Chapter Text
She still remembered how the grown-ups always praised her for being smart.
For a girl who was shy of starting her elementary school, she couldn’t remember a time when she didn’t hear how smart she was. While her classmates in preschool were playing and taking naps, Mizuki was focused on books, solving problems, and counting numbers she stumbled in it. Learning and maturing faster than them.
“Your daughter is so smart for her age! You’re lucky!”
“You’re so blessed to have a daughter like her!”
While the compliments made her mother happy, she didn’t really understand it at all. She’s special, right? If it was true, was this the reason why none of the kids would play with her? Because she was too smart? Why would the older kids push her around all the time? Why did they make fun of her weird name and bully her? Because they’re jealous of how the grow-ups were fond of her? Is this the cost of being a “bright kid”? She didn’t like it at all.
Regardless, the compliments never ceased and Mizuki eventually got used to them. Then came the time she thought that she wasn’t that different at all because, like any children, prodigy or not, there are things that she still didn’t understand. For example, for the last few weeks or maybe months, she didn’t hear anything about her father and why her mother always had a sad expression in her face. Why did her Aunt Kendra come with the things they left in Portia?
And finally, she noticed her mother wasn’t wearing her wedding ring anymore. She tried asking, of course, she’s still the smart little Mizuki after all. But all she got was, “Oh. Your father got a job as an explorer and is now venturing the peripheries, so we can’t visit Portia for now. And about my ring, I just misplaced it. I'm going to search for it later. Okay?”
She wanted to protest, to say that she still wanted to visit Portia. She didn’t want her father to go, she would miss him. On the other hand, Mizuki was never the one who would cry and make a big fuss about these kinds of things, so, as always, she didn’t.
When her daughter didn’t answer, Clara patted her head before bringing her into a tight hug. Mizuki didn’t understand why her question felt like it hurt her mother.
As much as she loved her mother, she wanted her family to be whole again. She couldn’t help but wonder when would her father return or if he had a plan of returning to them.
She blinked her eyes to stop herself from thinking. Sighing, she walked to the direction where her mother went, Mizuki made sure to put on a smile for her, and not to talk about her thoughts.
It wasn’t long before Mizuki stopped questioning Clara about her father’s whereabouts. No matter how confusing it was, and as the months passed by quickly, more and more memories of her father began to slip away.
Before she knew it, she had turned eight and her mother became sadder and barely at their home. Strange how she’d been tracking her mother’s well-being rather than her own.
Day after day kept passing by but nothing ever changed. She wanted to make her mother happy, so she kept studying hard just like always. Paper after paper, grade after grade, all of them came back with a perfect score written in bright red ink. But it didn’t make her mother happy at all. She thought it would change something but it doesn’t, it just made her mother cry. She came to hate her “gift” because of this. What so good about being smart if she made her mother feel bad? If she couldn’t use it to make her feel better?
Spring came and her mother’s acting a bit strange. No, there’s nothing wrong in seeing Clara’s sudden change, from being distant and sad to being happy and loving to her.
Mizuki admitted their days became more interesting and fun but a whole lot more exhausting. Clara always dragged her outside to play and sometimes teach her how to dance, act and sing, it wasn’t her preference, but just watching her mother dance and sing was enough to convince Mizuki to join her.
The days became warmer, Clara decided to teach her Seesaian martial arts. Her mother said that she needed to learn how to protect herself but Mizuki can sense a different reason for it, she just can’t point what it is.
It has its own perks too, Mizuki developed much better stamina than last time and as they reenacted different fighting techniques under the bright sun, She admitted that even exhausting things could be fun as well, and doing it with her mother was one of the best memories she ever had.
Their happy days continued, the familiar warmth in her chest came back. While Mizuki doesn’t know what happened to her father, she’s now content in Clara’s presence alone.
Her mother wouldn’t leave her, right?
Summer came and Clara decided to take her daughter to the beach. Her mother explained that swimming would give her a boost in becoming healthy and strong. Also, it’s a pleasant way to cool down on a hot summer day.
They had a lot of fun swimming and splashing for hours. By the time they decided to go home, Mizuki realized she couldn’t get out of the water. Something wrapped around her foot causing her to panic and sink.
She fell deeper and deeper, it was cold and dark, she couldn’t sim up for air. Then out of nowhere, her mother appeared and removed her foot from being trapped. After that, everything went black.
Being awoken by the feeling of her body being soaked, Mizuki slowly opened her eyes. She was in a room she didn’t recognize. Squinting her eyes, she could make out a silhouette near her, as she blinked hard, he saw it was her Aunt Kendra. Her aunt hung her head low and didn’t seem to be looking at her. She glanced behind her aunt, looking for her mother but there’s no one standing there.
A bad feeling churned in her stomach, “Auntie, where’s ma?”
Her aunt didn’t respond, she looked at Mizuki with a hurtful expression in her face. Shivers crept up on Mizuki’s back, “Where is she?! Tell me what happened! Is she okay?!” she shouted at her aunt with question after question, her aunt’s silence only fueled Mizuki’s fear. A terrible thought popped into her mind. A logical but terrifying conclusion. She rejected it immediately.
She begged and begged. Her aunt’s silence was deafening, it was as if she couldn’t see and hear Mizuki. Tears are now streaming down Mizuki’s cheek as she watched her aunt emotionlessly stare at her.
Mizuki’s mind kept whirling and coming up with answers, possibilities, anything that could explain where her mother was. And it always ended up at that one awful, scary conclusion.
She tried hard to ignore her mind, she desperately resigned herself in watching her aunt finally decided to move and sat beside her.
“I’m sorry,” Kendra said, her voice was sorrowful and her emotionless eyes locked with Mizuki’s shaking ones and traveled downwards, onto the wound in her foot.
Kendra’s eyes began to water.
No. no no no... There’s no way! Please no.
Her aunt began sobbing loudly then sank into her knees and cried even louder.
She can’t be...
Whatever denial or excuses she tried to shield herself with had been gone, allowing reality and despair to hit her with full force. Stream of tears had unlatched from her eyes, she crumpled on the bed and clutched her chest.
Without a warning, Kendra tackled her into a hug as she finally said what she had been trying to tell her niece the moment her eyes opened.
“Your mother is gone, we’re never going to see her again. I’m sorry.”