𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐂𝐄 - ★彡[ᴋᴀᴍɪꜱᴀᴛᴏ ᴀʏᴀᴛᴏ]彡★

十三 - 13

"Lady Kayo, we regret to inform you that you will die at some point in the span of the next few months," Ayato sat beside his mother with his hand in hers as reassurance. He had known that there was a high chance that his mother's sickness would be fatal, but he hadn't expected that it would take affect so quickly.

"No..." she clutched her head in her hands. "Why is this world so cruel? Why me of all people?"
Ayato squeezed her hand as reassurance. "It's okay, Mother. I'm here for you, okay?"

She nodded weakly and wrapped her arms around his torso, tears staining his shirt. Staying this way for quite a while, she kept murmuring 'help me' over and over again. Ayato wished for nothing more in that moment than to be able to help her, but he was powerless. The terminal illness was impossible to stop, and the doctors had done everything in their power. There truly wasn't anymore hope for her. Burying his nose in her hair, he prayed that the archons would let her live for at least a little while longer.

"The expectancy of death is in around relatively five months, but any shorter than that is not out of the realm of possibility," the doctor continued, "and of course, you will have to stay under constant supervision. There will be no leaving the estate anymore, it's far too risky for your health."

She nodded meakly against Ayato's chest.

"Thank you very much for your time," Ayato responded weakly, giving him a smile. "I know that you have tried as much as you possibly could to help her, and for that we will be eternally grateful."

, , ,

"Mother, look! I made a paper crane!" the boy raced up to his mother with an eager smile on his face, yearning for praise.

"That's wonderful, Ayato," she pat his head, "it's beautiful."

"Look! Sis made one too~" he dragged a girl by the elbow so that she was standing in front of their mother.

"Wow, Ayaka, yours is beautiful as well," their mother clapped her hands together, "I'll keep them both in my room, if you two don't mind."

"T-thank you," Ayaka murmured, a blush creeping up on her face.

"You two are adorable!" their mother wrapped her arms around them and brought them to her, all of them laughing as trivial joy filled their chests.

. . .

"Mother?" Ayaka sat beside her. "Why is your expression so-"

"My dearest daughter," she cupped Ayaka's face in her hands, "which of these cranes was yours?"

"Cranes?" she tilted her head, and the two paper figures that lay on her futon. "Ah, I remember! Me and Brother gave those to you so many years ago."