Thank you for the reviews and favorites guys! English is not my first language so please bare it with me!
Here is the next chapter!
Beta read by purpledinorus
Most people are afraid of something they can't understand, control or predicted. So, the majority of people feel uneasy with minority, because of lack of understanding or just different circumstances.
That is what happened to this small boy. He is just a regular kid, around eight years old. But people disagree with that, he does not fall into normal categories. He has pale skin, very pale skin which doesn't look beautiful, but looks like he is a sick person, with white hair just like old people or albino. But, he is not an albino, that is what he understand from his doctor's explanation a long time ago. He is just different from the rest of those people.
Normal people.
He is walking out from school, trying his best to look indifferent from all of the staring directed to him. He just really stands out. Not only with his unique condition, but also with his white shirt, white short pants, white hat, white socks, and white shoes. He wears white color from head to toe, the exception his black bag.
The kid sighs. He has tried to ask different clothes and shoes, but... People just like to make him a weirdo.
A total freak.
So, he pulls his hat down, trying to cover most of his face.
If only he can wear something more normal, maybe... No, if only he has more normal appearance... No.
He sighs again. He plays 'what if' a lot. But, even with normal hairs, skin and clothes, he still would be a total freak.
An unwanted child.
A thrown-out child.
He has been living in the institution since he could remember. He has somewhat complicated circumstances, but is not uncommon in Japan.
He just knows that he has a mother.
And he just knows that she doesn't want him.
So, he is a freak, he is an unwanted child, he is...
"Oh stop that...," he mumbles weakly to himself. This is the reason why he has to change institution. The older people call him 'a problematic child'. He knows sometimes he can get so angry and destroy things, he always apologizes afterward. Outside of that, he believes he is a chill kid. Besides, he never hurts anyone, he just likes to break things. But of course, people in the institution won't have that. He has to move out to a more specialized institution to fix his problematic behavior.
His eyes feel watery, but he has enough crying. It's not that he loves his institution now. He gets bullied a lot by the older kids and the younger kids are afraid of him, but he is scared with the change.
He doesn't believe the next institution will be better for him.
He stops walking and turns to see a park. He has to go back to the institution, that is the rule. But, people will still send him away regardless of anything he do right now, so he decides to break the rule for once.
And more, he needs time for himself. The institution has zero privacy, he can't even crying peacefully in the bathroom. He just wants to be alone for awhile.
He walks to an empty swing and sits there. This park is rather quiet, maybe because the sky is dark. It will be raining in any second now.
There are some kids, they looks at him strangely and he ignores them. Their laughing echoes in his brain.
Maybe he should start to learn how to act normal.
If he can control his emotions better, if he doesn't have those 'episodes' again... Can he... Be happy-
No.
No way.
This again, this 'what if' again.
He bits his lips.
What is wrong with him?
He is just an eight year old kid. What he knows, he should have been living with his family, has friends and just do whatever normal kids do.
Not this.
He turns upward when he can feel a water drop on his face.
The other kids on the park runs to find shelter while he just walks toward the big slides. It has conneted tubes, bridge and stairs, a perfect place to protect him from the rain.
He climbes and crouches in one of the tube. It has windows, it is connected to a slide on other end.
The boy sits down and hugs his knees. At least, he has a legit reason to be late for going back to institution.
His eyes just zones out, watching the rain. It is calming him a bit. It does nothing to soothe his raging sorrow inside his chest, but this is the only comfort he has, so he will take it.
"Ouch! Owh!"
He almost jumps when suddenly another kid joins him in the tube.
A redhaired little girl, clearly younger than him. Upon seeing him, she is a bit scared. She is drenched with rain, he has no heart to tell her to screw off. So, he just pretends to be indifferent like always.
If she decides to leave because of his freaky appearance, then it is her problem, not his.
"Hey."
So, she decides to talk to him.
He just nods at her.
"Can I sit here?" she asks politely.
She is a polite kid for her age, he has to admit.
"Go ahead," he says.
So she sits not too far away from him. "Thank you," she squeaks with cute voice.
Wait, cute voice?
"You're welcome," he replies, pulling his hat down to cover his face.
She copies him, hugging her knees. There is a big scratch wound there. So, this is why she was whimpering in pain when she climbed to this tube.
She pokes her wound a little but she grimaces with pain. It looks painful and he is rather amazed that she is not crying. He has seen a lot of younger kids crying a lot for every little reasons in the institution.
So, he grabs his bag and takes out some band aids. He has a lot of them, because he gets injured a lot.
"Here, wear this."
He offers her two, the girl looks at him with her big eyes.
"Thank you," she replies timidly, but genuinely happy.
She wraps the band aid around her wound.
He inspects her for awhile, she looks younger than him. Maybe around five years old or maybe even younger than that.
"Where are your parents? Are you here alone?" he asks.
"Oh...," she looks timid again. "I want to play at the park... Then it rains," she answers.
And fell too, judging from her injury.
"Then, you has to check the window. Maybe, your mom will come with umbrella so you can get home," he says again, with a little bitter tone. But, he has no ill feelings to her. Just a little jealousy there, but she is younger than him and he can't harbor any ill feeling toward her.
"No... I don't have mom or dad," she says with gloomy voice. "And aunty won't search me... No one will come and bring me umbrella."
He blinks then turns to the windows.
"Oh...," he mumbles quietly.
She has a hard life too, just like him.
"What about you?" she asks him.
He gets quiet for a moment.
"No one will bring me an umbrella too, I'm living at an institution," he answers her.
Now, he can't understand himself, why he told her that.
She tilts her head in confusion.
"I don't have mom or dad either" he explains. Well, he technically has mom, it is just too complicated to explain it to her.
Then her mouth makes an 'o' shaped. Both of them turn to the window when they heard noises.
It looks like someone brings an umbrella for a child at the park. Judging from angry voices, maybe a mother. Both of them looks at those commotion before the little girl beside him sighs.
She looks so sad and her eyes seems wattery.
"I want someone bring me an umbrella too when it rains..." she mumbles quietly.
He glances to her. It feels weird, but he can relate a lot to her. Even though he is living in the institution and there many children with more or less same situation there, but it is hard to connect with them.
Even though she has different circumstances, which he believes still better than him at least, but right now he feels he can connect with her.
The loneliness and the sadness. She looks so composed even though she is so young, but she looks terribly lonely too, just like him.
"You will have someone too, later."
So he doesn't want her to be sad.
She turns to him with confused face.
"You will meet someone, maybe even get married and have a loving family when you grow up. You won't be alone forever," he explains.
She looks doubtful, no wonder, even he can't believe his own words.
"Really?" she asks.
"Yes," he says confidently. He doesn't know her well. Her red hair is a bit uncommon too, but still better than him. And she is a cute little girl, people will like her, well better than him at least.
She looks bashful for a second then smiles at him. A very cute smile.
"Thank you," she says.
He is just an eight years old boy, but he can tell that is a sincere smile.
It makes his chest warm despite the chilly air.
"You're welcome," he replies, pulling his hat down again to hide his embarrassment.
It has been a long time since he feels happy like this.
"I think you will meet someone too. Then marry, then have kids! We won't be lonely ever again!" she says with more cheerful voice.
The boy goes silent.
He doesn't know how to explain her.
Different from her, his future feels bleak to him. There is nothing there.
"I don't know... People don't like me... I don't know if someone even want to marry me," he manages to say.
He can't tell her that he is an unwanted child, or how he gets bullied a lot at school and institution, or how older people go uneasy around him too.
His own mother has thrown him into an institution before he can walk.
Who would want someone like him?
'It is because of your attitude, Iishiro-kun. You should try harder to be friends with kids around your age.'
'Can you stop breaking things for one week, brat!? It's not like you are the only one with a hard life here!'
'He is such a freak.'
"I want to."
He turns to her with a surprised expression.
"What?"
"I want to marry you. I want to be your bride when I grow up!" she exclaims with a huge smile on her face.
"You are so cool, you are so kind. You gives me band aids and comforts me... No one do that to me..."
He just stares to her with gapped mouth.
"We can marry each other, then we won't be lonely ever again! We will have each other!" she looks so excited.
The only thing he can do is snort.
"Pfft..."
"Huh?" she turns to him and he smiles to himself.
"Only when we grow up and meet each other again," he decides to humor her.
"Really? Promise me!" she offers him her pinkie .
He stares to it for a second before links his pinkie with hers.
"Only if we meet each other again," he adds for one more time.
"Yes!" she says happily.
He can't say that he will move into different institute at other town tomorrow. He can't say that probably they won't meet again.
But, he doesn't want to destroy her cute smile. And, it feels good at least this little girl likes him, when everyone else doesn't.
"Oh! The rain stops!" she exclaims cheerfully.
"You are right," he adds.
The two kids climb out from the tube. She smiles at him and he smiles back.
"I have to go back to the institution" he says.
"Okay" she nods.
Then, he dashes off quickly before she can ask his name.
He hears her shouts from behind, but he just runs faster.
"I shouldn't have made that promise..." he mumbles to himself.
When he stops, he wants to cry. At least, he wants to say thank you for giving him a beautiful memory before he moves into a scarier institution. But, he just can't...
It is better for her to forget him, or at least, just remember him as a nameless kid.
Because they won't meet again.
And he knows he can't fulfill this little promise.
Even though, deep inside his hearts, he wants to meet her again one day, when they are grown ups and not as miserable as they are now.
To be continued
Next chapter will be about how they meet as adult
Review please!