Chapter 3: An Odd Heart
"Trash."
In his tiny mind, the word held true. A memory, a scar, it wasn't the first time that the boy heard it. Nonetheless, those words lingered in his heart, it inched every beating place, every missing piece. He tried to forget, yet every time that heart of his ached.
For what was the reason of numbing yourself, if you can't truly forget.
It was a memory, a memory that Yuki refused to reminisce.
The woman trailed out of the café, Yuki though, Yuki hadn't noticed. But, the boy did not bother to take a glance either, for he was afraid, appalled, that if he met the initiator, the same spiteful eyes would stare him down to insanity.
He was anxious.
She's gone, Yuki. Please don't think of what she said.
Shiro, it was the cat who tried to comfort, and it was a risky challenge.
Trying to comfort someone who refused to listen, a bigot, a downhearted bigot.
"I'm so sorry for that, Yuki. I truly am, but, we have no more time to waste. Bid your farewells, you won't be seeing these people for a very long time." Moru let out, a pitiful sigh along with it.
The boy though, he was unresponsive.
Yuki!
It startled him, the orbs that once welled with life, now lifeless. Yuki, this boy, he was helpless. The boy loathed this emotion, yet it stuck onto him like a leech, sucking the life out every ounce of his beating heart.
"Oh, ok." He managed to force out.
A half-hearted attempt to talk, as if losing his very essence with each passing second.
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Pastel-painted walls brought a sense of closeness to Yuki. Primarily, it would've made the latter smile, it should've made him smile.
After all, it was his adoptive mother's favorite color, Aunt Criselda's favorite color.
"Yuki?" A feminine voice chimed, stifled due to the cold rain pouring on concrete.
It was a middle-aged woman, her tousled hair was damp, the dim sunlight amidst the downpour refracted through her navy blue spheres. She was somewhat familiar to the boy, though the latter had a troublesome time recollecting.
The woman was drenched with rainwater. However, she had an umbrella. An umbrella that she selflessly used to defend the sobbing boy from the cold downpour.
"I'm Alice, your Aunt Criselda wanted me to take care of you."
The boy looked up, his tears dripping along with the cold water. Yuki was anguished, his frail heart could not accept, even the slightest mention of her name hurled the boy's mind into abrupt sorrow.
An incident too raw; too fresh in his youthful abyss to comprehend, to finally accept.
Aunt Criselda was dead.
"Yuki, please come with me. You're going to catch a cold, the both of us if we remain here."
Her untainted pearly whites revealed, her eyes filled with pity, something that the lad had somewhat wanted, but it wasn't from her.
The naive boy hadn't guessed that the world was capable of rotting him at such an early age, the world did strive. It tried, and each and every time it would fail, not until now.
This was the heaviest that it would've gotten, a broken heart, and a broken boy.
Yuki had nothing more to lose. And so, he followed along with Alice, thinking with a hazy mind, that mind of his, it became desolate. He didn't care anymore, and he specifically didn't mind, for what was more severe than losing a loved one?
He'd rather lose himself.
But, Alice wasn't a stranger, well at least to Yuki, she certainly was not.
Stars do indeed fade, as Yuki's star did, the boy surely will miss. His one and only star, Criselda.
The sliding doors opened cleanly, revealing minimalistic designs and sets. How could Yuki ever forget, this was where his star oftenly brought him, it was her favorite café.
"Restauranté Café," Yuki read inside his tiny mind.
"Yuki, this is my café... This may be too much to ask, but, I want you to live here with me."
Generosity was a blessing, for Yuki though, he saw it unfit. Inappropriate for someone as lowly as him, in his eyes, he hated this weak and fragile boy. He hated himself, Yuki loathed this useless boy, this trash of a human.
Alice stood patiently, waiting for the young boy's decision. A favorable response, hoping that he'd approve.
"I'm sorry, Auntie. But, I can't. Thank you for the offer though."
Yuki caught a glimpse, a fraction of a second which Alice's face was shaded with disappointment. She expected this, yet it still upset her like a matchstick, gone all too promptly. Primarily, it was because she made a promise.
This young boy, a naive soul. Innocent as Yuki was, his mind expanded along the vast cosmos, and this made him extraordinary in his own way. Something Criselda had warned to Alice, it was something which she had to cherish.
For this, all too normal of a boy, untainted, scarred, was somewhat special, in his own way.
She had to honor Yuki's decisions. She understood that very moment if it pained her, that boy must be enduring worse, withstanding a bitter memory, and he was all by himself.
Slowly, it waned. Dwindling on Yuki's mind, unlike his heart, gradually growing numb.
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"Finally leaving?" A whiff of sadness drifted along with the wind, although, it was Alice, a sad, yet also proud Alice. It was an Aunt that wanted only the best for her dearest one.
This was it, goodbye.
Those burning eyes, it pressed on, yet it felt distinct. It was drilling a hole on his backside, a hole that spanned to the boy's deeps. It was utmost scrutiny; it was the children, after all. Those sparkling eyes of theirs, it gleamed of hope. You'll come back, right? But, before hope comes, grief is most likely to be first. And that's what consumed those youngsters, in their tiny minds, Yuki wasn't at all petty.
They acknowledged him, as a friend, as a family, a family that none of them ever had. They were a family, an uncommon one, a fuel that keeps them latched onto hope.
An unusual family indeed.
"Yuki, if you don't come back..." tears welled on those small orbs, particularly Enri's, the small frightening girl.
"If you don't come back, I'll go back to the orphanage!" Enri exclaimed, her tears cascading across her cheeks.
Enri was sad, those children, too young, too gullible, too truthful to their sentiments. Before the stillness, there is a storm, much like this one. These hearts, special souls, abandoned children, walking on a tightrope. Into a world filled with uncertainty.
Diving deeper into their spirits to find their true selves; the rigorous challenge before the calm.
Seeing the people they call family leave, a sad scenery indeed.
"Don't cry, please. I promise I'll be back." Oddly enough, this moment he, in leaving home, found an unprecedented sight.
It was rare in its own right, these foster children were strong, they grew up to be invulnerable to the world's sorrow. Yet, they bawled their eyes like waterfalls. There this boy understood, no matter how strong, no matter how hard you cover these weaknesses, you numb yourself, it will inevitably show.
We're only humans, we stumble, we bleed. But, most importantly we humans have hope.
"Goodbye, Alice, Niña, Sett, and goodbye my dear Enri."
Goodbyes are not forever, it is not the end; it simply means you'll miss them until you meet again. The boy instilled in his mind, mindful of the sadness. Though, it was only until their paths cross once again.
"I'll be in the car, Yuki. Thank you for everyone's time." Moru declared.
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The naive boy was captivated-a city that he had lived in felt like a different world, or fairly, was it because he had never dared to leave the nest that he had been bought upon.
Yuki was bound to meet the world as it truly was, the boy was tempted to move to the other side of the vehicle. It was treacherous, not that it was occupied, though it was his fear-it kept him silent, anxious, and scared.
The boy had not depicted a vivid image in his mind, he, in his entirety, had not encountered an enigma much like this one. It was plainly the fear of the unknown. Toying with his mind, puttering with a spirit that was filled with skepticisms.
Though he did find the carriage of comfort, not long enough the boy clutched onto his bag. His shivering was hardly apparent, the cold breeze from the air conditioner sent Yuki shivering.
You're odd, Yuki. I'm just going to nap, reading your mind's too tiring.
It wasn't the sun setting down that made all of this too sleepy, he could understand the feline, this day was too tiring.
Yuki did not discern, such a bizarre turn of events.
Just as he was about to follow the cat's footsteps, his stomach rumbled, almost groan-like. He hadn't eaten anything for that matter, luckily, his chocolate-filled bread was Yuki's savior.
His favorite savior.
As he was about to indulge in his first bite, a stomach, no, it was a loud groan, startled him. It was the Japanese man, Moru, he had clasped his abdomen, in an attempt to ease his discomfort.
"Sir, Mr. Moru. Would you like some bread?" Yuki offered. The Japanese man only grinned, his muffled chuckle slightly unnerving the boy.
"I have a Mercedes Benz, and I'm driving, kid." Moru retorted, his smile now swiveled into a smug look.
"Well, do you have bread or food?" Yuki pressed.
"No." He simply answered.
"Here have some of mine. Can you please open your mouth, Mister?" Willingly the man did open his mouth, something about Yuki reminded the man of someone, somebody that he used to know. But, he couldn't grasp the memory, that fraction of him was cloudy.
Curiosity was getting the better of this man.
"Shiro, do you also want some bread?" Shiro, the name rang a bell, it was a familiar name, at least to Moru. Tiny coincidences, accidents, toyed with his fickle heart.
"Sir, I've been told before that we were going abroad, to which particular place are we heading to?" Yuki kept asking, on and on, his beating heart raced. It was fear and excitement mashed inside this boy's brain.
"To the Philippines, as you've read in the letter there is a hidden Spegel there, inside Mount Guiting-guiting. We can only reach Alius through there. Then eventually we'll reach Axiom University."
Yuki was flustered, he had no prior idea to what Moru was saying, nor even the slightest idea of what he told. These were alien-like modes of expression, in his mind it sounded of a place that was beyond earth, beyond his perception of the world, beyond his very own trivial existence.
It slithered along his brain, itching every inch of his vast mind with interest. But, it came at the price of fear. After all, it was his dreaded unknown.
"Sir, Moru. I've never heard any of these places except for the Philippines since Axiom's located there." Yuki told.
The man only cackled, the buzzing of the car had finally come to a halt, both of them ultimately staring in awe. A grand building was in front of them, "Bennyson Airport" Yuki read out loud, his thumping heart had finally came to a stop. He was finally departing into a place so foreign, abandoning the nest that he had never dared to leave, along with his restless soul.
YUKI!
The boy's head quickly snapped back.
His eye, Mr. Moru's right eye, it's gleaming like a jade.
It was vivid in broad sunlight, the sun rays from the sun setting down made it glint, it was indeed a striking green. The thumping that had once stopped ever so briefly regressed, it made the boy internally panic, his heart pounding along with the setting sun.
Fear senses, fear takes over, fear is ALIVE.
"Sir, your right eye looks odd."
Once again, that toothy grin of his. It was offsetting the equilibrium within the young boy. Or, was it just an awful excuse that young boy instilled in his tiny mind. He evidently knew what distressed him.
His fear of the unknown.
"Yuki, my Mata is awake."
[X]
A/N: Huello guise, it's me the author.
*cheekily grins
Lol, that was cringe, anyways this book is especially for those who like literary stuff, and maybe some magical stuff. Anyways, I'm so happy it's getting reads UwU.
Please do vote, pleaaaseee, and if you think it's good, please do me a favor and share it with your friends.
So, the love parts will come in soon in the story. It's okay if you drop the story, maybe it just isn't what you like. XD stay safeeee guise.
Also, all the "random" stuff I'm putting, it'll all make sense later in the story.
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