The B.G.S.'s part 18

23^rd July 2025

 

Hi Kiki. Today it was Shizuyo and Tatsuya’s turn again to look for another B.G.S. I got the story from them when they returned. They went to Kure City of the Hiroshima Prefecture, and they ended up in a neighbourhood with houses.

“Wow this is a nice neighbourhood; so peaceful and quiet” said Shizuyo.

“Do you think the B.G.S.’s are probably hiding around dead end streets, dustbins and in someone else’s garden?” asked Tatsuya.

“Ah most likely;” answered Shizuyo “those are places where we found B.G.S.’s in neighbourhoods before. But then again as Kure has those mountains and hills, well maybe they could be there”.

Tatsuya looked at the mountains and hills. “Yes that could be a good place to look, but we better look around the neighbourhoods first” he said.

It turned out the B.G.S.’s were hiding dead end streets, dustbins and in some people’s garden bushes, like Tatsuya thought they did. There were even some in the trees. Tatsuya and Yuko found eleven in total in colours they didn’t know.

“Well this was an easy find,” said Tatsuya “and there doesn’t seem to be anymore anywhere. So I think we should go back to Professor Largos’s house now”. Shizuyo agreed and Tatsuya took out the remote from his back pack.  

Before Tatsuya pressed the button on the remote Shizuyo stopped him. She noticed a woman sitting in a chair in a small garden, holding her tummy and taking some breaths; the woman was heavily pregnant. Her name was Mrs Mari Koide.

Shizuyo went up to the garden wall and called out to the woman. “Do excuse me but are you okay ma’am?” she asked her “I noticed you breathing and I thought you were in labour now”.

“Oh no, no I’m not in labour,” said Mrs Koide “I’m just doing some breathing exercises. It makes me feel relaxed while the baby is still inside me”.

“Oh I see I do apologize for disturbing you ma’am” said Shizuyo.

“It’s okay dear, no harm done,” said Mrs Koide “why don’t you two children come into my garden for a bit. I could do with some company at the moment”.

Shizuyo and Tatsuya agreed and entered Mrs Koide’s garden to talk to her.

“How long are you due?” asked Shizuyo.

“Shouldn’t be long now” sighed Mrs Koide.

“Um do excuse me ma’am,” said Tatsuya “but you don’t sound very happy about having a baby”.

“What?” said Mrs Koide “I am very happy with having my first child, but the truth is I’m worried about being a mum”.

“Why? Did you grow up without a mum around?” asked Shizuyo.

“No I have a mum,” said Mrs Koide “but she treated me like a puppet rather than a daughter”.

Mrs Koide explained her mother was very strict with her and expected her to be perfect in everything she did; be the top student all the time at school, win 1^st place in every sport or competition she entered and always remain higher than anybody else no matter what. “2^nd place was no exception to my mother whatsoever, and she always severely punished me if I didn’t get the highest mark in school”.

“That’s the same as my dad;” said Tatsuya “he expected too much out of me too”.

“What did you dad think of all this?” asked Shizuyo.

“He didn’t know;” said Mrs Koide “the truth is he was the reason why my mother was very strict with me. You see he was always working overseas and only came home a few times a year. And he liked it when I earned first place in anything I did”.

“Oh I see;” said Tatsuya “that means your mother became very lonely without her husband around, and she became stressed of having to raise you alone. So her behaviour towards you was really to gain your father’s attention, is that right?”

“You are correct;” said Mrs Koide “her loneliness made her take her stress out onto me”.

“Didn’t you tell your dad about this?” asked Shizuyo.           

“I didn’t, it was my three school friends Asuka, Jun and Kousei, my future husband, who is now my husband, who told my father” said Mrs Koide.

Mrs Koide’s story happened during her final year in high school. She lived at Hiroshima City back then. At that time the school held concerts, plays etc just before graduation time. Mrs Koide did one final concert with her violin. After the concert was over the school principle asked her what she was going to do after graduation.

“My mother wanted me to go to Italy to study more music, but I wanted to stay in Japan and just go to a university for music,” said Mrs Koide “my mother always made decisions without thinking about my feelings. So that day I stood up to my mother and announced that I was going to attend a university to study music in Japan”.

“I take it your mum wasn’t happy with you decision right?” asked Tatsuya.

“No she wasn’t;” said Mrs Koide “she was furious at me for refusing to go to Italy. But I stood up to her shouting that I was going to make my own decisions from now on. I also told her that I wasn’t going to be her puppet anymore. Again mother got cross, so cross it looked like she was going to hit me out of anger. But then a voice interrupted her; it was my father”.

“Your father was there to see your final school concert?” asked Shizuyo.

“Only because of Asuka, Jun and Kousei;” said Mrs Koide “they told me a couple of days before the concert they found out where my father was, thanks to the help of the company he worked with and had him come to the school”.

“I take it you told them before about your mum’s behaviour and why she expected too much out of you?” asked Tatsuya.

“Yes and that’s why they decided to do something about it by telling my father about my mother’s behaviour” said Mrs Koide.

“How did you dad take it?” asked Shizuyo.

“At first he didn’t believe it after my friends told him everything,” said Mrs Koide “but when he heard me and mother arguing after the concert he believed it”.

“Good thing your dad was there to stop your mum before things went really crazy with her” said Tatsuya.

“After seeing my mother’s behaviour made my father kneel down onto the ground,” said Mrs Koide “he apologized to her for leaving her alone for so long, apologized for not coming home much, and for leaving her to raise me all the time without any help from him. He even apologized to me for my mother’s behaviour”.

“Sounds like he realized his errors at last” said Shizuyo.

“It made my mother realise her errors too and lament her actions,” said Mrs Koide “as I already told you earlier she had been lonely without my father around. Seeing my father again and hearing his apologies made her break down, crying”.

To Shizuyo and Tatsuya that was hard to believe. “What happened after that?” asked Shizuyo.

“While I studied at the university that I chose, my father went off on a long trip with my mother to make it up to her,” said Mrs Koide “he also promised her he would come home more often and not leave her alone so much again. Then a few years after university I married Kousei and then we moved here to Kure City where we are starting our new family. So I became happy at last”.

Shizuyo and Tatsuya were happy to know Mrs Koide finally found her freedom and happiness in the end.

“Did your mother ever make things up to you?” asked Shizuyo.

“Well she apologized to me a lot and promised me to let me do what I wanted to do in future,” said Mrs Koide “but I haven’t fully forgiven her yet, not after the 18 years she controlled me like a puppet. Even now I can’t look at my mother with a smile, so I never talk to my mother or see her alone. I always have my husband or my father around when I’m with her just in case it makes me upset”.

“We understand that feeling,” said Shizuyo “and it’s no wonder why you feel nervous about being a mum”.

“Yes,” said Mrs Koide, rubbing her tummy, “but I have no intention of treating my child the same way my mother treated me. And Kousei’s parents are willing to help me in any way they could. And of course Kousei has promised me to always be there when I need him”.

“You have a very nice husband” said Shizuyo.

Just then Tatsuya said it was time for him and Shizuyo to go back home; truth is he had enough of listening to Mrs Koide’s story. So they said goodbye to Mrs Koide and they left her garden. Then Tatsuya pressed the button on the remote and he and Shizuyo teleported back to Professor Largos’s house. After they got back they told their story.

“I don’t blame Mrs Koide for not forgiving her mum after what she put her through in the past” said Yuko.

“Me neither” said Tatsuya, who understood Mrs Koide’s feelings the most.

“At least she’s starting a new happier future with her own family,” I said “and if she said that she will be a better mum than her own mum was, then I’m sure she will. She has a good husband and nice parent in laws on her side to help her”. Everyone else agreed with my words.

As Hiroshi and Tatsuya have met people with similar stories to their own stories, I have no doubt Kiki that Kouhei will meet someone with a story similar to his.