"I would learn what corpses were over the next three days, until the police came."
Human decomposition generally begins just four minutes after the death of an individual. Yuji had woken up approximately forty-five minutes after the death of his parents and younger sister, this meant that rigor mortis had not yet set in, but when it did the bodies of his family would become stiff for a few days before tissue decay and self-digestion caused the muscles to relax again.
At eleven years old, Yuji would not have known this. He didn't even know what a corpse was. Death didn't mean much to him, he was young, and when you are young you think you're going to live forever. Of course he knew what 'dead' was. He'd learnt that when he found his goldfish floating upside down in the tank, but what kind of parents say "your goldfish is now a corpse and if we leave it where it is it'll rot and stink up the house."
(well…what kind of parents kill themselves and take their children with them?heh…you'd be surprised… suicide, fun for the whole fucking family!)
"Come on… wake up, sis…"
Nothing.
"See? Kereellis wants you to wake up too!"
"Hey, wake up, kid!"
"Wake up…"
Still nothing.
Yuji leant forward to try and shake his sister awake. It didn't work. He tried again, getting desperate. His bottom lip began to wobble slightly.
"Come on, sis…"
"It's not gonna work, kid."
Yuji took a few deep breaths; there was a faint odour of petrol fumes still hanging in the air. He opened the car door to let them out. If he were in the car for long enough he'd probably have to let out the smell of his rotting family too. Though if he weren't found within a week he'd be dead anyway (no water, no food). At least if that happened he wouldn't have to worry about smells.
At eleven years old, this didn't occur to him. It occurred to Kereellis though, but what could he say? The kid didn't fully understand the concept of death yet, well, not when it was his own death.
He now sat facing away from his family, legs dangling out of the car. A soft wind blew through the leaves, filling the young boy's ears with a soft rustling noise. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the fresh air, preferring the natural smell of the woods to the stench in the car. He swallowed.
"Are they dead?" he asked in a voice that was quiet, even for him. For the first time in a while, the puppet hesitated. No point in lying. Right now they just looked as though they were sleeping, but soon enough the rigor and the decay would set in, and then there could be no hiding the fact.
(son, this is called a corpse, it's what happens when you die, but it ain't all that bad, at least you're giving the maggots a reason to live)
"Yeah… they're dead…"
Yuji took a few, choking breaths. He opened his eyes as he turned towards his mother, slumped forward in the front passenger seat, but it proved to be pointless when his vision began to blur with unshed tears. His lip wobbled again.
"Just… try not to look, ok?"
It'd be difficult.
Still breathing heavily Yuji turned back to the trees. He bent forward, sobbing quietly into his knees. The wind blew again, lifting a leaf into the air. It flew and spiralled about before settling on the head of the crying boy.
"Yuji?"
The sobbing grew louder, and louder until his hysterical cries drowned out the sound of the rustling leaves.
Nobody saw him. Nobody heard.