Parents

I am currently working in Crutz's workshop, striving to ensure the shape remains as consistent as possible.

However,

“Kgh!”

The bowl gradually loses shape, causing it to sporadically go all over the table.

“Again, you can’t be forceful when keeping it in-tact.” The old man lectured.

“Okay!”

I grab a pile of clay in a rush, only for me to accidentally drop it due to the swelling on my wrist.

“…!” I quickly hold my right wrist, wiping my forehead with my left arm.

“…Break time.” The old man shouts out as he walks towards a nearby table.

“A-Already…?”

“Yeah,” The old man offers me a water bottle, “Here.”

“Thanks…”

I grabbed the bottle with my left hand, and then I tilt it back and swiftly down its contents in one gulp. The liquid rushes down my parched throat, quenching the dryness and leaving a refreshed sensation in its wake.

“…” The old man looks at me and motions me to sit down next to him.

“…What is it going to be?” I muttered as I sit down next to him.

“Look kid, I respect you for trying to improve yourself, but do you know that you look like a mess right now?” The old man motioned at me.

“R-Really?”

“Yeah. You have dark circles under your eyes, your hair is a mess, and you seem to lose focus a lot…” The old man said.

“…”

“Be honest with me; why are you trying so hard at this?” The old man asks, a serious expression on his face.

“…”

“…”

“…It’s because… all of you are steadfast when it comes to your decision…” I clasp my hands, fiddling my thumbs, “For me, I’m not even sure what it is that I want to do…”

“…And how is that related to you trying so hard to get good at pottery?” The old man asks.

“…I don’t know…”

“…”

A specific person immediately comes to mind when I think about it, but I'm hesitant to share this with him of all people.

“I guess… I’m trying to figure that out myself…” I replied.

“Haah…” The old man scratches his head, “How did your parents even raised you for you to try this hard without a goal in mind?”

“Who knows…” I shrug my shoulders.

“…Hey kid,” The old man stretches his arms, “Can you tell me a bit of yourself before you came to this world?” The old man asks.

“…”

“I see…” The old man looks at the ceiling, his eyes looking distant, “You know, I actually didn’t want to let you stay at my house… Just the thought of taking care of a stranger is more than enough to send chills down my spine…” He said in a gentle tone.

“…Then why are you letting me stay?”

“It’s because you looked like a stray dog when I first saw you.” The old man then lets out a light chuckle.

“If you find it funny, you can laugh old man...” I pressed the tone of my voice.

“Sorry about that…” The old man then composes himself, “The other reason was because you reminded me a lot of my old self…”

“…”

“Back then, I was thrown away by my birth parents since they couldn’t take care of me, so Algar; my step-dad took me in and cared for me…”

“…”

“We lived in a small cottage next to a river, living peacefully without a care in the world…” The old man adds, his face becoming softer, “Then, we were able to move into this village and started living an honest life here…”

“…”

“I met the woman of my life, had a daughter, and a business of my own where I could keep all the money to myself…” The old man gave a smirk, “But… I stopped talking to my dad ever since…”

“…”

“I got too immersed with my work and family that I barely had any time to interact with my step-dad…”

“…”

“And then, news came in that his daughter passed away…” The old man clasps his hands, trembling immensely.

“…Do you know who his daughter is?”

“I met her every once in a while, but she’s constantly busy, so I never properly got to know her…”

“I see…”

“…Ever since that day, my dad slowly started to lose his memories…” The old man pauses for a moment, “No… Maybe he’s already losing it a long time ago, but we never realized…”

“…”

“…Every year since then, there’s a lot of gradual changes that happened to him…” The old man clenches his fist, “At first, I thought it was just him getting older in forgetting things, but at some point, it reached the point where he can’t even remember his name…”

“…”

“After that, I started treating him like a stranger… I still took care of him, but I stopped viewing him as my dad…”

“…”

“And now here we are…” The old man throws his hands to the air, and then landed on his thighs, “I’m nothing but an ungrateful idiot…”

“…Why are you telling me all of this?”

The old man slowly raises his head and looks at me with a stern expression,

“I just… want you to not do the same thing as I did…” He said in a serious tone.

“Well… that’s already far too late…”

“…I see. I’m sorry about that…” The old man says.

“I’m sorry for your loss too…”

“…”

“…”

We silently stare at the ceiling, the silence oddly giving me tons of comfort. It feels like I could fall asleep right now…

“…Anyway, sorry for the long talk…” The old manslowly stands up, “I guess what I wanted to say is try not do things you know you’ll regret. For the both of us…”

“…Yeah.”

“Anyways, I’m looking forward to your dinner. I have somewhere to go, so see you later kid,” The old man raises his hand, his back straight as he walks out of the room.

“…”

…

….

……

After we were done with dinner, I showered and set up my futon in the workshop. Despite having lived there for a month now, they still couldn’t give me my own room.

Not that I’m complaining though considering what kind of person I am to the old man.

‘What I wanted to say is try not do things you know you’ll regret.’

“…”

I lay down on my futon, gazing at the dark ceiling as the room starts cooling on its own.

“…”

I close my eyes, eradicating all source of light, enveloping me in darkness.

…

“Hurry up Yuki!” I yelled towards my back as I bring a bucket to my sand castle.

“W-Wait up! I-I can’t keep up…”

“Yuuma! You’ll fall if you run that fast!” My mom yelled out.

I ignored my mom and ran towards the sand castle that is barely standing upward as the water gets closer to it.

“Ah!” I stepped on a rock, which caused me to lose my balance, which resulted in me landing face first onto the sand, filling my mouth and itching my eyes.

“Yuuma!”

“Brother? Are you okay.”

“Ugh…” I slowly bring my head up and scratch my eyes, which only made it itchier, but I managed to clear enough to see the sand castle tumble to the ground.

“Yuuma! Are you okay dear?” Mom slowly stands me up.

“Ugh…”

I immediately burst into tears, attracting people’s attention.

“It’s okay Yuuma! I’m here for you…” My mom gave me a massive hug whilst patting my head.

“Brother… It’s okay…” Yuki pats my head.

…

“…”

I scratch my eyes and wiped my sides with my eyes closed. Followed with a squeezing feeling in my chest.

“Mom… Yuki…”

…

…..

……