The Tale of a Century \\ SoraMafu

>> Forty Six <<

Soraru slowed to a walk and leaned onto a pole, and he dropped to his knees, panting. He made it. Now he needed to look for Mafu.

He stayed in his position for a while, catching his breath. He took deep gulps of air, savoring the fresh oxygen. His lungs hurt, but he needed to keep going.

Starting towards no direction in particular, Soraru carefully examined his surroundings to make sure he didn't miss anything. He continued on until he came upon a construction site. His eyes widened. If he remembered correctly, this would be where Mafu's mother's house was. Mafu would've already found it. In the case he did, then he shouldn't be too far from the area...

Soraru backtracked, calling Mafu's name. Nothing. When he reached a streetlamp, he stopped and tried to think about this rationally. If he was Mafu, where would he go? After dwelling on it for several minutes, Soraru sighed. If he was Mafu, he wouldn't care which direction he was going.

He thought for another few minutes and decided to head towards the direction of the park. It would probably be easier to get his bearings there.

As Soraru neared the park, his eyes settled on a figure on one of the benches. He quickened his pace. "Mafu?" he called.

When the figure responded, Soraru broke into a run. "Mafu!"

Upon closer inspection, Soraru noticed that Mafu's eyes were swollen from crying. He stopped just in front of Mafu. "Soraru-san..." Mafu's voice broke at the end, and he burst into tears. "S-Soraru-san! I'm so-sorry... I wanted to find my parents... but he said that my mother was...."

Soraru could infer the last part to that sentence. "He? Who's he?"

"T-The construction worker..."

So his memory had not wronged him. But that meant that Mafu still didn't know.

Go find him. Go tell him.

Soraru stepped back and took a deep breath. "Mafu... if you want to know..."

"S-Soraru-san?"

Soraru inhaled a shaky breath. "No one wanted you."

There was silence. Soraru didn't look up.

"W-What, Soraru-san...?"

"You were abandoned. Your mother hated you."

Mafu brought his hands up to his ears and squeezed his eyes shut. "N-No..! S-Soraru-san.. stop.."

Soraru only spoke louder. "S-She was a prostitute. She didn't even know who the father was."

"S-Soraru-san....!"

He couldn't stop. There was a faint buzzing in his head. "She only saw you as someone to blame, so she kept you around. But you were a burden on her. When she didn't want you anymore, she left you at the--"

"STOP IT!" Mafu screamed, hunched over on the ground with his hands covering his ears. When did he make it onto the ground?

Soraru watched, frozen. Mafu's shoulders were shaking, tears flowing from his eyes nonstop. He was covering his mouth with both hands. "I-I..." the boy tried to speak. "That means... I... was a mistake. That means..... I.... I should've never existed.... I-I'm disgusting... I..."

"Mafu..." Soraru reached out a hand to comfort him, but Mafu slapped it away and backed up. "N-No...! Don't touch me.. Don't get near me! I shouldn't...."

Soraru crouched down to be level with Mafu, who was still on the ground. He forcefully pulled Mafu to him, and held him. Soraru rested his chin on Mafu's shoulder. "Let me go!" Mafu struggled against Soraru's grip, but Soraru held on, making sure Mafu couldn't see his face.

"Mafumafu," Soraru said. Feeling his eyes burn, he squeezed them shut. "Your hair is.... naturally white?"

At that, Mafu stopped struggling. "W-Where...? I've heard that before...."

Soraru smiled and buried his face into Mafu's neck. "I.... like it. It looks.. pretty..." His grip around Mafu tightened.

"Soraru-san...?"

".... Haha.... It really is like your memories have been erased," Soraru whispered into Mafu's ear. "The picture.... Mafu, I've loved you since nine years ago."

Sorau felt Mafu start trembling again in his arms. The boy let out choked sobs as if he was holding back. "Let it go, Mafu," Soraru said.

And Mafu wailed, sobbing his heart out on Soraru's shoulder. It was like all the tears he has been holding back were released in an explosion that racked the boy's body.

And Soraru held him tight.

|*|*|

He didn't know for how long they had been there, but Mafu's cries had faded. Soraru let go of Mafu and laid Mafu's head on his lap. He had fallen asleep.

Soraru stroked his lover's tear stained cheeks. His face was still flushed.

Looking up at the sky, Soraru took a deep breath. The sky had started to turn a lighter shade of gray, but the sun hadn't come up yet. That wouldn't happen for a while. He pulled out his phone, staring at the black screen, his reflection in it.

Unlocking his phone, Soraru dialed a number. He held it up to his ear and faced the sky as he waited. When the ringing stopped, he closed his eyes...

"... Hey, Amatsuki... Would you mind coming to get us?"

--

Epilogue and extras coming soon