Winter arrived, turning everything into a serene, icy masterpiece. I had forgotten these times. A lady was carrying me in front of the window. Our mother. It was snowing outside and the window was covered in frost. The scratches on it were highlighted by a light blue color.
She hovered her hand over the glass and looked at it in an unfounded awe. "See that Kazuya?"
I forgot how sweet her voice sounded.
"That's the beauty of frost... It recognizes the imperfections, the flaws, if you will, of the glass, and it emphasizes it, and somehow... makes it beautiful."
I looked at the window myself. She was right. How did she always see the beauty in everything? She looked at me and smiled, while I was being held in her comfortable arms.
My vision went blurry. When I could see clearly again I was playing with Shimo on the wooden floor of our house. I looked to the right and saw my mother again. She was pregnant. Once again, she was looking out the window, this time in spring.
Wait... Spring?
I heard loud footsteps from my left and saw none other than my father walk in. He was tall with well-kept black hair. His eyes had an unmistakable twinkle and his smile could easily light up even the gloomiest of days. He wore the haori that Shimo inherited and I noticed he had a sword sheath on his waist. It was easy to tell that he was quite strong. He bounded towards us two as he entered the room, knelt next to me and ruffled my hair. I giggled happily and he got up and crept over to my mother. He stood behind her wrapped his arms around her lovingly and placed his hands on her belly.
"How's my baby doing?" He asked her with a gentle voice and a loving smile. My mother turned her head to him slightly and he kissed her on the cheek.
"She's doing well," She corrected, placing her hands on top of his, "It's gonna be a girl."
His eyes widened and he flipped her around to face him. "A girl? Really?!" He exclaimed.
She laughed happily while nodding her head. He put his hand on the back of her head and kissed her lovingly.
My vision went blurry again. This time I was sitting on the floor holding my mother's hand as she lay down sideways on the couch. Her eyes were half-lidded as she tried to keep a small smile for me.
"He isn't coming back is he?" I asked her almost in a whisper.
She looked at me and ran a hand through my hair. She moved my head closer to hers and planted a kiss on my forehead. Her voice was weak. "Your father is coming back Kazuya."
The last time we saw him, he was leaving the house in a rush in the dead of night. He left his haori and a couple of other things. He didn't even say goodbye to us.
"He's been gone for weeks now..." My voice was a mix of anger and sadness. "Isn't the baby gonna be born soon?"
"Your father has very important work. But he'll be back before you know it." She said feebly before letting out a raspy cough.
More important than her? More important than Shimo? More important than our almost-born sister? More important than me?
I wanted to ask her that. But I didn't. There would be no point in smashing what little hope she had, right? Even it was misplaced.
But still... if he were to come back, wouldn't he have done so by now?
My vision went blurry again. This time I saw that I was outside under the shade of a tree with Shimo. I was squatting beside him, showing him how to use a Kendama. Suddenly, I heard a lady call out to us from a distance.
YOU ARE READING
The Frost Hashira
RomanceOC x Shinobu Kocho Life wasn't going great for these particular siblings. Kazuya, Shimo, and Ayaka. These were the names given to them by their father who abandoned them and their mother who died. So they were living off of scraps. That was unti...
