I do not own la Corda d'oro

"I'm and orphan." said Hino slowly and painfully. It was the first time she had said that our loud and the taste of the words sounded bitter in her mouth.

Len pondered on this confused. He thought back on Hino's mother and sister.

"I know what your thinking. My mother and sister back home. But their not my blood family. I was adopted when I six, sister was 11 and mother was 30...I used to have a mommy and a daddy. He was tall and strong. Black hair and golden eyes. I always thought him to be beautiful like mom. He was always so gentle and loving. After dinner, we would sneak out for ice cream in the parlor near by. Mother never allowed us to go, but we always managed to get away. He would carry me on his shoulders and run, I would laugh and say I was a bee." at this she laughed bitterly and with an edge, her eyes seeming more and more moist as the seconds ticked by.

"Mother was just as beautiful as daddy. With her long red hair, silver eyes, and small frame I always thought she looked a bit like a fairy, like the ones she told me about before bed. Her food was the best, and I never left a store without a doll. She would hug me until I fell asleep and hum to me as I slept. I loved them both so much."

Len listened carefully, a pain throbbing in his chest. Hino took a few minutes and looked at the sky, trying to clear her thoughts. This was always the hard part.

"...It was my birthday. We had gone out for ice cream. We were going to the park by foot. Daddy carried me on his shoulders and mom hummed a melody. It was a beautiful afternoon. A lot like now, but more golden. As we reached the playground, I jumped off daddy's shoulder and raced towards the slides. Then it all happened so fast."

Warm salty tears welled up in the rim of her eyes and spilled over. A broken sob tore through her chest. She closed her eyes, trying to keep her compsture.

"...I was sitting behind the slide, looking at the sky. The I heard yelling and screaming. I was rushed up by mommy, daddy behind her running. She through me over her shoulder and behind I saw some men, and a...gun. At the time I did not know what it was but now I do. We were running so fast. Mommy was whispering that everything was going to be okay.

"Then daddy yelled and fell to the ground, mommy looked at him, she sent me away to hide somewhere. As I ran, mommy when back to help dad. But, she screamed and fell too. A tall man, chuckled and...he shot over and over. Laughing. Mother screamed and screamed. Daddy died quickly. Police sirens rang, and the man ran away.

"As soon as he had left, I went to go look at mommy. Blood gurgled in her throat, and her white shirt was completely stained with her blood. I through my body on her and cried. She still somehow managed to tough my hair, and say something...after that, they were taken from me, and I landed a spot in the orphanage."

Len stared. Unable to understand completely what he had just heard. He felt an intense pang of guilt, and the same bitterness he felt on the day his own parents died. He was about to say something when Hino interrupted.

"Oh, something important about mom too is that she was a musician."