I can hear…
-ake up
Wake up
"Wake up, Sunshine." ...a soothing, gentle voice, rousing me awake.
*Groan* I opened my eyes, searching for the source.
"…Mom?" The loving gaze of a beautiful woman, fixed at me.
"Good morning, Sunshine. As promised, it's 7 o'clock." She smiles at me. I still remembered that smile. How could I not? It's always on her whenever I look.
I'm still confused though. "…why?..." would you wake me, is what I would've said, if not for the fact that I'm even not fully awake yet.
"You told me to wake you up today, made me promise even. Remember..?" I know that face. It's the face of someone looking at something endearingly… "Silly boy." …silly.
I remembered now. Today's Saturday. The start of my summer vacation. But still, why did I…
"…Oh…" right. Yeah, I wanted to spend the entire dayoutside. In the woods. Exploring the woods. Wandering the woods.
*Groan* I sat up at the sound of my mom chuckling, I'm not there yet, my mind is still hazy. I can feel a hand on my head.
"Once you're fully here, go downstairs and eat." She ruffled my hair. "After that, go shower. I have everything prepared for your grand adventure." I love her. "Love you too, Sunshine." Sometimes I wonder if she can read minds. She stood up, and headed for the door.
"…Mom?" She turned her head at my call. "…Thank you."
She smiled and said "You're welcome, dear." And with that, she left me to my own devices. I look around. A sizable bedroom. The walls are filled with posters of different kinds of animals; from whales and wolves to butterflies and cats.
Besides my bed is a desk with a small bookshelf on top of it. A picture book of animals and plants. Story books of animals and plants. Biology book of animals and plants. Gosh I love nature.
I get off of my bed, stretch a little, and walk towards the door.
As I head downstairs, I hear my mom talking to someone. Seems like adult talk. 'Wait, could it be-!' Eyes grow wide, I bolted down the staircase.
"After that, we can- Oh!" I see it. It's him! "Dad!" I lunged at him. I knew he would catch me.
"Hey there, champ! Good morning!" I can hear him laughing as he squeezed my body, but instead of my energy being depleted, it replenished. "It's been a while buddy, how are you?"
"I'm great!" I looked at his face. He's smiling at me. His loving gaze pierces through my heart. I smiled back and said:
"I missed you…" I can feel tears welling up my eyes.
"Oh buddy. I miss you too." He hugs me tighter. Oops. Sorry dad, didn't mean to make you cry.
"Alright you two." My mom called us. We looked at her beautiful smile. "Now that you're here, Sunshine, let's eat."
So we did. And while we do, dad and I talked. Well, mostly me.
I never did have many friends at school. Most of them would go and play something, whether it be sports, play pretend, or video games. Meanwhile, I would go out on my own, look for bugs or any animal, and would start talking to them. Maybe even draw them.
You could see where they would think I'm weird. They didn't ostracize me or anything. If they're short on someone for something, they would ask me to join. Of course, I didn't refuse. But I can tell that I'm last pick.
I just feel like there are never any connections between me and them. And I'm fine with that, really. As long as I have nature with me, I'm fine with it.
When we finished eating, I headed on to the bathroom. While showering, I can hear mom and dad talking about something. Probably adult talk. I wouldn't know, I was too excited for today.
I dried myself off, put on some adventuring clothes, and headed back out. As I went to the living room to pick up the backpack my mom prepared, I heard my dad called out to me from the dining room.
"Come here for a minute, buddy." So I did. My mom and dad are sitting across from each other. "Listen, your mom and I talked, and we decided we wanted to go to a hot spring."
Ah, I see.
"And we're thinking if-" "You can go!" I cut him off.
"…Huh?" both of them looks confused. "You can both go, I don't mind!"
They looked at each other for a moment,
"Honey, do you not want to come with us?" Mom asked me. "No, I wanna go to the forest."
I already had plans for the day. And if they truly know their son, they'd know how stubborn he can get.
"Well, we can go to a park." And there it is. The bargaining. "I'm sure there will be lots more animals than our woods can offer."
I think they think that since I'm not going, they can't
leave. So I need to set the records straight.
"No. I'm fine with the forest here." They looked troubled. I just smiled at them. "You can both go." They turned their heads to me, wide-eyed. "I can stay with granny!"
"But honey-" "It's okay. I understand. I love both of you!" I exclaimed. And I do. I love them both, from the bottom of my heart. "Oh.." Mom went and hugged me. "My brave boy. My wonderful, brave Sunshine."
"Hehehe." I could only laugh at her compliments. I am brave.
"Our pride and joy." My dad brushed her shoulders. He looks at me. "We love you too, champ." Then hugged both of us. "So, so much."
I can still feel their warmth. I guess even the sun can't replace it. Or maybe it is the sun? In fact, I think it's getting a little hotter. Thankfully there are plenty of shades here for me to cool down.
Looking up at the canopy, listening to the birds sing, hearing the swaying of leaves by the wind, eating the lunch box my mom prepared. It's always so nice being here in the wilds. Except sometimes, I can feel something, or someone, staring at me. When that happens, that means it's time to go home. Like now!
That feeling usually goes away when I leave the forest. I always wonder what it is. But nothing too important, probably. Either way, the sun's going down, so I'm going back home. Or to granny's home.
Granny is our neighbor. She had always been there for our family. A kind and caring elderly woman, she would often help my parents in taking care of me. Like right now. My parents are having their long awaited vacation. So she's taking care of me while they're gone. Her cooking is wonderful, dare I say, better than mom's. I can't wait to see what's for dinner.
On my way back, I can see her, talking to two people I don't recognize. She looked distraught. When she spot me, I can see tears start welling up in her eyes. She started running towards me. When she reached me, she hugged me. And while sobbing, she said:
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Akito…"
"…Huh?"
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