hiraeth | hoshiumi kourai

t w o

dawn came and you left. kourai cried when you departed, his tears spilling endlessly from his aquamarine eyes.

his mom, aki approached the boy carefully, "kourai, why are you crying?"

he smiled through his tears, "i made a friend mom. she'll remember me, right?"

her mom nodded sadly, painfully slow that kourai noticed the doubt in his mother's actions. kourai wept more and looked at your small figure, slowly fading from his line of sight.

'she'll surely remember me' he told himself repeatedly.

...

"y/n!" as soon as you entered the house, your mother pinched your ears and made it bleed, "where did you go?"

"i..." you paused for a while, taking a deep breath, "i got lost, mom."

"do you think i'll believe you?!"

kick. your leg felt numb as your mom continued on kicking your right leg, forming a bruise on it. the tears flowed from your eyes once again, feeling that your leg may crack anytime now.

your step-father halted your mom and let you come in, patting the couch for you to sit down on and served hot chocolate before pulling her wife upstairs.

they were shouting at each other, as usual. the deafening sound of your mother's cries and your step-father's shout made almost you lose your mind.

and then it was quiet, no signs of anger, no shouts, and no cries. it was a blood-curdling scream that bothered the momentary peace of the house.

you ran upstairs to be met by a puddle of blood by the hallway, your step-father laying flat on the tatami mat, a knife plunged into his throat. your mother looked horrifying as she held her hair tightly and looked at you with a disturbing smile.

"this is all your fault, sweetheart." she giggled. "if you weren't born, me and your father would be alright."

was this your fault?

before you could talk, your mother stabbed herself in the throat, a devilish smile on her face while she died.

"m-mom?" you ran to her body and shook her head, "mom, don't joke around."

instinctively, you reached for your stepdad's phone and called your aunt. the disturbing image of your mom was etched in your head, the last words she said marking into your soul.

it was your fault.