Chapter 21: Death [4]
"Sera..."
'Haa...'
"Sera..."
Shiro slowly clenched his chest.
"My... Daughter..."
'Stop...'
"Sera..."
'Please.'
'Just... Stop.' Shiro felt that his heart was pounding crazily.
'Stop!!! Please!!!' The image of his brave big sister flashed in his mind again and again.
Sorrow. A deep sense of sorrow.
"Mornil..." Loyola suddenly called out. A few drops of tears spilt out of her eyes as she looked at him.
"My... Daughter, I wanna see her..."
"Can you please bring my daughter... For one last time..."
"I wish to see her for the last time."
'What does she mean by... Last time.' Mornil's eyes dilated, and his lips trembled.
He opened and closed his mouth multiple times, like a goldfish before finally squeezing some words out. "For sure. But my friend lives a little far away. Hang on till then."
"Th-thank you, Mornil." Genuine happiness. Mornil could feel genuine happiness. Her tone threw him into despair, the depths of the abyss.
Shiro's palms were already trembling as he had trouble breathing. It was as though heavy weights were strapped to his chest.
No one spoke. The silence was peaceful, however sorrowful at the same time.
The moon slowly sank as the sun started rising. But the chills in the air didn't disappear with the moon, as the snowflakes descended
Today it seemed to snow heavily.
The moisture and cold in the air increased along with the flakes.
"Mornil." Loyola once again called out.
"Has Sera come...?"
Mornil gritted his teeth.
"Just... Just wait for a while longer, hang on in there Loyola... You're a strong woman."
"I... I don't think I can hold on to my life any longer..."
"The whispers..."
"The whispers?"
"I... I see the ship sailing. I see them whispering... Calling me... Out... For an adventure... They stretch their arms... Those white bones... Beckoning me..."
Her eyes had become cloudy as she continued her continued like a madwoman.
At the critical junction, clarity suddenly returned to her eyes. She looked at Mornil with helplessness in her eyes.
It was as though... She was begging him...
"Mornil.."
"Shiro..." This time she abruptly called her son out.
"Come to my arms..." Hearing this Shiro instantly rushed to the bed climbing.
Loyola, with her weak twig-like arms, locked Shiro into a deep embrace.
Tears continued to flow through his eyes, to the point that they turned red.
After 5 minutes, Loyola once again looked at Mornil, her eyes in a dreamy state.
"Mornil... The... The third tile... Near the door... Give it to Shiro." With unfocused eyes, she didn't speak again.
Mornil gave a subtle nod and then walked towards the door. After tapping on some tiles near the door he finally removed one of them finding a locket within.
Taking the locket he placed it in one of his pockets before walking back.
The sun finally hung in the sky, high and mighty shining. But today it seemed as though the sun couldn't provide any warmth.
He looked at the mother and son duo who were still locked in embrace. And this was when he noticed her closed eyes and the peaceful look on her face.
And today was the day... Shiro became an orphan...
.
.
.
The sun slowly sank, casting an orange hue over the environment.
Dead silence.
The only thing that could be heard was Mornil digging the soil.
After another ten minutes, he finally lifted Loyola gently placing her in the newly dug hole.
It took him another five minutes for him to close the hole with mud.
The mother had been buried near her daughter.
"She said she wished to meet her daughter Eh?" Mornil sighed. At least Loyola's wish was complete after death.
"Shiro... Come let's go home..."
"Home...?"
"Yeah..."
"Right, I have a home..."
"Sigh, Shiro. A shelter, a place to stay isn't called home, at least according to me. Brocks and wood don't make up a home. The thing that does is the presence of your loved ones."
"So it isn't a home anymore...?"
"Well, it is a place that holds memories. It should be a special place for you, but you'll only be more hurt if you stay there. Come here young lad, with me." Mornil said as a subtle smile appeared on his face. A smile to console Shiro, also a smile to hide his sorrow.
Mornil fell to one of his knees hugging the child. He then looked at Shiro's face.
"Here, this is a gift from your mother."
"A gift..." When Shiro looked at the locket in Mornil's hand, shining under the orange hue, his heart moved. Tears threatened to fall again but now he controlled himself.
This locket... It gave him an uncanny sense of familiarity... It reminded him of Loyola... But the locket also reminded him of someone else.
The locket seemed to remind him of Sera, but the locket reminded him of someone else too.
The locket reminded him of Mornil but also invoked a picture of a young man within him.
[Ding!]
[Scan complete!]
[Name: The Sea Hero's Pendant]
Ah? The Sea Hero?
Ah, yes...
The man who lived happily ever after, who completed his journey and all those adventures.
But where's my happily ever after?
Where's the happy life I dreamt of?
The house near the seashore, Sis, Mom...
Where's the Happily Ever After?
.
.
.
Shiro sat on the chair in Mornil's clinic, his eyes still fixated on the locket.
The locket that invoked many memories.
Who are these people?
Did Mom know them?
He felt as though these people were familiar...
In some of the memories, these people looked happy... And in some, they looked sad...
Did they also suffer because of the officials?
Are these officials the cause of all suffering?
The darkness naturally made him sleepy. Not being able to resist Shiro closed his eyes.
A second.
It felt as though just a second had passed before Shiro opened his eyes again.
Haa... They say that time passes in a blink of eye. I guess that statement holds some truth.
Because these 10 years did so...
He sluggishly looked up, spotting people that had surrounded them.
"You are a prodigy!"
"Such an amazing young man!"
A glint flashed through Shiro's eyes as he stood up.
Vengeance...
I will have my revenge...