ʜᴇʀᴏᴇs | ʙɴʜᴀ

↳ chapter 20

"Daddy!" the 5-year-old girl squealed with glee evident in her voice.

  The man who had just entered through the door had a small smile on his face. The 5-year-old Sakura ran up to him and hugged his legs, causing the man in glasses to pat her head, chuckling at her enthusiasm.

"Hey there sweetie. I'm going on a business trip for the next few days, you understand right?" he cooed.

  The small girl gave him a small pout. She didn't like it when daddy went on business trips. Mommy would always invite another man over, claiming it was for business. She kept it to herself, not wanting to give her father more stress lines. The man sighed at the pout on her face. 

"C'mon kiddo, it's just a week. I promise that I'll be back before you even know it, " he pleaded.

  The corners of her face twitched upwards. Her wide puppy dog eyes making her irresistible to say no to. She held out her hand, curling all her fingers down until it was only her pinky finger up.

"Pinky promise?"

  Her father sighed. He could never say no to her, scared that she would turn out to be a spoiled brat one day if he didn't do anything. But at this age, he thought it was still fine. He hooked his pinky finger around hers.

"Pinky promise, " he said, unhooking his pinky finger from around hers and using his two index fingers to push up the corners of her mouth.

"Now smile for me, okay? Even when daddy isn't here, I want you to smile every day, because I will be right, " he touched her chest where her heart was.

"Here,"

  Sakura gave a small laugh which sounded as harmonious as the wind chimes on a summer day, her eyes twinkling. She laughed and smiled, because he was right there, in her heart.

•

  The emergency alarm was blaring. The aircraft was tilting downwards, and the passengers were panicking. People's screams could be heard as the plane was about to dive headfirst into the pacific ocean. But there was one man sitting at the window seat, his face solemn. He was about to die, he already faced that reality. He was just scared about how it would affect his daughter. He remembered the promise he made to her before he left.

I promise I'll be back before you even know it.

  He sighed. He broke his promise to one of the only things that mattered to him in this world. In his last moments, he recalled every memory he had of his darling girl, a smile etching across his face.

Smile for me when I'm gone. I'll be right next to you, Sakura.

Among the screams of the passengers, his mind was clear and full of bliss. He knew that his daughter would be fine without him. Just fine.

So when his world plunged into darkness, he was still smiling. Smiling for her.

•

Sakura watched from above the stairs in disgust as her mother hugged the unknown man who clearly wasn't her father, giving him a small peck on the cheek. She wasn't a dumb 5-year-old, she knew that her mom was 'cheating' on her father, whatever that meant. It was always the same routine. She would greet him, then take him to the second story where her bedroom was. She wasn't sure what happened beyond that door, but there was a lot of loud noises and banging. The first time she heard it, she thought that he was attacking her, but she didn't stop it, because the idea of that God awful woman being attacked wasn't that bad of an idea in Sakura's head.

When her mother and the unknown man we're safely out of sight, she headed downstairs to turn on the TV. She was going to switch to her favorite channel and watch some cartoons, until the news headlines caught her eye.

Flight XZ 6005 crashed in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Sakura's eyes widened in shock. Flight XZ 6005... That was the airplane her father had been taking! Suddenly, she felt dizzy, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. She didn't know what to do. She was a helpless 5-year-old, what was she supposed to do now? She couldn't just carry on without a care in the world, knowing that her father had... Passed.

There was still a glimmer of hope that he was still alive, that he was living and well, that they had just reported the wrong flight number. Sakura wiped away her tears. Besides, daddy had promised that he would come home soon. He promised. She carried a smile on her face, as though the news hadn't affected her, wanting to keep the last bit of hope she had by smiling. Besides, wouldn't her father want her to smile?

•

She stood there clad in black. She mourned with the others, a dark look casting over her face. He broke his promise, he broke his promise to her. And now he was never coming back.

How would one come back from the dead?

She stood there, in the rain. At least the weather matched the mood in the atmosphere. Her mother stood there with a straight face, neither happy not sad. Sakura wanted her mother to feel something for him. She wished that she felt something for him. At one point, she couldn't stand the pain in her chest, so she ran. She ran where her feet took her. She ended up on a park bench, alone, crying.

A small boy with heterochromatic eyes had run away on the same day. His father had brought him out, and in a separate attempt to escape, he booked it. He ran and ran, until he reached the park. He didn't think anyone would be at the park when it was raining, but he was proven severely wrong by the small girl clad in black who was sitting on a park bench, her face buried into her knees.

He cautiously approached her, sitting next to her. Sakura hadn't even noticed his presence. He laid his small hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump up a bit.

"Did you also run like me?" he asked, his dull eyes boring into hers. She sniffled in response.

"Kind of..." she trailed off.

Then Sakura remembered the words her father had told her. Where he told her to smile even when he was gone. She looked at the red and white-haired boy. She could tell visibly that he had been through much worse than her. She remembered what her father said.

Now smile for me, okay? Even when daddy isn't here, I want you to smile every day, because I will be right here.

She put on a smile on her face. The boy looked visibly puzzled at her actions. She put her index fingers at the corner of his mouth and pushed them up.

"Smile!" she strained out.

She was pained inside, but she wanted to help. The boy held the grin on his face. They laughed together. How cliché. In that moment, all that there was, was laughter.