As the realization dawned on me, I stormed out of the room. Akash was crying again.
"Shut up!" I said. Immediately, he went quiet. "Damn kid," I whispered under my breath.
If we weren't going to leave, Seiji was going to pay for what he did.
It was my fate to punish him, I knew it was. Something in my gut told me.
I looked at the clock; it would be five more hours until he got home. I anticipated his arrival like a lizard crow about to descend on its prey.
I heated up some rice for Momma and put it on the table before going to the bathroom to wash my face.
The cool water cleansed my skin.
I looked up into the mirror.
It amazed me how much I looked like Momma.
I knew how conscious other 14-year-old girls were about their appearance.
But I loved the way I looked.
The way I had inherited Momma's beautiful grey eyes, long, straight, dark hair, pale skin, and slender, feminine facial features inspired me to become just as strong as her.
My face was a part of who I was, something no one could take away from me.
Just like my name.
Akira.
I could do this.
After washing my face, I went back to give the rice to Momma.
But it was gone.
I turned around to find Akash, his sweaty, grubby hands tainting the delicate rice.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" I shouted.
The boy jumped, startled.
"Eating rice, Kira!" he simply stated.
I groaned at the sound of the new nickname he had assigned to me.
"That was for Momma," I growled. He looked up.
"Sowwy Kira! I don't know!" Akash replied.
I rolled my eyes and grabbed the rice.
"Don't do that ever again, understand?" I said, pressing my nose to his. He nodded slowly.
I gave the rice to Momma before flopping back down on the couch in the living room, where Akash was sitting quietly.
I tried turning on the radio when my efforts were interrupted by Akash's squeaky voice.
"Why don't you like me, Kira?" he asked, not even looking at me.
The question caught me by surprise. I didn't know what to say.
"Stop talking crazy Akash," I replied hesitantly.
"I know you don't. You always yell, and whenever I ask you to play wif me, you say no!" he said, still not looking at me.
I didn't answer.
Then, he turned around, tears running down his face.
"WHY, KIRA?!" he squealed. I jumped at the volume of his voice."I-I'm your brudder I thought," he whimpered, wiping the tears from his face.
"No you're not," I said coldly, ignoring the knot in my heart.
Akash looked at me, but I still couldn't look him in the eye.
Then, oddly enough, he went back to scribbling on some paper.
I shrugged, though I was still shaken up from the conversation, and went in to check on Momma.
I peeked into the room. She was asleep.
Feeling a bit exhausted myself, I went into my room and napped.
But for some reason, I couldn't get Akash's words out of my mind.