Unbroken Bonds 1

The town was busy with activity crowding the streets and sidewalks leaving the noise to plow through everything around. Near to the neighborhood of Yuki and many of his classmates was a shopping district within walking distance that provided much of the after school entertainment. It left the sidewalks filled with students just off from classes.

For Yumi, she had to make it to her part-time job that she kept. Since their mother worked so hard to make enough money for them, Yumi took it upon herself to help in any way that she could to make things a little easier for them.

She had decided when she entered high school that she would get a job. It was not uncommon for high school students, but still was something difficult to do. However, the school knew about her family situation and she was allowed to work.

She arrived out front of the local bookstore that she had found through the school. They had helped her in locating a respectable business that was near to school. She helped them with whatever was needed in the store filling in where there were gaps. It was a simple job, but Yumi enjoyed the people that worked there and the friendly atmosphere.

Yumi smiled and nodded to the owner at the front desk as she walked through to the back. Since she came straight from school she was still wearing her uniform. It meant that she had to change out to what was worn for the store, which was simple slacks and a pink polo with the store's logo embroidered on the left side. As she put her bag away her mind began to wonder through memories and thoughts.

The back room gave her the moments to think back with her mind still spinning in uncertainty from her brother's words. It made her think back when she was younger, when their family was still whole.

'When I was younger, father was still with us and mother didn't have to work. She stayed home most of time taking care of us. During that time Yori was a little distant from me.'

Yori, age eight, was standing next to the table in the adjoining room to the kitchen where their mother was still looking at a paper. She returned the paper back to him smiling to him rubbing his head.

"That's amazing, Yori! You're so smart!"

Outside of the kitchen looking in through the doorway was Yumi, age seven, watching with curiosity. When Yori caught the eye of Yumi his gaze shifted for a moment narrowing at her and then changing back as he looked at their mother. The look made Yumi recoil around the corner of the door frame barely allowing her eyes to peek around. Their mother quickly picked up on Yumi's presence and turned making Yumi go into complete hiding.

"Oh Yumi! It's alright you don't have to hide, dear!"

She pulled herself back a little catching the warm comforting smile from her mother that made her feel some courage pouring through her to get her out from hiding. Yumi stood in the threshold of the doorway hanging her head down trying to hold back her tears.

"…Mom…" Her entire body was shaking ready to run away.

Her mother stood up from the chair walking over to Yumi kneeling down to her a little confused for why she was getting so upset.

"What's the matter, Yumi? Why are you crying, dear?"

She raised up Yumi's head to look at her seeing the tears that hung in her eyes. Then she looked down catching a paper in Yumi's tiny hands wrinkled from her tight hold on it. She gently took the paper from Yumi to look at it and then set it aside.

"Is this what's got you upset? Don't worry, Yumi. You're still my precious daughter. Your grades won't change how I feel!"

Yumi jumped into her mother's arms held out for her unable to stop the crying.

"…Hrmph…" Yori said turning his head away walking out of the room leaving them behind.

'Yori and me, we got along well enough for siblings, but there always seemed to be a hint of competition between us. Much of that didn't change for a while, but it soon became clear to Yori what our father had been doing. While I was only a year younger than him, much of it still was beyond my understanding.'

Their father came into the house late as he always seemed to be these days. There was a masking glow about him that made it clear he was hiding something while feeling contrary to his outward emotions. He sighed like he was tired and loosened his tie as he dropped his coat on the rack.

"Your dinner is warmed for you in the kitchen," their mother said as she came out of the kitchen helping him with his things.

"I had something at work. I'm just going to sleep." He walked around her going up the stairs to their room.

She hung her head down with a sense of knowing. "…I see…"

'I was asleep then, but had woken up seeing Yori looking out into the hall.'

Yumi, age nine, looked up from her bed across her room and through the door that looked into Yori's room. She could see the light of the hall shining on his eyes. Then the door completely opened and he walked out disappearing into the hall out of view.

"…Yori?" She could not hold back her curiosity and stepped out of her bed walking to the edge of her door.

'There was not much I could see, but I knew he had gone into our parent's bedroom. All I could do was listen from a distant.'

"…doing here…" a muffled voice of her father said.

"I know… …playing around…"

"…just a child…"

"NO! I… …mother knows… …waits for you each…"

The voices suddenly became raised and much clearer to understand. "You don't have any right to talk to your father like that!"

"And what right do you have to make mother cry every night when you don't come home and knows what you're doing!"

"Don't you talk back to me, child! This doesn't concern you!"

"It does when my own father doesn't seem to care about his own family!"

"Watch your mouth! I—"

Yumi pulled herself back into her room seeing that their mother had been alerted to the noise and came running to see what was going on. There was further yelling, but Yumi had hid herself under the covers of her bed trying to keep the noise away from her.

'It was not long after that our father left and then a year later it became official. Yori seemed glad, but it weighed on mother. When father left, she had to start working. It was then that I realized how much we depended on her. I had become so used to arriving back from school to have a warm smile to greet me and a snack to eat. But none of that happened anymore. The house was empty when I came home.'

While at school she kept a pleasant smile on her face even in front of those that knew what had happened. She continued on not letting to slow her down or get to her.

"Welcome home, Mom!" Yumi said greeting her tired mother at the door coming home late.

She had pat Yumi on the head working up a smile for her. "Thank you, dear."

"Is there anything you need?" Yumi smiled keeping a happy pleasant face hoping to cheer up her mother.

"No, I'll start working on dinner for you two immediately. You go do your homework."

"Alright!"

'It was always empty when I came home. There was never anyone to greet me.' Yumi, age ten, was sitting at a chair in the dining room, alone in the house, next to the kitchen with her school bag dropped at her feet. She held her head down on the table with her hair covering up her face hiding her feelings.