*********Henry's POV**********
"Kuuah!"
Air was forced out of my lungs through my mouth as my body made contact with the ground.
The flowers reduced the pain but I had lost consciousness for about two seconds.
During that moment, memories I thought I had forgotten came back to me.
**********Henry's Memories***********
* Luck, also known as; Fortune, chance, Fate, serendipity, and so on.
What exactly is this luck?
Most people view luck as a "blessing from an angel" saving them from disaster, or an incident that makes things even better for them.
I was four then, but I was never lucky and I wondered,
"Why me?"
Everyone's talking about luck, but why aren't I witnessing this life changer called "Luck"
"Luck will surely come for me," I said to myself, encouragingly
So I decided to wait a little longer, I waited for my personification of luck.
I waited and waited, but nothing happened, no one came, and I had no savior.
I couldn't believe it, I was broken, and at that moment, a wave of emotion drowned me.
Hatred, Jealousy, Regrets, Envy, and even suicidal thoughts.
Since then, I didn't believe in Luck or coincidences, if only I had known better.
I hated myself even more for falling victim to mass belief and wasting my time waiting.
I was so pissed as I saw how much people believed in "Luck" as if it were some kind of savior.
Is it that I'm not getting it?
Is there something I'm supposed to do that I'm not doing?
Are there any conditions to meet, before luck notices me?
With that thought, I had to research it, desperately looking for the meaning of Luck and what had to do to get it.
I even had to steal a dictionary to check what Luck is.
As it turns out, the dictionary believes that;
"Luck is an unpredictable phenomenon that leads to favorable conditions."
The old 'me' would believe this, but not the new 'me'.
I don't exactly disagree with the dictionary, but at the same time, I don't fully agree with it.
Here is what I think luck is:
Luck is a fragment of uncalculated and miscalculated events.
When the fragments of these cracked puzzles clash or are forcefully put together,
They end up affecting reality, causing an unpredictable turn of events somewhere in a part of the world.
A change that may be favorable or unfavorable
The unfavorable, which is sometimes referred to as misfortune"
It was my fault for not knowing better, I could have foreseen the future if I calculated properly.
I could have avoided the occasion of my parents leaving me when I was only four.
No... no, I don't need them.
They abandoned me, what I need is to make them want me, need
And of course, I'm never going back to them.
I remember clearly, that night, the moment things turned for the worst for me.
But before then, my father was a civil servant and my mom was a receptionist at a company.
We were one happy family and I never lacked anything.
Then one day, my dad lost his job, and within that time, my mom was sacked.
It was so difficult for us, but all I wanted was both of them, I knew I was kind of a burden, so I reduced my food consumption rate.
I only ate twice a day, I was so happy that I had my mom's embrace and my dad's confronting speech.
"With two, I can conquer the world" At least that's what I thought
One day, they both applied for the same job, with the hope of one of them getting it, if the other loses it.
I did not go to school, I was taught at home by both of my parents.
After their application, months passed by, and I was approaching my fifth birthday, and that was when they both got a letter.
After getting an invitation for the interview, they went, but when they came back, they both wore sad faces.
I was worried, but then I decided to go to their room for my usual nighttime story and my father's speech, That's when I overheard their conversation
"Honey, I don't know, they require that we travel outside this country and we can't bring our son along?
I know that we're having it rough, but to leave my son behind when we both know that we don't have any relatives?
I'm going to turn down that offer" My dad said
"No, you can't, Let's think of something, turning down that once-in-a-lifetime offer means we'll be poor forever.
How about we hire someone to take care of him for at least he's old enough to come to meet us over there," My mom said
"What are you even saying? You want to leave behind your four-year-old son under the care of a total stranger?"
My dad said a hint of disbelief and anger in his voice.
~sniff~ My mom sniffed in as if holding her tears back.
"Look darling it'll be fine, We both know that Henry is a smart boy, he can take care of himself.
You too right? How he doesn't eat as much as before and forces us to eat" Mom said
"And that's exactly why we shouldn't lose a treasure like him," Dad said.
"Look, sweetheart, we would make more treasures like him, he's our son after all, You just do what you did and we will both make another version of him within a year," Mom said
"I can't believe you're saying this honey, I mean...mph"
(I don't know how to spell kissing sound but at least you get it, for my lovely dim wits, She kissed him)
"I'm hurting too you know, I'm holding myself back and this decision I'm making is something that I'm choosing over my emotions," Mom said after kissing Dad.
"I...I...at this point, my ideology of what is right and wrong is messed up...I don't want to hurt our son" Dad said
"He'll be alright, come here," Mom said
(And the rest of the story is rated 18)
"M...mom?" My mom said that? She convinced my dad to leave me behind.
I was heartbroken, I couldn't breathe, tears formed in my eyes, and I didn't know how to cry, I slowly crawled to my room as my tears left trails behind me.
I locked the door of my room, covered my head with my pillows, and screamed, I shouted and cried.
"It hurts, it hurts so much, my heart is heavy, why is my heart hurting this much?"
I tried to call my parents but I remembered they were the ones making me hurt.
I cried myself to sleep, and when I woke up the next day, I remembered what they had said and decided to wait in my room, so they could come and check on me.
One hour passed no one showed up, two hours, three hours, no one came.
"Let me wait just a little longer, they'll surely come for me," I said with a shaky voice as I sat beside my door while hugging my knees and crying.
I waited and waited, constantly remembering the good memories we shared.
As a kid, I had a kind of mature mindset, probably because I watched anime tagged with "slice of life, " but at that moment, it wasn't a good thing.
It could have been a better memory if I just remembered it as a normal kid would, than knowing the truth.
Honestly, I was waiting for them to come up with an excuse for wanting to leave.
I did not want to believe what I heard, even if they lied, I had already made up my mind to believe it over what I heard last night, because the truth was hurting, and my heart was tearing apart.
It was already evening, I could see everywhere darkening through my window.
I lost hope and I started crying even more, I cursed the day I was born, my overly mature mindset, and the parents I had.
But shortly after, a knock was heard.
~Knock, Knock, Knock~
I was happy, and that little glint of hope within me lit up.
"Mom!" I shouted as I hurried opened the door
"Mom, I missed you! Mom, I'm sorry!" I shouted as I struggled to open the door, I even had a slight cut, but it didn't matter.
All I wanted was for my mom to hug me again, Finally opening the door, I went to hug my mom.
"Mom...!" I was surprised.
"You're not my mom, where's my mom?" I said with teary eyes.
That's right, the person that was in front of me was indeed not my mom.
My mom was beautiful and had a kind aura to her but, this person was quite the opposite.
"Hey, kid! Your breakfast is ready." She said turning around to leave.
Breakfast? By that time of the day?
"Oh and one more thing, your parents left, They said they didn't need you, they could just have another one anytime they want. So they didn't even bother saying goodbye."
~Crack!~
~Shatter!~
That sound was the sound my heart made. It got broken, shattered, and ripped into shreds.
~Thud!~
I passed out due to the shock.
When I woke up, I saw myself at an old pharmacy's hut.
I was abandoned there and the old man didn't mind taking me in.
It turned out that he knew martial arts, but he was a brute.
He took care of me until the last two tears, and he suddenly disappeared
"Looks like everyone loves abandoning me," I said, but this was different.
The old man left a note while my parents said nothing to me.
The old man wrote:
•If you want to see me again, get stronger and survive so that you'll be able to beat me the next time we meet. Get stronger or you will be left behind.•|
I did not quite get what it meant, but beating him was almost impossible, but I had to, for the old man.
I became determined to get stronger no matter what it takes.
I spent all my money on martial arts scrolls and when I ran out of money, I began stealing scrolls.
I was caught and that was when I got an appointment to steal things for them in exchange for important scrolls and access to ancient martial arts books.
They also took care of my well-being including the school I'm currently at.
I learned all about life within twenty-four hours at the age of four.
We did come alone, and the ones you call family came alone, therefore they can easily abandon you at any time.
In reality, we only have ourselves.
Since then, I started calculating, for every single step I took, I calculated, predicted, and overcame.
I didn't care about anything else except myself, I just wanted to survive and I'll do it no matter what.
I will prove to everyone that I'm not just a trash you can toss aside.
I'm worth more than what I'm given credits for.
I want to be recognized as the boy who stood at the top, despite starting as nothing.
I want my parents to recognize me, not just as anyone you can throw away and forget about.
*************************
After gaining my consciousness back, I caught the princess by the hand and flung her in the air.
She backflipped mid-air and landed on her feet.
Rubbing the back of my head and my nape I sat up.
~Snorts while smiling~
"Dammed memories, why now of all time. Well, It is what it is, hehe" I muttered to myself
"Come on princess, that's kind of a bad habit, throwing your dance partner." Looking at Emma I said.
I said while the princess just stared at me, with mixed expressions, but none of them were good.
*Hope I haven't lost the bet?*
"Yo Gideon, hope that doesn't count, we both know you were talking about punch and kicks right?"
I said while looking at the camera, and when I heard Gideon's positive response I smiled
"Oh well, looks like it's time to get a bit rough princess, just don't scream ok?" I said standing up and readying myself for an attack, and I'm going to hold back.