"Promise me you'll always stay by my side?" a younger version of me asked. "You're the only one who cares about me."
Hiyoshi Rioyaru looks at me, his purple eyes for once show no mystery and aren't cold. Instead, they show kindness and love. He takes my hands in his and stares at me, a true smile on his face. "Forever and always," he says.
How naïve I was to believe him. But having only one important person in your life, you'll believe anything they say.
"When are you going to take me away from this place? I hate it here; I want to go back to Japan."
He gives me a sad smile. "Soon, I promise. It's only a matter of time."
I nod my head slightly. "Tell me again what we're going to do when we get back to Japan," I said, sounding like a four-year-old asking their parents to repeat a bed time story.
He sighs happily, squeezes my hands, and tells me to close my eyes. "As soon as we get back, we're going to go straight to the police and tell them everything your parents have been doing. They'll be so happy to finally catch them that they won't waste a second to arrest them. Once captured, you'll come live with me at the foster home where we'll have a warm bed, food, and people who'll accept us. We'll go to high school together and graduate top of our class. And after high school, we'll get into the top universities in Japan, graduate there, and get good paying jobs. Finally, we'll get married and raise a family together. The last chapter of our lives will be left blank for anything that happens afterwards."
In my head, I could see all of it unfolding: us getting off the plane in Japan, the police arresting my parents, and the two of us aging slowly in front of each other. It sounded like such a perfect life.
"Let's get some sleep now," he says, kissing my heavy eyelids. I rest my head on his chest to gain some warmth on the frigid December night in New York City. He wraps pieces of newspaper around the two of us to act as a blanket.
And just like that, I fall asleep with him keeping me safe.
Three months later
Tears slowly start to fall from my face as I see my love stepping out of the dreaded room with my father. My father has a crazed and evil look about him as he walks towards me with a knife.
"No! Stop! Get away!" I shout at the top of my lungs. I hear the police sirens in the background; it's only a matter of time until this is all over.
Suddenly, Hiyoshi comes up behind me and pushes me into my father's arms. He hugs me tightly, and then I feel a sharp pain in my back. A warm liquid starts to flow from my body, and slowly, I start to lose consciousness.
I wake up to a faint voice talking. "Get her to a hospital! Stat! She doesn't have much time!" In the distance, I see Hiyoshi looking at me, emotionless. Hanging off his left ring finger is a small necklace with a silver ring through it. He watches it sway back and forth three times before he drops it to the ground, steps on it, and walks away.
It was at that moment, I closed my eyes.
The next time I open my eyes, I'm at the hospital. The only person to greet me is the nurse who happened to be checking my pulse.
I bolt awake from the dream I was just having. My breathing is irregular and sweat stains my forehead. "Thank God, it's just a dream. Even though I was just reliving my past, it's still so hard to see Hiyoshi give up on our promise so easily."
