Chapter 12

Asahi's morning began with dim light seeping through his bedroom window, casting a gloomy hue across the room. He awoke, emerging reluctantly from a restless night's sleep.

With a heavy sigh, Asahi swung his legs out of bed and stood up, the floor chilling his bare feet. The air was thick with the stale scent of routine, day after day. He moved downstairs to grab something to eat. "I am so hungry," he complained.

As he reached the ground floor, he noticed his mom was not on the couch anymore, but he assumed she had gone to do her usual activities. Asahi was aware that his mom engaged in some inappropriate activities, but he never thought about it, though it left a bad taste in his mouth.

He pushed those thoughts aside and entered the kitchen, only to find it in a state of disarray with dirt and empty bottles strewn about. "It smells terrible," he muttered as he approached the trash bin to investigate the source of the odor.

"What the heck? Did she vomit in the trash bin?" Asahi couldn't believe it. "I'm not cleaning this sh*t up."

He went to the table to grab a glass of water to settle his stomach after witnessing the scene. The clean glass sat beside the sink, next to the fridge. He picked up the glass and opened the fridge, only to discover that it was nearly empty.

*Sigh* "I'll have to go grocery shopping afterward," Asahi thought. He was usually the one who cooked in the house while his mom was out drinking; it was his way of practicing cooking in this environment.

After finishing the glass of water, he left the kitchen and headed upstairs to prepare to go out. While in the shower, he contemplated, "I'll have to visit Maria later today." After the shower, he reluctantly dressed in his tattered school uniform, each button feeling like a shackle, and the fabric carrying the weight of a thousand sighs. The weak morning light filtered in but failed to dispel the lingering gloom in the room.

Before heading out for groceries, he reached for his small box where he saved most of his money. However, as he opened the box, despair engulfed him. His eyes widened, and his heart sank as he found it empty, devoid of the small fortune he had painstakingly saved.

Panic gripped him as he frantically searched for answers, hoping he had simply misplaced the money. Deep down, he knew it was a futile hope.

--MC POV--

WHERE IS MY MONEY??!

*Deep breath*

Let's calm down, maybe it's somewhere near my bed. I guess it couldn't be that far from here.

I checked the sides, under the pillow, and under the bed, but found nothing. I even looked at the desk, but it was nowhere to be found.

Okay... I don't know where the money is. Maybe someone took it? But it's just me and my mother living in this house.

I began to feel anxious. Maybe she took it? But why? I don't understand.

I searched for her everywhere—in her room, the bathroom, the common room, but she wasn't home.

I leaned against the window, gazing outside and wondering where she could be. That's when I noticed something outside by our door. It appeared as though someone had stumbled while passing through our entrance. What? I needed to investigate.

I went downstairs again and opened the door. It was her on the floor, clutching a broken bottle of alcohol. Her disheveled dress revealed more than it should, and her face was pressed against the floor.

I shook her gently. "Mom... MOM, WAKE UP!"

"Huh?" She raised her head quickly. "WHO?"

"It's me. Calm down, and let's get inside, you probably slept here last night." I could see the signs that she had been to a party. I tried to help her inside, but she didn't move much, probably due to excessive drinking.

"Uhh... Ah!" she murmured, "My head hurts so much..." She covered her forehead with her hand.

You're not making this any easier.

I carefully placed her next to the sofa. I didn't have the strength to lift a full-grown adult in my seven-year-old body.

"Shouldn't you be in school?" She groaned in pain while asking me that.

"I was about to, but then I realized something was missing from my room," I told her honestly.

"Oh... did you find it?" she asked.

"No... I wondered if you knew anything about it." I said while looking at her seriously.

"I... I don't know. I don't even know what you're looking for." She was still holding her head, probably trying to remember anything related to this.

"... There was money inside my savings box. I searched my entire room, and it's gone... and since it's just the two of us here..." I said.

She gave me a suspicious look, but then her expression changed as if she remembered it now. "Ah, I remember taking some money from your room, yes. I needed it for my job, so I'll pay you back."

"What..." I couldn't believe she had done that to me. Anger welled up inside.

---GENERAL POV---

Asahi's eyes narrowed at his mother, his fist tightened in anger. "Why are you stealing my money?"

His mother looked visibly confused by the sudden allegation her son threw at her. She tried to ask, "Steal? I told you I will give you ba-"

"You are so f*cking useless." Asahi's frustration reached a limit and he snapped at his mom.

"What the f*ck did you call me boy?" Asahi's mother couldn't believe that her son would disrespect her to this extent.

Asahi couldn't hold it in anymore and he burst into anger," I said you are worthless, you just drink all day and watch TV! And now you are stealing my money?? you better give me that back!!!!!"

"So I am worthless???" Asahi's mother's face was visibly shaken at such words.

"Yes, I am tired of this sh*t, why the f*ck can't you fix your life? like, you are so f*cking lazy!"

The room crackled with tension as Mother and son stood on opposite sides, their voices strained, and their expressions contorted by anger. The argument had escalated quickly, fueled by frustration and pent-up emotions.

"Who are you trying to scream to? you better shut the f*ck up, you don't know what you are saying." Asahi's mom exclaimed, her face flushed with anger.

Asahi's jaw clenched, and his fists involuntarily tightened at his sides."I don't? then tell me what's so wrong about what I said !!"

*Slap*

Asahi stumbled on the floor after the slap, and then she held my shoulders and I noticed that she was extremely agitated.

Asahi's mother's voice wavered as she responded, "Y-you f*cking sh*t, do you know how much I do for you?????!!!! How the f*ck do you think that you can go to school, and get to live in this house with water and food, do you know how much I had to sacrifice for you to say that sh*t??"

Tears welled up in her eyes, her voice cracking. "I have been doing everything to get paid. Selling my body, sleeping with so many people, dating old geezers... that's the only way I could make enough money... enough money for you to get an education..."

Asahi's mother's eyes welled up with tears, her anger giving way to a sense of helplessness."I tried too hard to let you live a different life than mine... I really tried too hard to let you have your freedom, everything I had ever wished I had... and you say these things... it hurts!!"

Asahi kept silent for a few minutes, he couldn't say much. He too, felt the weight of their conflict, his anger slowly giving way to a sense of remorse. "Why do you care so much about me?" He asked sincerely.

For a moment, silence hung heavy in the air, their words hanging between them, an unspoken plea for understanding. Their anger had run its course, leaving behind a trail of regret and exhaustion.

Asahi's mother's voice softened as she said, "Because you are the only thing I have left in this world."

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(A/N: I don't know how I was able to make a chapter that was supposed to be sad into something corny... but I guess that it is what it is. I also will stop giving titles to every chapter.)