"Big kids…don't cry…" he whispered to himself, though he was currently bawling as he ran through the town.
He was sure he was attracting pedestrian attention, but that was fine. None of them had cared when they saw his father scream in his face, slap him, and throw him in the house, or when they saw a group of older boys beating him to the ground. Nobody came for him. Nobody cared. Most of the people who did catch sight of the child, wrote the boy off as having a temper tantrum; it was easier to believe that.
Chara just wanted to leave. Leave his home. Leave his school. Leave his town. Leave this world. He just wanted it to be over. The boy reached the edge of town and looked up at the mountain that guarded it. No one in this superstitious village dared even near this large rock, led alone climb it. Chara would be lying if he claimed he didn't feel a twinge of fear, but despite this, he smiled.
He was surrounded by tall grass and flowers. Bright, yellow flowers. Just like the ones in the center of his village. His small hand reached down and plucked a few from their roots. The child trekked up the grassy incline, brushing branches and leaves out of his way.
Supposedly, any human who climbed up here, never returned…
He was counting on it.
Chara was going to climb the mountain and see what was on the other side. Take a train somewhere, anywhere, and go out on his own, or simply live on the mountain away from any other people. He knew he hadn't thought this through, he knew that before he had left; he wasn't stupid. But he found that he didn't really care. He was a stubborn child, and he would find a way.
Still, thoughts of his mother filled his mind, and he felt the urge to cry again. Out of all the people that he knew, all the people who had known him since he could remember, she was the only one who was hard to leave behind. The ground evened, and he was led to a clearing devoid of any of the golden flowers he had been enjoying. In the middle of the clearing was a large hole. His curiosity was what sent him forward, but he should have been paying more attention to his surroundings, because his foot catching on a root is what sent him tumbling forward.
And then he was falling. His breath caught in his throat. He tried to scream, but he couldn't, as he was plummeting toward the earth. Fear took a hold of his heart, but he smiled despite this, tears lifting from his eyes into the air.
This was what he wanted, wasn't it?
To die.