Okay, I've had enough.  I've been sitting on this for a week, trying to
make up my mind whether to rewrite it from scratch, or to post it.  I've
decided to do both.  I'm posting it as conceived and written.  Like I 
said in the end note though, I think I'll write a longer, multi-part
version based on this idea though.
Though a less satisfactory work, it has certain merits on its own that
I've decided to share it.  If you're disappointed, I'm sorry.
C&C, etc. all welcome.
=======================
Michael Won <skeezy5@geocities.com>
=======================

Birthdays - Itoshii*
	by skeezy5

=======================

Ranma 1 / 2 etc. all belong to Rumiko Takahashi...

=======================

	Hello, dear wife, how are you doing?  Fine, I hope.  I'm doing 
very well too.  The leaves are turning into beautiful shades with the 
changing of the season.  Fall is always beautiful in Nerima, isn't it?  
No wonder it is your favorite season.
	The dojo's doing well.  I was lax for a while in getting students,
but I'm teaching again.  Having the foremost martial artist in the area
as your house guest does have some advantages, wouldn't you say?  It's a
bit wild with him around, and the dojo does get wrecked every once in a
while, but I don't mind too much.  When I repair it, I remember all that
time I spent building it with my own hands...
	The children are also doing well, in their own ways.  Kasumi just 
turned twenty.  Twenty!  I still remember that first time, holding her 
little body in my arms.  Truly, I thought she was a gift from heaven.  
>From you, she inherited a loving and gentle heart.  She stays with us 
and cares for us, even though she should marry and begin her own family.  
I have told her this on many occasions, but she merely smiles and tells 
me that she can wait.  Such a good girl.
	Nabiki is in her last year of high school and looking into 
colleges.  Her teachers are confident she will do well.  She says she's
not sure what major she wishes to pursue yet, but I am of the utmost 
confidence that she'll do well in whatever she chooses.  After all, she 
has your quick and brilliant mind.  Whenever we are in a dark mood, it 
is always her wit and charm that makes us smile, even though she herself 
may have little to be happy about.
	Little Akane is no longer quite so little.  Remember the wooden 
post that she used to make notches on to mark her height?  She's two 
whole heads taller than that now.  Two whole heads!  When I look at her, 
I see your fiery spirit, never giving up on anything.  When she applies 
herself to something, it is truly a Herculean effort, though not always 
quite successful...
	I know you think I've been pushing Akane and Ranma a bit too hard
to get married.  I've seen their discomfort at the pressure, and I feel
horrible trying to force them.  But I know that they love each other, 
and I just don't want them to foolishly waste time.  Waste it like we 
had.
	Do you remember how we used to meet everyday after school when we 
were really young?  We'd go to the playground, and I'd do my best to 
push you on the swings.  Remember?  We were so sure that you would be 
able to fly if I tried hard enough...  We'd spend countless days 
together, not realizing that time was passing by, locked in the eternal
dream of our youth.
	Later in elementary school, the other boys convinced me that girls
were icky, and I did my best to hide that I was friends with you...  
Though you never said so, I know that hurt you at times.  Boys will be 
boys, I guess...  I still remember that tearful hug you gave me when we 
were graduating elementary school.  We were going to different middle 
schools, and you said you'd miss me...
	I always felt awkward and alone during middle school.  A part of 
that was because I was growing taller than the other boys, and I felt
clumsy and gangly.  The other boys weren't mean to me, but they weren't
nice either.  I guess they felt intimidated by my height.  I threw 
myself into sports then, where my size and strength brought me respect 
from my teammates.  It was in my second year that Genma roped me into 
studying martial arts with him.  There, I finally found something that I 
could throw myself into with a passion...
	When I saw you again in high school, I was amazed at the beautiful
young woman you had become.  That first day, when you sat down next to
me and talked to me, I thought you had the wrong person, remember?  I
admit, I was a bit jealous of the boys that chased you all the time,  
but that was okay, because we were always close friends...
	I remember how you came to my house that day, when you heard that 
I would be leaving Nerima with Genma to train.  I had been impatient, 
ready to leave, but Genma had wanted to wait in front of my house for no 
reasons I could see.  When I saw you running down the street in the rain 
without an umbrella, I realized who my friend had been calling on my 
phone.  I'm sorry I tried to leave without telling you.  I hadn't told 
you because I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to leave you...
	You didn't try to stop me then.  Instead, you told me to chase 
after my dream, to follow my own path, no matter what.  And you told me 
that if I ever got tired, if I ever needed a place to rest, that you'd 
still be here, waiting for me.
	You warned me that the path of a true martial artist was fraught 
with peril and asked me to be careful.  Then you reached up and kissed 
me.  I still remember our first kiss, as fresh as if it just happened.  
Just a light brush of lips, really...
	I treasured that memory for years as Genma and I traveled about 
the country, training.  I tried not to think of you, to concentrate on 
my training, but the letters that you sent me provided me with more joy 
than learning new techniques or moves.  It wasn't until Genma and Nodoka 
married that I realized what I had been missing in my life.  You had 
told me to pursue my dream.  How could I not have realized until then 
that my dream had always been you?
	I did my best to get back to Nerima by your birthday.  I had 
almost been late.  You had stayed up that night after your friends
had left, looking out your window at the stars.  And it was there that
I saw you, leaning on your balcony.  I almost felt like a character out
of a romantic movie...
	Even after so much time, that moment still brings out a magical
feeling in me.  Somehow, though I had never been good with words, I knew
exactly what to say.  And when you said yes, I knew that the part of my 
life that had always felt empty was finally complete.
	I was the happiest man in the world on our wedding day.  You were 
so beautiful in your wedding kimono, outshining all the women there.  I 
dare say even Nodoka was a tad jealous.  And our first dance, I felt so 
clumsy and nervous, but your smile blew away all of my fears...	
	We promised each other to spend eternity together that day, but I 
guess even eternity can last for only so long.  
	For months, I'd wake up in the middle of the night and feel a 
fleeting presence, almost like a ghost.  I'd always look for you for a 
while, wondering where you were.  It would take me a few moments to 
remember that you were no longer there...  
	Many nights, I'd find myself not going to sleep at all, staying up 
out of the fear of waking up alone.  Finally, Kasumi forced me to go to 
bed, threatening to stay up with me if I persisted.  Can you believe 
that she stayed up for three whole months, waiting for me to sleep 
before she would go to bed?  Such a dear girl...
	At times, it was so bad that I even thought about moving away.  A 
different neighbordhood, a different city perhaps, and maybe I wouldn't 
see you everywhere I went. Then, perhaps, I would stop missing you so 
much.  I thought about it for a while, even looked into finding someone 
to sell the dojo to.  In the end, however, I couldn't.  How could I?  
All of our memories, all our lives are tied to this place...
	It doesn't hurt as much when I think of you, now.  With Genma and 
the Master here, it is almost like the old, carefree days of my youth.  
I'm quite happy, our daughters doing so well, and one of them even 
engaged.  You'd be so proud of them...  
	Really, I'm okay now.  I only miss you when I wake up in the 
morning and you're not there.  I almost never wake up in the middle of 
the night any more.  You don't have to worry about me and take care of 
me like you always did, ever since the beginning... 
	Do you remember that?  That first time we ever met?  You were new 
to the neighborhood, and the other kids at the playground were picking 
on you because of that.  I got so angry watching them and tried to fight 
with all of them.  They all ran away, but I tripped and scraped my 
elbow.  I was crying, feeling hurt and powerless, when you came and 
wiped my elbow with your little handkerchief.  Then you kissed it, 
saying that would make it all better.
	I promised you that day that I'd become strong enough to protect 
you from anything, anything at all.  I guess I just wasn't strong 
enough.  I'm sorry.
	Happy birthday.  I'll come again to this playground next year.  
	I miss you, my dear, dear wife.  

=======================

*Ithoshii - Beloved (At least, that's what they tell me)

=======================
[Author's Notes]

	I suppose this is an example of a good idea gone bad.  I got a
bright idea while watching the DoCo music video about the Elementary
School.  Unfortunately, I've never had anyone really close to me die,
so I found it very difficult to convey that sense of masked grief.
My medium was also a bad choice, I suppose.  A narrarrative would have
been better than a monologue...
	I'll probably try for a longer, multi-part version of this at
some point in the future, along with the Genma-Nodoka Romance that
I've been putting a lot of thought into.