Recollection

Rin's eyes fluttered slowly, adjusting to the light around him.

"So.. Bright '' he groaned as he seated himself up rubbing the sleep from his eyes. A soft yawn escaped from his lips looking at the grassy field came to his sight. He blinked once, twice and thrice his expression was blank so as his brain started to malfunction.

A cool breeze passed by making Rin shiver from his clothing, sure enough to wake Rin's thoughts from his slumber in which he calmly stood himself up from the soft grassy ground. He let out another yawn for he calmly looked around the grassy field in the middle of who knows who.

"What a beautiful day for a dreamland" Rin hummed in satisfaction, a smile formed from his lips.

His raven messy locks danced with the air, Rin slowly closed his eyes only to open them again revealing his amber orbs glinted from the midsummer sky making it glow like gold from afar.

"Mister! You're awake!" a little girl chimed with delight. Rin quickly snapped his head to the girl's form as he observed her with suspicion in his eyes. The little girl giggled as she jumped herself to Rin's arm making Rin look at her full of question marks that seem to appear from the top of his head if you imagine enough.

"Who are you?" Rin asked, still suspicious of the little girl who doesn't seem to let go of his arm. The girl puffed both of her cheeks as her lips pouted making Rin stunned from the cute act of the girl which reminds his little sister, Yunaria pouting to him every time she tries to be sweet with her beloved brother even tho she succeeded in the first half only to end with another teasing.

"You've been sleeping here for almost 5 days!" The little girl emphasized the 5 by showing her 5 small fingers to Rin's face while dodging Rin's question.

5 days? Rin raised his brow in discontent and confusion to the blabbing girl who kept herself standing beside him not letting go of Rin's arm.

"Mister, we should go to mama and papa!" she chirped happily tugging Rin's arm which he obliged to follow her in which he was inside a dream, right?

Following the little girl hand in hand Rin couldn't help himself as he observed the little girl who seemed to be eager for him to meet her parents even though they only met now. Apparently, the little girl wore a simple yellow renaissance kirtle dress as the sleeves showed its creamy yet puffy structure to the girl's arm. Her black short hair flowed smoothly through the passing wind letting her onyx-colored irises shine in innocence and purity.

Rin let out another sigh as he remembered the image of his younger sister clinging to his arm when they were still together.

"You know Mister I sometimes think that you wear weird clothing" the little girl frowned as they both walked hand in hand already coming to the sight of a small village up ahead. Rin let out a small laugh at the girl's question, perhaps his type of clothing was weird for this dream. Since he wore a black v neck sweater vest, under the vest was a plain white shirt finishing the look with a pair of black slim trousers and a pair of low ankle white shoes.

"Is that so?" Rin hummed softly while the girl puffed her cheeks in annoyance.

'What a cheeky, brat' Rin chirped through his mind. Holding back his urge to roll his eyes to the child who keeps dragging him towards the small village while chirping nonsense from the way his clothes look to the way he acts towards her.

As their little stroll came to a halt facing a two-story cottage with a small backyard. It was a welcoming place for Rin himself who's an outsider perhaps a dream traveler who is straightly a stranger.

The mosses and the climbing roses that stick to the stone wall of the house make it more appealing as well as the flowers that bloomed from the front yard. It was rather aesthetic for Rin and he loved it.

"So how do you like my house?" The girl proudly put up a broad smile at Rin who chuckled at her antics, finding it amusing for a small girl like her to invite a stranger to her own home.

"It looks beautiful'' Rin chirped back as his hand ruffled the girl's short lock, earning a giggle from her lips.

The little girl tugged the hem cloth of Rin's sweater vest inviting him to her cottage which he obliged as he excused himself before entering. They both exchanged laughs and teasing at small things they both noticed until someone entered the door calling the little girl's name, making both Rin and the girl turn their attention to the voice.

"Anna!"

"Papa! " The girl jumped from Rin's arms as she ran full speed ahead to the old man who looked exactly like her.

Rin got up from his seat as he also greeted the man who was holding his daughter from his arms.

"Ah! You must be the boy who saved my daughter" the man said, which made Rin tilt his head from the side in confusion.

"I beg your pardon?" Rin asked while raising his brow in puzzlement. The man let out a hearty laugh as a woman entered the cottage arching a brow from the sight of her husband laughing at the confused boy who wore strange clothes as her husband carried her daughter who was wriggling herself from the arms of him.

Rin noticed the woman making her way towards the man carrying Anna who was laughing at his unlaughable question with an ominous aura emitting from her.

The woman raised her hand through the air and.

THWACK!!

With just a blink of an eye, a loud slap came from behind the man's head echoed through the walls making Rin hold his back head in instinct.

Rin turned pale from the sight he had just witnessed as the man seemed to be frozen at his spot.

Silence dominated the whole living room; neither of them moved from their places until Anna chirped happily with one of her brightest smiles.

"Mama! Welcome home! " she greeted the lady who was in her darkest moments suddenly switching to a soft-spoken kind looking human than the demonic appearance earlier.

"Oh my! Who might you be? " she asked, snatching Anna from her husband's arms. Rin gulped dryly as he greeted the lady already having thoughts to run away in a second. "I am Rin, ma'am"

"Mama he's the kind sir who helped me from the monster!" Anna chimed as she smiled at her mother's face making the lady turned her attention to her daughter. Rin laughed awkwardly scratching the back of his head making the air around them more awkward than before. "Ah! I think your name was Ronald" the lady happily said as her smile gleamed to him with mirth showing in her eyes.

Ronald? Rin tilted his head again and confusion was visible through his amber eyes. The woman came to her realization, quickly apologizing to the young lad.

"I am very sorry" she apologized but her smile wasn't even being sympathetic making Rin shiver at her smile reminding himself that nothing was real since everything is just a dream that what he thought. Rin's gaze fell upon the man who was still standing up properly from his position looking like its soul left its owner's body.

"..." he silently stared at the body as he met his gaze with Anna's, panic and horror were written on both of their faces but little did he know that the lady in front of him took interest in his existence.

The abrupt panic from the house came to a halt when Anna's father's soul came back from rejecting his soul to pass through the gates of the afterlife. The man let out another hearty laugh as he wrapped his arm around his wife's waist.

"Thea you're scaring the young man" he cooed at his wife who was looking at him with disgust filled into her brown orbs.

"What a very rash action for you to say" she coldly slapped her husband's arm earning a small whimper of pain he just received.

"But I was stating facts! FACTS! " the man retorted.

"FOR GOODNESS SAKE, CAIN! IT'S A METAPHOR!" his wife roared

"METAPHOR!" Anna chirped happily which made Cain look at his daughter in dismay.

"SEE YOUR DAUGHTER ALSO THINKS THE SAME AS MINE!" Thea smugly grins at her husband who was staring at both his daughter and wife in horror.

Rin stood there just staring at the two lovers who were bantering nonsense with Anna cheering the fight making the couple banter more. A bitter smile spread across Rin's face making him remember the past that he too once had experienced this joy with a twist of the melancholy memory of his parent's death. 

Credits: 

Kina#1407, rxikahh_#2600, Loraine?#5778, Linojjang#7248, Drelter#4258, Jo Taesung#0603, Winter Rose#6370, Lan Zhan#0141, Lucien#6461, Shimo#8282, PanKeiku#5082, Chachi.usi#1561, catherine#0923.

Special Thanks to the Designers/Artist:

MUSH#6953, Yaho, KumacX, SpaceMochii#4260, Kankei, and others more who're working on this project. For WEBTOON & NOVEL

-Founder Gads#8888