Akuro walked through the halls of the hospital, the world spinning and humming with motion all around him. But he had tunnel vision, he could only focus on one thing: taking the next step closer to that door. Closer to his sister. As he moved he gained speed until he was at a jog, straight to his sisters room.
He stopped at a door marked '109'. Childish crayon drawings hung from the door. Drawings of wishes, the wishes of his sister and her dreams of being free. Of being able to leave the cage she was in, and being able to soar in joy and lead a life of happiness. A life without suffering, a life better than the one she led. Akuro realized as he stared at these drawings... as he stared into his sister's will, her hopes, he realized she'd been in the same cage he'd been in all along, suffering the same pain. He was never alone.
He steeled himself, then raised his hand, reaching towards the door. He stopped to look one last time at the drawing of a birdcage hanging from a poorly drawn tree... and the yellow bird that flew out of it. He clenched his jaw in determination.
*knock* he tapped his knuckle on the door *knock*.
He stood there, waiting. Then the door opened and the soft light of the rising sun alighted his feet through the window, the room filled with an orange light. A nurse stood in his way.
"You aren't sup-" Akuro handed her the note before she could finish her sentence. She opened and read the note. She glanced up at him. "Alright." She sighed. "Go ahead... but I warn you... she doesn't have much time."
The nurse stepped aside and Akuro's eyes met with the light, sky blue gleam of his sister's eyes. She smiled brightly. "It's been a while.. bro."
Akuro could only stand there, frozen. He did t know what to say or what to do. He felt out of place. He felt like he had failed her, and now that he looked at his sister, her pale skin, her sunken cheeks, her thin, bony body, he could only cry.
"What's wrong?" She asked softly.
Akuro stepped towards her bed, then fell to his knees at her side.
"I'm so... so sorry." Was all he could say, again and again, the same word. "Sorry..."
Alina smiled warmly. "It's okay. I'm right here... and I don't blame you. I love you, cuz you're my big bro."
Akuro looked up at her soft smile. He wondered how she could smile under the situation, how could she smile when she knew she was dying. She held out her hand to him then. He looked at it for a moment, then, hesitantly, placed his hand in hers.
"Your so warm." She said with a bright smile.
"I'm sorry..." Akuro said again. "I failed you... I abandoned you."
"It's okay. You didnt abandon me. I know you drive by my hospital room everyday. I know you love me, and I love you too. I could always feel you here with me. Here." She placed her other hand in her heart.
Akuro bowed his head in shame, tears running down his cheeks.
"Look at me."
He looked up at his sister as she said this as saw a tear in her eye.
"I'm... so happy you came... big brother Akuro!"
And then her hand went limp as her eyes closed shut. A loud monotone alarm sounded through the room. Akuro froze.
"Sis? Sis?" He grabbed her limp hand desperately between both of his. "AILINA!!!" He cried at the top of his lungs. "No, no, no, no, please no! You can't do this! Come back! Please! I'm begging you! Alina!"
He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder as the nurse tried to comfort him. "I'm sorry. Your mother decided to take her off of life support."
Akuro's eyes went wide and his heart leapt to his throat. "What?"
"Akuro. You aren't supposed to be here." He heard his mother's voice from behind him. In a flurry of rage Akuro rose to his feet and spun to see her tired, sad face.
"HOW COULD YOU!!" He screamed at her, "YOU KILLED HER!!!"
*SMACK*
Akuro felt a sense of deja vu then as he stood, his cheek stinging.
"It was her decision. I only carried out her wish." His mother spoke calmly.
"Her... decision?" He echoed.
"Yes. That is why you weren't on the visitation list. I planned on telling you myself."
"Why?" Akuro asked helplessly.
"Because I knew this is how you'd react. No matter what you think of me, I'm still your mother and I still care."
Akuro looked at Alina's dead body. She still wore a smile across her lips.
"I... I need to go." He said softly. He walked past his mother, exiting the room.
"No matter what your father says Akuro... it's not Your fault." Said his mother as he left.
Akuro glanced back then at the picture on the door. He looked at the poorly drawn details of the yellow bird. Maybe, he hoped, she was free then, soaring through the sky wherever she wanted to go. He hoped. He wished.
Akuro arrived at Hope's house that evening, weak in the legs and emotionally exhausted. As he walked around the house he thought it was strange how Hope didn't greet him.
"Hope?" He called out weakly. "You home?"
He wandered the house aimlessly. He needed her, he felt like he was going to break. No. He already was broken. And then he saw something out of place. A red paper was folded so it would stand up on the coffee table by the bed. Akuro walked up to it and grabbed it. He feared what could be contained in the note. Was Hope leaving him at a time like this? But as he read the not he realized it was much worse, and it wasn't from Hope. It was from his father.
The note read; "I see you found yourself a girl, eh? Well, it's nice to meet her. How about you come meet up with us for a family get together at the old abandoned farm? We'll be waiting for you in the big barn. Look forward to seeing you there. -Jackson Zaizen"
Akuro felt rage, anxiety and fear swell in his chest all at once as he reread the note over and over again. Something many people did not know about his father, and the reason their mother had left him, was not just because he was an abusive drunk, but he was also the boss of a small gang. No matter how small a gang was, it was still dangerous.
Leaping into action, dropping the note to the floor, Akuro ran out the door as fast as he could and sped to the old abandoned barn.