Chapter 2 - 1.

His eyes wondered around the empty room. The only thing his gaze was capable to catch sight of was a plain white wall- four plain white walls. It almost felt like he was trapped in an isolated box.

"How have you been, Akio?" Behind the doctor sitting on the black chair, which was much more comfortable than the stool Akio was sitting on, was a yellow clock with triangles sticking out, resembling the sun. On the face of the clock, there were two black dots- eyes. As well as a banana-shaped line underneath- a smile.

'They couldn't even try make this place look at least a bit joyful' he thought to himself.

"Have you been taking your medication?"

Akio didn't answer, he began to notice the atmosphere and what he was feeling. Akio's bottom was uncomfortable yet he remained his elegant posture- his leg on top of the other and his hands resting on his knee. There was an uncanny sensation that there were ears and eyes surrounding him, however those eyes and ears were just a doctor and a camera recording the conversation.

"Akio, are you listening to me?"

He snapped out of his thoughts. Somehow, the more questions he received, the more he felt that this isolated, imaginary box was tightening. It was unusual for him to zone out, but these appointments really didn't allow him to endure his mind from wandering off.

"Yes," he replied, with a smile that wasn't quite a smile. The doctor was very pretty. Her eyes were a vivid, blue colour- like the sea when it's clear. Her hair was blonde and she had an accent of a foreigner but her English was very good.

"Let's try something else," she began, "You ask me one question about me and then I'll ask you something in return," this way of exchanging information about each other seemed like pointless playground play for Akio, but he agreed.

"Then you ask first!" She smiled with hope in her eyes as she awaited for her query. Akio thought for a while until he came up with a question.

"What's your favourite colour?" It was a random and a pretty childish question, but the only question he could come up with. She chuckled and replied.

"All colours are beautiful, wouldn't you say? But if I had to choose, then maybe green. I like nature a lot!" The woman's eyes almost closed as she gave a grin. Akio nodded and awaited for his query now.

"What do you do for a living?" She asked, tilting her head curiously. Akio thought hard about how to answer and replied with the truth.

"I'm an artist," that's all he said. That's all he wanted to tell to her.

"Ah, I see. What type of art do you do?" She was asking more than one question; she wanted more depth about his 'art'.

"Writing," he replied anyway.

"Ah, so you write novels!"

"Yes..." he began to feel even more uncomfortable. Even if he was starting to feel uncomfortable, he kept himself composed and continued issuing his fake smile.

"I asked too many questions, I'm sorry. You ask me now," once again, she patiently waited. Akio looked around the room again in hope of some inspiration. He spotted a single plant in a pot standing on a windowsill, he also recalled the fact that his doctor liked nature. He didn't even know what sort of plant it was but it was green and floral.

"What's your favourite plant?"

"Hm," the doctor had a second of thought, "tulips!"

It was quite obviously something she made up on the spot but he went with it anyway and nodded. The woman then leaned forwards, crossing one leg over the other and rested her arms on her thigh as she asked the burning question,

"What are your novels about?" The man was hoping this question wouldn't come up, but in this situation, he was already practically digging his grave from the very start. He cleared his throat.

"Romance," he admitted. The woman was stunned.

"Mr. Yamazaki!" She began, "I didn't know you wrote romance!"

When you first noticed Akio Yamazaki, the last thing you would expect him to do is to write romance and erotica. He was 23 and his hair was dark, reaching down to his collarbone. His eyes were like a siren's but puffed up and red, with black eye bags that looked like bruises. Although he looked like he had lost hours of sleep everyday, he always wore elegant clothing and he always make sure his hair was in place.

"Not many people do,"

"Well, when was the last time you wrote?" the doctor asked, her eyes looking very curious now. Akio had to ponder for a bit before answering,

"About three months ago," he stated.

"Writer's block?"

"Yeah, something like that," although that was true, he also hadn't wrote in so long since his books were increasing in popularity. He was making money from the buys of his old works and he was simply just too lazy to continue writing, even if he had a book that was due on a deadline.

"Your turn!" The doctor smiled. He hated asking the questions. Akio sighed and looked at the ground before lifting his head up and asking with a calm look on his face,

"Do you have a husband?" There was a moment of silence, the woman's face was once again in shock- her eyes widened and her brows lifted.

"No," She began, "I have a fiancé. Are you interested in me, Akio?" He wasn't, she wasn't his type. He was just curious and he hated how a question like that caused so much controversy. He immediately regretted his unhinged question. Without a second thought, he decided to answer truthfully,

"I'm gay," he said it so plainly and boldly the woman thought it was a joke at first. When she realised he was being serious, she immediately turned red in embarrassment- like a human apple.

Before she could say anything, the alarm for their session rang; their time had ended. Without a word, Akio stood up and wore his long, black coat that reached his knees. He bent down in respect and left the surprised woman- jaw ajar.

The sky was grey and the clouds cried in the little town that Akio lived in. It was the middle of winter. At this time of year, most buildings were grey and damp. All the little shops and buildings would flood and many renovations took place.

In this season, most people had something called 'Winter depression', the lack of certain vitamins which cause them to fall into melancholy. For our protagonist, this was something he wasn't unfamiliar to.

Akio sighed and pulled out his cigarette. Lighting it, he walked away from the building in relief.

His sessions had started ever since his older sister decided to get closer to him. You may think it was an act of kindness and empathy, and it may as well have been, but Akio believed it to be selfishness. Since she married a rich man, he believed that his sister's only intention was to make her side of the family somewhat good-looking. If she has no connections to her depressed brother, what sort of reputation would that give her? She wanted to come of as a caring older sister for her husband's family and since Akio was her only family, that's what she had to work with.

Unsurprisingly, Akio didn't care about the intentions of his sister and not much about his sister at all. He preferred helping himself but he didn't have much to loose so he attended the sessions for her sake. The sessions were unprofessional so it was pretty humorous for Akio to see his doctor struggling to make a "connection" with him.

Every time his sister would, uninvitedly, come visit him, it was like he was meeting a facade.

"How are you?" Wasn't genuine, it was to see whether the therapy was working.

"Is your book successful yet?" Wasn't a question of politeness but a hint to tell him to get a proper job for the sake of money and reputation.

"Do you want to meet the kids?" She didn't want him to meet her kids, she wanted to show her husband that she's close to her brother. However, no matter how much she asked, Akio always refused.

Akio was a reserved person ever since he was a child, he always managed to dodge questions or answer them in a way that wouldn't reveal too much.

CRASH!

These long lasting thoughts caused Akio to lose focus. He opened his eyes and spotted his half- burnt cigarette lying on the ground. He inspected his surroundings and noticed he was on the ground as well, lying on his side, with a sharp pain in his right arm.