The midnight outside was full of clouds, heavy wind, and bitterly cold air. A certain ninja of fire had woken up and was staring at the ceiling. His room was so silent, yet the thoughts racing through his mind were rather loud. The subject he couldn't get out of his head was that of his parent's death. It had been so long ago. He remembered the day, yet...
He shot up in bed quickly and felt his heart pound so heavily.
Kai couldn't remember his parents' faces.
No matter how much he strained, the image of them just came as a blur. The horror wracked his mind until he stood up rapidly and exited his room. Kai headed down the hallway to a bedroom like his, only belonging to his sister. He lightly knocked on the door. "Nya?" Several moments passed and he tried again slightly more loudly.
"What is it? Kai?" Nya asked, having woken to a soft voice and knocking on her door. She flicked on a bedside lamp as her brother entered her room.
"I..." He began.
Nya saw concern on Kai's face. "What's wrong?"
"I-I can't remember what mom and dad look like." He wasn't often such an emotional person, but this was too real for him.
Nya gave a look of sympathy. "It's midnight, and you are really tired." Still, her brother stayed motionless in the doorway, holding his worried expression. She got out of bed and motioned for Kai to sit on the floor against the bed. He did so, and the girl walked to her dresser and fetched a photograph. She handed Kai the picture and he looked at it with a sigh of relief.
"I remember now." Kai said softly, smiling weakly at the picture of his dad, mom, Nya and himself.
"I miss them too." Nya stated. "They'd be so proud of us, I think."
The brown-haired young man nodded. "We've grown a lot."
This must have sparked something in Nya's mind. She walked back to the dresser and pulled out a large book. She sat beside her brother and put the book on his lap. "What is it?" He asked.
She gestured for him to open it. Illuminated by the dim lamp, Kai could see inside were baby pictures, family portraits, and arrays of captured moments neatly placed on pages of the book. It was a photo album. He realized it had been his mom's. The ninja of fire smiled and chuckled, but this was followed by him tearing up. He swallowed hard. "I wish they were here. T-they never saw us grow up. I know t-they wanted to." He now had tears rolling down his cheeks. Nya cried a little too, and hugged her brother. Pulling away she could see how sad he looked. It was how she felt. "I still love them." he said.
Leaning her head on her brother's shoulder, she whispered: "And I wonder if they are somewhere, still loving us."
Kai soon fell asleep on Nya's shoulder. She eventually followed, drifting off with the peaceful realization that they were still there for each other during hard times, just as they always had been.