Chapter 43: son?

He watched his classmates leave him in the middle of the forest. He didn't say a word nor defense himself. He also didn't blame them or get angry at them. He just watch them without flashing any reaction. As soon as they vanished in his sight, he carries his classmate's dead body and buried it somewhere in the place by himself. After that, without any plan into his mind. He began his journey by walking following the main road. All he has now is himself yet he is still full of confidence.

He is been walking beside the road for how many days without eating or drinking looking the same the day he last saw his friends yet he still look so confident and handsome like all the dirt that covers his body is part of his fashion.

While walking, a Subaru stopped in front of him. A woman in her late thirties went off the car. From her looks, you can say that she's rich and elegant wearing a fur coat and a brown hat matching her dark pink lipstick and sunglasses holding a channel bag in her right hand. She stand straight and walks toward the young man and bend a bit to reach him then remove her shades to talk to him with a smile. In a bit, she looks like an evil stepmother in fairy tales.

The car entered in the huge gate that automatically opened. "Don't be shy, feel free to feel at home", says the old woman to the young man who don't show any expression and that is why maybe the woman can't predict what is he thinking. "I won't be long, I need to go back and fixed the things", he said when the car stops.

"You really look just like him. I bet that he was also the same age as yours if he is still alive", said the woman with smiles on her eyes while watching the young man eating. "My husband will be surprised when he saw you. I hope that you can stay even until he arrives home, he is currently in a business trip right now and he will be back in two weeks and maybe that is why also you caught my attention a while ago, because I was left all alone in this huge mansion so it makes me miss my son even more" "You said that I look like your son and he might be the same age as me if he was still alive, right?" "Ah…yeah" "I am already sixteen and observing and looking at you, you are just thirty, thirty five? Thirty nine? I guess. And if you are around that age and your son is sixteen then does it mean that you have him when you are still a teen ager. Ugh… teen age mom", he said in disappointment like he was looking for a hole to see if the woman in front of him is just bluffing. "W…what's wrong in teen age pregnancy… everyone commits mistake" "I don't have anything against teen age pregnancy but I was just wondering. If you really have a son then why can't I find any photos of him in this huge house but a small family picture. You and the man beside you is might be your husband and two kids, one boy and one girl. The boy in the picture doesn't have any resemblance of me so I don't think he is the son you are talking about and you are always talking about your son, your son but not the daughter. So I was just wondering if who are those two kids in the picture if they are not your kids and why do they have photos of you two instead of your own son" "I forgot to ask your name" "Hitoshi" "You looked like a smart kid Hitoshi" "My friends are smarter than me, they are the top students in our school" "Hmmm…I see, I want to meet those friends of yours someday also" "Are you trying to change the topic just now?" "No, of course not. I was just want to talk with you comfortably and call your name. The kids you saw on the picture are not my kids. They are my nephew and niece but we treat them like our own. You see, their mother died because their father killed her. He was about to kill them but thank goodness that the cops arrived on time and put him in jail. I pitied the kids for experiencing such traumatic incident in their young age so my husband and I promised that we will give them all our love and care" "The girl in the picture looks familiar though", he said to himself. "Huh?" "Nothing. Where is your son, I mean your true son. You should have at least one of his photo" "Ahhh… that one?" "We burned it all. All of his things and pictures, we burned them all when he died because we don't want to miss him so much and suffer from his lost" "What about your nephew and niece. I can't see them somewhere in the house" "That's the other bad news" "Did they also died?" "I don't know. I just woke up one morning and they are nowhere to be found. Wherever they are now, I hope they are safe"

The next day, the woman break into his room early in the morning while he was still sleeping wearing a big smile. Hitoshi doesn't still want to get out of his bed because beside from having a soft bed that you will really have a good night sleep sleeping on it is that for him, it was like a year that he didn't sleep on bed. The woman opened the huge curtain beside his bed to let the brightness of the sun enters into his room. "Hmmm", he said as he covered his head with a blanket. "Ahhh… you want to play hard ha" She hold his feet and pull it out of the bed and walah, Hitoshi is awake.

He don't smile or show his teeth yet every clothes he wear looks good on him. The woman bought everything he wears in the fitting room and even shoes. He feels irritated telling to the woman countless times that he won't stay for so long so he doesn't need that much of clothes and other things yet the woman don't listen and enjoying what she's doing like he will buy the whole mall for this young man if possible.

"Check that out. Don't you think that he is handsome" "Oh my gosh, he's gorgeous" "C'mon let's go talk to him, he seems to be alone", said the two teen age girls looking at Hitoshi sitting alone on one of the tables inside the fast food restaurant. However, before they took one step closer to him, a woman in thirties carrying a tray of foods glared evilly at them that makes them back down from their plan of flirting with him. "Here you go", said the woman as she sit in front of him. "Hey, I already told you for how many times that I don't need these things", he said pointing out the paper bags beside him that all was for him. "Don't call me 'hey'. I have a name and its Mabel, call me Aunt Mabel" "So Aunt Mabel", he said in sarcastic. 'I want you stop buying me stuffs that I will not use" "You will stay in the house for two weeks so you also need on buy stiff that you will use within those days and don't try to stop me, it is my only happiness, shopping" Hitoshi sighed thinking that it will be useless if he will still try to argue with this woman.

"While we are on it, why don't we visit your son's grave. I want to introduce myself to him" "Nooo!!!" "Huh?!" "I mean we can't do that, we didn't buried him on cemetery, he got cremated and spread his ash to the sea where he loves" "Hmmm… I see. It's too sad I can't meet him" "We should go home instead, I will cook something delicious for you"

"Why don't you have a maid or a driver in that big house. You are rich and you can afford to get one, so why don't you hire somebody and also so that you won't get bored being alone in that huge house in times like these that your husband is not with you" "No need for maids or driver, I can handle things pretty well on my own" "If you said so", he said as he look outside of the window inside the car.

The house was so huge that there are possibilities he will lost in that place. In searching for the exit, he enters in a dark corridor. No single light or even window, it is very dark and endless. He was walking on that corridor without any light for almost half an hour and he can't still see a single light from the exit. As he walks faster, he hardly can breathe like the place is consuming his energy. One step and he is covered with sweat. He breathe heavily, as he walks slower and slower. Before he lost his consciousness, he heard a familiar voice, it's Kazumi.

The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes is Aunt Mabel. "Thank goodness you're awake. I heard you struggling in your sleep. So I came to check on you, you're having a nightmare. What did you see?" Hitoshi immediately get up. "I need to leave, I need to go back at the school" Aunt Mabel stopped her. "What do you mean you need to leave. Already? But it was just two days since you were here. We agreed that you will stay here for two weeks" "We didn't agreed on anything, it was just you who assume that. I need to go back, my best friend is in danger. Kazumi, I heard Kazumi. He's asking for my help. Kazumi will die" "What?! Who, who is this Kazumi? Who will kill him?" "I…I…I don't know. But I know that he is in danger and that is for sure"

Even how much Aunt Mabel tried to stop him from leaving, Hitoshi is just too strong for a man that can let go from her arms. He got out of the huge house and about to cross the road when a car hit him. Aunt Mabel was in shock on what she just saw that makes her heart stopped from beating for almost a couple of seconds.

Kazumi woke up breathing heavily and sweating even the night is cold. He grab the glass of water from the side table of his bed then drank it. "Can't you sleep also?" Fuyumi turned and saw Kazumi who just went out from his apartment. He went beside her and they both look up at the same sky. "I had a nightmare", Kazumi said starting the conversation. Fuyumi looked at him staring at the blank sky. "I don't know why I am nervous or I am afraid. I woke up like my heart is going to beat out of my chest and my dream is not about me so I don't why I am feeling like this" "I…I don't understand" "Hitoshi, I dreamed about Hitoshi dying. I shouldn't get affected but why I am feeling sad" "Hitoshi?!" "Hmm, I don't know where it came from" "You will never know, it won't happen" "Dreams can come true and so with nightmares" "I hope Hitoshi is okay wherever he is" "What about you, why are you here?" , said Kazumi as he looked at her. "I just feel like watching at the sky" "The sky is clear, there were no stars and the moon is hiding behind the clouds yet it is still bright enough to light the whole world"

"Kazumiiiii" Fuyumi entered in the room running holding a two cups of Slurpee. She immediately put the two cups in Kazumi's desk and pull a seat in front of him. "Did you already heard?" "Heard what?" "A teen ager was hit-and-run yesterday and died immediately" "And so", he said as he drink from the Slurpee Fuyumi brought. "The teen ager is from this school and what shocked me is that this teen ager came from class 2-D last school year" Kazumi froze like a paralyzed person.

After class, the two went to visit the said teen who died from the hit and run yesterday. Before Kazumi enters, he stopped when Fuyumi holds the sleeve of his shirt. He looked down to her hands until going up to her face and there he saw her crying. "Hi…Hitoshi…c…can't die. He still didn't clear his name. I told you that he is not the killer and you won't believe me! Hitoshi shouldn't die like this!", she said between her sobs. Her tears are already enough to wash her face. Fuyumi's cries are getting loud and louder at the entrance of the place that she almost sit on the ground as she cries. "Hi…Hitoshi…", she keeps on saying as she covered her face with her two hands. They are starting to get the people's attention. Kazumi didn't know how to respond on this kind of situation.

When she calms a little, she wipe all her tears that seems she was holding it for a long time, stand and fixed herself. When she start crying, Kazumi was beside her but now he is gone. The first thing that came into her mind is that maybe Kazumi leaves him because of two reasons. One, he was embarrassed by the people passing by or two, he is angry at her for blaming him in Hitoshi's dead. In realizing on those thoughts, her tears are started to flow again thinking that Kazumi leaved her. Suddenly, someone gave her a bottle of water. When she look who it is, she didn't realize that she's smiling already. "Th…thank you" "I don't know how to comfort people on situation like this so I thought that a water can help you to calm down" "You're not angry?" "Why would I?" "I blame you for his death" "Well, before I went to the store to buy a bottled water. I take a peek for a moment on the funeral and I don't know what to say nor feel. I don't know if this will be a good news or should I be happy but—" Fuyumi is waiting on what he was going to say next. "It is not Hitoshi who died from the hit-and-run" "Huh?! Then who, I heard that the victim came from our school and he was in class 2-D and the first person that came into mind is Hitoshi because…because—" She was stopped when Kazumi holds her cheeks then her hands and pull her inside the funeral. A picture of a smiling young woman surrounded with flowers welcomed the two of them when they checked who really is. "It's Nakumi? Nakumi is the victim of the Hit-and-run incident yesterday?" "Do you believe in me now?" She slowly turned to Kazumi who is beside her from staring at the picture with her mouth opened. "So the teen ager they are talking about who came from our school and from class 2-D is Ishida Nakumi" "Hmmm", said Kazumi while nodding. Fuyumi without closing her mouth turned again to Nakumi's picture.

"I don't know if I will be happy that it is not Hitoshi or should I be sad that one of our classmates died again", said Fuyumi while they are walking home together. "But honestly, I feel relieved that he is not the one who died. It gave me hope that wherever he is right now, whether he plan to come back or not I know that he is safe somewhere"

"I need to go back. If something happened to Kazumi and I am not there to help him or save him. I won't forgive myself", he said as he get out of his bed then immediately run outside the house. Aunt Mabel chase him to suppose to volunteer to give him a ride. The moment she went out of their gate, she saw Hitoshi went flying when he was hit by a car. "Hitoshiiiiiii!!!" as she ran to him showering in his own blood beside the road not so far from her house. "Do you know him" Her whole body is shaking and slowly turned to the man who just talked behind her that the voice seems familiar. "Wh…what are you doing here. Why are you here" "I finished all my meetings earlier than expected and I bought a new car to surprise you", he said like nothing happened" "So you—" Her hands are shaking pointing at Hitoshi. "Y…you are the one…who hit him?" Her eyes are starting to turn red. "Do you know him?" "He's the young man I'm talking about on the phone" That was the time both of them start to panic. "Is he dead? Can you check if he's dead" Aunt Mabel started to cry while shaking her head looking at her husband. "Check if he's dead!" Then Aunt Mabel slowly went into Hitoshi to check his pulse.

"Stop crying! No one will know. No one saw what happened and we will bury this until we die", said her husband. Aunt Mabel is still crying and shaking even after they bury Hitoshi. Her husband hold her cheeks and raised her head for him to see her face. "Nothing happened, okay. You saw nothing" then he hugged her.

"Hon, is the dinner not yet ready?" When Aunt Mabel placed the cooked dinner in the dining table, the rain starts to pour. She stopped for a while to watch the rain from the window and she can't help to think about the young man who just died because of her, yes she's blaming herself for his death. If she didn't invite him to her house when she saw him that day or when she just stopped him from going that time with all her strength, this will not happen. "I told him that he looks like our son and I let him stay here even at least until you go home" "Son?! But we don't have a son"