/jp/ - Otaku Culture

One time when this happened, I heard a light knock at my door slightly afterwards. I still remember it so well: I was hunched up in my bed, rocking back and forth, trying to clear my mind. My bedroom door slid open. The light switched on, causing my vision to blur since it'd gotten attuned to the darkness. My mum appeared in the doorway, with a face covered in the red left by wiped tears. Or was she blushing?

She sat down on the fold-out sofa I had back then (shit was so cash) and invited me to sit down. She didn't have to ask. I was so happy to be with her without my stepdad there. She suggested playing on my Nintendo 64... I believe this was the first time she'd ever played a video game. I blew the dust from the bottom of my Mario Kart 64 cartridge and jammed it in.

She was Peach, I was Yoshi. We played on a few tracks, but it was Rainbow Road that she liked the most. After a while our Mario Kart games became regular. Often, it was for the same reason as the first game -- I'd been shafted up to my room by my stepdad, and I suppose she wanted to comfort me. But all the same, I loved it. I loved spending time with her. I used to laugh every time I went for a toilet break and returned to see she'd switched us onto Rainbow Road. Again and again! These nights always made me forget about the bad stuff instantly.

Of course we lost the house. Wisely, my mum also lost the stepdad. We had to move into a flat in a shitty part of town, but I was still happy because it meant it was just the 3 of us -- myself, my sister and my mum. All I had ever wanted was for us to be happy together.