Henry's Past

*********Henry's POV**********

"Aaargh!"

I screamed as I was thrown off Emma's shoulder. The flowers lessened the pain, but I lost my sight for about two seconds.

During that moment, unwanted memories flashed back.

**********Henry's Past***************

"**Luck**, also known as; Fortune, chance, Fate, serendipity, and so on.

What exactly is this **luck**?

Most people view luck as a "blessing from an angel," saving them from disaster or an incident that made things even better for them.

I was 4 years old then, but I was never lucky, and I wondered; 'why me?'

Everyone talked about luck, but why wasn't I witnessing this life-changer called "Luck"?

"Luck will surely come for me," I thought.

So, I decided to wait a little longer. I waited and waited, but nothing happened. I had no savior.

I was broken. At that moment, a wave of emotions drowned me: hatred, jealousy, regrets, envy, and even murderous intent.

I don't believe in Luck or coincidences. If only I had known better.

I hated myself even more for falling victim to mass belief and wasting my time waiting.

I was so angry as I observed how much people believed in "Luck," as if it were some kind of savior.

Was it that I didn't understand? Was I not doing what I was supposed to do before Luck noticed me?

With that thought, I began to research Luck.

I even had to steal a dictionary to check what Luck actually was.

And, as it turned out, the dictionary believes that:

"Luck is an unpredictable phenomenon that leads to favorable conditions."

I don't exactly disagree with the dictionary, but at the same time, I don't fully agree with it.

Here is what I thought luck is:

Luck is a fragment of both uncalculated and miscalculated events.When the pieces of this broken puzzle clashes or meets, they end up affecting reality, causing an unpredictable turn of events somewhere in a part of the world.

A change that may be favorable or unfavorable; which is sometimes referred to as misfortune."

It was my fault for not knowing better. I could have foreseen the future if I had calculated properly.

I could have avoided the occasion of my parents leaving me when I was only four.

No... no, I don't need them and they don't need me either. They rejected me. What I need is to make them want me.

I remember that night, the moment things turned for the worst for me:

My father was a civil servant, and my mom was a pilot.

We were one happy family and I never lacked anything.

Then suddenly, my dad lost his job and my was sacked mom too, within a span of one month, hell descended on us.

It was so difficult for us, but all I wanted was both of them. I knew I was kind of a burden, so I reduced my food consumption rate.

I only ate twice a day. I was so much happier that I had my mom's embrace and my dad's confronting speech.

One day, they both applied for the same job, with the hope of one of them getting it, if the other lost it.

I didn't go to school; I was taught at home by both of my parents.

After their applications, months passed by, and I was approaching my fifth birthday, and that was when they both got a letter.

After receiving an invitation for the interview, they bith went, but when they came back, they both wore sad faces.

I was worried, but then I decided to go to their room for my usual nighttime story and my father's speech. That's when I overheard them arguing.

.....

"Honey, I don't know. They require that we travel outside this country, and we can't bring our son along? I know that we're having it rough, but to leave my son behind when we both know that we don't have any relatives, I'm going to turn down that offer," my dad said.

"No, you can't. Let's think of something. Turning down that once-in-a-lifetime offer means we'll be poor forever. We can employ someone to take care of him, for at least he's old enough to come meet us over there," my mom said.

"What are you even saying? You want to leave behind your four-years-old son under the care of a total stranger?" my dad said, a hint of confusion and anger in his voice.

~sniff~ My mom sniffed in as if holding her tears back.

"Look, darling, it'll be fine. We both know that Henry is a smart boy; he can take care of himself. You noticed it too, right? How he doesn't eat as much as does before and forces us to eat," Mom said.

"And that's exactly why we shouldn't lose a treasure like him," Dad said.

"Look, sweetheart, we would make more treasures like him, he's our son after all. You just do what you did, and we would both make another version of him within a year," Mom said.

"I can't believe you're saying this, honey, I mean...Mmph"

~Mweh~ (I don't know how to spell the kissing sound, but... at least you get it)

"I'm hurting too, you know. I'm holding myself back, and this decision I'm making is something that I'm choosing over my emotions," Mom said after kissing dad.

"I...I–at this point, my ideology of what is right and wrong is messed up...I don't want to hurt our son," Dad said with a teary voice.

"Come here" (...and the rest of the story is rated 18)

.....

I was heartbroken; I couldn't breathe, my eyes were teary. I didn't know how to cry... no, I knew, it's just that, I couldn't, I felt like something was holding me back from expressing myself. I slowly crawled myself to my room as my tears left a trail behind me.

I locked the door behind me, covered my head with my pillows, and screamed. I shouted and cried.

I cried myself to sleep, ad honestly, I never knew crying could bring so much relief.

I slept until the next day, and when I woke up, I remembered what they had said and decided to wait in my room so they would come and check on me.

One hour passed, and no one showed up. Two hours, three hours, and no one came.

"Let me wait just a little longer; they'll surely come for me," I said with a shaky voice.

I waited and waited, constantly remembering the good memories we shared.

As a kid, I had a kind of mature mindset, probably because I watched a lot anime with a slice of life, which thought me some life experiences. But at that moment, it wasn't a good thing.

It could have been a better memory if I just remembered it as my parents suddenly vanishing, than knowing the truth. I was afraid that my case was going to be like some of the abandoned anime MC's.

I was waiting for them to come up with an excuse for wanting to leave.

I didn't want to believe what I heard, even they came up with a lie, I would believe them, because the truth was really hurting. My heart was tearing apart.

It was already evening; I could see everywhere darkening through my window and the hunger which I earlier ignored started kicking in badly.

I lost hope, and I started crying. I cursed the day I was born, my overly matured mindset, and the parents I had.

But shortly after, a knock was heard.

~Knock, Knock, Knock~

I was happy; a little glint of hope within me lit up.

"Mommy!" I shouted as I hurriedly opened the door.

"Mommy, I missed you! Mommy, I'm sorry!" I shouted as I struggled with opening the door. I even had a slight cut, but it didn't matter. All I wanted was my mom to hug me again. Finally opening the door, I went to hug my mommy.

"Mom...!" I was surprised.

"Mo...you're not mommy. Where's mommy?" I said with teary eyes.

That's right; the person in front of me was indeed not my mom. My mom was beautiful and had a kind aura to her, but she, she was quite the opposite. A muscular woman with with low-cut hairstyle and a domineering presence.

"Hey, kid! Your breakfast is ready," she said, turning around to leave.

Breakfast? At that time of the day?

"Oh, and one more thing, your parents left. They said they didn't need you; they could just have another one anytime they want."

~Crack! Shatter! Tear!~

*My...heart*

It got broken, shattered, and ripped to pieces.

~Thud!~

I passed out due to the shock.

When I woke up, I found myself at an old pharmacy's hut.

I was abandoned there, and the old man didn't mind taking me in.

It turned out that he knew martial arts, but he was a brute.

He took care of me until last two years; he suddenly disappeared.

"Looks like everyone loves abandoning me," I said, but this was different. The old man left a note, while my parents said nothing to me.

•If you want to see me again, get stronger and survive, so that you'll be able to beat me the next time we meet. Get stronger, or you will be left behind.•

That's what the old man wrote.

I didn't quite get what it meant, but beating him was almost impossible. But I had to, for the old man, for me.

I became determined to get stronger, no matter what it took.

I spent all my money on martial arts scrolls, and when I ran out of money, I began stealing scrolls.

I was caught, and that was how I got appointed to stealing things for people in exchange for important scrolls and access to martial arts ancient books, plus they took care of my well-being, including this school I'm currently at.

I learned all about life within twenty-four hours at the age of four.

I did come alone to this world, so the ones you call family can easily abandon you at any time. In reality; we only have ourselves.

Since then, I started calculating. Every single step I took, I calculated, predicted, and overcame.

I don't care about anything else except myself. I just wanted to survive, and I would do it no matter what.

I will prove to everyone that I'm not just trash you can toss aside.

I'm worth more than what I'm given credit for.

I want to be recognized as the boy who stood at the top, despite starting as nothing.

And winning this fight is a step forward.

*************************

"Hee, you ready princess?" I ask Emma after notifying her that I'll be counter attacking too.

*I'll show you I'm the boss*