She knew it was dangerous, after all what young girl dared to go out so late by herself. It was as though she didn't care about her well-being and partly, she didn't. Nobody was going to care if she came home bruised and beaten up. Nobody was going to care if she came home at all.
Because nobody was waiting.
(Y/N) recalled the time when she was eight that she accidentally brushed her hand against some poison ivy and returned home, her hands red and swollen.
Her mother rushed to her aid with a medical kit that she claimed she had stolen from Recovery Girl back in the day. She scolded (Y/N) for being so careless until (Y/N) bawled her eyes out.
It was such a pure moment, even though (Y/N) was bitter at the time because she didn't understand why she got yelled at even though she was the one that got hurt. Countless times, her mother brought this up during family get-togethers and events. Everyone would laugh, including (Y/N).
She was laughing now too. She didn't understand why she was remembering this right now. It was such a bittersweet memory. A reminder of the fun times that she wouldn't experience ever again.
She was laughing but the laugher didn't seem so happy now. The night sky was laughing alongside her, or maybe it was laughing at her. Wasn't it so funny? A poor girl comes back to her home, her safe haven, and finds her parents brutally murdered and decapitated.
How fucking hilarious.
The sky stopped laughing and it took a moment for (Y/N) to register that what she heard was the sound of thunder. Oh how lost she was that she had given human characteristics to it. As if it seemed to imitate a reaction gif, the sky transitioned from laughing to crying.
It began as it always did, a soft pitter patter, a mellow tune, and light drops of rain. The small pellets hit her face gently, sliding down like teardrops. The rain had lost the ambient temperature of early fall, the freezing water making her wince at contact. Feeling it isn't enjoyment but that's just life, isn't it? There are things that people want to be drenched in and things that people shy away from. It wasn't enjoyable but it was a part of life and she needed to experience it just the same.
With the rain came tears. She was wondering why she hadn't cried yet; (Y/N) was an emotional person and although she didn't like crying in front of other people or seeming weak, she couldn't say that the emotion wasn't there.
She felt things with great intensity and shed tears just as much, which is why she didn't know how her tear ducts didn't get to work immediately when she saw the gruesome scene.
Apparently her reaction was a bit slow. Happy memories flashed through her head like the streaming rain, faster than one could grasp. Maybe that's how all happy things were, too fast for one to grasp and hold on to.
"(L/N)-san?" A shy, child-like voice emerged from behind the weeping girl, "Why are you outside in the cold rain?"
She had never heard this voice before but why did it seem so familiar? Whoever it was had a comforting aura around them, one that she craved desperately.
"Koda?" She croaked, not wanting to turn her head around, "Is that you?"
"Y-yes. What are you doing here in the middle of the street? We need to get you somewhere dry."
She hit the mark. She didn't know why she thought of Koda, especially when he couldn't talk — or at least, that's what everyone in the class thought, given that he communicated primarily through sign language.
The gentle boy walked towards her slowly, as if she was a glass of water set on the very edge of the table and even one small vibration was enough to send her tumbling.
She didn't try to disguise her tears, she hoped that the rain was enough of a shield. The bitter salty liquid merged with the pouring rain and slide off her face, merging with the pavement and creating a melancholic song. Waiting for the rain to wash her misery away and calm her buzzing thoughts, (Y/N) stood still, gazing at her shoes.
"Come on," Koda said softly, and (Y/N) chose to follow him. She hadn't realized it until now — mostly due to never having heard him speak before — but his voice was so soothing and hypnotizing. It was like the gentle croon of a mother.
His home wasn't far away from where they were because a few minutes later, a door opened, spilling light all over the front porch. A woman who looked identical to her classmate greeted them with concern and after Koda explained the situation, his mother nodded and beckoned them inside.
The Koda family had an extra guest room on the first floor and that's where the woman let (Y/N) stay for the night. Nobody asked what happened or why she was there and they had dinner with her like she was a normal part of their family, which she was grateful for.
She was truly, truly grateful for that.
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I feel like this ending was kind of anti climatic lmao
