[I]
It was the most blissful last day of summer when Yuki decided to take a stroll in the nearby park.
The breezy wind from the river seeped inside the boy's skin, the once scorching road had finally cooled itself down. The lukewarm winds passed through half-hearted flowers and grass-which was not meant to be stepped on by foot. It succeeded to cool down the half-hearted attempts of the sun to heat everything up.
This was the day we all dreaded. This day, the final day of summer. Meaning, classes would soon start again.
That in itself is quite dreadful.
Yukiora Auli couldn't agree any less.
But it wasn't the fact that school would start soon enough, actually, it was the opposite. Yuki loved school, knowledge even more, or so he believed.
He had to move, not just to a faraway college in a different state, but rather to another country. It was a mind-boggling question, no other colleges accepted his application, a scholar's application, except for Axiom University, the top university in the world's entirety.
Yuki was being forced to travel for the sake of his future, for the sake of his so-called love for education.
"Meow..."
He was distracted.
Cats? Yuki was never fond of cats, not that he held a grudge on them, or not just because of sheer dislike. It was the other way around, cats always hissed at him-at least whenever he tried to get near them. He never made any effort to like them, and so at a time the feelings were mutual.
"Meow..."
The next noise sounded more like a cry, an urge filling him. Yuki knew he had to help, and this was the boy's problem, he always worried about other people, to the extent that he'd neglect himself.
In the middle of the grass patch a sturdy tree stood tall, a sign beside it clearly stating that the grass was not to be stepped on. Under it a white cat laid on the ground, its paws bloodied. Its blue eyes gleamed, exposed in direct sunlight, such expressive eyes, it whimpered due to pain but its attempts were all too feeble.
"I'm sorry, Park Guard," he mumbled to himself.
The boy trudged his way to the cat; the rustling of grass and leaves masking Yuki's heavy footsteps. He cunningly glanced at the Park Guard every once in a while, just to play it safe.
"Oi!" the guard had seen him, despite his best efforts.
It was a lady guard, her bun could easily be spotted. She wore an irritated look, her eyebrows arching in annoyance.
Yuki let out an awkward laugh. He clasped both of his hands, a white lie passing through his lips in an effort to give an alibi.
He didn't do this often yet he was like an expert.
"I'm so sorry. My cat ran away from home, it got itself into an accident."
The lady guard gasped in shock, the sight of blood must've been too much for her. Yuki's assumptions were confirmed when she turned away from bloodied the cat.
"Take it back home, quick! I'll let you off just this once." and so the lady guard dismissed the boy, leaving the cat in Yuki's care.
Yuki nodded;
But she was too far gone to have seen.
He had seen this before; in a dream of some sort. Sometimes maybe in his imagination-that despite his age was not tainted, a miracle that it wasn't morbid. The sight, he had seen it over a bridge, looking back at a world he was all too familiar, the boy's mind was limitless, like the vast city that he had lived in, it filled every inch of the starlit universe. In his mind he had always thought that he was a weird one, as a kid he used to believe that the world was based off of a Mobius strip, mirroring each other, believing that there was a world beyond his.
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Blood was never a sight that boggled his beating heart; a sense of neutrality despite the direness of the situation. Its as if Yuki was used to the unruly sight as if he knew that there was more to life than just a sad and lonely death.
Though, the grim state of the cat was worrying the boy. Its blood-stained fur wasn't unsettling for the boy, yet the cat's cries were like a non-lethal shot to the heart. It pained the boy to see the cat in despair.
Hidden on the edge of the city, a small abode stood. Amid the city's fast-paced modernization, its very existence was a question, it was simply out of place. But, for Yuki it was home; a home that he had found in the midst of desperation.
He set the cat on his only chair-a chipped chair that barely even held itself upright. After that he headed to the ghastly shelves.
Yuki wobbly grabbed the medical kit that was situated on the peak of the shelf.
Yuki sighed as he opened the box.
The dressing, how could've they ran out at such a distressing time?
Instinctively he grabbed the cloth wipes, tearing the piece of cloth in two.
The poor cat fell asleep, unable to bear any more pain, it was nestling on the chair that Yuki had left it on.
Cleaning its tainted fur with wet cloth seemed to ease the burden off of Yuki's heart, and it wasn't long after that the boy had finished treating the cat's wounds-which was a long lacerated wound that spanned from its paws up 'till the leg. An accident, he was sure.
Yuki wondered a simple question, a question which he thought he was incapable of thinking, in the midst of a dire circumstance.
Why didn't it have a collar?
The boy immediately thought that they were of the same kin, following along the same purpose, of the same fate. They were both unwanted, without family, and void of love.
And so the boy vowed that he would, in his power and might, adopt and take care of this cute and wondrous ball of fluff.
_____________________
Auntie, do you think there is a world beyond ours?
The dark canvas which was the night sky splattered countless shining bulbs of light, the stars, our stars.
They sat in front of their house's porch, staring in awe at the masterpiece.
There's a vast world out there, Yuki.
Criselda tousled the boy's hair, she patted her leg inviting Yuki to lie down.
But the boy hesitated, though he gladly did take.
There are also many different people out there.
How many, Auntie?
See those countless stars?
As many as them, Auntie?
Yes, Yuki. As many as them.
It was only a week before Yuki's 10th birthday arrived. Only a week left before he was reminded of his wretched 10th year of desertion, a sad tale that led to his adoption.
Criselda placed an oversized bracelet on Yuki's wrist, its gems a dispersing combination of red and white, a name as its centerpiece.
What's this, Aunt Cris? Shi-Shiro?
An advance birthday gift for my beloved birthday boy.
Her aged face drew structured wrinkles with her smile. Her amber painted eyes gleaming in the moonlight.
It means white in Japanese, Yuki. I hope that every time you see the bright white stars in the sky it'll remind you of me.
Auntie, you're making me cringe. Nonetheless, thank you, I'll treasure this forever.
He smiled, his heart feeling contentment. A rare feeling that he hadn't felt in quite a while.
From that moment on the stars became his solace, his only shelter whenever dark times struck-and yes, it did strike, it made certain that the boy knew despair.
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Yuki never noticed change-but the latter did fear, he feared that the world would change while his very existence would be left behind, he couldn't begin to comprehend, and so he feared, people fear what they do not understand after all. Change is supposed to be constant, right? He should have noticed it, even by now. Who would've known that obliviousness would numb his once restless heart?
But he wasn't numb to a lot of things.
The unexplained obliviousness seemed like the only sad yet valid excuse for his numbness. Every excruciating moment, from his fear being triggered to the infinite thoughts that would circle his never-ending mind. And so, he chose numbness, his only way out.
But sometimes, a scar, a wound so deep, can seamlessly tear through the barriers of the mind.
Sudden loud sounds would startle him, it would leave him scrambling all over the walls, scampering for his lost help. Untainted, though on the brink of losing sanity.
But was fear something so uncommon?
In Yuki's tiny mind many people had it, the fear of sudden loud sounds, what made it so special to him; so special that it crunched his thoughts into insanity?
The unanswered question left a stinging mark on the boy's heart. Unwanted change, his cotton of a heart did not want change, albeit forced to, resulting in an empty space filling itself with anger and hatred. Inside his heart, this anger grew, it gnawed, scraped, in an attempt to escape, trying to invade whatever sanity Yuki had left.
And there rested a frail heart, refusing to succumb to temptation. There rested the boy, who had the will of a giant, a human with unmatched self-discipline, refusing to expose his heart to change.
A particular sight that he was seeing on this slow, indifferent, final day of summer.
_________________
"Yuki! Wake up!"
The voices pounded inside his ears.
"Here kitty, kitty, who's a good cat?"
This automatically shot the boy up, he had unintentionally fallen asleep on the chipped chair.
"Whose cat is this, Yuki? What's its name? Why is it covered in cloth?"
His memories came crashing back to him just like a wave does to a shore, the injured cat was sprawled on the wooden floor, staring back at the boy with its captivating blue orbs.
With thoughtful consideration, he took off his still oversized bracelet, the one given to him by his Auntie, the bracelet that he had failed to grow into.
A temporary collar for his adopted cat.
"It's my cat and it's named Shiro. Shiro got himself into an accident."
Children were always so easily impressed, the name wouldn't leave their tongues the second it was told. But, Shiro also seemed to like the name, the white fluff's satisfied purring signified its intense fondness of it.
The penetrating sunlight passed through shattered window glass, the serene sunlit reflection of lights scattering all throughout the small house. It was an exceptional scenery, an all too familiar scene for the boy.
Their petulant smiles shadowed over the poor cat-its purring had stopped, the hairs on its back slowly started rising. It was annoye-, no it had seen something, a sight that all of them dismissed. Imperceptive of them.
But Yuki did see.
The distorted shadow of what seemed like a cryptid standing in direct sunlight, he was numb yet he did fear -just like every other person in the room or should have been, they were oblivious, they couldn't see, and he thought he was the oblivious one.
"Yuki! You're spacing out again!"
He did it a lot, reflecting on things that could've been. But this one, this particular one, it scared him. It scared him so much that it left his mind blank, eating away every piece of logic he could think of.
"Yuki, what are you looking at? Nothing's there."
The boy snapped out of his trance, he turned his head towards Shiro. Both of their eyes met, wearing the same expression.
"I can see you've already packed your bags, Yuki. Let's go! Auntie Alice's guest is waiting for you."
It was fear that took over his senses, both Shiro and Yuki's awareness, and perception.
Fear
Did it really exist?
The cat slowly cocking its head sideways. Yuki's heart thumped, for panic was taking over, the latter ran outside to catch a glimpse.
A decision, a reckless one, that he would surely regret.
"You saw it didn't you?"