I wish for you to be happy with all my heart...never forget me, please.

╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳

Ryuu took his time in walking home,
running his hands against the bushes he passed by,
looking at his phone screen for the umpteenth time.

What could have been so important
to the point that my father would message me?

Still staring at the glass screen,
his dubious reflection stared back at him,
equally puzzled and scared.

This is the first time he's texted me...

He shook his head and shoved
the phone back into his pocket,
picking up the pace.

After sprinting for a while,
he successfully reached his house.

He gulped and deeply inhaled
before carefully turning the knob,
and what greeted him at the other side of the door
was something he'd never imagined he'd have to deal with.

╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳

He disbelievingly stared at the piles
of cardboard boxes stacked up.

Only one conclusion registered into his mind,
but he shook it off, not wanting to believe it.

What does this mean?

He flinched as he felt a hand touch his shoulder,
turning back to find the same smile that irked him
plastered across his mother's smug-looking face.

"Ryuu, pack up."

His eyes widened in horror.

"We're moving to America."

His throat felt dry.

He secretly clenched a fist
hidden behind his back
and looked to the floor.

"What about—"

He had started,
but was immediately cut off

"Your school?
Don't worry,
I've found a good music school
that'll improve your rustic piano skills."

"I meant...
what about my life here?"

He accidentally blurted his thoughts out,
but felt no regret in doing so.

He braved looking up
only to find his mother
looking at him, irritated.

"Your life here?"

She mockingly spat out,
each syllable shattering every ounce
of happiness that had built in him.

"You mean your friends?"

She bent down
and forcefully took his face in one hand.

"Don't you dare defy me,
boy.
You are but my son,
I am your mother.

You don't have any say in this,
you have no choice but to listen.
My word is absolute.
Do you understand?

And besides..."

She waved something around,
and from the corner of his eye,
Ryuu saw photos of him and Chou
from the day they went out.

"You wouldn't want me to spread these,
would you?"

His eyes widened once more
as he shook his head,
wondering how she had gotten those.

"Good.
Do we have an understanding now?"

Ryuu rapidly nodded,
the fear never leaving his eyes.

Fuyuko's smile returned once more,
and she closed the distance between them,
patting Ryuu on the head,
causing him to freeze up in terror.

"Be a good boy
and do as I've told you.
I'll be gone for a while
and I expect you to be done when I come back."

Ryuu nodded
and made his way up the stairs.

╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳

As soon as he heard the click of the front door
indicating his mother's absence,
he couldn't hold it in anymore.

He screamed and thrashed about,
repeatedly punching the wall,
as the tears streamed down his cheeks,
making their way down to his shirt
onto the rug.

He fell to his knees
and lifted his head upwards,
gripping handfuls of his hair,
he let out a scream—
a broken cry for help.

He fell to the floor
and sobbed.

Why, why?
Despite everything?
Why do you still hate me?

Then his anger kicked in
as he stood up and forcefully hit the book stand,
the books fell one by one,
some striking him in the face,
others falling hard on his toes,
but it didn't matter to him.

He couldn't feel anything,
h e   c o u l d n ' t   f e e l   a t   a l l.

A stinging pain surged throughout his right hand,
and he saw a large cut, jaggedly forming an 'x'
on the back of his hand,
but he still felt nothing.

He had once more become the hollow boy he once was.

╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳

A loud sound echoed throughout the Kurosawa household,
causing Ryouta to shoot up, forgetting about his sleep.

He threw his blanket to the side
and rushed out of the room.

Fuyuko,
please stop hurting our son.

He thought,
running as fast as he could.

He saw the door to Ryuu's room agape,
and as he entered a pitiful, heart-wrenching sight greeted him.

There his son was,
laying on the ground bawling,
with a bloodied hand.

Ryouta couldn't bear it anymore.

He rushed to his son and checked the wound—
it wasn't too deep, it only reached the surface.

╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳

Ryouta gingerly dabbed the cotton with ointment
on his sons pale and now-bloodied skin.

I'm sorry I couldn't have done this sooner...

After applying first aid on Ryuu's wound,
Ryouta pulled him in a tight embrace.

"Hang in there."

He said,
before getting a cardboard box,
and helping Ryuu put his things away.

Ryuu sat on the bed, wide-eyed,
taken aback by the affection his father showed.

You've never been like this before.

Ryuu decided to shrug it off,
and help his father put his things away.

╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳

When Fuyuko came back,
Ryuu's room had been cleared out,
and the bloodied rug had been washed and hung out to dry.

Their flight was due in three hours,
so Ryuu spent his time humming the tune
of Chou's first composition—
the one she'd given when she left for London.

Time flew by and it was time for them to leave.

They hailed a taxi,
and Ryuu fidgeted the entire ride.

Everything felt so fast for Ryuu
as he looked out the window,
looking at the neighborhood he grew up in,
and silently bid it farewell,
fearing he'd never see it again.