𝓛𝓲𝓵𝓲𝓮𝓼 | ʜɪɢʜ & ʟᴏᴡ

Chapter 8: Recollections

"Hey, let's go," Naomi told them. Yamato, Cobra, and Hiyori stood up from their seats. The brown-haired girl asked Nikka to take care of the store for a while as they went out.

The four walked outside and at the same time, Noboru walked still with his crutches.

"Let's just take the bus," Yamato suggested as they all agreed. Cobra walked closer beside Hiyori and took her hands as he intertwined his fingers with her.

She looked up at him and smiled.

The five of them are at the bus stop and make small conversations with each other as they waited. When the bus stopped in front of them, they immediately hop in.

After a mere ten minutes, they got to their destination. They walked out of the bus and stood there in front of the cemetery as they wore glum looks on their faces.

They can't blame each other with the sad expressions as who would even smile when they visit a resting place for their loved ones.

Cobra squeezed Hiyori's hand as they walked inside. They took the familiar direction and stopped as soon as they reach Tatsuya's grave.

Naomi placed a bouquet of flowers on the marble as she crouched down and looked at the grave that has her brother's name.

"I can't believe it has been a year," she said. Hiyori, with her free hand, placed it on Naomi's shoulder for comfort. They all looked down on Tatsuya's grave as they wore gloomy expressions.

Hiyori pressed her lips into a thin line as she sadly smiled. She remembered Tatsuya as her older brother figure. He was a caring person up until he was gone.

He was basically the person that Yamato and Cobra looked up to. The reason why up until now they are determined to protect the town they were born and raised in.

He has a powerful impact on the five of them, especially on his sister. He was the one who raised her and played with her when she was little. She had her brother when she had no one but herself.

And when he died, she was devastated. Just like Hiyori, when her grandfather died, their world started to fall apart.

Until they realized that they are not completely alone. Because they have Cobra and the others.

They're their family.

• • •

"What's that, Mama?" a young Hiyori asked as she pointed at the familiar golden necklace wrapped around her mother's neck. The older woman smiled at her and took the necklace off of her neck.

"This is for you," she said with a gentle motherly smile. She put it on the younger girl's neck and Hiyori held the pendant in her hand.

"A flower," she muttered. The older woman chuckled and nodded.

"Yeah, that's a flower. A lily."

"A lily?" she repeated and tilted her head in confusion.

The woman sat down closer to her. They are on the bench on the terrace of their house. The little girl whose hair was tied into twin pigtails swung her feet as she looked at her mother in curiosity.

"Yeah, you're like a lily. Too pure and innocent for this world," she said and kissed her forehead.

"You're beautiful, sweetheart. Just like the flower," her mother told her with a sweet smile on her face.

Hiyori blushed and shyly grinned.

Suddenly, the scenery changed. The girl is now hiding under the table in the dark. She was trembling while her heart was beating like a rapid-fire.

"Sweetheart, remember how you and your brothers played to chase each other?" her mother asked. The older woman is crouching down to her height while her father is also doing the same. The girl slowly nodded and squeaked when she heard someone knocks on the door.

"We want you to go and run and we will chase you, okay?" her father told her. "Run straight into the woods."

"O-Okay," she said while still trembling in fear. She doesn't know but it made her feel scared when her mother and father are sweating and also shaking uncontrollably.

"Now, go and run! I promise we'll get you," her mother told her as she gave her an encouraging smile. "I love you, baby." Her mother said as she gave her a loving kiss on her forehead.

Hiyori just nodded as she crawled out of the table. She stood up and wiped her hands on her white sundress.

"Go," her father said and the twelve-year-old quickly turned her back as she started running to the back of their house in the woods.

The girl didn't look back as she kept on running even though it was dark and raining that night.

END OF ACT TWO