<em>Clatter. Clang. Splash.</em>The dishes, dropped into the soapy water, rattled in their descent down the bubbly water. Taka's hand worked in earnest, scrubbing what food remained on the platters, attempting to achieve a level of spotless that would impress his mother. She walked from the hall in a bustle. Her hair was pulled back neatly, a pencil hanging from her mouth, and her purse held tightly in one hand. The other was fumbling with the keys to the family vehicle.<br/><br/>"Take care of everything," his mom said, breathing around the pincil. She lifted the purse and tossed the pencil in with her lips. "And stay out of trouble. Love you."<br/><br/>"You too, oka-san," Taka called as the door shut. The house became instantly quiet. Not a single noise. Even Sayori couldn't be heard. With a sigh, Taka completed cleaning the dishes and wiped them off with a freshly laundered towel then placed them in a plastic tub to finish drying. He looked around the empty room. Clean and unmarred, even with his mother working more than 70 hours a week, she still maintained the house hold whenever the two siblings were out, or in school and she had free time. Taka began to grow uncomfortable in the silence and began walking back down the short hallway, knocking on his sisters sliding door and calling:<br/><br/>"Get ready for the park."<br/><br/>"Okay!" came a terse reply. After the acknowledgement, Taka went to the bathroom, to finish the freshening up routine. Brushing his teeth, he heard his sister's door open and the patter of her feet as she ran towards the bathroom. He looked surprised, but became more befuddled when she grabbed him around the waist and pushed him out of the bathroom. "I gotta pee!" Her explanation was well understood, but what the Hell was Taka doing with the tooth brush half hanging from his mouth and the blend of foam and mucus running down his chin. With a sigh, he walked to the kitchen and spat in the sink. Rinsing the brush and the spittle out from the bottom of the steel basin. He used the back of his hand to wipe the rest from his chin and then washed his hands. Done, he went back to the bathroom just as the door opened, and Sayori came rushing out with a piece of toilet paper stuck to her heel.<br/><br/>"Use it," Taka called after her, "Don't abuse it."<br/><br/>Sayori, embarrassed, grabbed it from her heel and threw it away in the nearest wastemasket. Slightly humiliated, she ran to the door and shouted, "I'll race you to the park!" Taka placed the toothbrush into its cup and then ran from the bathroom, towards the front door. There, he slipped on his shoes and stared out the open door. Sayori long gone already. Taka smiled and grabbed the spare keys, locked the door, and began running after his sister. She rounded the corner and began headed towards the local park. Taka had just made it to the intersection of the walk and road and was about to make his turn, to follow his sister.