My Mother

“What was I thinking? I raised my voice at my grandparents and my own mother. How can I face them again? It’s just that they kept talking about Dad like he was some sort of hero. He wasn’t.”

The winter wind howled fiercely, biting at everything in its path with icy claws. The mist enveloped the landscape, transforming it into a mystical winter wonderland. It felt like the cold was gripping him in its icy embrace.

Walking through the winter night felt like strolling through a dreamy, ethereal realm, with each step wrapped in a cloak of frosty enchantment. Kazuyuki was barely wearing any clothes that could protect him from the harsh conditions. But he didn’t mind the cold.

He eventually made it to the local playground, where he hid in one of the attractions. The cold continued to bite at his defenceless self. But he thought that it might be best if he did freeze here. Then he wouldn’t have to deal with the pain he constantly felt.

It took a couple minutes before he was found by Daisuke and Kaede, who pulled him out of his hiding spot and brought him back home. After a warm bath and a new set of clothes, Kazuyuki locked himself in his room despite his grandparents’ plea to speak to him. He couldn’t face them due to his embarrassing outrage earlier. All he wanted was peace and quiet. But then he heard them say something about his mother.

“Has she returned yet?”

“No. I texted her, but she hasn’t replied yet.”

“She might still be looking for Kazuyuki.”

“And in this freezing temperature as well. Poor dear.”

“My mother is still out there looking for me?”

All this time, his mother had been looking for him, praying that he was okay. She was out there in the cold, looking for the son who ran away.

“Mum.”

Determined to make sure his mother was safe, he ripped his curtains off, tied them together, attached them to the railing of the balcony, and jumped out of the window. He could hear Daisuke and Kaede enter the room, but when they saw him outside once more, they were too late, and he had already begun running.

As he ran, all he could think about was his mother. “Mum. Are you insane? Why would you go out in freezing temperatures? This is all my fault. Because of my stupidity, she’s somewhere out there looking for me. I need to find her. I need to find her.”

After a short period of time, the weather died down, allowing his visibility to become more clear. He continued searching for his mother. Eventually, he heard a woman’s voice shouting his name, so he followed the sound. After turning the corner, Kazuyuki finally encountered his mother.

“Mum!”

“Kaz-chan?”

“Mum!”

He sprinted towards her and hugged her tightly.

“Kaz-chan! Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not wearing a coat,” she said, opening her coat and wrapping him in it as well. “There you go.”

“Ah, so this is the power of a mother. She’s not mad. All she cares about is that I’m safe.”

“Kaz-chan?”

“Sorry, mum,” his voice began to break, “Sorry. I never meant to hurt you in any way. You’ve always protected me and cared for me, but I never acknowledged it. I’m so sorry.”

“Hey. Hey. Look at me,” she said, wiping his tears. “You are my only son, and I will always love you. No matter who tries to get in my way, I will always be there to protect you. Your father wasn’t perfect, nor was he the greatest, but he did care for you. After all, you were his son. Don’t ever forget that.”

He couldn’t hold back his tears any longer, so he buried his face into his mother’s chest and exploded into tears.

When they arrived home, they were embraced by their friends and family. As expected, both he and his mother fell ill, so the grandparents decided to stay a little longer and take care of them.

There was a knock on his door.

“Can I come in?”

“Yes.”

Kazuyuki’s grandma entered, carrying a tray with a cup of hot chocolate on it.

“Here you go.”

“Thank, grandma.”

She sat down beside him on the bed.

“How are you feeling?”

“Better, I think. Sorry for shouting at you and grandpa, grandma.”

“Don’t worry about it. We know that you had a tough time with your father, so we should have paid more attention to what we were saying.”

“Grandma, I’m sure he was a great son to you.”

“I could never be more proud to be his mother, just like I could never be more proud to be your grandmother. Now get some rest.”

The next day, while he was resting, his mother entered the room.

“Mum? Why are you up? You should still be resting.”

“I’m doing better now.”

“Still…”

“Shush. Let me do what mothers do.”

She slowly took off the cold compress on his head and replaced it with a new one. She also took his temperature again.

“It’s lower than before. That’s good.”

“Mum, I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Before leaving, she kissed him on the cheek. He felt a calming warmth when her lips touched his skin. He realised that while his father was barely around, his mother was always there for him.

Later that day, he was visited by Daisuke, who had brought him some more cold medicine.

“Thank you, Daisuke.”

“It’s fine. Just don’t ever do that again. Okay?”

“Okay. Anyways, how’s everyone?”

“They’re worried sick about you, especially Satō-chan.”

“Satō-san’s worried about me?”

“She’s more worried than Kaede-chan.”

“Is that so?”

When Daisuke left, Kazuyuki picked up his phone and saw he had missed some calls from Kaede and the others, but he also had some unread messages from Fuyumi. He opened them to see a chain of messages.

“Hi. How is everything going with your grandparents?”

“I found this cute sticker.”

“Hey. Is everything okay? You haven’t been online in a while. Kaede hasn’t heard from you either, and you told us you would update us.”

“Hey. Where are you? Kaede said you ran away from home. Please don’t do anything rash.”

“Hey. Please answer your phone. I’m worried about you.”

“They said they still haven’t found you yet. Your mother is also looking for you. Please respond.”

“Hey. Are you okay? Kaede said you came down with another cold. You shouldn’t have done what you did. I was really worried. Please get some rest and come back to school as soon as possible.”

“She’s worried about me,” he said to himself.

Now more than ever, Kazuyuki was determined to get better.