Flight of Tears

Part Five - Chapter Three

Squirming uncomfortably in a stiff, intolerable chair within the hospital waiting room, Ichimatsu waited. Though his patience was close to its limits, the boy was far too concerned for his mother to allow such emotions to become a burden. She had been in emergency surgery for two hours now, and all the child could do was worry.

Karamatsu, having found the boy after hearing of the incident, kindly drove him to the hospital in the city, which was thirty minutes away. The priest claimed to have never been in the town himself, thus, they had a few difficulties in locating the hospital.

With nothing but gratitude in his heart towards his new friend, Ichimatsu scooted a little closer towards the priest, who had promised to stay with him until his mother was available.

"I don't understand why this all had to happen..." Ichimatsu thought anxiously to himself, wringing his hands. His fingers trembled as the cold, hospital air continued to wrap around them, chilling them down to the bone. "I just hope my mother is safe..."

Ichimatsu looked over to the priest, noticing that the man was still praying. He had been doing such since they sat down in the hospital waiting room.

"It would be wrong for me to disturb him..." Ichimatsu thought to himself. "But I could really use someone to talk to right now..."

As if Karamatsu had heard the boy's thoughts, he opened his eyes and looked over lovingly at Ichimatsu. It was like the gaze of a proud father, encouraging his son to continue being strong.

"God is with you," Karamatsu spoke softly, grabbing the boy's hands, giving them a gentle squeeze. "He will never leave you."

"T-Thank you..." Ichimatsu exhaled shakily.

"What's on your mind?" Karamatsu asked, sitting up a little straighter in his chair. "You seem troubled, but not just for this one mishap."

"I don't know..." Ichimatsu mumbled, though his heart was pounding in his chest. It longed to break free from the prison, which always concealed his true feelings...his loneliness, his anxieties, his constant, unanswered questions. "Tell the priest! Just tell him!"

Karamatsu smiles lovingly at the boy, but didn't push him any further. He knew when it was best to just not speak. Now was perhaps one of those moments. Though, to his surprise, the boy broke their silence within seconds.

"Idon'twanttolive," Ichimatsu whispered in one, rushed breath.

"Pardon?" Karamatsu asked, praying he had misheard the boy.

Ichimatsu began to tug on the ends of his hair uncomfortably.

"You just screwed up big time, buddy!" Ichimatsu thought to himself, longing to be punished in some sort of way. "How dare you even say those words to the priest! He doesn't need your worries! Think of the weight he has on his heart from all those other children! You have no place to tell him how you feel."

"I'm sorry..." Ichimatsu quickly apologized to Karamatsu. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

"No! No!" Karamatsu panicked a little, shaking his head. "You have no reason to say you're sorry! You have done nothing wrong."

"How come this has n-never ended then..?" Ichimatsu's voice cracked a little. "All my life, no matter how hard I've tried, it seems that everyone just walks away. My father ruined everything for me, once my mother married him."

"Your mother was divorced at some point?" Karamatsu asked, his voice filled with sympathy.

Ichimatsu modded his head as the priest's eyes filled with sympathy for him.

"She couldn't support me for the longest time. We were even living on the streets once. Her choice to marry him was nonexistent. She knew how awful of a person he was, yet her sister urged her to. Her sister always took great care of me, while my mother went out searching for jobs," Ichimatsu spoke, a single tear running down his cheek. "And even now, I don't...I don't think we'll be able to afford her surgery...we moved into that little town in hopes of finding a cheaper, calmer life. But my father was so livid..."

"My boy..." Karamatsu said, tears rolling down his cheeks. He embraced the child, pulling Ichimatsu close to him. The young boy began to sob in the arms of his priest. "God is going to take care of all of this..."

"Ichimatsu?" a nurse called out, breaking the emotional moment between the child and the religious leader. "Your mother is waiting for you. She came out of the surgery just fine, and she will be able to go home soon."

Ichimatsu looked at the nurse, then back at Karamatsu, a sad smile spreading across his face.

"Thank you so much, Father Karamatsu...."