The school play had reached one of its most thrilling moments when a stout, pale man entered the auditorium. His clothes were unremarkable, but his anxious demeanor and the thin sheen of sweat on his brow made him stand out like a misplaced shadow. He moved with an urgency that seemed to tether him to an invisible burden.
The stout man pushed his way through the rows, his rumpled clothes and heavy breathing drawing sidelong glances. The air around him carried the pungent smell of sweat and alcohol, mingling into a miasma that seemed to suffocate him further. His glassy eyes darted around feverishly, yet their desperation burned with a singular purpose.
"Excuse me... Seika? Do you know a girl named Seika?" His hoarse voice rasped through the murmurs of the crowd. Every inquiry was met with the same responses: shaking heads, bewildered stares, curt dismissals. But he pressed on, his movements growing more frantic, his questions more insistent.
Kiyomi sensed him before she saw him. The acrid stench of alcohol and filth assaulted her nose, making her recoil. Her gaze shifted instinctively from the stage to the man. A deep unease coiled in her stomach as her eyes locked on him, a silent warning flashing through her mind. She grabbed Akio's hand without thinking.
"Mama, what's wrong?" Akio asked softly, but Kiyomi couldn't answer. Her body tensed as the man stopped directly in front of them.
"Excuse me," he said, his eyes darting between Kiyomi and Akio before settling back on her. "Seika? Do you know where my Seika is?"
The words cut through the air like a blade, and Kiyomi's world froze. Her breath grew shallow, and her thoughts swirled into chaos. She forced herself to speak, her voice trembling with tension.
"I don't know what you're talking about. Leave us alone."
The man didn't retreat; his eyes narrowed as if trying to pierce her façade. "No, it's you. I know it's you... not by your face, but... your smell. You smell like her. You smell like my daughter."
Kiyomi blinked, stunned into silence. Then something inside her snapped.
"My... what?" Her voice rose, shaky and sharp. "My smell? Are you insane?"
"Please," the man pleaded. "I've come to apologize. I've made so many mistakes. Please, Seika, just hear me out."
"I'm not Seika!" Kiyomi's voice exploded, drawing startled looks from those nearby. Her words were sharp, cutting through the murmur of the audience. "I don't know who you think I am, but you've got the wrong person! I am not your daughter!"
"You can't fool me," the man murmured as if in a trance. "I know it's you."
"Mama, who is this?" Akio whispered, his voice tinged with fear. But Kiyomi barely heard him, her fists clenched as her body trembled with barely contained rage.
"It doesn't matter, Akio. We're leaving. He's just a confused old man."
---
The moment they stepped outside, the man reappeared, his voice desperate and raw.
"Seika! Please, listen to me!" he shouted as he followed them.
"What do you want?" Kiyomi's voice cracked as she whirled to face him. "Do you want me to admit I'm the daughter you destroyed? That I'm the Seika you beat and humiliated day after day? Is that what you want to hear?"
The man staggered back, momentarily stunned, but he stepped forward again, his voice breaking.
"I just want to talk. I want you to know how sorry I am. I made mistakes, yes, but I'm your father. I love you."
"Love?" Kiyomi laughed—a cold, sharp sound that cut through the night. "You don't know what love is. You're not a father. You're a monster. A filthy monster!"
"Seika, please..."
"Don't call me that!" Her voice shattered the night, raw and anguished. She grabbed Akio's arm. "We're leaving, Akio. Now."
"But Mama, I don't understand..." Akio began, but Kiyomi's grip tightened as she pulled him along, her steps hurried, almost frantic. Her heart pounded in her ears, and the world around her blurred.
---
"SEIKA!"
Kiyomi stopped abruptly, spinning around, her composure finally shattering. Her eyes were wide, wild, her voice raw with fury.
"Stop following me! Stop calling me that name! You have no right to say it!"
"I just want you to know I'm sorry!" The man reached toward her, but she recoiled. "I know what I did. I know I hurt you. But I'm still your father. And I..."
Kiyomi laughed again, the sound bitter and broken. "What? You love me?" Her voice dripped with venom. "You wouldn't know love if it hit you in the face. You crushed it. You drowned it in alcohol and your pathetic excuses."
"I know what I've done," he whispered, his voice fragile. "And I regret it. Please, let me make it right."
"Make it right?" Kiyomi took a step toward him, her words slicing through the air like knives. "You can't make anything right. You destroyed everything. Yourself. Mama. Me."
"Mama?" Akio tugged at her sleeve again, but Kiyomi seemed lost in the storm of her memories.
"Seika, I want to try," the man pleaded. "Please, give me a chance."
"Seika is dead." Her words were icy and final. "I killed her. She had to die so I could survive. So I could be free."
The man shook his head, tears welling in his eyes. "No, no, you can't mean that."
"Oh, I mean it." Her voice cracked as tears streamed down her face. "You forced me to do it. Your hatred, your fists, your disgusting stench—you killed her. You drove me to destroy everything I was, so you couldn't keep hurting me."
"I just wanted you to have a better life," he murmured, his voice barely audible.
"A better life?" Her laugh was harsh, almost hysterical. "You told me I was a mistake. That I ruined you. You beat Mama because she tried to protect me. Is that what you call better?"
The man opened his mouth, but no words came. His shoulders slumped, and for a moment, he looked like a broken shell of a man.
---
"Mama..." Akio's voice was soft, pulling her back to the present. She looked at him, her tear-filled eyes meeting his confused, frightened gaze.
"Akio." Her voice was gentle, but her hands trembled. "Let's go."
"But he..."
"Let's go!" She gripped his arm and led him away, her steps resolute as the man stood frozen behind them. But then, his voice rang out again, hoarse and desperate.
"Please! I just wanted to say I'm sorry!"
Kiyomi stopped one last time, turning back with fire in her eyes. "I never want to see you again. Go back to the hell you crawled out of, and stay there. You have no place in my life."
With those words, she turned away, dragging Akio with her until they disappeared into the shadows. But deep inside, something trembled, as if the encounter had cracked open a wound she thought had long since healed.
It wasn't over. Not as long as he still lived.