Memories of a Tragic Past

Time rewinds itself several years in the past.

A young little boy with aquamarine-colored eyes and chestnut-colored hair sat down while eating milk and cereal from a small bowl.

He was inside what seemed like a minivan, a few centimeters near him there was a small bed where a woman was sleeping while snoring, there were several empty bottles around her and her entire body smelt like alcohol.

The boy's eyes, although beautiful, seemed rather devoid of the common light that brought life to one's eyes. He ate the cereal slowly while crunching on it without much enthusiasm.

His eyes seemed saddened, and his mind was clouded with negative thoughts.

"Did dad left me and mom because I am a failure…?" he thought.

"I wish he could be with me…"

"He was always so happy, without him, everything seems so gloomy…"

"Mommy is always sleeping and drinking…"

"Perhaps the kids at school are right… I am a failure…"

"A chicken, a weakling… And not even that, but also stupid and bad at studies… I am really a failure in everything…

"P-Perhaps… I didn't deserve my dad…"

The boy felt dispirited and slowly fell into a deeper and darker abyss, for someone so young to feel like this, such experiences in life must have been rougher and more terrible than what other kids had.

A childhood without friends… A childhood with an alcoholic and depressed mother… A childhood with bullies constantly reminding him how much of a failure he was…

Was there anything he could find joy in?

He glanced at his mother sleeping, as he felt kind of bad, desiring the warmth that she once gave to him when his father was present.

He slowly walked towards her sleeping mother as he shook his mother's hands.

"Mom… Mom…"

"Mom… Wake up… Can I… Can I hug you?"

"Mmhh… Agh… Go away! You little leech!" roared his mother, waving her arm and throwing the boy away into the ground.

The boy landed on his butt, but even that hurt a bit, he felt like he was about to burst into tears, but even then, he knew that such a meaningless act would only end up enraging his mother even more.

He felt alone even with someone like his mother in front of him.

"Ouch…"

The boy contained his tears as he cleaned the tiny bit of water that had appeared beneath his eyes, sighing, and standing up… he walked around the minivan as he glanced at the window.

He glanced at the sky.

The clouds passing by relaxed him, it was the only thing that always worked. Glancing at the clear sky… the water clear heaven of above, the fluffy and white clouds that passed by with absolute tranquilness.

He glanced at the birds flying over the sky, seeking new horizons and a new life, moving towards the faraway mountains as the wind slowly caressed their long wings and feathers.

A sense of peace emerged from within his mind as the boy glanced at the birds.

"I wish… I wish I were a bird… Then I could fly away from this… and look for father…"

"Maybe if I find Father… mother can be nicer to me… And we can live happily together again… Maybe if we can live happily together again… Perhaps the bullies will notice and will stop annoying me…"

The little boy glanced at the sky, tranquil and peaceful. His thoughts lessened as his negative emotions became dimmer… he slowly felt anew, although he knew that whenever he averted his sight from the heavens above, he would see the reality he was, and he would end up going back to such reality… but for now, he wanted to keep glancing above, to keep imagining himself soaring through the skies with the birds as his companions, seeking for new horizons and his father.

On his little and young mind, he really could not think much other than what he saw in the present, even if the future were to be completely different, diving into dreams was the only thing he could do at the moment.

As much as he tried, he could not understand the books at school, and as much as he tried to make friends, everyone rejected him because he was always wearing terrible clothes and smelled bad.

The boy did take baths, but because they lived in a minivan, his mother would often not let him waste all the water into that.

Life was rough in every possible way, but he still held the willingness to live… and to see every day the clear sky, the calm clouds, and the beautiful birds soaring through the sky.

"Hmm… It's time for school… I will try to pay more attention to the teacher… She's nice," thought the boy, walking back to his messy bed and grabbing his backpack… he glanced back at his sleeping mother with saddened eyes.

"M-Mom… I'm going to school…" he said, expecting something from his mother, only to receive her groan as she changed her sleeping position, giving him her back.

The boy's lifeless eyes glanced at the ground as he moved towards the door, opened it, got out, and then closed it as slowly as possible to not annoy his mother.

He then glanced once again back to the sky, as his mind dimmed the bad thoughts.

"Today… let's make it a good day…" he thought, forcing a mild smile on his face as he walked with energy to his school.

Such a scene began to fragment into pieces as darkness took hold of Frank's vision, and then, his eyes opened to see the ceiling of his room.

This was nothing but a small dream, a fleeting memory of his past.

"Sigh… These dreams again… Well, it has not happened in a while… When my mind is so immersed into these dreams, it often feels as if waking up is a relief…" he thought.

Frank thought about his past, his lost father, and his mother.

"She has really changed since then… getting angry over these memories is meaningless now… She has made up since then, I do not even recognize the mother of my past to the one now… she really did have a big metamorphosis… This only shows how all humans can change for the better, no matter what…" thought Frank, sitting on his bed as he stretched and walked to the bathroom, taking a relaxing bath, and then going down to have breakfast.

"Third day of high school! How's my champion? How many girls have you charmed? Fufu," asked Frank's mother as she greeted her son with her usual happy and uplifting personality.

"I bet he's popular, just look how handsome this young man is… I was such a wimp at high school, no girl ever took a glance at a loser like me, haha," laughed Frank's stepfather as he drank coffee.

"Dear, don't say that! You are a great man! If you had the luck to be with me, those girls were the losers!" said Frank's mother, kissing Frank's cheeks and then his stepfather's forehead.

"I haven't charmed any girl… I am kind of like dad… Well, there is a girl, but it has been just two days, I can't really get to know her better in so little time. She is named Harumi… ah, and there is this guy who has suddenly become my best friend, Matsuo. He's incredibly nice and friendly, and also quite funny," said Frank.

"So her name is Harumi!" said Frank's sister.

"Kamei, stop being like that… I don't know how I've failed as a brother to have such a jealous little sister…" said Frank.

"I am not jealous… I just want the best girl for nii-san! And a random Harumi might not be enough!" said Kamei while pouting cutely.

"So that's her name! So? How's she? Do you like her, my man?" asked Frank's father with a smug.

"…Stop being so cringy, dad. And, well, yeah, she is very pretty… but her personality… Sheesh, she's a hard girl to please. But it seems that she had become a bit nicer, she even let me copy math's homework-"

"What?! You didn't do your homework, my son?!" asked Frank's mother with bewilderment.

"Ah! Mom…! I can explain it…" muttered Frank.

"Frank… Jason!" roared Frank's mother.

"D-Didn't I mention how pretty you are today, mother? That skin-care cream you used is really taking a good effect on your skin, it looks so smooth!" said Frank.

"Oh, really? Hehe, it was a bit pricey, but I saved money! And- Agh! Flattery won't save you all the time!" said Frank's mother.

"Okay… Sorry… I have been, err… busy with… Matsuo, remember that he invited me to have dinner?" asked Frank.

"Oh right… I suppose I can let it slide…" said Frank's mother.

"Ah, it's not like you can do anything to me…" muttered Frank teasingly.

"I can shut down your phone internet and change the wifi password," said Frank's mother.

"GEH…! Wait, okay! I yield! I yield!" said Frank.

"Hahaha! You two are always so hilarious" laughed Frank's stepfather.

"Tell him, mom! He gotta get better at school!" said Kamei.

"I am already quite good, Kamei! Don't badmouth me like that because you're jealous!" said Frank.

"Meh!" said Kamei, crossing her arms.

"Sigh… What a wild family… But is better than it ever was before…" thought Frank, as he continued having breakfast with his family until it was time to go back to school again. He kept glancing at the sky every day though.