"She said she will stay with me forever…she said she was never going to leave me," Yuki muttered painfully. Her fists clenched tightly in her attempt to hold back tears.
However, despite how desperately she tried to hold them back, a single tear escaped, rolling down her cheek like a tiny, glistening rivulet. Yuki quickly raised a hand and let her fingers brush against her skin in a vain effort to wipe the tear away. However, more tears followed, streaming down her face in a slow, unstoppable trickle.
Jacek was startled when he saw Yuki sobbing. "Goodness! Why are you crying again?" he uttered in a frustrated voice.
"W-What do I do?" Yuki cried in distress.
"Where is she? Do you know?" Jacek asked after a thought.
Yuki lifted her eyes to look up at him. "Mother?" She questioned amidst her sobs.
"Yes. If you know where she is, I can take you to see her tomorrow."
Immediately after Jacek made his statement, Yuki's crying came to an abrupt halt. She stared at him in a daze, then, her gaze dropped slowly, a pained expression carved on her delicate face. It was an expression unbefitting a child her age.
"I-If you don't know, I can plead with father to tell me t-tomorrow…or the day after tomorrow. When he does, I will take you to see her!" Jacek promised hesitantly after regarding Yuki's hurt expression.
"So don't be sad anymore, okay?" he added in a gentle voice; a voice that was brimming with nothing but sincerity and concern.
Yuki slowly lifted her eyes to look at him once more. The reflection of the light in the room in her eyes caused Yuki's gaze to possess an otherworldly glow to it. "My mother is no more," she said plainly while staring intently at Jacek.
Her words caused Jacek's eyes to widened slightly from shock, then quickly, as if there had been not such an expression in the first place, his face calmed. His countenance did not betray neither his feelings or his thought; it was plain and collected.
"What should I say?" Jacek asked softly, his eyes locked on to Yuki's.
Immediately after hearing him, Yuki's eyes widened from surprise. She looked on to Jacek as if he were anything but common. Then, without warning, a spontaneous smile broke out on her soothed face; it was warm, as it was bright. It was the kind of smile that sailors had on their faces when they found treasures after losing ships. It was a contented smile, genuine and true.
"What is your name?" Yuki asked after wiping the remnants of tears from her face.
"Huh!!" Jacek growled indignantly. His face expressed both his surprise and vexation at Yuki's question.
Instead of cowering or flinching after seeing Jacek's reaction, Yuki giggled. Her sudden change of conduct left Jacek gaping at her, confused, intrigued and mainly, charmed.
"Tell me your name," Yuki pressed. Her face bright from excitement and evident joy.
"You've being living here for…" Jacek's voice died when Yuki tilted her head and smiled coyly. "J-Jacek. My name is Jacek, I am your b-brother, in case you didn't know that too!" Jacek exclaimed in a flustered manner and averted his gaze from Yuki's, his face pink from embarrassment.
Yuki raised her hand to cover her lips in an attempt control her chuckling and failed adorably. Soon her muffled chuckles erupted into a loud laughter as she beheld Jacek's embarrassed state.
After a while, Yuki gained her composure and stopped laughing. "Jacek," she softly called him. Jacek forced himself to put his embarrassment aside in order to meet her gaze.
"Jacek…" Yuki called him again.
"Jacek-
"F-for-for heaven's sake! Just say what you want to say!" Jacek exclaimed anxiously.
Yuki giggled again. "Jacek…I am glad I met you. I am glad you are my family," Yuki expressed, an appealing smile following her utterance.
Jacek turned from pink to red. His eyes darted nervously in his attempt to avoid Yuki's beguiling gaze once more. Meanwhile, his former composure and coolness had dissipated completely.
"I-I-I am not your only fam-family, you know. My mother is also very concerned about you. She can be a good mother, I-if you will p-permit her," Jacek stuttered while sheepishly looking away.
Yuki stretched her hand and took Jacek's. She squeezed his hand tenderly. "Look at me, Jacek," Yuki demanded in a coaxing manner.
Jacek refused to look at her. He stared at the door while fidgeting nervously.
"Please look at me, brother," Yuki pleaded.
Jacek finally looked at Yuki after hearing her refer to him as her brother. When their eyes met, Yuki's blue eyes sparkled in a gemlike manner. Jacek held his breath as he beheld Yuki.
"Can I depend on you? Will you let me hide behind you?" Yuki asked in a serious tone.
"Hide behind me?"
"Yes. Mother said to always hide behind someone I trusted if I felt like I was no longer myself. I can only be a normal girl if I hide behind someone I trusted."
"You trust me?"
"I do. If it is you, I am sure I will be hidden for a long time. I will be safe and normal. If it is you, I am sure it will be safe," Yuki stated.
"How can you be sure I can protect you? I am weak and lazy. What makes you think I will take on such a tedious task upon myself?"
A confident smile formed on Yuki's features. "I am certain you will take on the role. You will get stronger for me. More hardworking for me. You will do everything in your power to protect me. And you will never leave my side. Jacek, you know I am right, don't you?" There was not a hint of doubt in Yuki's voice when she spoke.
"You are weird!"
"And you will help me hide that!"
"I will stay with you forever. I will hide you from yourself and the world. I will guide you and support you. I will never leave your side…Is that what you want me to tell you?"
Yuki grinned. "That is what you want to tell me, yes. I will be in your care from now on, brother…"
Knock, knock, knock…
Yuki was snatched from her mind and that unforgettable memory by the steady knocks on their door that lead outside the house. She immediately pulled away from her mother, a bright and hopeful expression on her face.
"A knock?" Mrs. Adlerian looked at the door and back at Yuki with a knowing smile.
"Jacek! It must be-
Yuki could not conclude her sentence because in that moment, her voice died completely. Goosebumps appeared on her skin, while a familiar sense of fear gripped her. She hesitantly turned to look in Treyton's direction. For more reason than one his expression did not surprise her.
Treyton's eyes were narrowed as he stared at the door maliciously. His jaw was clenched tightly while visible veins formed under his eyes, from anger, perhaps. Maybe she was hallucinating, but Yuki swore his hair was growing in length every second. And did he look bigger? Treyton was as scary as ever when he was like that, but in that moment, all Yuki could think of was the knock on the door. Thus, she shoved her fear aside and turned her attention from Treyton to the door.
As soon as her attention fell on the door, Yuki was met with a foreboding sense of malice. She frowned. Yet, in spite of the foreboding air surrounding the door, Yuki was certain that Jacek was behind it. She knew without a doubt that it was Jacek behind the door. But why were her instincts warning her against approaching it?