A Different Kind Of Journey (Hiatus)

Bittersweet

Gaara tried to get close to the two but he was then taken away by an unknown force as his world began to change once more. A bright light has suddenly engulfed him and sometime later, the young Kazekage opened his eyes and he found himself standing in a place that was very unfamiliar to him.

He described the place as a beautiful garden accompanied by small river flowing which he was standing in front of right now. Beside the river, there was a young woman; She had shoulder-length, sandy-brown hair which framed her kind-looking face, and indigo-colored eyes. She wore a simple outfit along with a long, light yellow scarf draped loosely around her neck. She just stood there and watched the peaceful flow of the river.

Gaara was bewildered. This was the same young woman who he had just awhile ago and right before he arrived in this place. As curiosity got the best of him, He then took several steps and headed towards the spot where young woman was located. By the time he had arrived at the said spot, the young woman had already noticed him and gave him a smile.

A bewildered Gaara just stared at the latter. He finally realized that this person was none other than his mother. She looked very much alive in her prime, far different from the dying person which he had seen in his earliest memories before.

"You know, the desert wasn't always this sandy place. It used to have small places much like this," Karura explained.

Gaara was just silent. He was in fact speechless and a bit shy to have a conversation with his mother. This was the first time that he had met her in person. He tried to open his mouth to say a few words but he just wasn't able to do so.

"I always dreamed of taking you, Temari and Kankuro to one of these places, but I'm not sure if these places even exist nowadays," she chuckled and explained. In fact there were indeed several small oases that existed in their land during her time.

"An Oasis," he muttered. He let out his first words. He recalled seeing one of those places from a distance during his travels.

"Although your father was a grumpy one, he was always busy with his work wasn't he?" she added. She often remembered her husband as this busy man who had no time for the family.

Gaara gave a face when his father came into his thoughts. He never had really good memories about him. He wasn't even close to him as father and son. They never even talked for once. He could only remember the time he spent alone on the rooftop of a lonely building while watching the other kids bond with their families.

As the emotions began to resurface, Tears were finally flowing from the teenager's eyes. Gaara slowly began to sob quietly. His mother, who finally fully turned around to face him, pulled him into a warm embraced.

Gaara cried like a little boy in his mother's shoulders. Even though, He had never gotten to know his mom, He felt as if He had known her for a long time and he dearly needed her in his life right now.

"Okaa-san," Gaara said his only word right now. How he wished that his mom was still alive.

On the other hand, Karura could only comfort her son. She too cried with him but she kept her smile up as she comforted her son. She felt sad for him on what he had to go through all these years. She also missed him and this was her first time seeing him now as a grown up teenager.

"Everything is going to be alright, honey," she said as she stroked the back of her son to calm him down.

"I just wished that you were still here. Why did you have to leave?" Gaara said as he finally let all his emotions out. He asked his mom why she had to leave this world earlier. If she didn't left then He wouldn't have experienced all the pain that he had to go through.