9. The man...

"Urgh! Nice way to say hello," A man says as a little boy appears out of nowhere, and passes out screaming.

"Can't I just be left alone? Why does stuff keep popping out of thin air?" He scoffs as he picks up the unconscious child, dumps him into his cart for collecting recyclables and covers him up with some useless cartons.

...

Zairo looked around but he could not see clearly, the whole place was covered in thick grey mist.

Being alone, the child was overwhelmed with fear, as he could not see anything or anybody through the thick mist.

"Mom_ Mom_ Mom where are you?" He called out in a low voice, afraid of speaking too loud.

He had no idea where he was, or what was around him, but still hoping his mother would hear his silent cries, and give him a response.

But it was obvious no one heard him, for no response came to him. He heard nothing but the silent wheezing sound of the cold wind blowing around him.

However, faintly in the distance, amidst the thick mist, almost like it made way for him to see... It was the silhouette of a small person.

But it was far from where he stood, he could not make out who it was. His brows creased together as he tried looking through the mist to get a hint at who it was.

It was a useless effort.

But then, even though he could not see who it was, he felt like it was...

"Zaya_ Zaya is that you?" As soon as he calls out, the little figure walks away. And Zairo being almost sure that it was his friend Zaya, calls out again. Now finding a little courage in him to speak up louder.

"Zaya wait don't go!" He prods as he tries running after her in the misty place.

He kept running after her... "Zaya, wait for me," but it was had to even see his own hands and legs amidst all the fog, let alone keep up with someone inside it.

Eventually he gives up. He just kept on walking around blindly, crying and calling out to his mother.

"Mom... Mom where are you?" He sniffles, wiping his running nose with his arm. "Mom!! Zaya!! Where are you?" He kept on calling out, his blue eyes letting out all the water they had in them as he walked around without destination.

Walking blindly and crying his lungs out, he trips over something and lands face flat on the cold ground. He picks himself up, and as he did, the mist that covered the place since was starting to clear, and he could see what laid in front of him.

"Ahhh!!" *waaa*wooo*waaa*

His bawling echos through the place, as he now realizes what he tripped over. The lifeless body of a disciple of Shinok laid at his feet, and he looks up ahead and sees even more people lying on the ground dead.

His hand flies over his eyes scared and alone.

The sight was hideous, but then through the small open lines in his fingers, he saw something more horrific.

His shuddering palms slowly fall from his face as he walks up to the person laying lifeless on the side.

It was his mother's friend, Zaya's father Shinok. And much to his horror, she too laid their beside her father, blood flowing out of her little head.

Zaya his new friend was not even saying anything to him. His little limbs quaked with fear.

Even Taero laid there, a sword sticking out of his body. And then lastly, he raised his head up, and he could see her too. She was also lying there, drowning in a pool of her own blood.

"No... No... No mom, mom, Mom, MOm, MOM, MOM!!!"

"MOM!!!" Hee screams as he wakes up from the nightmare he was having.

"Mom!!! Mom," he keeps on shouting as he bounced up.

"Finally boy, you are awake," the husky voice of a man makes the poor child flinch in fear.

"I thought you would never wake up, I was starting to worry that I brought home a dead body." The man says, moving closer to the rickety bed where Zairo was laid.

Zairo being scared of the man's rough and slightly unkept appearance still musters up courage to say.

"Old man please where is my mother? have you seen my mother?" Glisters of tears filled his little blue eyes as he asked the question.

"You are not very grateful, you did not even thank me for bringing you to my house." The man scoffed, taking a seat in front of the child as he noticed the poor thing trembling as he went near him.

"I don't know about your mother, all I know is that I went around looking for recyclables to sell like I always did, and found you lying on the floor in an alley unconscious." He bluntly explains to the wary child.

"There was no one else with you, you were lying down there all alone." He coldly states and takes a sip of gin from the bottle he was holding.

Zairo burst into more tears as he now realizes it was not just a bad dream, and that they were all gone.

His mother, his new friend and master, all of them. Everyone was gone. He cried and cried for hours until he finally fell asleep again.

The man had prepared a little something for the child to eat, but Zairo did not touch the food at all, he just slept of after crying his heart out.

...

``Zai... Zai_ Zai wake up it's already morning.`` The sweet and tender sound of his mother's voice pulled him up from his sleep, making him rub his eyes over and over with the back of his little wrist to see if she had come back.

But she was not there, she was gone... gone forever.

She was never coming back. He could not see her face anymore, all that was left for him now were the memories... memories that would stay with him forever.