(Ace Katsuro)
I felt something soft pressing up against me. I opened my eyes. I must've fallen asleep without realizing it.I looked up and let out a little gasp. Mira’s eyes were closed. She was asleep. 115Please respect copyright.PENANAlihyJWyaNN
I slowly moved away, trying to recollect my thoughts of what happened. I was vulnerable. Dammit, I was at ease on her body again. I shook my head. It means nothing. But… did she mean what she said? She’d want to help me? Is she not aware that I’m still hiding things from her? Although she didn’t fear that side of me, what would she do if she saw my full form? I shivered. I was afraid. Was she afraid? Was she hiding anything? Of course she is, she has an issue of her own. I sighed and looked at my bandaged hands. However, on one of them, part of the bandage slipped off and one of the scars were exposed. My eyes widened in horror. How did this slip off? Did she notice? Hastily, I tried wrapping it up again.
“Are you okay?” I heard her ask. Her voice startled me. I flinched and turned to her.
I wasn’t really sure, so I just said, “We’re still here.”
She looked around. “Ah. Yes, the cave. I spent time here when I was young, so it's safe. How are those wounds?”
I looked down at my stomach. I almost forgot about them. “They’re fine.”115Please respect copyright.PENANAaEdTboZ0yQ
It looked as though she was trying to see my hands so I crossed my arms.
“I saw them, you know,” She said. “The bandage happened to slip off. Scars are under those bandages, right?”
Her voice was soft. Her eyes looked sincere. She wasn’t making fun of it, or pointing it out to make it look bad. She genuinely wanted to know.
I turned away. “You’re right. They’re scars. Horrible scars. Scars that I’m sometimes…” My voice trailed off. When I managed to retrieve it again, I finished, “Afraid to look at.”
She was quiet for a bit. Then she asked. “What happened?”
I sighed. “I guess since you showed your sense of kindness you deserve an explanation.”
I turned back to her before looking down at the ground again, feeling some sense of shame to admit what I have been through. “I was abused as a kid.”
I glanced back at her. She was still looking at me. Giving full attention. She didn’t flinch. Nothing. She was waiting for me to continue. 115Please respect copyright.PENANAUns9FRaxuK
I looked at my hands, trying to recall the memories back then. “My mom usually beat me, because she saw me as a monster. As for my dad, he wanted us to stay family. But that was because he was afraid of what I was capable of. He tried to make sure I wouldn’t get angry. Because of that, I had to self teach myself to contain my anger rather than controlling myself in that crazy state. But when that happens, my mom knocks me out. Once my dad figured out she was abusing me, she found a new solution to solving her stress and anger. Drinking. She would drink and it would make her forgive and forget about her anger over me. But my dad stopped her from that too. So, she actually tried loving me…but it never felt real…until it was too late. The scars were from the abuse. She gave me them, so when I look at them, it would remind me of how hideous I was and that I deserved it.” I held my breath, stricken by what I let out. A huge secret I kept for as long as I could remember, out of the blue. In front of someone who I claimed as an enemy.
I finally turned to Mira again, who revealed a small frown. Her glistening brown eyes met mine. “So…that’s what family is to you.”
“If that’s what family is like,” I started. “I’d rather not have one.”
A long pause passed before she started speaking again.
“I…” She paused. “I understand where you’re coming from.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“My family wasn’t the best either.”
I focused on her.
She bit her lip, but she continued. “Well, I liked my mom. She was the kindest and the sweetest person I’ve ever known. She had the power of growth within nature. My dad was happy with her. But when they had me, for some reason, something went wrong. It happens to some creatures. Their power gets passed down but it is a corrupted version. Because of that, my mother lost her power completely and got sick. While I had the powers of dangerous weather. And since I was young, I didn’t really know how to control it. My mother didn’t mind that, and was willing to teach me once she got better. She had to get sent to the hospital though. So I was with my dad most of the time. My dad was a human. He didn’t like me. He would say awful things…” She sounded as though she was going to cry and she turned away from me. “And then, one time at a beach, some kid provoked me. He said some stuff about my parents…practically patronizing me. I felt some sort of wrath, and…destroyed the place. That’s why, all of this is my fault…”
I stared at her.
“Anyway, that’s why I was better off on my own.”
I nodded in consideration. She did tell me that she blamed herself for this mess. What’s more, she had an issue regarding family as well. That’s why she was always independent. Why she was rough. Why she fought so much. Her strength. Her intentions made her stronger. “So about your mother…you said you liked her right? She’s sick, so…do you visit her sometimes?”
Her laugh startled me. “You know what, I don’t think the scars should be something you should be afraid of.”
What was this change in topic? “What?”
“Instead, think of it as something you overcame,” She told me with assurance. “See it as strength. It shows what you went through and you lived on. You were capable and you can be capable of so many other things!”
I looked down at my hands once more. Was she telling the truth? Why did she care? Should I take them off? Scars are strength. I never thought of them like that. Overcome. That’s what I want to do. Show that I have a purpose other than destruction. At least, I want to believe that for a moment. I peeled the bandages off my hands. My scars fully exposed. Small ones, large ones. Ones that go diagonally across my hands.
“How does it feel?” She asked, after a moment of brief silence.
“I…” I was speechless. “So open.”
“That’s good. First step to expressing yourself.”
“You seem very cheerful,” I started. You didn’t even answer my question.”
“Your question?” She asked.
“Yeah, you just laughed and we returned back to my scars,” I said, before crossing my arms. “You liked your mom, so...do you visit her often?”
Her voice went down to a much quieter volume. “I…can’t.”
“Huh?”
“She’s dead.”
115Please respect copyright.PENANAkrCw0zodlf