Summer had finished and it was time for Ken to go back to school. The day when his school was re-opening, he reached school an hour early hoping he could meet him before any of his classmates reached school. Luckily Kuroso Sensei reached at the right time when Ken had expected him.

“Oh, if it isn’t Ken, it’s a surprise to see you this early”

“Kuroso Sensei I needed to talk to you”

“That’s another surprise”

The two of them made their way to Ken’s classroom. Ken’s mother was a Principal and Kuroso Sensei had worked under her for three years before transferring to Ken’s school. So the two of them were very close and Kuroso Sensei had joined them many times for dinner.

“So, what did you need to talk about?”

“Uh, Kuroso Sensei you are well past the thirties, are handsome, are well behaved, surely you must have had a woman or two”

“Where is that coming from?”

“Please just answer”

“Yeah, I’ve had a woman or two, why?”

“There is something I wanna talk about, I can only speak to a male about it, and I’m too embarrassed to talk with Kai, you’re the only male I’m comfortable with. So, I thought I should talk to you”

“Okay, so what’s your problem?”

“There is a girl I’m interested in, but I’m not too sure about it”

“Okay, why are you not sure?”

“Because this is my first time feeling this way, and I’ve only known her for about two months, so…….”

“So?”

“I’m not sure whether I should feel this way or not?”

“Listen, Ken”, Kuroso Sensei was looking at him calmly, “Blessed are the fools who know the bliss of ignorance, cursed are the wise men who are observant”

“Meaning?”

“Sometimes people who are too analytical cannot enjoy any good thing in life, they will find a fault in everything. Whereas in comparison a fool only looks at a thing as how it is presented, therefore he enjoys that thing"

“…………”

“You said this is your first time feeling this way, right? let your heart be a fool because don’t you think you could have felt the same way earlier or later, why only with her”

Ken understood what Kuroso Sensei was trying to tell, “So it’s fine for me to like her, right?”

“Listen to your heart, what does it say”

Ken took some time but he replied, “It says it’s fine”

“See! the way of the heart is a hard way but the fruit you bear is equally sweet”

“But what if she doesn’t reciprocate my feelings?”, Ken asked with concern

“Listen Ken”, Kuroso Sensei had placed his hands on his shoulders, “Your first love will always be your best, this doesn’t mean you will never love again, it may or may not work out. The only important thing is to give it your best”

“Hai Sensei, I get it”, Ken was gleaming with satisfaction.

Kuroso Sensei put a lollipop in his mouth and patted his head, he loved treating his students like kids, “Ken knowing you, you won’t make a blunder, just give it your best”

“Arigato Sensei”

“By the way, Hana’s a good girl”, he flashed Ken his cool teacher smile

“Sensei how……”

Kuroso Sensei said nothing, he just waved at him and left the classroom.

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The previous re-opening of school after summer had not been exciting for Hana but a dreadful one, but this year it was different. She found herself excited to go to school. Once she reached school it was the same, meeting up with her friends, making fun of Kai, sharing their summer experience, etc. She noticed Ken was acting a little different, he was shyer near her than usual, whenever she spoke to him, he only replied in yes and no. When she asked him what the matter was, he said in an embarrassed tone, “It’s nothing, and you should know”, she found no response to his statement. After school got over, she happily went back home, thinking Ken was acting too cute. Once she reached home, she found her mom preparing various dishes.

“Whoa, Mom what’s up why the special preparation?”

Her mom said nothing she just asked her to help her to set the table.

“Mom, what is the occasion today?”

“It’s your father’s birthday”

Hana had completely forgotten about it. She could not believe her mom, “Mom why do you still do this? He is probably celebrating his birthday with some girl out there”, Hana screamed.

Her mom was furious she slapped Hana, “Don’t say such baseless things about your father”

Hana said nothing tears were rolling down from her eyes. She ran outside ignoring her mother’s call. She ran aimlessly for a while and finally settled on an empty bench outside the café. As she was in the process of cursing her father, she received a call from Saichiba, she chose to ignore it. After she had declined Saichiba’s call for three times, she heard her voice from behind

“Why aren’t you picking up the call?”

“Saichiba, how?”, Hana was surprised

“You forgot your copy in your desk, So I had come to your house to return it, and I saw you running away. So, I followed you”

“Saichiba, I want to be alone right now”

“Why?”

“You wouldn’t understand”

“And, why won’t I understand?”

“Cause your life’s perfect”

“Don’t say that”, Saichiba was suddenly serious, “No one’s life is perfect”

“Sorry but I can’t tell you”

“Try me”, said Saichiba challenging her

Hana was hesitant at first but as she started speaking words came pouring out of her. She couldn’t believe how much she had bottled inside of her. She told her how when she was small, she had a happy family. How she used to go picnic on Sundays with her parents, how she visited aquariums, theme parks, and zoo with her parents. How her father had been an integral part of it. But everything had changed once her father got transferred to Kyoto. He would spend lesser time with them. At first, Hana tried to adjust but soon her father’s absence concerned her. Soon, her mother found out that her father was having an affair with his senior in his office. Her mother tried to hide it from her but she was old enough to understand and she started to despise him. What was more frustrating for her was that her mother was still faithful to him and couldn’t move on. She finally added, “I’d be better if my father were dead”

Saichiba was listening patiently to her until the last statement. After Hana said about her father being dead, Saichiba slapped Hana, Hana was shocked

“Never say that no matter how big an asshole he is”, Saichiba was suddenly sad, “Hana chan let me tell you a secret, I’m an orphan”

Hana was speechless, she could only look at the ground.

“I lost my parents at the age of 9, both passed away in a plane crash, you don’t what I would give to see them one more time” Saichiba expression turned a little softer, “Therefore don’t say that. No matter how big a dork he has become, he did raise you right, don’t you think you would be sad if he passed away? And didn’t you say you love your mother? Everyone has their plus and minus point, if you love her you have to over-look and help her get rid of her minus points. Don’t let your father’s decision affect you're and your mom’s lives”, saying this she warmly embraced Hana.

Hana too hugged her and started breaking down. After she had settled down, she thanked Saichiba and they returned home. She apologized to her mom, her mom too apologized her for slapping her and not understanding her.

Hana decided she wouldn’t let her father affect her life any further.