Warning: This Chapter contains violence and other themes that may not be suitable for some readers.
*Yua Ichika's POV*
//November 13, 2029//Tuesday//
I woke up early and looked at the other room where my parents are. The two of them probably stayed up all night having sex, because they are still sleeping on the floor naked.
I quickly got my sketchpad and sneaked past them to go outside. When I got out, the sun is shining above me, and I am really excited to see the old man later. The old man told me that he will meet me later at night so I decided to go somewhere to kill some time and draw a lot of clothes that I can think of.
Night came, and I quickly ran to the Cinema. I can't wait to show the old man the clothes I drew earlier. The old man will probably get impressed with the clothes I made, and he might compliment me again. I arrived at the cinema and looked everywhere.
But, the old man was nowhere to be seen.
"Where could he be?"
I went to the bench where the two of us sat yesterday and waited for the old man to come. While waiting for him, I tried drawing some clothes that I saw from different people who were walking on the streets.
Every time I finished making each of them, it got me more excited, because I can show the old man more of the creations that I drew that day.
But he never came.
The cinema closed for the day, and I went back to my place. I wondered why the old man didn't come, but hopefully tomorrow, I can meet him again.
//December 15, 2029//Saturday//
A month has passed since I started going to the cinema every night, but the old man never came even once. But that never made me lose hope, I still come here while drawing all of the clothes that I really liked. My sketchpad ran out of pages, and the pencil the old man gave me was really small so I was having a hard time making good sketches.
"Sigh… When will he come?"
It is snowing here, and it's freezing. The cinema closed again for the day, and I saw the man who was annoyed at me last month walking away from the cinema after he closed the entrance.
Without hesitation, I approached the man and asked him if he knew anything about the old man.
"Umm… Excuse me…"
The man looked at me when I called for him, and it looked like he was not expecting that I would approach him.
"Oh, it's you, what do you want?" The man asked with an annoyed look on his face.
"Do you know what happened to the old man that bought me a ticket so I can go inside the cinema last month?"
"You don't know anything about it?"
"W-What do you mean?" I asked.
"He died last month in the streets the day after he invited you to watch the movie. He collapsed, and when the ambulance came, they told us that he is already dead."
"W-What…"
I suddenly teared up when the man told me that. I then realized that waiting for him every night was pointless. He died the day after he invited me to watch the movies together. The man turned behind, and before we walked away, he told me something.
"Oh, if you are wondering why someone didn't even bother to tell you that he died last month it's because you didn't even dare ask someone about it. I knew that you were waiting for that old guy every month, and it was really fun watching you wait for a dead man. You really are stupid."
The man walked away, and I was left in front of the cinema crying while my tears were falling on the drawings that I drew on the sketchpad the old man gave me.
"Why… Why did a nice person like you have to die?"
I have been thinking about it. Why are the people who are the nicest the ones who are dying early? Why are the people who are disgusting living longer than those who are nice?
"Why..?"
I went straight back to our house, and when I opened the door, my father was sitting in front drinking his alcohol.
"Huh? Yua, what are you holding there?"
Because of what I learned about the old man earlier, and this freezing weather, I forgot to take a peek at the window before entering our house.
"GIVE ME THAT!!!"
He grabbed the sketchpad that I was holding. I tried resisting at first, but my father is really strong, and I just fell on the floor while he was looking at what was on my sketchpad.
"What the hell are these? Clothes?"
My father showed it to my mother, and the two of them laughed at it.
"HAHAHAHA WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS CRAP?!" My father said.
They are mocking every page of the sketchpad they looked at, and it really made me angry. I felt insulted that my parents who only care about having sex, laughed at it even if they do not know what is it all about.
"Father, please give it back to me…"
*RIIIIIIP*
My father ripped each page on my sketchpad into pieces. I have witnessed all of the hard work that I made in the past month falling slowly to the ground.
All of the papers that my father destroyed are like having my dream ripped into pieces. No, it's not just my dream, it was my heart that is being ripped into pieces.
"What the hell, Yua? You don't need to do this kind of crap. What you are good at is stealing money, and buying alcohol. That is your purpose in life."
I was clenching my fists, and I am holding back my tears. I gritted my teeth, and I told yelled at him for what he did
"FUCK YOU!!!"
That was the first time I cursed at my own parents. I lost cool when my own father ripped my sketchpad into pieces, and that enraged him.
"What did you just say to me you piece of shit?"
*SMACK* *SMACK*
I was beaten up again by my father, but this was the worst one. I can feel from his punches that he was furious when I cursed at him.
*CRACK*
"IT HURTS!!!" I screamed.
While my father was beating me up, my left arm broke, and it hurts a lot. My father ignored me when I screamed, and he kept on kicking my body with all his might.
"I'm sorry…"
I endured all of it, and finally, my father stopped beating me up. He looked down at me, and he spat on my face.
"That is what you get for disrespecting me, brat."
My father left me in the room. My whole body was shaking terribly, and I couldn't move my left arm at all. Once again I heard the moans of my parents in the other room.
"It hurts…"
******** TO BE CONTINUED ********