Chapter 2

The white and freezing snow is dropping majestically and softly down in a rusty and wrecked roof of a house. It was small and built-in pieces of metals, woods, and a thick and dull color cloth that was all found in the junkyard.

Inside the shallow hole on the ground located at the center of a certain room of a wrecked house. The light flickered in red and orange. Ember glows and sparkled from the small pieces of dried woods that were rapidly consumed by an aggressive fire. This made the room temperature warm.

Two kids were lying on the ground, covered in a thick blanket that has many patches sewn on it. Mizu holds Shiro's hand that until now was still terribly trembling. "Was it because of the cold? Or something else?" she wondered. This boy's hand was soft and slender than any other kid's hand she ever holds. While holding it, she felt that it wasn't cold like before, and it's getting warmer.

Shiro has been staring at her since a while ago. He has these questions in mind that he wanted to ask but afraid to do so.

However, Mizu has this innate ability to read one's mind through the expression and eyes they've shown. And so she giggled, "What's this, you want to ask me about what Kuro has said? Why my Mom is beating me up?"

Shiro nod. He was a kid with such a few words.

Mizu is looking at the distance she said, "Ah, So your curious Huh. Quite a kid. The answer was simple. I'm a tool for Mom to pent up her anger. Let's say I'm her punching bag?" she then chuckled jokingly. But her voice has a trace of painfulness.

Just then she felt the tightened of a grip in her hand. Shiro is looking at her with perturbable eyes.

Her lips curved upward in a pleasant way. Shiro is such a kindhearted kid. She wondered why this kind of kid was left in the slum. Whoever did it was such a jerk. But was he really left behind? Okay, don't think deeper about these questions.

She rubs Shiro's silky hair, stroking it gently like was tending a fragile being. "Don't look at me like that, I'm not that pathetic."

"But thanks."

"Mom is not here right now. So don't worry, nothing bad will happen. Mom is working in a red district every night and went home late in the morning then sleeps all day afterward. So, I can say we seemed didn't exist at all, later in the morning. Regarding this, Mom never cares if I have food to eat or haven't. Wherever I go or what will happen to me, she will never care nor notice even if I died in the middle of the street. To her, I'm just a nuisance, a tool, and disposable trash. But despite this, I'm still thankful that because of my situation, I learned to be independent, to be wise, how to struggle in order to live. Heh, even my body becomes tough because of her beating. And I even learned how to defend myself."

"But surprisingly, I'd never hate my mom. For a reason that I'm still alive today. She bore me to this world, and I can never change that fact. She's my mother, the only one in the world. The only person related to me that I know. Spite of how terrible she is, I'm still thankful I have a mother. However, I'm still wishing that one day Mom will look at me that I'm her most wonderful child. That she loves me. That she's grateful she bore me. I want to feel warm. Her kisses as she gently brushes my hair. Her sweet smile and voice while looking at me and her warm embrace. A hug of a motherly like."

Mizu didn't know, that a drop of tears was already escaped in her eyes. Ever since then, she longs for motherly love.

"Ah... I wondered since when did I become so bubbly."

Shiro suddenly moved near her and Mizu was surprised, when a warm and slender hand caress her while wiping the pearl of tear on her eyes. "Ah, this kid is so sweet." Mizu smiled and hugged him tightly.

"You're so warm, Shiro. Let's sleep like this," burying her face on this kid's chest.

Mizu never felt so light like this before. Like all her heavy feelings she always kept inside was somehow lighten. All the pent-up emotions that she accumulated and never been shared with anybody were one day just let out like that, effortlessly. She somehow likes this strange feeling and as well as the being beside her. Just then, she felt her eyelids heavy and slowly closing it. Truly, it was the first time in her whole life that she fell asleep without worries.

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The door suddenly flung open.

"Mizu!" Shout by a man in a worried and anxious voice that made Mizu awake. His voice was like a drum in this early morning. D*mn loud.

In that reason, Mizu was aggravated and threw the pillow that was made in straw to Kuro's face. After that, Mizu decided to go back to sleep while hugging a sleep Shiro and ignore Kuro's presence as if he was just thin air.

Kuro's expression turned sour, his thick brows are twitching while picking up the left straws in his face, annoyed. He intentionally stamped his feet and walks towards the direction of Mizu and without further ado pulled her up from her slumber, by grabbing her back collar and drag her outside. Leaving the poor Shiro who was still asleep.

"What are you doing!?" she blurts out angrily. Forcefully removing Kuro's grip on her clothes.

Enrage Kuro face her and furiously shouted, "Why you two are sleeping together?!"

Mizu frowned, "What's the deal? Did you just wake me up early this morning for this absurd small things?"

"If that's what this is, let me go back to sleep. It's still an hour before our meeting time and it's f*cking freezing outside! Baka! Kuro."

Kuro stays silent, Mizu knows he wanted to say something than this, but hesitate to say so. Mizu turned around and about to go inside again, but was strongly grabbed by Kuro to forcefully face him. Holding tightly both of her shoulders and with an exhale he exclaimed, "Your mother is found dead!!!"

This phrase lingers in Mizu's ear repeatedly like a broken plate. She was stupefied from a piece of sudden news that turned her into pale. But still, she didn't believe it. Out of impulse and anger, she grabbed Kuro's collar and whined.

"What bullsh*t are you saying Kuro?! Tell me your lying! Mom is still alive! She was just about to go home this time. She's just..." but looking at Kuro's solemn eyes she stops, she knew what everything Kuro has said was true. His eyes never lie. Kuro never ever lied to her. But still, she denies it and hitting Kuro repeatedly.

"She can't die... Mom is still alive. I can't accept this Kuro. Do you really think I'll believe you? Mom is a tough woman. Tougher than any women I knew. Mom must still be alive or else... Everything that I hope will just remain as a dream..." she sobs while already resting in Kuro's chest. Kuro accepted all the hit without complaining and stays silent to ease his friend's pain.

After a few minutes of silents, Mizu looked at him with determined eyes. "Bring me where Mom was. I want to see the truth and accepted it fully with my own eyes."

Just then, Kuro grabbed her wrist and dragged her towards the river bank. Leaving both of their footprints on the ground that full of pile of snow.

A group of people was standing beneath the river bank. They were murmuring about the scene they saw while watching the dead body with full of stabs and blood on the ground. It was still fresh like this just happened an hour ago.

As they got there, Mizu squeezes her body around the bunch of people and force herself to enter the scene while Kuro was following her.

When her eyes laid upon the cold body on the ground. Her heart immediately skips a beat a thousand times. At first glance, she immediately recognized the body of her mother. The red fitting dress with splits on the thigh that the corpse wearing stained in blood was the exact same thing as what her mother usually wears in work.

"Someone found her just a while ago, almost buried in the snow. She has a deep wound near her heart that's maybe the reason why she dies." Kuro explained behind her.

Mizu's legs suddenly moved forward subconsciously while mumbling, "Mom" in every step. She can't hear anything even Kuro's voice. All her attention and her world were all taken by this corpse. Her knees became soft and kneeled to the soft freezing ground, crawling her way towards the corpse. As she reached it, she immediately scrutinized every inch of the corpse's body while brushing softly the disheveled hair on her face. Just then she stops. Biting her lips, she hugs the frozen corpse, and without able to hold all the feelings she burst in cry like a real kid.

"No! Mom! You can't do this... Please... please wake up! If hitting me will bring you back alive, I will endure it and never complain again. You're the only one I have. So, please... Please don't leave me, Mom..." tears in her eyes are falling down like rain. She felt this suffocating pain like she was drowned in a dark and cold deep sea without surfacing and without hope to survive. She can't breathe well, and her heart is about to tear open.

Just then Mizu felt the warm hug coming from her friend. Patting her back, comforting her, and calming the restless feeling she has. For a while, she rests in his arm while still holding the corpse in her hand, and so she said, "Kuro, I'm always so eager to ask mom these; Mom, did you ever acknowledge me as your child? Did you ever love me? Who is my father? Why we live like this? Mom, why did you born me if you will just hurt me? Was my existence such a burden to you? Am I an eyesore? Then why you never leave me? Whatever you did, I never hated you. I loved you. How I wish I can hear these words with you too. But you can't answer me anymore." Embracing her Mother's corpse, she never thought this was the only time she can hug her mother.

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Shiro wakes up without Mizu in her side. He searched around, but he can't find her. When he was about to look outside he suddenly bumped into a person, this impact made him sat on the ground. Looking at the person's face, he turned pale.

"I've found you, Kitten. The game of hide and seek reached its end." The man said with a scary smile on his face.