Chapter 38

Saika couldn't help but laugh. "My little peanut." She reached out and ruffled his sandy brown locks. "You know you can't. But don't worry, I'll be out in no time. Just pray for me, okay?"

"We will." Sora promised, draping an arm over Hiro's shoulder as he stood beside him. "Just make sure you come back to us hale and hearty."

Saika grinned. "Come on now. Wipe those sad looks from your faces and give me a big hug. I'm not going in there to die you know."

Raiden, who was standing in a corner, watched all them with envy as they engulfed Saika in a big hug. Even though they were dirt poor and had suffered for years, the siblings had stuck together and cared for one another. They were a true family.

A family unlike his own.

Memories of the past flashed through his mind and he closed his eyes, trying to push them away.

"Why did you have to be born?!" His father raged, giving him an ear ringing slap. "She would still be here if you had just died! Why didn't you just die?!"