Hello guys. I'm sorry it took me forever to update. I'm also sorry if this chapter is not that good. Inspiration finally came up and I had some spare time so here I am.
Now, I said that before but I'll say that again: this is my first drabble collection. It is also the first story I publish that was not AT LEAST 80% complete so it does take time. I prefer finishing my stories before publishing so I won't stay months without updating just because I was stuck with a huge bock or something (which is pretty much what's happening here in The Other). Please remember that when seeing any new story from me with regular updates.
Enough said. On with the story.
The Other
Prompt: Hero
Age: 5-6 years old.
Little Kouichi stared at the children, unsure of what to do. It all started when a boy brought a new toy to the park, and was immediately surrounded by the other children. Until then Kouichi could understand. Few things were better than a new toy.
But then the children started to talk about the tv show that toy came from. The one with the small monsters Kouichi also liked. That's when things got complicated, because every child was saying his or her favorite character was better than the others.
Kouichi could still understand that. How could he not, when he had a favorite character too?
What the still young boy could not understand was how could a cartoon character be someone's hero.
Because heroes protect. Heroes came and save the day and make everything better. But you need to be real to do that. To help people and put down fires and catch the bad guys.
Like the boy he saw on tv once. The sad one, with a police jacked far too big for him. That boy was in real trouble and was saved by a cop, a real hero. Not a cartoon. And his mommy! She works in the hospital every day, making sick people that didn't have a mommy for their own get better. No cartoon could do that!
And Kouichi tells the other kids just that. The little boy tells how his mommy is the best, how she could make everything better with a kiss or a hug or a story. He tells them she is a nurse and how she could make everyone feel better!
The other kids laugh. They say his mommy is no hero, that she can't do anything special. It's a lie but Kouichi doesn't know how to convince them. So he leaves, running back to granny, trying not to cry but failing when her arms came around him, picking him up and holding tight.
"What is it, Kouichi? What is wrong?"
And he tells her. Hiccups cutting his words, Kouichi tells granny what the other kids did and how they didn't believe him.
"W-why can't mommy-y be a h-hero?" – he asks, cleaning his nose on his sleeve.
"Oh, dear. Of course she can." – granny tells him with a smile, and little Kouichi feels a little better. Granny believed him.
But why couldn't the other kids believe too?
"Why we don't go home and wait for mommy? You can make her a drawing in a hero costume."
Little Kouichi blinks away the tears then clean his face with the other sleeve of his shirt. Draw mommy like a hero…he never thought that. It could work! He could give her a bright uniform and wings and magic dust! So she could heal everyone and get back from work really quickly!
Maybe, if she had enough magic she could even create a new mommy for the ones that didn't have one?
Smiling brightly despite his tear-stained face, Kouichi jumped from his granny hold. Grabbing her hand tight, he started to leave the park, thousand ideas in his head.
And the old lady smiled a bitter smile, allowing herself to be dragged, wondering not for the first time if her grandson would still be hurt so easily if he hadn't to face the world alone.
