Amber Memories, Forgotten

-Like a Fool, I could only Smile-

You should have realized, dear,

That 'Aki' stands for autumn which you are nicknamed after because of your real name.

Kaeda Amber, one of the two daughters of Earl Amber of Burnsville.

'Kaeda' stands for 'maple',

Delicate yet sophisticated like the season.

I guess that had been what I love about you, then.

"And when you add this up with this, you'll get twenty-six. Now, try this," said Aki as she wrote out the numerical figures with a stick on the dry sand just outside the house. Ezzz furrowed his brows and counted the circles representing the digits. As the little boy did the calculation- something which she had only just began to teach him, her thoughts wandered away to the spread of fallen leaves of autumn over the golden ground.

It had only been a week since she woke up from her head injury, and barely three days when she realised with astonishment that Ezzz did not had any basic education even though he was already ten years old. It occurred to her that she did not think much about such issues and that- she was the only one who was educated even though she had no recollection of what kind of school or form of education she received. Had she been adopted? Abandoned and found? What past did she have? And her only known family- her brother, was always so indifferent towards her: did she commit something that she should not have and resulted in his wrath?

"Hey Ezzz, my brother... is he always so stern and serious?" asked the young lady, her voice distracted as her gaze went afar.

Surprised by the sudden question, Ezzz stumbled. "Ti- Tyki is not usually like that. Ezzz- Ezzz guess Tyki's probably tired from work... and worried- worried about Aki!" The little boy knew not what to say when he realised that Aki kept quiet after his reply. Frightened, he went back to his mathematics questions, hoping to bury himself in it.

He was there, standing quietly among the fallen leaves, and observing them. His plan had been to get home from the mine to inform Ezzz that he would be leaving for his special job again, yet when he saw her teaching the little boy with just sand and stick, it made him stop at his track for the moment. 'Sister' as she was supposed to him, he somehow felt that Ezzz was closer to her. A strange sensation cruised through his body, particularly his heart. Jealousy? The word made him suddenly snapped out of such an illusion and he started to move towards the duo with broad confident steps. Yet as he ventured his way there, he could not help but noticed how the shirt was too big for her such that it revealed part of her shoulder, how her hair was tied into a simple tail and how she appeared much skinnier than she used to be. He could not help but notice her.

Was she not adapting well?

The bandage on her was still there, visible under the white shirt, while her head bandage was already gone because she complained it appeared ugly. He knew, however, that it was because she did not want the others to worry. Slowly but steady, his thoughts began to drift to a darker place where he found her all bleeding and wounded as he stared into her blank eyes, where he cleaned those cuts with a clean white cloth that would be quickly drenched deep red. He thought of how she had twitched and winched from the pain even though she was pretty much unconscious.

"Hey Brother!" "Tyki!"

Tyki shook his head abruptly to shake off those thoughts as the young boy ran towards him while the young lady strolled behind him. Like a happy family. He quickly casted the thought away and patted the young lad's blonde hair while ignoring his sister.

"Hey Ezzz, I'm going to work again. Behave, okay?" He said, and made sure that he would smile at his sister when she finally reached them.

"You mean Brother often has special jobs like that?" asked Aki as she stopped suddenly in her tracks to pick up a fallen leaf. It had jagged edges and three pointed segments. Maple; a little voice told her. "Why doesn't he bring us along?"

Ezzz shrugged his small shoulders. "Ezzz doesn't know. Momo and Crack don't ask Tyki a thing too. Tyki brings back quite a bit though." The little boy took out something small and shiny from his inner shirt. "Here."

"I hope it's not anything illegal then," muttered Aki. She dropped the maple leaf and took the object that Ezzz had passed to her. It was about the size of a dime, made of what appeared as silver and had engravings on it. A peculiar feeling overwhelmed her but she knocked it off. "So, you're sure that Tyki would come home from this road?"

"It must be. Ezzz is sure that Tyki would be here soon."

"Sixth sense?" Aki frowned as she peered into the sky. "It looks like it's going to rain soon."

"But- but Ezzz want to wait for Tyki..."

"It's okay, we'll wait despite the rain okay?" Aki smiled as she looked down at the little boy who was gazing hopefully down the road.

The two continued to walk down the road, yet as what the sky had annotated, fine raindrops began to fall upon them. The stains made on the mud road grew larger with each falling droplet and soon descended into a heavy shower in a matter of minutes.

"The rain is getting very heavy," said Aki as she placed her hand over Ezzz's head in her attempt to shelter him from that little less rain. "Would you like to head back?"

The determined face on the little boy's face said it all. It was that frown on his lips and knot in his brow that made her let the boy have his way, as if she was obliged to listen to him. He resembled someone, she suddenly recalled. Yet the image and thought was as foggy as the vision caused by the rain so she decided to drop the thought- it hurts her head, anyway. Removing the jacket Momo had lent her before they headed out, she placed it gently over the boy's shivering body. Aki ignored the latter's protests and continued walking alongside the boy.

"Ezzz-" was all he could stutter when he saw the two shadows revealed themselves as the veils of rain parted for their debut. "A- Aki."

The rain was brutally spearing all three of them, and as he approached them, he noticed how pale their lips had become due to the cold, and how their hair was dripping wet with water. He noticed the two jackets that overwhelmed the little boy's petite figure, and nothing much but a shirt- his- that provided warmth for the girl. He wanted and knew that he should take off his shirt for her. As he placed his hand on Ezzz's head, his hand touched the cheeks of his sister just a little. A brush, to be more defined. Yet the rain had made them all so numb- so numb such that his shirt remained with him still throughout the whole journey back home.

Tyki stood motionlessly by the door with one of his hand supporting his weight on the wall while the other was holding onto the knob. His eyes, despite the dull lighting of the room, was fixed on the slow and gentle movements of the girl as her hands dipped a towel into cold water before twisting it dry and placing it on the boy's forehead. She did this at fixed intervals, making sure that the boy was getting his head cooled and recovering. Ezzz had never been in the best of health and the cold rain had certainly taken a toll on him. Somehow as he watched the two of them, he was reminded once again of his own hands dipping into blood-diluted water, how he twisted the towels the same way as she did when he took care of her wounds. Stop that, Tyki Mikk- he kicked himself mentally. It was ridiculous to feel this way and...

"Hey, I'll take over from don't you take a rest?"

Aki jumped involuntarily at the sudden disturbance. Startled, she glared at her brother before sighing. "It's okay. You should be the one resting since you just came back. I'll be fine here."

"Stubborn girl," chided Tyki as he settled himself next to her. They sat in silent and observed Ezzz's small body moving as he breathed in and out. The distance, barely a pillow apart, was so far, yet both of them felt that they would give anything to fill up that void. Were siblings supposed to be so awkward with each other; she wondered and bit her lips.

"Hey, you asleep?" asked Tyki nonchalantly.

Aki cocked her eyebrows up in surprise and muttered. "Yeah."

"Then who is that talking?"

"I'm sleep-talking, obviously," answered Aki as she pulled a little at Ezzz's blanket.

Tyki laughed and was surprised at it. He glanced up at Ezzz who was still in slumber-land before looking down at his feet like a child who was just reprimanded by his mother for dropping the ice-cream. Somehow it was in such environment and circumstances that he could feel his defences were down and his senses were less alert. He knew that suspicions were clouding all around this girl, yet he could not help but feel relaxed- just like how he felt with the rest of his friends.

"Hey Brother-"

"Hmm?" The night was getting darker and had gotten so quiet that he could hear the faint breathings from all three of them in the room.

"I was just wondering-" Aki paused as she stared into space. There were so many questions, so many things unknown that she was eager to pry open. "I was just wondering why our parents named you Tyki and me Aki. I mean, what do they mean?"

Tyki felt a heartbeat skipping. Once again, they had failed to consider how Aki may start to question her past and how much they have to lie to cover up this whole thing. His thoughts raced for a suitable answer, his throat ached to find appropriate words. He knew the answer but what was he supposed to say? It took a while longer before his mouth relented and opened.

"Aki, I-"

"Mama...why?"

Stunned, he looked down straight at the young lady whose head was now on his shoulder and grunted. Her eyes were already shut and oblivion to the surroundings. Sighing, Tyki slowly shifted himself to a more comfortable position and took effort not to wake Aki up. Unconsciously, he gently swept away the fringe that covered her face as she laid asleep and pried open her hands gently to remove the wet towel. He could feel the soft rhythm as her body breathed and decided to stay like that for the rest of the night.

"Hey Aki, it's time to wake up," murmured Tyki as he allowed his free hand to tap the latter on her shoulder. It felt so warm. "I need to get to work."

"Hmm," groaned the latter as she shifted uncomfortably, her body aching. She jumped when she realised that her head had been on her brother's shoulder the whole night. Ezzz was still sleeping soundly on the bed. "My goodness- I'm so- so sorry!"

Tyki smiled weakly as he watched the girl bowing profusely to him. He shook his head and stood up to walk out of the room.

"It's okay," he muttered such that it was only audible to his heart. "As I had fall asleep on you the night before as well."