Silent Resilience

The Start of it All

The most inhumane of screams had reached Adriel's ears.

All he could hear was the sound of it; panicked and shrill and absolutely monstrous. For a moment, he wondered if the sound was coming from an animal, as it was so beyond unrecognizable, it made him grow dizzy.

Then he realized the scream was coming from his own mouth.

Ryoji Fujioka, who had come outside upon seeing the ambulance, jumped at the sound. Quickly, he ushered Adriel to sit down on a nearby bench, a gentle hand on his shoulder. Yet as calm as the man tried to act in front of the boy, each haunting wail that left Adriel's mouth made him wince.

For a moment, Ryoji wondered if perhaps the ambulance was here for Adriel. The scream was so loud, so pained, he had thought the young boy was dying. It was at that moment that Ryoji thought, if there was a sound that could describe the soul leaving a body, this would be it.

Then Ryoji saw the body being loaded onto the ambulance car, and without any words spoken, he understood.

"Shhh, c'mon sweetie. It's okay..." he cooed, rubbing circles into Adriel's back.

There was no response, unless you counted even more wailing. As Adriel sat, shaking on the bench, head cradled in his hands, it was as though there were an impenetrable wall surrounding him, blocking off everything. Everything, save the sight of the red and blue lights.

Ryoji realized he wouldn't calm down until the sirens ceased. Quietly, he turned Adriel around so that he was facing away, before parting with a pat on the back. The frazzled man then rolled up his sleeves, and ignoring the sounds of screaming still in the background, entered the scene.

There were a few passerbys looking onwards in confusion. Two ambulance cars sat adjacent to the front door apartment, back doors open with the covered body inside. Ryoji thanked the fact that the host club had left for the Hiitachin's house a few hours ago; this wasn't something he had the heart to try and explain to a bunch of teenagers.

Exchanged words with the ambulance staff gave Ryoji a gist as to what had happened. The landlady had heard a loud crash coming from the apartment, and fearing for the worst, knocked on the door. Many missed calls and concerned shouts later, she decided to call the ambulance, having already begun speculating what had happened inside.

Min Asher, father of Min Adriel, had just been found unconscious in his own home. The glass remains of a broken coffee table were surrounding him, indicating that he had fallen down upon standing. He has yet to wake, only having been found just ten minutes ago.

"Are you perhaps a family member?" a nearby ambulance operator asked, to which Ryoji shook his head with a sigh.

"I live just upstairs from Min-san. Me and Min-san...well, we kind of know each other"

"It would be best if someone who knew him were to come with us. We're just about going to the hospital now-"

"I'm going" Adriel cut in. Ryoji jumped a little, having not heard the sound of the footsteps approaching from behind. Nor had he registered the fact that the loud wailing had stopped.

Now, it was as though Adriel had seen a ghost, which wasn't far from the truth. The haunted, empty look in his wide eyes combined with his tightly pressed lips made him look almost undead. Yet, the tone of assuredness in his voice did not falter. "I'm his son. I want to come"

The ambulance operator raised a brow at the young boy, before sighing. "Adriel Min, right? Come in, we need to get going"

Get going, before it was too late. Though the operator didn't say it, Adriel could read between the words. His stomach lurched at the sight of the covered body as he hopped in through the back doors silently.