x Family x 400 words x Petshop of Horrors

'Who are you?' I ask, confused. I tug a bit on my black dress, which is far too uncomfortable for normal wear - but this occasion is nothing close to normal. I run my hand through my brown hair - a nervous habit.

The man I addressed simply smiles, his two eyes - that are mismatched, gold and violet, I note - staring at me. 'Who may you be?' he asks, not answering my question.

'...I'm family,' I say, nodding towards the group of people a little ways off, 'but I don't think you are.' And even though I say I am family, I am not really - so I stand a little ways off.

'Neither do I,' the man replies quietly, in a voice that makes it sound like he knows I am not really family. He looks a bit bitter, a bit disappointed, as if things had not gone the way he had wanted them to, and with that expression, looks like he belongs more in this family than I do at the moment. And then the smile is back in place, and his eyes are cold. 'But what is your relation to the...' His voice trails off.

Strangely, I find myself compelled to answer him. 'I'm his sister-in-law,' I respond, my eyes fixated on the man's face, which seems peculiarly exotic, and then notice the equally peculiar dress he has on - dress?

'Would you mind if I paid my respects?' The man says this in an elegant fashion, his chin turned up in a determined fashion, like he has to convince himself to do what he has come to do.

I shake my head, but keep my eyes on him firmly as he walks over, to make sure he doesn't do anything disruptive.

All he does is lay a single flower that he pulls out of nowhere on the grave, and walks away. My husband then looks up, eyes widening. 'D?'

The man named D simply walks away, Chris's shouts following him, and somehow, manages to vanish in front of my eyes. Chris quiets down, looking far older than the twenty-eight-year-old man he actually is.

I walk over to the grave, place my hand on Chris's shoulder - trying to be comforting, trying to console, and feeling out of place - and stare at the inscription.

Leon Orcot, beloved son, treasured brother, gone too soon.

The flower looks like it has always been there.

x owari x wouldn't reviews be just lovely x awinchan