After a few minutes, Alice spoke. "Remember the first time you came to my home?" Alice asked.
"I do." Braydon responded.
"You asked me to introduce you to my family after you came inside." Alice said, then paused. "I wasn't sure what to say or do, so I made up an excuse." Alice continued.
"I believe you said 'They are at the park right now,' then promptly went to the couch." Braydon said.
"Do you remember when you finally confronted me about the absence of my parents?" Alice asked as she felt herself tear up.
"Kei," Braydon said as he stepped a bit closer to Alice. "If you are having a hard time talking about it, you don't have to." Braydon continued.
"Hiroto. I miss my parents. I... I also miss..." Alice said as tears began to roll down her cheeks and she wiped her face with her hands.
"I know." Braydon said as he hugged Alice.
"I miss my family." She said quietly. "And I know it's not fair to say this after you left your family to make sure I don't do anything reckless, or crazy... But... I don't know what else to do." Alice said through her quiet sobs.
"Kei, I had a choice. You didn't. This is fine." Braydon said.
"Thank you." Alice said as she attempted to calm herself a bit. After a few minutes, Alice calmed down and had laid down on her side. "Sorry you had to see me like that again..." Alice said softly with her eyes closed.
"It's okay. It's good to let out your emotions every now and again." Braydon said.
"I know. It just makes me feel weak and needy. I don't like needing things. The more I need, the more I have to depend on others." Alice said as she pushed herself in a sitting position, slightly leaning to the right and propping herself up with her right hand.
"You know you can depend on others too, right? We are human, it's natural." Braydon said. Alice chuckled.
"I know. I just don't like being forced to depend on others." Alice said. "Though, I don't mind depending on you." She added as she looked at Braydon.
"I know. Although it took you three years to be willing to depend on me at all." Braydon said.
"You know why." Alice said. Braydon nodded.
"Well, do you think you can return to the event, or do you want to stay here for a while longer?" Braydon asked. Alice hesitated.
"You go on ahead, it seemed like you were enjoying yourself." Alice said.
"You sure?" Braydon asked. "I'm fine with staying here." He said.
"I'm sure, I'm sure. Just go already!" Alice said as she stood up and practically shoved Braydon out of the room.
"Alright, send a letter if you need anything!" Braydon said as the doors closed behind him. "And she is no longer listening..." Braydon mumbled. He walked away with a sigh.
After closing the door, Alice leaned against it. "Akari... Why did you have to leave?" She asked quietly as a tear went down her cheek. Alice slid down the door until she was sitting, then brought her knees to her chest, laid her arms on her knees, and laid her face in her arms.
*This next part is a flashback!*
'I'm supposed to be crying, right?' Kei thought to himself. 'I feel sad. Why can't I cry?' He asked.
"Man, why am I always the one that has to break the news to the child...?" The officer asked himself as he approached Kei.
"Who are you?" Kei asked. The officer crouched down to be on eye level with Kei. 'The tears won't come out. Does that mean I don't care?' He wondered.
"You can call me Officer Abiko." He said with a light expression. "I have some bad news for you." He said as his expression became a bit darker.
"I... I know already. She won't be coming home anymore..." Kei said as he looked to the ground. 'Why can't I cry? Is there something wrong with me?' He continued pondering with fear.
"I see. Did someone tell you already?" He asked. Kei shook his head slightly.
"She wasn't home after three days... I tried to keep my optimism... But... I could just tell. She was gone." Kei said with a sad tone. 'Why?' He asked
"You could just... Tell?" Officer Abiko asked.
"I always felt her presence. Then it disappeared." Kei said. 'She's gone. Why can't I cry? Why do I just feel empty?' Kei asked himself.
"I see. Well, you're doing a good job staying strong. You're a good kid and you're strong, so I know you'll be fine. Even if you don't think so now." Officer Abiko said. Kei nodded.
The officer ruffled Kei's hair a bit, then walked away and went in his car. Kei could faintly hear the officer's muffled voice through the car. "We found the body with the help of the brother. We aren't sure how, but he knew where she was. Her body has several bruises, cuts, and is covered in seminal fluid. We believe she was likely kidnapped and raped." The officer said into his walkie-talkie.
"Did the kid see her?" A feminine voice asked over the radio.
"He found her. Of course, he saw her corpse." Officer Abiko said with an annoyed tone over the radio.
'Does he realize I can hear all that?' Kei wondered as he pushed his previous thoughts out of his mind.
A few days later, Kei was sitting in his room contemplating various things and playing with toys, attempting to keep himself distracted. "He didn't even react!" A woman's voice yelled through tears in another room.
"Everyone grieves differently, not everyone cries when they mourn." A male voice said with a sad tone.
"I know I didn't raise some heartless creature incapable of crying!" The woman yelled.
"Wait, what are you doing!?" The man asked in a panic.
"I get it now. It's my fault. I failed to properly raise them, now I'm paying the price." The woman said.
"Honey, put that down!" The man yelled. A gunshot rang through the house suddenly.
"Why did you stop me!?" The woman asked nearly incoherently through her tears.
"We can get through this, we just have to preserve what we have." The man said.
"He looks so much like her..." The woman said as she cried.
"I know... I know..." He said. A couple of hours later, Kei exited his room and saw his parents getting ready to leave the house.
"Where are you going?" He asked.
"Your father and I need to go pick up some groceries. We'll be back soon." His mom said gently, barely hiding her distaste for him.
"We will be back in a little while, so be good while we're gone. Dinner will arrive at five-thirty, so remember to get it from outside the door." His father said.
"Can't I go with you guys?" Kei asked. Kei's mom looked to his dad.
"We'll be gone for a while and wouldn't want you getting bored. You have all your games here, after all." He said. Kei looked to the floor.
"Why do you keep lying?" Kei asked.
"What do yo-" His mother started.
"You said you would be back soon, then said it would be a while. You guys are looking at me differently as well." Kei said flatly. Kei's mom was taken aback for a moment.
"Just... Wait for us to come back, okay?" She asked.
"Okay. Fine." Kei said as he walked away. A few moments later, he heard the door open and close. 'Is this because I can't cry?' Kei wondered.
*Alright, back to the present*
"Akari!" Alice yelled as she jolted awake, immediately sitting up. After coming to her senses, she could feel water on her face, which she quickly wiped and found are actually tears. She looked around and quickly saw a very shocked Braydon next to her bed.
"Who... Is Akari?" He asked hesitantly.
"Oh. You weren't... Supposed to hear that..." Alice said as a sense of dread filled her body and a tear went down her cheek.
"Alice, why were you crying in your sleep?" Braydon asked.
"I was just having a nightmare. That's all." Alice said.
"Alright, then who is Akari?" He asked. Alice did not respond. "Alice?" He asked.
"My sister!" Alice yelled, then angrily threw off her blankets. "Happy!?" She asked angrily as she stood up and morphed her clothes to look like a cute dress.
'Ah, instant regret. Wonderful.' Braydon thought sarcastically. "Sorry." He said. Alice sighed.
"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled. I was just remembering something I'd rather forget, is all." Alice said. "It wouldn't usually be a topic I'd get angry over, I just really did not like that dre-... memory..." Alice said.
"Okay. Let's not talk about it then. It can come up more naturally later." Braydon said.
"Okay." Alice said flatly. "Well, it is now the second day, this should be fun." Alice said.
"Indeed." Braydon said in agreeance.