[ Michael bid farewell to his friends before he marched home with two boxes in a plastic bag from the pastry shop. Marya would smile from ear to ear when she looked at this. He bought two strawberry shortcakes for her after all! He needed to celebrate his birthday with Marya, too!
He walked in with contentment. Today has been a smooth day for him so far. He hoped it would be better, but he wouldn't want to dream of something he couldn't grasp.
While skipping towards his neighbourhood, an uneasy feeling rose inside him. It was not new; this feeling had been swirling in his gut since this morning.
Michael fastened his step to arrive at his house faster. His house was a flat with a three-story building. He had quite a good relationship with some of the neighbours, so he was not too worried about anyone with malicious intent. It's better to be safe than sorry.
However, the ominous smoke that is rising in the sky makes him uneasy, especially when it is in the direction where his flat is located. He ran when he heard a siren near his house. He took a sharp turn before he was presented with something beyond his imagination or dreams.
'No.'
His house is on fire. The three-story building is on fire. All of it was on fire. The firemen had been rushing to put out the fire for who knows how long.
His eyes roamed around to find his sister. The injured one was treated on one side. Some are critical, and some are still okay. But he didn't see any glimpses of his sister at all.
The plastic bag that contained the pastries fell on the road before he ran towards the crowd of people. He looked everywhere to see his sister in the crowd. He shouted her name and prayed that she would answer him.
When he got no answer and no sense of her, he ran towards the building that was on fire. His body was being pulled back when he almost crossed the border.
"Michael, stop!"
"No! Marya is in there! I need to go there!"
"Step back, kid! It is dangerous!"
"My sister is in there! Please let me go! Please!"
He struggled to break free from the people holding onto him. From one person to two, three, and more, they held onto him and said that it was too dangerous.
Bullshit! His sister is in there! His sister needed him! His sister is burning inside that house!
"The fire is too big for even a fireman to walk in anymore! You could die!"
"I don't care!"
His eyes were burning, and he was looking at the fire with rage in his heart toward all the people who prevented him from going to see his sister. His knees touched the ground after the struggle, and a sense of hopelessness rose inside of him when he saw his house was completely on fire.
He hoped his sister was out already. He prayed that his sister was not in there. He begged that his sister be safe, away from the fire.
One tear fell, followed by more.
"Maryaaaa!!!!"
×××××
Empty.
A distant look he gave at nowhere after he heard the news and saw everything—the body, his sister—his only baby sister - was unmoving, unresponsive, and not breathing.
She must be hurt. She must be hurting inside, with him being unable to save her. She must have cried and screamed his name, but he was not there for her.
"We have investigated the cause, and from what people said, it was the gas leak. Some of them heard an explosion, and that is when the fire started to consume the building."
The police continued to tell everyone about everything that happened, explaining in a simple way that many people were not aware of the burning. There are some people who are unfortunate enough to be trapped in the fire.
"Thank you, officer."
A man with a clean and neatly ironed suit, which, with a glance, people knew was expensive, nods towards the police officer. The police officer offered his condolences once more before he left the man and the teenager alone.
The sound of tapping shoes was coming near him. He could feel a presence standing firmly in front of him. He didn't need to know, but he is sure the man was looking down at him with a bored expression, like there was no other expression the man could do.
"Michael."
He didn't move or answer.
"Stop being a burden and listen to me."
The man let out a disappointed sigh, then took a look at his expensive watch.
"I've got no time; I have a dinner meeting to attend to. I'll give you a new house away from this place. People might recognize that I have a connection with you, so I'll be transferring you to another school, too. Ah, at the new house, I won't hire any babysitters; well, you're already big enough."
The man sighed again at the lack of response. He brushed his neatly combed hair.
"Useless as always."
Flinch. The first reaction is flinching. He hated himself for being too vulnerable to the words uttered by this man.
"Stop being useless and wake up, Michael. How do you think you will live after this? Did you want to keep clinging to me until your last breath? Your inability to even take care of your sister is the result of your uselessness. You won't even manage to achieve anything if you continue to live this kind of life. You won't even manage to be recognized by anyone with the way you live right now."
The man stepped away from him; his shoes created a melody that Michael wanted to blow away from his eardrum, stopping him from continuing to listen to that man's voice or anything that was associated with that man.
"Use the money to find a hotel to stay at tonight. Tomorrow, I will arrange for someone to pick you up to your new place."
"Father."
His voice was hoarse, and the first word he uttered to his father after—how long is it?
"What is it?" His voice was filled with urgency.
"Marya... died." He said it slowly, stating the obvious to the man in the hope he would get the response he wanted.
"It's a fact that I've known. If there is nothing else, I'll go now."
Tap. Tap. Tap.
He was left with disappointment again.
Michael crumbled onto the floor. Helpless after he was thrown facts after facts. Everything his father said was swirling in his head, making him question himself again and again.
Marya died because of his uselessness.
Marya died because he was weak.
Marya died because of him.
Michael killed Marya.
"I will become someone useful. I will show it to you. I will make you look at me. I will, I promise."
'So please come back. Please hug me. Please don't leave me alone. I'm scared to be alone now. Father, please look at me. Please take me with you. Please.'
Michael will never forgive himself for the death of Marya.
He left everything and everyone that day without notice and continued living with a new goal in an unfamiliar place alone. ]
×××××
He let out a sigh before he marched towards the group of people who were the same age as him. His pink hair blew slightly in the wind. The murmurs around him were ignored as his mind was preoccupied with something—someone that was dear to him.
When he reached the destination, his red eyes scanned up the board to look for his name and his class. When he saw the class he would be in for one year here, he let out a sigh again.
"Class B, huh?"
His voice lacked enthusiasm. From the start, he was not fond of going to the academy, but with the thought of his friend, who will be studying together later, he is willing to wait a year. But that wish may be far from being realized now.
He adjusted the bag on his shoulder and carried another bag in his hand to look for his dorm. Now, for the first year, they will need to share a dorm with four people.
He dragged his leg across the corridor when he finally knew where his dorm was located. His eyes watched the people walking together and talking, making friends on their first day at the academy. But he felt a lack of energy to do that, even though he would be the first to reach out his hand to anyone that he deemed interesting.
He is the one who reaches out his hand to be friends with the white-haired boy anyway. It was so hard to convince him until they needed to spar and make a deal.
He smiled at that memory. It had been four years since they had known each other. He never gets bored when he is with that white hair, even though he is usually ignored.
"When will we meet again? I began to miss my little brother."
He smiled solemnly and wiped the almost-falling tear from his eyes before he walked inside his dorm. There is no one here yet, meaning he is the first one to arrive. At least he got to choose which bed he wanted.
He put down his bags and plopped down on the bed.
"Where are you?"
The news about his friend is still haunting him. The bloody night was still etched in his memory. He was terrified by that sight, but he got another shocking piece of news two weeks later.
He thought his friend was fine after the night because his father said his friend managed to be saved by Sir Celix, but why did he get devastating news about his friend later on when he did not know when his friend even awakened?
His friend woke up, and the first thing on his mind was saving his little sister. His friend even sacrificed himself to do so. Now that his friend was nowhere to be found, presumably everyone thought that his friend was already dead.
It is a joke. Why would they make a cruel joke like that? They shouldn't joke about someone's death like that. His friend must be there in the palace getting treatment because he is in critical condition. His friend must be there. Alive and breathing.
When he got the news, he cried. He begged his father to bring him to the palace to meet his friend. His father rejected his begging and kept saying that his friend wouldn't be there even if he went there.
Why would his father lie to him like that?
Ah, maybe his friend can't accept any visitors right now because he is still recovering. Right? That must be it. His father should have said so from the beginning. He would meet his friend later. Later.
"Hiks, you are still alive, right?"
His sobs echoed in the empty room. He has lost his friend. His best friend was someone he considered family.
The news of the death of his friend was spreading everywhere in a short amount of time, even to neighbouring countries. Dradgim was mourning for their loss. Citizens were in a state of panic because of the news, and somehow, other news was leaked about the perpetrator not being caught yet.
The youngest princess was given treatment, but she is still not awake yet. The imperial family had not made any official declarations about this matter yet. The imperial palace was quiet—too quiet.
Everyone was mourning, and citizens also demanded that the imperial family quickly catch the perpetrator. But they should've known that the imperial family is at a loss right now.
He had known that this news would have a greater impact on the imperial family. He knew because he was also quite impacted by the news. His friend.. died. He can't even do anything to help. He felt like a very bad friend. How could he call himself a friend when he was so ignorant about his friend's turmoil?
Rezal was alone again. The joy in his life has gone. He cried for who knows how much again. He never stopped. When he was alone, this was his activity.
He is still praying that his friend is still alive out there, somewhere.
'Please hear my prayer, Lord Teresa.'