Lost

Chapter 14: Mom

"Mommy... where's daddy?" A five year old Tohru asked her Mother one day as they traveled through a pathway full of stones the size of Tohru herself. On the stones were the names of the dead, but Tohru didn't know anything about it. She thought that people wrote their names on the stones to claim them. Her mother had yet to explain it all to her. "He's been gone a while... and you're sad too." She mumbled as she chewed on the collar of her dress.

Today was just as ordinary but her mother had asked her if she wanted to go out to a 'special' place. One that was very silent and beautiful.

"He went up there." Her mother pointed as her bright red hair resonated with the sun, and danced with all the joy in the world.

"There?" Tohru looked up in wonder. She didn't understand it. Where was 'there'? Perhaps it was a place high above the earth. A cloud kingdom. Whatever or wherever 'there' was, she didn't want her mother going 'there' too. Somehow, when her father had gone 'there', a piece of the family was missing. Even until present day, she never felt that same happiness when she held the hand of each of her parents.

"You see... we don't live forever-" Tohru interrupted her.

"We don't...? Why not?" She squeezed her hand tighter and her mother smiled.

"Because we're human."

To her... it didn't seem like such a good response, how could you not live forever just because you were human?

"So Daddy went up 'there' because he is human?" She had asked and her mother only grinned at her.

"That's not it... he got sick and since he's human, he..." Her voice came to a whisper, "went into a deep sleep."

"Can't we wake him up?"

They stopped walking and stood before a brightly polished, granite stone with her father's name inscribed in a neat font. She released her hand and ran towards it in confusion.

"Mommy... why does this rock have my Daddy's name on it?"

When there was no response, she said it again.

"Mommy! Why is Daddy's name written on it?"

".." Then tears poured down her mother's cheeks in despair and sadness.

Her bright hazel eyes reflected the loss of love and lost all of its color. They were boring and confused.

"Tohru, honey... Daddy isn't coming back."

...

When she finally understood what her mother had said, she'd cried until the next day. A silent wail and in complete solitude in her room, on her bed. And also on the way home that very day. It was not until she finally understood that she realized, she would never see her Dad and that 'there' is nowhere. 

Years passed and Tohru grew, and her mother's eyes painted a little more each day, adding a new color of the rainbow on the way and filling up with pure faith and amusement in her daughter.

Just as her mother grew to enjoy the very day with her daughter, she too, cherished her life to the purest and forgot any mention of her father.

And each year, they'd walk hand in hand towards the polished granite stone and place a bouquet of pure white roses on the brushed grave. They'd clap their hands together and pray for having him in their lives at all. That it was a blessing for him to live at all.

Each day, they'd grow happier in each others' presence. Each day, they welcomed each other and needed the other. Each day was pure bliss.

They started to welcome others with their happiness. Uotani and Hanajima became part of their family and they loved each other dearly. It was perfect and nice.