[18]

                                    

                                          
Tim was pacing in the living room restlessly, brow furrowed in a thoughtful expression. Sayuri had completely broken down that day and he couldn't drive away the haunting image of her pained face from his mind.
                          
His sister, who made sure not to ever let him know anything about the troubles she endured, had collapsed to a woeful mess. It was as if she was a glass doll who had shattered at last from constant misuse.
                          
Tim couldn't bear to see her in so much pain. He couldn't bear that Sayuri, who had always been a firm rock that supported him, had crumbled down to smithereens.
                          
Deep inside, he knew that if Richard hadn't been there with him, he would have broken down too. If he hadn't been there, Tim would have had absolutely no idea how to handle the situation his sister had fallen into.
                          
Richard had so far done remarkably well in calming her down though they had to give her a sleep simulating injection to put her off to sleep. Otherwise she had had difficulty in falling asleep since weeks which had resulted in even worse nightmares and exhaustion.
                          
He looked up when the door creaked open and Richard stepped out, blue eyes dimmed and face set in a pained look.
                          
"Is she asleep?" 
                          
"Yes," he replied, massaging his temples slightly, "hope she gets better in the morning."
                          
Tim gently took his arm, "Dick, I don't know how to thank you... If you hadn't been here..."
                          
However, he interrupted him, "it's okay, kiddo. I'm staying."
                          
"Did she tell you anything?" Tim was slightly impatient, concern evident from his voice, "anything at all... About what had happened to her, why she's so hurt?"
                          
He shook his head, "she wasn't that precise, y'know. She mentioned something about the past repeating itself but... That doesn't make sense to me. She's safe here, there's no reason for her to get worried about anything repeating, no matter how horrible it has been for her."
                          
"The past repeating itself?"
                          
"And the even more confusing part of all this... She said that she fears I would end up the same fate as hers if I ever let her get closer to me."
                          
"I don't know what that means either," Tim was pondering on his words as if they were clues, but unfortunately couldn't find any link to the meaning behind them. "Anything else she might have said?"
                          
He shrugged vaguely, "nope."
                          
A while passed in silence after which, Richard spoke up, "hey, I just recalled; she had said something in Japanese just before she fell asleep. If I repeat that to you maybe you could translate it?"
                          
Tim raised a brow in surprise but nodded nevertheless.
                          
"I don't know if I'm getting the pronunciation right or not. But it was something like this: watashi mo... anatao... Aishetemass?"
                          
Tim's eyes flickered in an unfathomable expression as he repeated, "do you mean; watashi mo anata o aishitemasu?"
                          
"Yeah, that."
                          
He sighed, "she had said she loves you too."
                          
Richard had not been expecting that answer as shock flitted across his features, "she does?"
                          
"If that's what she had said, then yes she does."
                          
An awkward silence prevailed among them as Richard tried to process what had just been revealed to him while Tim was focusing on her words.
                          
Just a short while later, Tim looked up as if he had figured out something. "She had said she loves you... She fears the past would repeat and you would end up in the same fate as her... She has told me multiple times that you remind her of someone she lost... That's it! Can't you see, Dick, that's exactly what she means."
                          
Richard glanced at him in bewilderment, "care to elaborate?"
                          
"I have a theory," he resumed in a fervor, eyes burning in determination, "Sayuri probably fell in love with someone in the past. Someone who was just as troubled as she is now. She might have cared for him, given him everything, just like you are doing so right now but that someone wasn't able to return the feelings or rather loved her but was too scared to accept it. Just like Sayuri is doing so right now... My guess is that she lost that love and it hurt her a lot. That's why she's pushing you away, she doesn't want you to end up like her. For she thinks that you're in the same position she was in years ago and fears that the past would repeat. You would lose her and get hurt due to it."
                          
Everything that came out of Tim's mouth made perfect sense to him. But still Richard was quite confused. "And when she had told you that I reminded her of someone she lost, was she referring to the person she had loved back then?"
                          
Tim shook his head, "not really. You remind her of her own self. It would be hard for you to believe but Sayuri was not always the shut out person you know her as. She used to be extremely expressive, straightforward and humorous. Over time, the vibrant aspects of her personality dimmed and she doesn't want that to ever happen to you."
                          
Richard pondered over his words as the puzzle pieces began to fit in his mind, "I had met your father a few days ago. And now that you've pointed this out, what he had said to me back then is making sense as well."
                          
Tim looked up at him in surprise, "and what did he say?"
                          
"He said if I really wanted Sayuri's betterment, then I must stay away from her. He had said that he was certain Sayuri would tell me the same if I asked her. Back then I thought he was just panic stricken and not speaking meaningfully. But now I can see why he had said that."
                          
He shook his head in a low nod, an understanding look spreading over his face, "Dad knows everything about her past... Everything..."
                          
Richard realized a slight catch as he remarked, "but if he knows everything then there must have been some sort of contact between them as well. A phone call, letters or an email for instance."
                          
He nodded, "why hadn't I thought this before? Of course they were in contact. She used to send emails to us for the first few years. Dad's laptop might have a copy of those."
                          
Tim stood up in a rush, for he had figured out a link and couldn't rest until he uncovered the whole truth.
                          
"Tim, are you sure you want to do this right now?" Richard asked since they were both quite worn out. But it seemed as if nothing could stop Tim.
                          
"Yes, right now. All I have to do is hack into his laptop which I'm assuming is still in the custody of the GCPD? Then I'll have to hack into the department as well... Five, ten, fifteen minutes at the most..." 
                          
"Wait," Richard stood up as well, "you won't have to. You can use my ID to access it or rather, let me come with you. It will be safer to get hold of it legally."
                          
Tim's eyes flickered towards the room where Sayuri was exhaustively asleep, "we can't leave her alone."
                          
"So let me get it instead."
                          
He dipped his head in a low nod, "just be quick then."
                          
***