Okami Renshin:
I was always told that the gods of this world were benevolent rulers who faithfully watched over their people. That's what mom says, at least. I've prayed before. I've prayed that dad likes me more. Yet, things only got worse. I didn't know why he was even angrier than ever. I looked down at the scars on my light brown skin and asked myself, "What did I ever do to him?" My jet-black hair fell past my eyes as I looked down and mumbled, "Why do I have to be stuck with dad of all people?! Why can't aunt Beatrix come and get me?" I turned and looked out of my bedroom window with one burning question on my mind that trumped the rest. A disappointed sigh escaped my lips while I questioned, "Where are you, mom?" Suddenly, I watched as my mother appeared in front of my home, stepping out from the pathway that led into the forest.
Her jet-black hair swayed in the wind as the gold pieces of hair jewelry she spread through her locks glistened in the sun. My eyes set on the few strands of white colored hair that rested to the right of my mother's head. I could never understand why, but my eyes always seemed to stop on her white strands of hair. She lacked it anywhere else throughout her billowing, locked hair. Yet, it was completely natural. The moment my eyes set on her, she looked up at me. mother always had this way of just knowing whenever I looked at her. Each time she looked at me, a smile formed on her face. However, just as my father had grown angrier, my mother looked more and more tired day by day. Jaded even.
Like every other time in my thirteen years of existence, when mother saw me, she smiled. Though she smiled, I could see through it. It caused me to bite down on my lip and quietly say, "She's faking it…"
As soon as I heard the door open, I got off my bed, threw on my sandals, and stepped out of my room with my gaze on the front door. I watched my mother take her black boots off with a tired huff. However, when she looked at me, she smiled and said, "There's my Little Wolf! How ya doing?!" "I'm hungry, mom," I whispered while weakly placing my hand on my stomach. In an instant, I watched as my mother's smile faded. She instantly turned away from me. Though she turned quickly, I caught her biting her bottom lip so hard it bled. With every bit of restraint she could muster, I heard my mother calmly order, "Go take a seat in the kitchen, and I'll be there to fix you something to eat, alright?"
I quickly nodded and turned to the kitchen while replying, "Yes, ma'am!" After taking fifteen steps, I walked into the kitchen and sat at the table. Though they were on the other side of the house, I could hear my mother and father. My hearing has always been abnormally sensitive. My mother just says it's because of our family. However, my father tells me to stop worrying about it.
Despite what or why it was, all I knew was I could hear them as if they were standing right next to me. "Why is Kami starving, Arata!?" My mother asked in a furious tone of voice. "I just dozed off for a few hours. I'll get on it now, Natomi!" My father responded in a tone of voice that suggested he'd rather be doing anything other than engaging in the conversation. "Don't bother!" my mother snapped back.
A few moments of silence filled the space between the two. "I can't believe this is how you act after we lose-" "We didn't lose anything!" My father stated in a commanding tone of voice. "Like I've been telling you, you're stressed! It's all the responsibility you're taking on-" "Where's the man I married?" My mother asked in a way that sounded like she was on the verge of tears. I heard her light footsteps approaching the kitchen. However, they came to a halt.
Suddenly I listened to her order with disgust, "Get your shit together, or you're out of here."
As soon as she walked in, I looked down at my hands as if I wasn't listening to the entire conversation. Once I built up the courage to look up, my mother glanced down at me with pity as she said, "You don't have to act like you weren't listening, Okami." Her sharp words caused me to look back down at my hands as she walked over to the stove and turned it on. Though she stood five feet away from me, my mother and I didn't share a single word with each other.
This silence wasn't the same one that lingered around my mother and father. It was far more awkward. I wondered if I was in trouble for the conversation I listened to. Mother knew I could hear her, yet she decided to say what she said anyway. Maybe dad was right. She did seem stressed. I don't know what her job is. Whenever I ask her, she vaguely answers, "public service ." To be fair, it's not like I would enjoy a job like that. "Have you been keeping up with your studies, Kami?" My mother asked without looking at me. "I'm trying," I answered somewhat.
I looked up at her and continued to explain, "It's a little hard to learn everything by myself without grandpa here to teach me." I watched as my mother turned to me and stared into my soul with her silver eyes. A tired sigh left her mouth as she softly emphasized, "I know, kid. It's tough for me without him here as well. But he's with grandma now, where he can be happy. I know he helped you learn… self-defense, but you'll have to step up now, alright?" With a determined nod, I instantly replied, "Yes, ma'am!"
My mother didn't ever ask much from me. But she'd give anything for me. This simple truth was enough for me to do nearly anything she asked of me. She turned back to the stove and said, "I'm not saying it's going to happen today or tomorrow, but soon. Soon, your body is going to… change, Okami." "Are you talking about puberty?" I asked in a curious tone of voice. I watched as a slight chuckle escaped my mother's lips. Her chuckle turned into a laugh as she side-eyed me and said, "Sure, we'll call it that." My mother perfectly flipped the grilled cheese in the skillet without breaking eye contact with me. The instant the sandwich landed where it was supposed to, she said, "Just pay attention to your body, Okami. Whenever you notice these changes, let me know. It's nothing to be scared of. In fact, the more you embrace it, the better."
I slightly tilted my head and questioned, "Why is it doing that?" After I asked my question, my mother sat in still silence. Suddenly, she turned her attention back to the stove and answered, "Because your body is… special. Just as you are."
"But what makes me special?" I quickly shot back out of curiosity. My mother spun around while placing my sandwich before me and answering, "The fact that you're my son!"
She reached up and ruffled my hair, saying, "Now eat up. If you're still hungry, come and tell me right away, alright?" I felt a smile form on my face while I looked her in the eyes and replied, "Yes, ma'am. Thank you!" Once again, my mother gave me a smile. However, this one wasn't forced.
It felt natural. It felt like it always had. While I quietly enjoyed what my mother made for me, my sensitive ears caught my mother asking, "Where is my cup?" "It's sitting right in front of me where you left it."
My father answered in a slightly annoyed tone of voice. I heard my mother scoff, but she refrained from saying anything else. Once there was nothing else to listen to, I turned my attention elsewhere. However, moments later, I heard glass shattering against our hardwood floor. Right after, I listened to the sound of someone gurgling. The instant my brain processed what I heard, I immediately thought my father had done something to my mother!
Once that was my realization, there could only be one conclusion. I muttered out loud to myself as I jumped from my seat, "I'll kill him!"
I rushed out of the kitchen only to stop halfway after hearing my father cry, "Natomi!" Judging by the terrified tone in my father's voice, I didn't know what to think. I no longer wanted to think! I only wanted to turn the corner and see my mother just fine! However, once I rounded the corner, my silver eyes locked onto my mother's body on the ground, with my father holding her head up. Before I realized I was moving, I ran to my mother's side while crying, "mom!" I dove down onto my knees and looked her in the eyes. When her eyes met mine, all I could see was confusion, fear, and dread.
Once I looked down, I saw the blood streaming from her mouth. It managed to flow all the way down her white shirt and to her hands. Though she looked scared and had no idea what was going on, my mother still forced herself to smile at me. My father stood up and called for help on his phone, while my mother never took her eyes off mine. As the tears streamed down my eyes, I cried, "You can't leave me, mom!" "It's okay," my mother weakly stated.
I placed my hand on my mother's head and lifted it while ordering, "Don't speak! Just, just… Breathe! Breathe like grandpa taught us!" My foolish suggestion caused my mother's smile to widen even slightly. She opened her mouth to speak, but she couldn't. I saw that blood filled her mouth to the point that it was drowning her!
I quickly placed her head down and turned it to the side so the blood could flow out. However, when I attempted to turn her head, she refused! She refused to break eye contact with me. Though she couldn't speak, her kind eyes said everything she couldn't.
My mother spit out the blood in her mouth and quickly turned to me while saying, "Don't be afraid! You're going to live a new life, alright?! Listen closely, Okami! You're a-" Blood rushed from my mother's mouth, causing her to instantly turn her head and vomit it out! Realizing there was only one thing I could do, I placed both hands on my mother's chest and performed CPR while tears ran down my cheeks.
Though each heave I gave was in vain. After my second push, I heard one more gasp for air. Suddenly, my mother looked up at me, placed her bloodied hand on my cheek, and faintly said, "I love you so much, my son-" It was at that moment I heard my mother's final gasp for air. However, so much blood filled her airway that she drowned in it. I let out a wail of pain that reverberated throughout the entire house. Once again, my sharp sense of hearing caught the sound of my father's voice.
However, he didn't sound like the same broken man who cried out for my mother when she collapsed onto the ground. In fact, his voice housed the slightest bit of delight as he stated, "It's done." "Your check is sitting at the front door," an ominous voice remarked. My head whipped around at the sound of this foreign voice. Once I processed what was said, I realized there was a slightly familiar tone to the voice. However, as the sentence repeated in my mind, I realized that whatever happened to my mother was caused by my father. And whoever he spoke to was equally responsible. I grit my teeth and stood slightly as I heard footsteps approaching me. They were light. Nearly lighter than my mother's. Though the man with a burly voice walked lightly, the instant he walked into the room, his presence was crushing.
It felt as if he was itching to kill me. Then I saw them. I saw his intimidating eyes. My mother and I possessed dark eyes. Darker than most. But this man's eyes were even darker. He wore a suit nearly the same color as my hair. It snugly fit him, perfectly revealing his muscular frame.
However, it also contrasted with his bright silver-colored hair. Once I looked down, I saw that he was holding the hand of a girl who appeared to be the same age as me. The instant our eyes met, she narrowed her eyes. Almost as if the very sight of me repulsed her. Suddenly, the man began to walk toward me. Terror seeped into my core as I dropped to the ground and crawled back while yelling, "No! Stay back! Stay the hell away from me-"
The man appeared before I even saw him move. He reached out and grabbed my head. But not before I caught a glimpse of a black horn growing from the side of his head. Before I could see, hear, or think anything else, I was knocked out cold. After an unknown amount of time, I woke up on the couch.
As soon as my eyelids popped open, my father side-eyed me. I pressed the palm of my hand against my forehead as it pounded. For some reason, I couldn't remember anything. I couldn't remember going to sleep. I couldn't remember how I'd gotten here. However, the one thing I did remember was the lifeless look on my mother's face. I quickly remembered the sound of my mother drawing her last breath. I also remembered her last words, "I love you so much, my son." As soon as my mind processed each of these memories, I broke. Tears streamed down my eyes as I broke out into a sob.
Without a shred of remorse in his voice, my father stated, "Because you saw Natomi like that, you passed out. While you were out, the ambulance arrived and drove her off. However… she was already dead once they got here. They believe she had a stroke." I cried at the fact that my mother was gone. I cried, knowing that she'd never smile at me the way she did ever again. I cried for all of the pain that I felt.
However, I also cried because I knew that I wasn't just left without a mother; I cried because I knew I was left with my father.