・・・ v ・・・
Before his mother decided to leave them,
Ao had overheard his parents arguing.
It happened when he was seven.
He had woken up from a nightmare in the middle of the night.
He didn't remember what it was about.
Every time he did, Ao would always go to their room and squeeze between them.
His father and mother would wake up and do their best to comfort him.
They would sleep together side by side,
the three of them.
However, that didn't happen that night.
Before Ao could reach the door,
he heard his parent's muffled cries and screams from the hallway.
・・・ vi ・・・
He stopped before the bedroom.
It was the first time Ao had ever heard his mother cry.
It was the first time Ao had ever heard his father shout.
Even at that age,
he knew something was wrong.
His heart began to race.
Ao listened quietly. At that time, both his ears were still able to hear.
"—can't believe it. All this time. How could you?"
His father's tone was filled with resentment as he spat out the words.
A crash resounded.
The sound of something breaking.
Ao shuddered.
In those moments, his father seemed nothing like the gentle person he had always known.
Ao heard his mother sobbing.
"Kyousuke I—"
"—Shut up. You have no right.
I trusted you, I loved you.
But you destroyed it all."
Ao clenched his small fists, shaking.
He didn't know what they were fighting about,
but his father had gone too far.
He decided to step inside and stop them.
Ao reached for the handle.
But before he could however,
his father suddenly spoke.
"—Tell me something, Kiyoko."
Ao froze.
Each syllable sounded cold and hateful.
There was a pause.
Then, the next words finally came out of his mouth.
"—is Ao... even our son?"
・・・ vii・・・
Ao stopped moving.
His heart beat loudly.
His fingers trembled.
His legs felt weak.
He understood.
He understood the meaning behind those words.
He waited for his mother to say something.
To assure his father that he was wrong.
But she never did.
Fujiwara Kiyoko said nothing.
The silence itself was already her answer.
Instead, she continued to cry.
A suffocating weight placed itself on Ao's chest.
For the first time,
a piece of his make-believe happiness finally started to crack.
・・・ viii ・・・
Two weeks later, Fujiwara Kiyoko packed all her belongings in a suitcase.
It was a snowy winter in the middle of the night.
Before she left,
Ao stopped his mother at the door.
"Mom... where are you going?" he whispered from the hallway.
She flinched and turned around.
His mother had not expected to Ao to be there.
There were bags under her eyes.
She looked tired. Drained.
Kiyoko shook her head.
She looked like she wanted to say something.
At the last moment, however,
she silently turned away.
Ao tugged at her sleeve before she could go.
"Mom... why aren't you answering?"
His mother breathed in.
She was trembling.
Ao could feel his own fingers shake.
His voice echoed off the walls.
"Is it because... of me?"
Because I'm not dad's child?
Because I'm just a mistake?
Kiyoko closed her eyes.
Finally, she looked down at her son.
There were tears on her face.
She parted her lips, her voice a choked sob.
Instead of an answer,
Ao received an apology.
"... I'm sorry for not being a good mother, Ao," she said.
Those were the last words he heard before she left him forever.