Déjà Vu

June was shocked to hear those words from Sushi.

He asked, "What do you mean? Do you know this place? Were you here before?"

"What did I just say? How come I spewed such words? What should I say to cover this up now?" she thought to herself.

She hesitated and thought about what to answer, then said, "Me? Here? No, I was never here. Did I say something just now?" before quickly running into the store.

June found her behavior strange and followed her into the store.

"Which flavor do you want?" Sushi asked him as she searched for ice cream in the fridge.

"I'm fine, I don't want any. You can have it," he replied.

"Why? You like strawberry flavor, right? Let's buy that," she replied and went to the counter to pay.

"How did she know that? I don't recall ever mentioning it to her," he thought to himself.

"Aren't you that little girl? Your name…", the store owner said excitedly, pointing to Sushi.

Sushi tried to calm her down by saying "shhh!!!! Sh!!!", as if she recognized Sushi and didn't want to burst out in front of June.

But June heard her voice and came over to the counter.

"You, you are that boy", the owner again pointed towards June.

"Me? Do you recognize me, grandma? I used to come here in my childhood", June said loudly.

"Yeah, correct. I remember you both. You are that little kid Sushi. Now I remember your name", she said, loudly remembering her name.

"Sushi?", June got shocked. His face went pale and in a million pieces.

Sushi had to cover up something.

She started talking to the old lady, saying, "Grandma, I think you got confused between me and my sister. You misunderstood; I am not the person you are thinking of." Sushi quickly placed a big bill on the counter.

"Here is the money for the ice creams. You can keep the change," she said as she grabbed June's hand and hurriedly walked him out of the store.

"Did I make a mistake? I don't think so. I am sure you are that little kid," the old lady thought in confusion.

As Sushi rushed him out of the store, she almost fell down by hitting a stone, just like in her past.

June went into his memories and thought, "it's like it is happening the same."

He quickly held her hand to prevent her from falling, but she still hurt her toe, and it started bleeding.

He lifted her and made her sit on the nearby table.

"Are you a kid? Where are your eyes? What's the rush?" he yelled at her.

Sushi became silent upon seeing him mad.

"Just wait here. I will get the medicine for you," he was about to go back into that convenience store again, but Sushi quickly grasped his hand to prevent him going back into the store.

"It's okay. I am fine. Let's go home," she asked with a pitiful face.

"How are you fine? Can't you see that you are bleeding? We have to take care of your wound first. Don't move, just wait here," he gently released her hand and quickly went into the store.

Sushi got tense upon seeing him go back into the store. She tried to get up but sat back down again because it hurt.

She thought, "I hope that old lady doesn't say anything to June," she talked to herself nervously while looking into the store.

June quickly went to the medical section, took medicine, and came to the counter to pay.

When the billing was done, he was about to leave but then remembered an old lady calling her Sushi.

He stepped back and asked the lady, "Grandma, how do you know Sushi?"

The owner replied with excitement, "That means I am correct. I remembered you correctly. She is Sushi. You used to come here to buy her ice creams. I adored you guys so much back then, that's why I remember you clearly."

"Grandma, I think you are mistaken. I used to come here with Chloe. She is Chloe's sister. How do you know her?" he asked again.

"No, boy, I know that they are twins and I can differentiate between them. You used to come with Sushi, not Chloe. Sushi is such a nice kid. She was so nice to me. How can I forget her? You are so young, how come you forgot with whom you came?" the owner replied.

"What is he talking to her?" Sushi became tense and tried to call him to urge him out of the store.

Listening to those words made June even more shocked, and he was about to ask more, but a call from Sushi interrupted him.

He quickly came outside. "Are you okay? Are you feeling any pain?"

Kneeling down, he swiftly cleaned the blood with tissues, applied some ointment to her toe, and then covered it with a band-aid.

"What were you talking about with that grandma?" Sushi inquired.

June looked at Sushi before answering, noticing her intense curiosity. He found her behavior quite strange.

"Nothing, I was just asking if they had any painkillers since I couldn't find any inside," he replied.

"Oh, that's a relief," she sighed.

"What?" he asked.

Realizing what she had said, she stammered, "I mean, can we go home. I want to go home quickly."

June found her awkward but said, "Sure, let's go." He got up and tried to help Sushi take a step.

"Ouch," she exclaimed in pain as she tried to walk.

"You're feeling pain. It's okay, just get on my back," he said, offering her a piggyback ride.

Sushi was surprised by his move, too stunned to even budge an inch.

"It's okay, I can manage," she said, trying to take another step but failing.

"I told you to get on my back. It's okay, it's just until the car," he insisted, taking her hands and lifting her legs to carry her.

As he walked, carrying her on his back, June couldn't shake a strange sense of déjà vu.

"How come I feel like I've carried Sushi like this before insted Chloe, just like in that portrait?" he wondered, glancing at her.

Suddenly, he stopped, remembering the old lady's words: "No, that's Sushi."

The combination of the portrait, the old lady's words, and his own feelings toward Sushi overwhelmed him, leaving him confused and frozen.

"What happened? Am I too heavy?" Sushi asked, noticing he had stopped walking.

Her words snapped him back to reality. "No, not that. Just thinking about something," he said.

"What is it?" Sushi asked.

"It's nothing," June replied, starting to walk again.

"I can't believe this is happening again in the same place. But it was so long ago, I doubt he remembers," she thought, reminiscing about the past.

"June, I think that was when I realized I liked you," she mused inwardly, smiling at the memory.

Blushing happily, she leaned on him, holding him tightly, and kissed his hair.

"We're here. Can you get off now?" June's voice brought her back to reality as they reached the car.

"Oh, sorry," Sushi replied. He gently helped her down and settled her into the car.

As they drove, a silence settled between them. June was deep in thought, trying to piece together the similarities he'd noticed.

"Why isn't he saying anything? What's he thinking about so deeply? Should I ask him?" Sushi wondered, about to speak when June broke the silence.

He asked, looking at her intently, expecting an honest answer from her, "Sushi, do you really not know that grandma in the store? How did she remember your name if you didn't even grow up here?"