Hidden Sight

Chapter 2

A/N: Hi! Sorry for the late update. Just got back from a trip on which I did not have time to post a chapter. Anyway, here is this week's chapter!

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Everything seemed to mention Hinami's aunt. The newspaper, the television broadcast, the people in the village - everything was about Aunt Hana. Immersing herself in baking and reading, she tried to ignore it. That was until her mother accidentally left something slip. "She was murdered?!" Hinami exclaimed in horror.

Sighing, her mother replied, "Yes. I'm sorry to say, but an autopsy done by the police shows she had a hole through her sternum. She seemed to have been killed 3 days ago, and tossed into the ocean. From there, she drifted around, and eventually made it back here. Or at least that's what medical specialists in charge of the autopsy are saying due to the rate of rigor mortis and decay".

Clenching her fists, Hinami held back tears and loud shrieks. In a trembling voice, she asked her mother, "Anything else I should know?"

Her mother shook her head, and looked at Hinami, her eyes softening. "Hinami, I know you cared so much for Hana, but it is time to let go. It happened in the past. Try to move forward and don't look back. I know you will try to look for her, but I urge you not to. Going deeper will only make it worse," she chided Hinami, softly. She gently patted Hinami's shoulder.

In response, Hinami glared daggers at her, and challenged in a defiant voice, "Is that why you hid it from me? Besides, what proof do you even have of your beliefs? I'm gonna do what I think is right." Hinami's mom looked hurt, and Hinami shook off her mother's hand. "You have no right to withhold information from me. I'm a capable 16 year old. I do not want to be treated like a delicate flower! Like some... Some!" Hinami faltered, searching for the right word, and then declared, "Some hapless child. I am almost an adult in my own right!"

Hinami's mother still looked shell-shocked at Hinami's outburst, and just stared blankly at Hinami. Although, almost an instant later, she recovered, and glared at her daughter. Her face seemed to scream that she was offended, and her eyes pierced Hinami's like a sharp dagger.

"Well, I thought you would be miserable! It is better not to know if you do not drown in your grief!" her mother responded. Her eyes shone a steely gray filled with determination and belief in her words.

"Even if I would be sad," Hinami began, "It would be better to know and be bitter and mournful than to be ignorant" she finished strongly. Her hands were tense, curling into fists as she yelled at her mother. Hinami had just come home, had a rough day, and heard news that she was least expecting. She was mad. Angry. Irritated.

"Well, I was just doing what I thought was right!" her mother yelled back at her with potent exasperation and annoyance. "And besides, my opinion matters too," she added in a loud, huffy voice. Hinami shrank away in fear of her displeased mother. Her mother's face was contorted in a fit of rage. Her eyes were like wildfires, and she seemed to be in a haze or exhaustion and wrath.

Scared of what her mother would do to her for her behavior, Hinami retreated up the stairs into her bedroom, and cried, "I hate you!" before slamming the door. Hinami was overwhelmed with grief and stress, and hate, and so many emotions.

Almost like in slow motion, downstairs, her mother saw her running up the stairs. Snapping out of her tantrum-like behavior, she rushed up the stairs after her. Her hand outstretched, she shouted, "Wait! Hinami-"

BANG.

The door slammed as it closed right in her face. A gust of wind was generated from the powerful slam of the door. Sighing, Hinami's mother ran her hand through her hair.

Walking up to the door, she gently opened it and attempted to apologize and comfort her daughter, "Hinami, you know I-"

"Go! Away!" Hinami screamed at her mother, hurtling a pillow at her mother's face. Hinami was lying face first down the bed and sobbing into a purple pillow. Her mother was not deterred by her behavior, and instead, opted to slowly approach her upset daughter.

"Hinami," she started, "I didn't mean-" she was interrupted by another pillow chucked at her face as Hinami scooted away from her.

"I meant what I said," Hinami interrupted her, and lifted her face from her pillow. She had puffy eyes and a tear stained face. Tears still dripped down her face and onto the soft cover of her bed. "I don't want you here! Go away!" she finished in a loud voice. Hinami's mother had a hand outstretched to her daughter, but quickly put it down.

In a quiet hurt voice, she answered, "Well, fine. I guess you don't want me here." Storming out of the room, her mother slammed Hinami's door behind her, and Hinami heard her mother start to cry outside her door. Guilt welled in her gut, but Hinami reminded herself what her mother had just done to her. Her mother had no reason and no right to not tell Hinami about her aunt. Her mother knew how much she loved her aunt, so she did not understand why her mother kept it from her. It was not fair. Not cool. Mean. As her frustration, confusion, and anger welled up in her, her tears began to run more freely. She grew weary and slowly drifted off into a fitful sleep of unanswered questions and sad dreams. Feathers drifted slowly in the air and her mind clouded with exhaustion.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter! See you on Thursday the 12th of January. Once again, sorry for the late update! Please leave a comment if you have any suggestions or question for me. Thanks for reading this chapter!