Flight of Tears

Part Six - Chapter Five

"Cordelia!" Karamatsu laughed, pulling his wife close to him. "You will always be my little princess. No, you're my queen."

"Oh my," Cordelia smiled softly at her beloved husband. "You must be in a good mood today! Is the church paying you more suddenly?"

"Haha, my you think you're a clever little one, don't you," Karamatsu smiled. "Of course it's not just the church. Money means nothing to me. I'm just so happy our child will be born soon."

"What if the church finds out?" Cordelia's eyes filled with fear. "I've been attending a different church ever since our marriage. Isn't all of this against your church? Oh...Karamatsu...what will become of our child...?"

Karamatsu wrapped his arms around Cordelia, burying his head in her neck, whispering softly into her ear, "I will do anything to keep you both safe. I will protect you from any harm that might come your way. Even if it means being shamed by the church, I will gladly depart if it is for the sake of your happiness and wellbeing."

A single tear rolled down Cordelia's pale, porcelain-like skin. Karamatsu could feel her heart pounding next to his own. He too, feared of what may happen. But he vowed to do whatever it took to preserve the life of his beloved one.

"Trust me," Karamatsu spoke seriously, taking his wife's hands in his own, staring directly into her light blue eyes. "I will protect you...."

Karamatsu jerked out of his faded memory, sobbing as he clutched the photo close to his heart.

"I'm so sorry...Cordelia...I'm so sorry...I'm so sorry...I'm sorry...forgive me...I failed you, just like I failed every person I've ever come across....I'm so sorry..." Karamatsu tried to get a grip on his emotions, though the tears refused to stop flowing.

As he reached into the folder and looked over the other papers, he felt his heart breaking even more.

"Cordelia..my darling...I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you for those last moments of your life..." Karamatsu cried bitterly, his tears soaking Ichimatsu's birth certificate. "But our little angel is still...here with us...Ichimatsu is safe...oh my Lord...my child..."

Karamatsu jerked up from his office chair and rushed out into the auditorium, finding Ichimatsu waiting patiently on the back pew.

The priest swooped the boy up into his arms, showering him in fatherly kisses on the head as tears poured from his eyes like a river. He held tightly to Ichimatsu, never ever wanting to let him go. It had been so many years since he last truly saw his son.

"I'm so so proud of you..." Karamatsu let go of Ichimatsu, falling down into his knees. Ichimatsu sat down on the ground beside the priest, wrapping his arms around him.

"I missed you, daddy..." Ichimatsu whispered softly, his voice cracking a little. "My mother never stopped talking about you, all while she raised me. She always said how much she loved you, and how much she wished I could see you too. Even the last day I saw her, she was still talking about you..."

Hearing such only resulted in Karamatsu crying even harder.

"My son...I thought I had lost you forever...." Karamatsu hugged Ichimatsu.

But suddenly, the boy began to cough and cough and cough. And just like that, Ichimatsu fell limp in the arms of his true father.

His skin grew cold within seconds, his heart no longer beating, either.

Karamatsu's mouth hung open in devastated shock. His bottom lip trembling, the priest curled up on the floor next to the boy, still hugging the lifeless boy tightly.

"But it will never be enough to even show you how much pain you caused me," Osomatsu's icy voice hissed in Karamatsu's ear.