Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and its characters are the property of Naoko Takeuchi and Kodansha.
Chapter One: Down the Mountain
"Maya-san,"
Dr. Ami Mizuno paused before she completed the rest of the sentence,
"perhaps it's time to reconsider moving in with Takeda-san and
Yumi-san."
A chuckle combined with a twinkle in the dark eyes in
the elder woman who sat across from Ami indicated she was far from
offended at the younger woman's suggestion. "Ami-chan," name said
fondly, Maya merely smiled as she replied, "I was born in this house and
I intend to stay here until the gods tell me it is time to pass on."
Ami
smiled back before taking a sip of the tea the older woman provided. It
was an old argument between doctor and patient. Concern for the elderly
woman living alone halfway up the mountain constantly motivated Ami to
persuade Maya to move in with her son and daughter-in-law. Most of the
time the argument was in the form of light banter between the two,
however the woman was serious about having Maya move in with Takeda and
his wife. She did not care that coming to Maya's house resulted in a
forty-five minute trip, she enjoyed the routine house calls to patients;
at home they were far more relaxed which ensured a better patient. No,
the argument existed solely because Maya had watched Ami grow up from a
toddler, resulting in a relationship of that of a relative. And the
older woman certainly treated her kindly, as kindly as Ami's own
grandmother, Hana. The idea that anything could happen to Maya up here
in the mountain without anyone knowing anything made Ami press the
issue.
But Maya was a stubborn old woman who refused to budge,
also much like Hana. Ami swallowed a sigh along with the remaining bit
of delicious green tea. There was no point in continuing the
conversation now. She glanced outdoors through the wide door left open
to provide light and air into the living room of the traditional style
house, and judged it was time to get going, Maya was her last
appointment for the day.
