The Memories That Remain (1/2)

[8 Years Ago]

A woman with scarlet red har, and cherry like eyes was pushing her son out of his room. By just looking at her youthfulness and joy, you would never think she was a mom. "Come on Kuzan dear, we have to go get your graduation photos at the studio today. If we are any later, we will miss our booking."

"Really Alex, you sure went all out on booking the photographer. With how famous she is, and how busy her schedule is, she was so hard to book even for us. I mean, we even had to be on the waitlist for 4 months." said a man crossing the corner to witness the cute scene before him, with a wide smile plastered on his face. A smile you would not expect to see on the face of the muscular man in other circumstance, instead shadowed by an expression of formality and strictness.

"Of course, Kuzan just graduated from elementary school, there is nothing too good for my sweet boy today! Now come on and get dressed too dear, we also have to take our family photos with the photographer. I was able to convince her by scheduling both at the same time."

"Oh I completely forgot dear, let me get changed right now. It'll only take me 5 minutes I swear."

[Kuzan Pov]

"Sure it will dear, you always take longer than me to get ready. Why didn't you start getting changed when you saw that I was dressing up today for the photos?" asked my mom, not with the intention of receiving a reply, but to start her little spat with dad, a common sight in married life. It was not a symptom of a failing marriage, but rather was an indicator of a healthy one.

"Well you always look like an angel to me, so I didn't even notice my sweet cake." replied my dad, finding the perfect way to win the argument before it even got started.

'I swear he's got this locked down to a science, I have a lot to learn from him.'

"Oh you sweet talker, fine I'll forgive you, now go get changed before we become any more late!" replied my mom while using her fist to playfully smack on my father's back while also tilting her head down to hide the deep red blush that was appearing on her face. It perfectly complemented her hair, turning her head from a half-tomato into a full one.

"Mom, if we're taking family photos today, we can't leave Melissa at home. She's still sleeping in her room right now."

"Such a smart boy, and so cute too worrying about your little sister. But don't worry dear, Melissa is sleeping right now, so Uncle Ikaria will wake her up and take her there later."

"But mom, are you sure that's really necessary?"

"Oh don't worry dear, Uncle Ikaria even took care of your dad growing up, so I am sure that he can handle Melissa for a few hours."

"That's not what I meant mom, how long is the photo shoot even for that to work." I replied to my mother, while doing my best to break out of her grip, getting increasingly worried about her answer.

"Don't worry dear, its only scheduled for 6 hours. And you will be changing into lot of cute costumes while you're there, so it won't be boring or anything." replied my mom while chuckling, doing her best to address my concerns, not knowing that she was only adding fuel to the fire.

"Actually, mom, I think I am feeling a little sick today. Cough, Cough-see. I think we should reschedule it for later." I told my mom with a pleading look in my eyes, with the best acting I could do.

"Well that's too bad dear, I was thinking we were gonna go for ice-cream later at that shop you love so much, but look's like we can't if you're that sick. Now, come on let's get you changed out of these clothe's into your pajamas and take you to bed. You can't get better running around and playing games outside all day and expect to get better." applying a tactic that has been universally used by mothers throughout the ages.

"Actually, I think I can make it through today. I suddenly feel a lot better." I said, giving in to her bribe and threat, knowing full well that if I stood my ground, I was in for a boring day regardless.

We arrived at the studio and went through a process that could only be described as hell, something I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy. Hours and hours of different poses, costume changes, and endless comments about how "cute" I was looking really drained a lot out of me.

The only thing that kept me going was the promise of ice-cream at the end. It wasn't just ice-cream, but the ice-cream, the best ice-cream in the world. It was a secret passed down in the Rosen family for generations, taught to me by my dad, and taught to him by no-one before him. I mean, it was a family tradition, I didn't say that it was a long one.

He had found the place when he was younger and fell in love with the little stall serving ice-cream in the downtown of Tokyo. He was there on a business trip there when he was younger, and went back to the ice-cream stall every day for hours on end. Whether he was really mesmerized by the sweetness of the ice-cream or by the sweetness of the server was only for him to know.

His persistence finally paid off and he was able to convey his feelings to the young lady, who too had fallen for him at first sight. Having to convince my grandfather that he was worthy for his daughter was another matter altogether, and was apparently still the hardest challenge my father has faced in his life to date.

"I'll tell you Kuzan, that period of time was the most stressful and sweet moment of my life, sweet because I found your mother, but stressful because I had just that much more to lose. It motivated me unlike anything before."

My dad eventually convinced my mom and grandfather to move back to L.A with him to start a family. With his connections and wealth, he opened up a grand ice-cream shop in the heart of down-town L.A. that was managed by my grandfather before he died, and before I was even born.

During the launch event, when asked about why he opened this shop, he was quoted as saying, "This shop has given me the sweetest treat of my life, so I wanted to share a little bit of that sweetness with the rest of L.A."

The ice-cream was indeed a notch better than most out there, but mom and him both knew that the real reason he opened the shop wasn't to share the ice-cream made by my grandfather's recipe, but was to butter up to his father-in-law.

The family's love for ice-cream was in my blood, and I was not gonna let a photoshoot break down my family's legacy. With that same passion in my heart, I was able to get through the photoshoot and walk out of the accursed building.

"Ok, how about we walk there Kuzan? It's only like 10 minutes away from here and it's a nice day for a stroll. What do you think dear?" asked my mom while grabbing the collar of my shirt to prevent me from leaping into the car.

"I think that sounds like a great idea, my flower." replied my dad, while taking advantage of the lovely atmosphere to plant a soft kiss on my mother's forehead.

"Fine, let's walk there." I chimed in, despite being a little displeased knowing that it would take even longer to get my hands on that delectable treat.

We were walking on a sidewalk on the left side of the road, with a gated fence to our left that enclosed a local park, and an open street to our right. The street was mostly empty, except for a few cars coming from the front and passing us. I was lost in thought about which flavour I would choose today when I suddenly felt a strong push on my left shoulder pushing me onto the road.

Before I could even process what had happened, and begin the thought of saying "Why did you do that?", I turned to my body while being pushed away to see a truck crashing right into my father and mother's bodies.

I saw everything, the look of panic and desperation on her face in the fraction of a second before she was hit, desperately hoping that she was fast enough to get her child out of harm's way. Even in that moment, she was more concerned for her baby's safety than her own life.

I saw my father begin the move to hopefully cover my mother's body in time to save her, unsuccessful in his action, and not even being able to hold her one last time before being hit.

Everything happened so fast. The lights, the sounds, everything was too much to register in that moment.

I walked over to my mother's mangled body, holding her hand tight, shaking her shoulders with everything I had, not minding the blood that was staining my body. I felt no movement, no strength from my mothers hand, no noise from my mother's breath, nothing.

"Mom, dad, please get up." my voice hanging on by a desperate plea that would never be answered.

Not even 5 minutes later, I saw an ambulance pulling up from the distance, the EMT's coming out the back and pushing away the pedestrians who had seen the crash. A crowd had formed unknowingly around me after the crash. I am sure it was one of them who had called 911 for help.

A few minutes later, I saw a couple of cop cars pull up to survey the scene. One of the female officers noticed my presence right away and took my hand, leading me away from the scene of the accident and guiding me to the other side of the street. After asking what had happened, the blonde haired police officer told me that she would take me to the hospital for a check-up and asked me to sit at the front seat of her squad car.

During my checkup being in the hospital's emergency room by a doctor on call, I saw Uncle Ikaria bursting into the private hospital room.

"Oh my God young master, are you ok, where does it hurt?" Uncle Ikaria asked me a series of questions while pulling me into a soft hug in account of my current state. It was the first time I had seen him so worried that he did not maintain his gentlemanly atmosphere that always accompanied him. "Please doctor, tell me that he's alright."

"Don't worry sir, he doesn't seem to have any major injuries from the examination I have conducted. The tests all show that other than a few scratches and bruises, he's completely fine." assured the doctor.

"What about his parent's? How are the-!?"

Before I was even able to register being let out from Uncle Ikaria's hug, I was pulled into another one that offered no same concern for my potential injuries. "Kuzan, Kuzan, Kuzan, it's going to be ok. I am right here, its ok, don't worry, you are safe,...!" my aunt did her best to comfort me with her words, wishing to pull me deeper and deeper into her hug.

It was the first time since the crash that I felt a little better, comforted by this familiar feeling. I slowly drifted off into sleep in her arms, hoping to wake up from this nightmare when I next opened my eyes.