(This is the longest part I have written so far. Heads up, I'm probably not going to write/include the other overblot victim's backstory because I only included Riddle's so that I could put his past with Mira because I can't think of any scenario to put it in except this. If you're wondering why I won't include the other's backstory it's because adding too much to the story makes me procrastinate more and I also have to attend to my other book. Sorry on behalf of my laziness🙇♀️)
Episode 10: A Forgotten Memory
Enma opened his eyes to see that he was in a completely differrent place. Everything was colorless, and as the boy looked around he spotted a child and a woman who was holding a cake with candles.
"Happy eighth birthday, Riddle. This year's birthday cake is a low-sugar recipe made with nuts and lecithin-rich soy flour to improve your cerebral function."
"That sounds unappetizing, really..." Enma mumbled as he continued watching the scene with confusion.
"Thank you. But, Mom... Just once, I'd like to try one of those tarts covered with bright-red strawberries..."
"Hold on, isn't that Riddle? Then, is this his past maybe..?"
"Absolutely not! Those tarts are monstrously unhealthy. I might as well feed you poison! Even just a single slice would exceed your recommended daily intake of sugar. Now, dinner tonight will be a tuna sauté rich in DHA and omega-3 fatty acids. Now that you're eight, your caloric intake should be 600 kilocalories per meal, so don't eat more than 100 grams of it. Understood?"
The child lowered his head and obediently answered to his mother. "Yes, Mom."
"It's his birthday isn't it? He should be able to eat whatever he wants."
"I'd always wanted to try one of those tarts with the bright-red strawberries. The local cake shop had them in the window. They shined at me like forbidden jewels." A voice behind Enma startled him as he turned around to see who it was.
"Ah, Riddle."
"That's enough classical magic study for today. Your homework is to read the first fifty pages of the philosophy of language book referenced in today's magical philosophy texts. You may now have one hour of independent study before your potionology lesson."
"Thank you, Mother." The child bowed.
"I need some time to prepare the lesson materials. I will see you in one hour, okay?" His mother then left him alone to study.
"I was studying every possible subject,
scheduled down to the minute. When I didn't understand something, the lesson was extended until I did. That was my "normal."" Riddle stated which made the other feel guilt build up in him.
The scene faded into Riddle's room, where he was studying on his desk. A sound was heard from the window that made the little boy look up from his work.
"...Is someone knocking on the window?"
"Whoa, he heard us!" A voice said from outside.
"Hey, come play with us!" A young boy happily said to the other.
"Oh, it's Trey and Che'nya." Enma said.
The young Riddle walked up to the window to see two other children waiting for him to come play with them. "Who are you?" The boy asked.
"I'm Che'nya, and that's Trey. Let's all play croquet! Oh, but it's LOTS of fun!" The boy cheered.
Riddle lowered his head and hugged his arm. "I can't. I'm supposed to be doing independent study, and I have a lot of homework to do."
""Independent study" means you pick what to do, right? My grandpa says play is a form of study!"
"Just play with us for a little bit!"
Riddle checked the clock that hung on his wall and saw that he had some time to spare. "...O-okay... Just a little, though!"
"Hey, what's your name?" The young Trey asked.
"R-Riddle. Riddle Rosehearts."
"I had the best time playing with Trey and Che'nya. We did so many things I'd never done before. They taught me lots of things I didn't know. After that, I snuck out of my room every day To play with them during independent study time."
"Whaaat? You've never even tried a strawberry tart? They're out of this world." Che'nya asked in surprise.
"Yeah. My mom says sugar is basically poison."
"I mean, you probably shouldn't eat too much of it, but calling it "poison" is kinda...yikes. You know, my family runs a cake shop. Let's go get a tart right now!" Trey suggested as he grabbed Riddle's arm.
"Really? But...I shouldn't." The boy hesitated to leave.
"Just one slice. It'll be fine." Trey reassured him.
"One slice for YOU, maybe. I want a whole one!"
"A bright-red strawberry tart on a white plate. To me, it shined more brightly than any gem could. That first bite was so sweet. It tasted like nothing I'd ever eaten before. With each bite, I became more entranced...and completely lost track of the time."
The scene once again faded into the living room. Riddle's mother looked angry whilethe young Riddle held a nervous look.
"I cannot believe this! Not only are you cutting independent study time, but I find you eating a mountain of sugar?! Those two hoodlums must have incited this behavior. You must never play with them again" She yelled.
"I'm sorry, Mother! I promise, it will never happen again. I still want to play with them, I'll even study more so ple-" His mother cut him off with another yell which made the boy tear up a bit.
"Be quiet! You've broken the rules, and I'll not hear another word from you. Clearly, you're not able to handle the freedom of independent study. I need to keep a closer eye on you."
"Because I broke the rules, my favorite part of my day was taken away from me. I vowed to never break my mother's rules again. After all, she was the most accomplished mother in the city, and therefore, the most correct. But Mom... Why? Why does my heart hurt so much? I want to eat a tart! It's my birthday, so can't I have some just this once? I want to play outside all day long! I want to make lots and lots of friends! Tell me, Mom, please... What rule do I need to follow to make this pain go away?"
Tears started flowing down Riddle's face as Enma hugged the boy in reassurance. "Please don't be afraid to let it all out, I'm here if you need someone to talk to."
Before Riddle could reply, the scene changed again but this time it seemed like a much older memory. The two broke away from the hug and watched quietly.
"How dare you! You're just going to leave us after all this time?!" Riddle's mother yelled with tears at a man.
"Is that your dad?" Enma asked.
"Indeed. It seems that this memory has been long forgotten by me though." Riddle replied as he wiped his tears.
"As the days pass by, your attitude has become worse than ever. You're forcing our children to do things against their own will, just to be what, perfect? You control them too much!" He yelled back.
"And I'm taking the kids with me, they don't deserve to grow up in a household with you." He angrily spat.
The man grabbed the two children's arms and waljed towards the front door. One child just obediently complied, but the other stopped in his tracks and let go of the man's hand.
"Who's the other child?" Enma asked.
"I can't seem to remember who that is." Riddle answered with crossed arms.
"Papa....I....I want to stay with mama." The boy hesitantly said.
"Oh Riddle! You really want to stay with your mother? Wonderful!" She happily said as she brought Riddle into a tight hug before turning back to the two with a disgusted face.
"If you really want to leave then do so! And never return nor show your faces ever again!"
The two left them and exited the front door. The other child looked back and waved at Riddle before dissapearing. As soon as the door closed, the place changed into a completely dark scene with nothing but darkness surrounding the two.
"Why did you choose to stay with her?" Enma questioned.
"I...I didn't want to make mother sad..."
"*sniff* *sniff*"
Riddle and Enma turned to the faint cries behind them. There sat a little girl on the floor, crying. Her face couldn't be seen as the two walked closer to her. "Who are you?" Riddle asked. The child didn't reply and only began crying harder. A few moments later she finally spoke as she stood up, her back still facing the two.
"I-I'm sorry big brother! I should have never left you alone with mother! I'm sorry!" She spoke in small voice.
"Pardon?" Riddle raised a brow.
""Big brother"? I didn't know you had any siblings Riddle."
"I don't recall having a-" Realization cut the boy off and turned to the girl from behind and held a soft look.
"That's right...I did have a younger sister..." He replied quietly.
Riddle turned to the other with sad smile. "To be honest with you, I've already forgotten what she looks like, what her voice sounds like and what she was like, even her name. I've been too busy in my childhood that I forgot about my own sister...How utterly ridiculous of me..." Riddle lowered his head and hugged his arm.
"...Why don't you take a look at her now? I'm sure you miss her..." Enma suggested as he looked at the two softly.
Riddle nodded at his suggestion and hesitantly placed a hand on the girl's shoulder before speaking. "Then, is it alright if I see your face..."
"Apologies, I forgot your name..." He stated with a hint of guilt.
"..." No reply. Was she upset because he forgot her name? Before either of the two males could say anything, the girl spoke up first.
"Am I forgiven big brother..?" She asked with tears still running down her cheeks as she turned to face the two. Both males had wide eyes and stumbled back a bit upon seeing the girl's face. She had the same hair, the same eyes and the same face as...Mirana. Silence fell upon the three as the two were processing things.
"Y-you're-"
"Mira?!" Enma exclaimed.
"I'm sorry...big brother, please forgive me."
The girl gave Riddle a hug before everything faded to black.
"...dle!"
"...iddle!"
"Riiiiiddle!" Trey yelled.
Enma and Riddle opened their eyes, earning relieved sighs from everyone surrounding them. "Huh?"
"Gah!"
"They're back!" Ace said.
"Well, it's about time... We were just about losin' our heads here - figure of speech, sorry - 'cause we thought you might never wake up! Especially Miran-chan over here, she would have almost cried if you hadn't woken up sooner." Cater told them.
"Thank goodness you're both okay!" The girl said with a smile and some tears about to escape from the corners of her eyes any moment.
"...What in the world happened...?" The housewarden looked around and saw that his head was laying on top of Mirana's lap which made him smile softly, internally.
"Ah, Mr. Rosehearts and Mr. Yuuken appears to have regained consciousness. Excellent." Crowley beemed.
"Don't worry, you two. Just try to rest."
Enma sat up and rubbed his head as he remembered what he and the other saw earlier, he glanced at the girl then quickly turned to Deuce to thank him for lending his lap before standing up.
"Yo, that's just the sort of coddling that led to him going nuts in the first place! Now the garden is tore up from the floor up, not to mention that we could've died!" Ace spoke in an annoyed tone.
"He's right. It was looking bad for a while there." Deuce said.
"For cryin' out loud. When you humans let that stress build up, the results sure ain't pretty." Grim shrugged.
"Hey, please avoid talking like that and let him rest." Mirana said with a frown. She then began to gently stroke Riddle's head with her gloved hand, the boy relaxed under her touch.
"The truth is, I... I really wanted to eat the Mont Blanc." He admitted as he sat up.
"Huh?"
"And I don't care if the roses are white, or the flamingos are pink. And I prefer honey to sugar cubes in my tea, and I like milk tea better than lemon tea anyhow. And after a meal, I want to be the one sitting around talking with everyone..."
"Riddle...?"
"And I really wanted to play with you and Che'nya more, Trey. *Sniff*... *Sniff*... WAAAAAAAH!" His cries left everyone in shock.
"Riddle Rosehearts, in tears... Hashtag #WOW."
"You think a few crocodile tears is all it'll take for me to forgive you?" Ace bitterly asked.
"Give the guy a break, Ace." Deuce scolded.
"I'm sorry, Riddle. I knew you were suffering, and all I did was pretend not to notice. So I'm gonna say what I should have said earlier. Your way of doing things was wrong, and you owe everyone an apology."
"I'm sorry... I'm really sorry." He apologized as more tears escaped his eyes.
"I know I've been saying I wanted an apology from Riddle, but now that I got one, y'know what? One stupid "I'm sorry" doesn't even come close to making up for what he did!"
"DUDE! Way to be a capital-J Jerk!" Cater said.
"Ace, you really need to stop that." Mirana said with crossed arms.
"And I'm proud of it! Have you forgotten how he made a total fool outta me?! Have you forgotten how he just threw away that chestnut tart we worked so hard on?! That ain't something you can make go away with a few tears and a flimsy "I'm sorry"!" He exclaimed.
"Wow. I ain't never met anyone who was better at holdin' grudges than I am." Grim sweatdropped.
"Then... Then what do you want me to do?!"
"You know... I don't got a birthday coming up anytime soon." Ace glanced away as he spoke.
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Deuce asked.
"So I demand a do-over for the unbirthday party! Except this time, we ain't gotta do squat. This time, YOU'RE the one who brings the tart! And no getting Trey to make it for you! Do that, and then things are square between us." He demanded as Mirana and Enma deadpanned.
"Except you had lots of help making YOUR tarts...?" Enma said with heavy emphasis on the 'your'.
"Just admit you want a tart." Mirana said.
"Quiet from the peanut gallery! What do you say, Riddle? We clear?"
"Yes... We're clear."
"Ah, yes. Compromise is a beautiful thing. I believe that concludes this matter." Crowley said with a smile.
"Wait, I still have more to say..." Riddle paused the group from leaving.
"What now?" Ace huffed.
Riddle turned to the girl with an apologetic look as he lowered his head. "Mirana....I...I'm sorry.." he mumbled but was loud enough for everyone to hear.
"For what?" She asked confusedly.
"I believe I owe you the biggest apology. I'm sorry for forgetting about you, what kind of brother am I to neglect his own sister..? You may probably never forgive me for this, but I'm sinscerely sorry!" He cried harder as the other's stared at him with pure shock, wide eyes and all.
Mirana smiled softly as she pulled him into a hug. "I'm glad you remember me....but you don't need to be sorry, i'm sure it's not your fault." She reassured him.
"Did I hear that right?" Deuce asked.
"Did he just say "big brother"..?"
"You two are siblings?!" Ace exclaimed.
"They are." Enma replied.
The group looked at him in disbelief, did he know all this time? And he didn't tell them?
"Oh, looks like we've been found out." She sighed. The two pulled away from the hug, Mirana handed a handkercheif to Riddle to wipe his tears with.
𝕋𝕠 𝕓𝕖 ℂ𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕦𝕖𝕕...