Aftermath [RHYTHM HEAVEN: RE-WRITTEN]

Driveway

It has been a few months since the incident, Joe grew to be more familiar with ARHMA and its members. Joe still doesn't know the truth about her mother yet, he was told by his father that she went outside Rhythm Heaven to her new workplace since it's way closer. Senior is unsure when he could tell the truth to his son or when he could hold his white lie. He had no choice but to keep Joe's innocence for a while.

The house has been fully renovated, thankfully the family's bedroom wasn't burnt down so most of their belongings are still there. Senior still has his piano in one piece, it's one of the things that are considered priceless and memorable thing in the household. 

Since the house has been restored, Senior contacted his wife's family—her sister to be exact—in order to return some of her belongings to her family's side. Some of her stuff can be used for Joe's hobbies like calligraphy ink and brushes. He needs to get rid of her belongings, he found selling them to be disrespectful.

It was in the afternoon, the sky appears to have a gradient of orange to a red color. A truck arrived at the driveway a few weeks later, Senior told Joe to stay inside his bedroom so he won't see the truck. With no questions, Joe obeys him and went to the bedroom. But when Joe heard the engine at the front yard, he became curious and check to see what's up—ignoring what his father told him before.

Through the living room's window, Senior looked after the workers transferring the boxes from the garage to the truck—making sure it went smoothly. Joe walked downstairs to see the big vehicle, he was excited to see a truck in the driveway. He walked to the window to see the event closely, his father saw Joe being outside the bedroom. He tried to stop him but he let him go—children are curious to see things, and he'll feel bad if he prevent his son to see it.

"Look, father! A truck is in our driveway!" the kid said with glee while pointing at the truck through the window.

"Yeah," his father replied, "Joe I told you to stay inside your room," he walked closer to his son.

Joe examines the workers who are picking the boxes up, one of them is left open because there's a painting that doesn't fit to be inside of a box. The painting was created by his mother, "Where are they taking mother's stuffs? Where are they going?" he wondered.

Senior could have said that it will be moved to her side of the family, but he sticks with his previous answer, "They're taking them to her new home that's near to her workplace."

Joe wishes to see his mother in her new home, he looked at his father, "Oh! Will we visit her soon?"

His father took a long pause to make a choice of his answer, "Someday, but not anytime soon," he sighed as he patted his son's head. He tried to look for a distraction to end the conversation. He remember he tried to make pancakes for Joe in the kitchen, he found his way, "Hey! Are you up for pancakes? There are some on the dining table." 

"Yeah! I'm getting hungry," famous last words from a child whose father couldn't cook well.

Senior successfully ended the conversation topic, but it won't be long. The workers had finished moving the boxes after a few minutes, the small family went outside to say goodbye to the truck that's leaving the driveway—hoping the truck arrives at the destination safely.

The house feels empty when there are just 2 people living in, there are so many memories in the house that they couldn't get rid of. 

At night, Joe is getting tired and he has to sleep. His father turned off the light switch to make the room darker, his son sat on the bed. 

Before Senior closed the door, something was on Joe's mind, "Father? Will there be another truck coming to our driveway that'll take you away?" 

His father wasn't expecting that kind of question coming from a child. Joe thought that both of his parents are going to be taken away by the truck with the same reason as his mother—possibly taking Joe away too. 

"No, son," he answered, "There won't be another truck. I'm not going anywhere and I'm staying right here no matter what," it wasn't a lie, it was a family promise. He knows what is on his son's mind.

Living as a single parent and handling a child is a though job. He couldn't fulfil both roles as a father and a mother, there will always be something missing—something that he can't do. 

Many years had passed by, Senior had to stay out from his house due to the business in ARHMA about the project—the situation is getting more complicated for him. He never talked about it to Joe, even his son seems uninterested to know about it more. Joe felt lonely being isolated inside the house with no one to talk to, he still has his best friend, Yuka, but something just feels off. 

He still holds the trauma of going outside due to the event that happened before the burning house event—before they moved in to Rhythm heaven. Joe was kidnapped by bandits and they're willing to sell them, thankfully Senior is able to save him along with the other victims. 

Being alone inside the house makes Joe wonder if he is a burden, because his father keeps being away from him. Every time his father promised something to do together, it is always cancelled due to his work. Occasionally, his father had to lend Joe some money to buy dinner, at least he got better quality food. He never talk about it to his father because he felt more distanced, it has going around his mind for a while—until he entered high school. He was homeschooled, and now he had to attend onsite.

// AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hello, this one is quite short! This is another part that has been added in-between to give more context to the backstory.  This chapter is highly inspired by the song "So Big / So Small" from Dear Evan Hansen since it has similar elements and reason. If you're interested, feel free to listen to the song on YouTube or Spotify c: