The sound of thistles murmur their gentle waves to the responding calm rowing of whindy creeks flowing here and there. Few trees that sprout around the grassy fields, shadow on the lonesome pathway that carries the thudding feet of a boy running. So nimble on his feet, he covers the grounds of one hill to another in a matter of seconds. Night creatures pop their heads at the sight of their familiar friend, little mice following him along the way— only to stop once they run out of breath to match the boy's endless determination. The hustling and bustling of his breath, the sweat worn upon his brow down his slim neck, only to be swiped away by the caressing cold breeze; flowing through his wavy black, bobbed hair.
Thud. Staggering to his knees, the boy reaches the top of the final hill, then looking up at the pale moonlight he takes a moment to breathe. In and out... he closes his eyes, rolling down the hill into a garden of white chrysanthemums. Dirtied up in grass stains and mud, he doesn't seem to care about his state; only noticing the serenade of this silent night.58Please respect copyright.PENANAl0dyOt6dFG
Alone, Itsuki sits leaning back into a crickety old wooden chair. That is placed facing towards the opening of two fusama doors, that open to the dining room from where he stares out into a wilting garden, sipping his tranquil tea. Leaning forward, he mutters in his tea, bubbling it like a child would with chocolate milk.
He ponders... (Ayaka... I don't know what I'm doing Ayaka... This place-- it reminds me of nothing but him. But over there... reminds me of nothing but you. And it hurts. Nowhere feels like home anymore Ayaka. So why--) He gulps, lifting his eyes to the moon, and choking on his words that he struggles to say, he whispers, "Why did you wish so much for me to welcome someone home... when I don't even have one?"58Please respect copyright.PENANArcYUURtlnB
Click-click, step, step, step, step... the sound grows louder, yet tries to remain as quiet as possible, until it stops; and the shadow of the boy falls upon the stare of Itsuki's blue eyes.
"Oh." the boy says un-excitedly.
"Good run Rin?" Itsuki sips his tea, following Rin with his eyes, who walks past him towards a cabinet door.
"Mmhm... why're you still up?" Rin glances at his dad, taking out a can of coffee, reaching for a pot to boil water in.
"Same reason as you. How far did you run this time?"
"I'm not sure, I took a different route today. Maybe-- 8 miles?"
Itsuki scoffs at his son, shifting in his chair, and gesturing to Rin with his cup of tea raised in the air, "I think after doing 8 miles, you ought to drink water, not coffee." Shrugging his shoulders, Rin rolls his eyes giving the impression of (I don't really care) but instead responds, "You use water to make coffee, so I mean I'm still kind of drinking water. Besides... it helps me sleep."
"I still don't understand that. But hey, if it works, it works."
"Really?" Rin looks at his father, slightly surprised.
"What?" Itsuki stares back.
"I don't know, I mean considering you're a doctor, I kinda thought that you'd kind of list out all the potential problems that coffee will have on you as the quote on quote-- years go on--" Rin grins slightly, rummaging himself into a chair.
"Heh... maybe I would if it wasn't so late in the night... so consider yourself lucked out on this one." Itsuki chuckles to himself, sipping his tea. Silence overtakes the moment, letting the crickets be heard. And blowing along through the door, are dead flower petals that ride the waves of the crisp winds, Rin knowing he will have to sweep them up later, he sighs at their sight. The pot whistles in a steamy frustration, making Rin flinch.
He clinks and clanks cups together, trying to find a specific one that he always uses when drinking coffee; a whimsically hand-painted mug, with pretty flowers. And pouring coffee inside it, he sits down again along the tableside with his father, sighing-- but this time in relief. Glancing multiple times at Itsuki, it makes him wonder, (What're you thinking son?) his thought of question to be awkwardly answered, "So... why did you go back there?"58Please respect copyright.PENANA6MjANdB9A6
"To where?"
"Fatum Isle."
"I had a thought, so I put it into action."
"I don't like the way that sounds."
"Heh... and why is that?"
"Every time you seem to have a thought, something drastic happens. You had a thought, that's why we moved here, then another one came-- and all of a sudden I have a butler trying to yank me out of my bed..!" He slightly raises his voice, indicating the previous argument that he had with his father about the whole butler ordeal. His father chuckles slightly, listening to Rin continue, "And why is that you ask-- c'mon dad, I mean can you blame me for not being too fond of them?"
Shaking his head, Itsuki smirks to himself, "Suppose I can't. However, I do hope you'll be fond of this one."
"Why won't you let me figure that out before you go and try make it happen?"
"Because even I'm unsure of this thought... so I know if I tell you, it'll make me not carry on through with it."
Eyeing his dad, he gives up on trying to scrummage the truth out of him. Instead sipping his coffee, with a blank expression, "I see... you and Ren sure love to keep your secrets."
"It's not that--"
"You don't have to explain dad." Rin gets up from his chair, quickly chugging down his coffee he washes it in the sink, being mindful of where he places it down. "After all, you keep these secrets for my own sake yeah? So that justifies everything." He looks back at Itsuki, who stares at him with furrowed brows, and a hurt expression; only to then lower his head, slightly nodding in agreement.
Smiling gently, Rin slightly regrets his abrupt words at the sight of his father's saddened eyes, making him walk over and grab his empty tea cup from his hands. "A-ah-- I can do it myself son." Itsuki says. "I know." Rin smiles again, gently, just like his father. He finishes drying his, and his father's cups, yawning while he stretches his arms out and walking over outside the doors, "I'm getting kind of hazy now. So goodnight dad, try to sleep early tonight okay?" 58Please respect copyright.PENANAKJvkCsH1nq
(I should be the one telling you that) "Yes yes, goodnight son."58Please respect copyright.PENANAB8BXQyZurE
Itsuki sighs, feeling lonesome in his emotions of beautiful solicitude. Taking a glance up at the moon... wishing he could shed tears, but none try to fall as he thinks to himself, (Perhaps... I've run out) He smiles, with wet eyes.
Thud. Rin heavily lands himself onto an old bean bag chair, drying his hair as he has just come out of the shower. He lays there, just staring at nothing with his plain black eyes, feeling calm... but somehow jittery at the same time.
"This place sure is plain.." He mutters to himself, rolling over onto his stomach, then back onto his back, then onto his stomach again; repeating the same old process a couple of times before he, out of frustration, thunks himself onto the floor. "Ugghhh... Rinnnn-- What're you doing?" He shakes his head, rummaging rough hands through his slowly drying hair. "Should I just go running again? Noo I don't want to take another shower.. Mmmm!" He lays down on the floor, gazing at the flickering of a single candle that rests on a mostly empty desk.
A picture frame, the only thing besides two candles, one lit and the other not; these three things make up the decorations of Rin's small plain room. Besides his worn bean bag chair, a small wooden bed, a cute antique dresser, and lastly-- an empty bookshelf. And of course, two large windows that pretty much take up the entirety of one of the four walls, showcasing the vibrant full moon casting itself onto the dark wooden floors. 58Please respect copyright.PENANAcXE8MsDgU7
Still staring at the candle however, Rin remains still. Until he finally decides to get up from his lousiness, and grabs the candle from off of his desk. Leaving his room, he roams the outdoor halls of their traditional Japanese home. Glancing at the wilting garden that seems to ignore all caring hands that tend to it. His pale hardened feet carry him from one empty room to another, some large with extravagant wooden carvings, and some small and simple as can be; making him become quite bored from this bland adventure.
He feels a gust of cold wind send shivers down his spine, wrapping his arms around himself; he squints his eyes, as the candle's light blows out. Thunking his head, he looks up and notices a tree branch lowering itself through the roof, (What the heck...) he thinks, while following the tree branch to what seems to be, the largest room in this large house. 58Please respect copyright.PENANArVTSJvyloC
"Didn't dad... tell me something about this..?" Rummaging through ashy old wood that's fallen all around the cripsed up floor with grass peeking through its cracks. He looks up to see a large tree, hovering over the broken roof, spreading its bulky branches with dangling vines, into the strange room. "I think this is where the fire happened... must be." He notices stacked burned wood in the corner. Rin notices how the wind somehow feels colder... more piercing to the bone once he stepped into this space; where although there is not a spec of snow to be seen, flowers that only bloom in the winter grow in abundance through the floors. "Hellebore... how're they blooming at this time of year? They're so colorful too. Maybe if I take one to the other garden, it'll grow there--"
Crack! A piece of roof falls onto the floor right in front of Rin, crushing the flowers. He stumbles back, "Well... that's kind of sad." He says without a care about him almost getting hit, but more with a care for the flowers that got trampled beneath the wood plank. He lifts the plank off of the flowers, gently trying to caress them back up into position.
"I'll just take them to the other garden, maybe they'll grow there." He rips them from their roots, ripping the flooring out with them, and he notices something. A book, in perfect condition.
"How did this survive?" He says to himself while examining the books edges with his thin fingers; and unlatching its tied seams, he reads the first writing he sees. "It's written in Japanese..?"58Please respect copyright.PENANAira4ffR0aw
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Benjiro's Journal.
The stares grow colder between him and I. And as days move on, so does he. My biggest regret... is never learning what family means. This place that I chose to live out my remaining days, feels nothing like a home... but just the place, to write all that we have set in stone.
Benjiro's Journal End.
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"Benjiro... I've heard of that name before... but who--"
Suddenly an old, whispering voice echoes into Rin's heart saying... "May my tears be wept for eternity, so you, my son, may live happily."
His eyes widen in awestruck fear, hastily checking his surroundings he feels something wet sliver down his cheeks; touching them, his heart begins to race... "W-why.." Ba-dum... "am I..." Ba-dum, Ba-dum, "crying?" He feels a rush of sorrow pierce through him like a sword to the heart, making him falter to the floor in agonizing pain, in an endless flow of tears. Gasping he hiccups, trying to catch his breath, seeming confused yet somehow understanding the strange rush of feelings that blanket his being.
"W-what... Is happening to me..? I-It hurts... so much. But I-- why?" He mumbles to himself... looking over at the book through his veil of tears, he notices that the perfectly Japanese characters written, now appear blemished and wet; flowing off of the papers like a stream. He crawls closer to the book, touching the ink with his hand, it fades into nothing once resting upon his skin.
Feeling a hand caress his face, wiping away his tears, it makes him close his eyes in sudden serenity of heart. And fluttering his long eyelashes, he opens his eyes, gazing through the moonlight; noticing long black locks, swaying with the ongoing breeze. His heart slows down... as he feels himself growing tired, he sleepily saying... "Mother..?"
Ba-dum. He falls to the ground, laying in the pond of flowers and shed tears, sleeping at last.
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End of Episode #4 - Ripple of Tears.58Please respect copyright.PENANA5J4IGCMQQm
Author - a.t.e
Written 8/24/2021 -- Revised edition 3/1/2022
ns 172.69.7.116da2