Life After Death

The Remembering

After finally telling Hisato about his father, she felt an immense amount of weight leave her chest. It made talking about Makoto to him a lot easier, able to say things about him instead of pretending he never existed and she was just a virgin Mary. Hisato became a bit more understanding when his mother was reclusive and out of it at times. Now knowing why made it a lot clearer for him to give his mother space.

She didn't want it to be like this. But she couldn't keep it from him forever. It may have felt a little early to tell, but now, seeing how Hisato was after that conversation, he seemed a little more open. He talked a bit more to her and grew more sociable than when they first moved into town. It was hard to tell if it was just him settling in or hearing of his father let his true self show now knowing why he was here on Earth. Hisato had a lot of smiles, ones that Yukari thought she'd never see again in her life. She thought she'd lost those, alongside hope, for the rest of her days until she lay in her end. But waking each morning to them helped her along till the day they could meet their maker.

It had felt like forever since she ever talked about those past days, when their lives was all they had to their names. She couldn't ever say she missed the Shadows and the ever-living fear of death itself, but she did miss the days when he was alive and everyone was one big family because of him. It all felt like a dream. She felt immensely thankful of him for making it that way. But she wished the dream lived on and the nightmare was the only thing to leave. Afterall, those dreams were all there was left of him. Thinking of him brought along the weight of those days of fighting for the souls of themselves and the whole world. And then, the final times she held an Evoker to her head and a magic key that was her final chance to lay her eyes on him...

December 26th, 2017

Takeba Residence

Noon

"Come on, Mama! Let's go!"

The mother let out a chuckle as her son hopped up and down at the back door. Dressed from head to toe in winter gear, Hisato was bundled up and ready to head out without her.

"Give me a minute," she tried to not laugh at her little marshmallow, but a snicker let itself out. Pulling her gloves on and tugging them down just in case, she watched as he opened the door, his excitement not waiting any longer. He ran out into their backyard, leaving her rushing to catch up before anything awful happened, but still took time to close the sliding door behind her.

His ecstatic laughs filled the atmosphere as he let the snow crunch under his quick feet. Liking the sound, he halted and stomped in place, just to hear the sound. It soon compacted below, making him move to another spot to continue. Yukari took the chance to watch him in his smiles and giggles.

Hisato turned to her, waving his arms at his mother. "Let's build a snowman, Mama!" Before letting her answer his question, he bent down, picked up snow and began to roll into a ball on the ground. His eyes glowed with the wonder as the farther he rolled it, the bigger it got. Yukari got onto her knees and began to do the same, preparing to make the very bottom. They circled the yard, passing by each other. Each time they passed, he gave his mother a big grin. Within the passing of 20 minutes, she had made the base and he'd finished the middle.

"Okay, help me get yours on top of mine," Yukari and Hisato lifted his massed ball, with the mother doing most of the lifting, and carefully placed it on top. Once they stood back to see, he clapped with joy.

"I'm gonna start the head now!" Hisato ran off to the other side of the yard that had snow untouched and began to roll. Yukari stayed behind, watching as he enjoyed himself. It was almost hard to believe that, even at this age, this was his son. Sure, what her college classmate told her was believable, but since she never experienced it with her own eyes, she had a hard time seeing it. Makoto being as energetic as this boy when he was that age was... strange to her...