Follow In My Footsteps

I didn't quite understand what was going on until I saw him die in front of me. His body just lay there, without moving. I called out to him several times, but to no success. He was dead. Now I knew I was next.

My biological parents never fed me nor my brother. We had to starve for days, and eat from the garbage bags that lay scattered everywhere. Rotting food is what we ate to survive. My brother cried and cried all night. They would shout at us and beat us if we ever made a sound that disrupted their peace, or at least in this case, their madness. They neglected us as if we were burdens to them. They barely gave us clothes, or a blanket so I can cuddle close to my young brother. He was always freezing so I gave him the blanket for his sake. I didn't mind the cold. Somehow it did not bother me.

We were like this for years, until that day came. The day I was rescued and given a new home, but also lost the only human I ever cared for as a big sister. His corpse lay a few inches from me. His short, brown hair covered his lifeless face. And I couldn't do anything to have prevented his death. I was helpless.

I sat there, preparing for the worst to come. My death was approaching. I didn't have much time to process all this. I clenched my fists tight and closed my eyes shut. I kept saying in my mind that everything will be alright and that soon I will see his big smile.

But when I opened them I was surprised to see that I was not in paradise. I heard two loud gun shots, followed by loud thumps as if two bodies fell on the floor with a hard impact. I saw a man with a rain coat who was dragging the bodies into a closet and closing the door.

I could hear the loud rattle of rain hitting the surface of the windows outside. I thought that he was an intruder or perhaps the police, but he didn't have a police uniform or a badge on his rain coat. I kept staring at him, waiting to get a clearer image of the man. He turned around and looked at me.

"My name is Eisuke. You're Isuke Inukai from today on. You're my daughter from today on. You hear me? You get me?"

He patted me on my head in a gentle manner. I didn't say anything. I kept staring at him. I then looked at my dead parents' corpses which I could barely get a clear look. Their faces were covered, and their bodies were stained by their own blood.

"They may have been your parents, but they were about to let you die. So I killed them."

I looked back at him, I was horrified when he said the word "killed". I couldn't understand why he was able to say that and not feel disturbed or disgusted at all.

"Let's get out of here. Come. I will take care of you," he said as he slowly lifted my hands. I looked at the floor, trying to comprehend what he just said. A new home? With a stranger I just met a few minutes ago? What if he is deceiving me? What if he wants to kill me too? Should I try to escape?

He kissed my hands, and said," Help me in my work. Follow in my footsteps. Succeed me."

"Work…" I barely said the word loud enough for the man to hear.

"That's right. It's important work. Occupation: assassin. In other words, a hit man."

I thought in that moment to at least help him in whatever work that he was talking about in exchange for saving my life. If it weren't for him, I'd be dead right now, and be another dead corpse lying on the floor, a few inches apart from my little brother.

I held my finger tight on his grip to let him know that I trust his words. He stood up and led the way out the door. And I got the last look of my dead brother's corpse before leaving forever.

He opened the door and I went in. He closed it and went to the driver's seat. His car was nothing of luxury, just a simple vehicle.