I was born Tohru Iwaizumi in 2001 in the small group of islands, Hawaii. My mother, Kiyoko Iwaizumi, moved from Japan just before I was born with my father, Satori Iwaizumi. My parents, unfamiliar with the language and how things worked in America, nervously became friends with our next door neighbors, the Divin family.

My mother stuttered over all of her words as she spoke to the woman living next door, Angela Divin, and when she found out that Angela had a son that would be as old as me, and immediately pressed us to be friends.

Michael was born just a year before me, and was a grumpy little one year old with flat black hair and heterochromic eyes.

I was born just a month after we moved to America. When looking back on baby pictures of me, I can see me curled into a ball on a baby mat with Michael lying down next to me, glaring at the camera as he held onto the billowy sleeve of my baby clothes.

From the time I could walk, we did everything together. We slept together, played together at daycare, bathed together on occasion, and watched our favorite disney movies together.

The earliest memories I have of Michael are when we are three years old. I remember him chasing me with a wooden sword while I wore a black towel around my neck. We were playing pretend again, as we did so often.

He chased me out of my parents big house and into the backyard, the feeling of grass under my bare feet and the breathless feeling of running was all that I could feel. Michael giggled as we climbed up a rock that we thought was as big as Michel's father's truck, and then ran to where sheets and other articles of clothing were hung up to dry.

Michael chased me in circles, and when we got behind the sheet for the fifth time, I spun around to catch him off guard, but what I got was Michael slamming into me.

The two of us bowled over on the ground, rolling down a small hill and as we got to the bottom, sprawled out and silent, I started to laugh.

After a second, Michael joined in, and the two of us giggled while getting up and started to run around all over again, not caring about getting hurt and just focusing on the two of us.

My mother came out a few moments later, scolding us about our dirty knees and ripped clothes, but we simply just laughed it off, smiling at each other and making my mother sigh softly and ruffle our hair before she took us inside to get some food.

We were like that always. Smiling and laughing together happily. We were together always, clinging to one another like conjoined twins. Michael had a treehouse in his front yard, and we often had sleepovers there in the hottest parts of summer, hiding underneath our sheets while we read books.

I loved space, while Michael adored peter pan. We would stay up late to look at the stars and I would ask Michael about aliens until Michael shoved me back into bed with an exasperated sigh that was far too mature for someone his age.

Everything was perfect, until I we turned seven and my father lost his job.

I can still remember the day, I clung onto Michael as I cried, knowing that I was going to be forced to move away, back to my mother's country, Japan.

He held me tight, and we played together in my backyard one final time before I had to go.

"You'll remember me, right?" I sniffled, holding onto Micheal while we sat at the bottom of the hill. I was pressed up against his side as tears fell from my eyes, and I could see that Michael's eyes were shiny with his own tears.

"Of course I will!" Hajime said, pursing his lips firmly as he held onto my hand. We sat in silent for a second before he looked up at me, a soft look in his eyes.

"Can I give you something?" Hajime asked, his voice low as if he was afraid of being heard by our parents that were still in the house.

I nodded, rubbing my hand over my eyes. Michael gently tugged my arm until our faces were close together. His blue and green eyes looked vivid and bright as he leaned in and pressed our lips together.

"That's a thimble," Michael said softly, a big smile coming onto his face. I giggled and held onto him tightly, his embrace feeling much more bittersweet then it had before.

"Tohru!" I perked up at my mother's voice, and looked up the hill to see my mother standing at the top of the hill.

"We're leaving!" She called, beckoning me forward. Michael and I jumped up and ran up the hill. We got into the empty house, where I could hear our footsteps echoing loudly.

Everything felt so empty. I really hated it. I rubbed into my mother's dress, tears wetting my eyes again.

"Say bye-bye to Michael," she said softly to me, patting my wild hair down. I broke away from her, snot and tears running down my face with a soft whimper.

"Bye, Mikey," I sniffled, holding onto him tightly. Michael held onto me, and I could feel him shaking in my embrace.

I didn't mention the thimble to my mother, and instead savored what he had given to me as we drove to the airport.

The flight took 8 hours, most of which I had stayed asleep, and as we arrived, we were met in the airport by four grownups.

"Tohru, sweetie," my mother said kindly to my sleep deprived body as she held onto my hand tightly.

"This is Fujikawa-san and Hitori-san," she said. I blinked up at the two women who smiled brightly at me and waved a bit.

"Who are they, mama?" I asked, turning to my mother who continued to smile.

"They are the people who will take us to our home, and you to your school."

I blinked up at my mother, "school?" I asked, "is Micheal gonna be there?" I asked, a glimmer of hope rooting in my chest.

My mother shook her head, a look of pity coming onto her face, "no, sweetie," she said as she kneeled down before me. "Remember? We had to leave Michael back in America," she said, wiping my eyes as they teared up a bit.

She stood up again, speaking in a language that I didn't quite understand. I watched as Hitori-san giggled at something my mother said, and soon my mother turned back to me, a bright smile on her face.

"It seems that they have some kids that are your age," she said with a grin. I smiled back hesitantly and let her lead me after Fujikawa-san and Hitori-san, chatting and smiling with them all the way.

I clutched onto my mother's hand as well as my suitcase as we walked through the crowds. I could hear people talking, looking at me and cooing.

I nervously waved at them, giving them a hesitant smile and we found ourselves being stopped a few times by groups of girls.

My mother had laughed softly and nodded while looking down at me, "they want to take some pictures of you," she said with a bright grin, "apparently, they think you're really cute!" She said in a laughing tone.

I looked back to the girls who were nervously holding flip phones. I nodded, giggling as one of the girls swept me up into their arms, twirling around a few times before we all got down a bit low to take a picture.

I saw a few of the girls making a 'V' sign with their fingers, and I copied it. My eye suddenly stung, and I clamped it shut, making for an oddly adorable picture.

I had taken a look at it from my mother's phone while we were leaving the airport, and I realized how different I looked from them.

They had black hair that was slick and straight down to their shoulders, and mine was a light shade of brown with small flicks up.

The picture made me smile a bit as we left the airport. I felt more confident in myself as we walked to a large van, more of a spring in my step.

I mostly ignored my mother talking, and hummed a familiar tone, one from the movie that we had watched so many times.

I watched the scenes go by, and I turned to my side to talk to Michael about the pretty pinky flowers, only to realise that he wasn't there. I frowned and looked down at my lap.

We drove through the city for a few moments until we reached a large apartment complex. I glanced up, looking at the pristine looking building. I frowned a bit I got out of the car, rolling my suitcase onto the apartment to follow my mother inside.

The inside lobby was quaint, with a few little chairs and couches gathered around a small false fireplace. There were a few people milling around, speaking softly to one another.

I held onto my mother's arm tightly, shyly hiding behind her as she went to the front counter and began to talk to the person at the front desk.

As they spoke, I took another look around the room to find two boys giggling and running around the place with each other. I watched them for a second, finding a similarity between them and Michael and I.

As my mother took my hand I quickly looked away from the playing boys and followed her to an elevator quietly. I glanced back a final time to see one of the boys, who had a bowl cut, made eye contact with me and waved at me with a grin.

I waved back, smiling softly before the door was closed. I smiled a bit more as I looked back at my mother who happily grinned down at me, patting my head softly.

"I'm glad you're happy," she said, looking down at the pamphlet in her hands thoughtfully. "We'll have to teach you Japanese," she murmured mostly to herself as she flipped through the papers.

I tilted my head to the side, a bit confused, but nodded anyway, "okay, Mama," I said, holding onto her coat tightly as the elevator went up into the building.

We stopped at the seventh floor, and as he exited the elevator, I could hear the sound of footsteps thundering down the hall.

The two boys that I had seen in the lobby skidded to a stop before me, large smiles on their faces as my mother and I stood in the elevator, paused in shock.

"Can he play with us?" One of the boys asked in heavily accented English. I glanced up at my mother who smiled warmly at me and the boys.

"Of course he can," she said, taking my suitcase and starting down the hall. "We're in room 701, Tohru!" She called as she walked down the hall.

I waved my hand at her before I turned to the boys, smiling brightly at the two of them who giggled back. Now that I was standing close to them, I could get a good look at them.

The boy with the bowl cut was a little taller than me, with pale skin dotted with freckles and bushy eyebrows that were raised in excitement. The other boy was shorter than me, with thin light brown hair and a collection of beauty marks dotting his face and neck.

"I'm Kaemon!" The bowl cut boy said, holding out his hand to me. I shook his hand, smiling nervously.

"I-I'm Tohru," I said, giving Kaemon a shy smile that he returned in full. He then turned to the other boy, tugging his hand out a bit to me.

"And this is Reizo!" Kaemon said. Reizo quietly shook my hand, giving a sort of half smile before he ducked his head down with pink dotting his cheeks.

"Do you wanna play Great King?" Kaemon asked, tugging on my arms to lead me down the hall to his own apartment room, 710.

"Great King?" I asked curiously as Kaemon flashed a key card onto the door handle, unlocking the door fluently and running inside the quiet apartment.

I followed Reizo inside while Kaemon kicked off his shoes, placing them together perfectly. I copied him, watching as he walked into a large section of the apartment and into what seemed to be Kaemon's bedroom.

"Great King is... It's playing pretend," Reizo said, while stumbling over his words. I tilted my head to the side, but I understood what it was enough.

"We play pretend a lot!" Kaemon said as he hauled a few plastic swords out of a large toy chest in the corner.

I blinked as he handed me a large staff and a dainty crown which he placed upon my head. He stepped back, grinning widely as I touched the tiara, feeling the plastic under my fingertips.

"You can be the princess!" Kaemon said as he grabbed a cushy looking crown from the chest. "And I can be the king!" He cried as he placed the crown on his head.

I giggled and nodded, and with that, we began to play.

Suddenly, we weren't children anymore. We were adults. I was a beautiful princess, while Reizo was an evil sorcerer who threatened to put me under a spell.

I could see it all before my eyes, my kingdom. Bright and beautiful, flourishing with life and love.

I stood atop a tower, looking at my kingdom as vicious beasts invaded from all sides, my men, the ones who I had hand picked myself were falling, dying and being tortured, and there was nothing I could do about it.

"Ahaha! Princess Tohru!" I swirled around to see the evil wizard, Reizo standing before me, holding his staff in a menacing manner.

"Your kingdom has fallen!" He cried triumphantly, "and now I shall be the one who will have this kingdom for myself!" He then swirled his staff, and I fainted under his spell.

"Muahaha!" Reizo laughed at my fake sleeping body.

I laughed as the 'King' Kaemon burst into the room, wielding his massive sword he took down the evil wizard, and woke me up with a false kiss on the forehead.

For hours, we played like that, until it had gotten late and I was starting to become tired. I yawned a bit and as I said farewell to my new friends, I made my way to my own apartment.

Inside, my mother was making some of my favorite foods, Rice balls with miso soupl. We ate in silence, and soon I was falling asleep at the table. My mother simply laughed softly and carried me to my room, tucking me into my makeshift bed quietly.

"Goodnight, Tohru," she murmured, kissing my forehead, "I love you."

I yawned, holding onto my stuffed dinosaur, a present that I had gotten from Micheal years and years ago. I snuggled against it, and if I pressed my nose hard enough into the fabric, I could still smell him.

I fell asleep to the background noise of the city, and with thoughts of Michael swirling around in my head.