put my phone and wallet in here. In an attempt to put my confusion to an end so I could finally sleep, I decided to check what was inside the bag, rummaging all the pockets, and was taken aback when I found out what it was.

My eyes widened in both shock and horror when I saw a familiar book cover inside my bag – the same book cover that got my attention this morning. It was only then when I realized that I brought home the book from the café with me.

W-what? How did this get in here? I asked myself as I tried to recall what happened that morning, and it did not take long before I remembered everything.

“Oh my god,” I exclaimed in my shock and stared at the book.

I finally remembered that I was busy reading it when suddenly, I realized that I was already late for my checkup appointment. Due to panic, I absentmindedly put the book inside my bag, then asked for the receipt. I was so occupied with the thought that I would not make it in time that morning, that I forgot that the book was not mine and brought it with me.

I let out a disappointed sigh and closed my eyes in my annoyance. “s**t, that was so embarrassing, Annika. What if they thought that you purposely stole it?”

I hurriedly went out of my room and headed downstairs to the living room to tell Mika about it. However, as I was about to turn towards the living room, Mika suddenly came into my view, causing us to almost collide. It was a good thing that I instinctively moved backward before the impact to protect my injured hand.

“Hey,” Mika complained. “You surprised me!”

“You surprised me too!”

“It’s your fault for running like that. You should not run in the hallway of your house, you know?” She retorted. “Why are you in such a hurry?”

“I…” I started. “I think I did something stupid,” I admitted as panic rushed in my system.

Mika furrowed. “What? What did you do this time?” She asked accusingly. I raised my hand which was holding the book I brought home with me, and put it near her face. Mike held my hand and put it down. “I know that’s a book. What about it?”

“It isn’t mine.” There was a short pause before Mika finally understood what I meant, then her eyes widened in surprise.

“You stole it?”

“What? No! I did not!” I defended. “Why would I steal a book when I can afford to buy one for myself.”

“Then why do you have that? And whose book is that?”

I bit my lip. “That’s actually the problem. This book isn’t owned by just any individual. It is a business property. But please, I did not really steal it. I just…I just did not realize that I brought it back home with me this morning.”

“Oh my god. How could you forget and not realize something like that?” Mika blamed.

She got the book from my hand and opened it to look for any information. She flipped the book and opened the back cover, then she gasped when she saw from where I got the book. She looked at me with a worried and disappointed expression.

“It’s that new café’s property?” She asked in her disbelief, and I only managed to nod in response. “Did someone see you putting this in your bag?”

“I…I don’t know. But no one stopped me while I was absentmindedly putting it inside.”

“That’s so embarrassing, Annika.”

“I know! That’s why I’m panicking. I’m planning to return it now. Stay here and wait for me, okay?” I said and snatched the book from her. I was about to walk towards the entrance door when Mika held my arm and stopped me. I turned at her with a confused and annoyed expression.

“You can’t.”

“Why? What do you mean?”

“Didn’t you saw the announcement they put outside their store? It says that they will close at 12NN today until Sunday due to some important engagement their business has.” She informed me, and I felt all my energy drained after hearing that. There was a long pause before I managed to respond.

“…What?

“I said you won’t be able to return it until Sunday. You have to wait.”

“But…that would be more embarrassing to return it after so many days have passed.”

“Yeah. But even if you go there now, you still can’t return it. The store is closed.” Mika explained. I parted my lips and was about to protest when she spoke again. “For the meantime, use that book. Read it. It must be really good for you to be so engrossed about it and thought about bringing it home subconsciously.”

Well, she’s not wrong though. The story is really well-written that it got my whole attention while reading it. It was so good that the thought about skipping my checkup appointment so I could continue reading it even crossed my mind at that time.

My eyes looked down at the book in my hand. It’s okay if I will borrow it for a few more days, right?