It's Complicated

Chapter 3

The day was October thirteenth. Today marked six years. Six years Naruto had suffered alone. Six years without the nurturing of her mother. Six years without the protection of her father. Six years within the cold empty walls of what used to be her home. Six years of silence.

It was the anniversary of her parents deaths. Naruto had skipped school all week in preparation for this day. The only day she could bear facing her parents. The only day she didn't have to act; pretending everything was okay and forcing herself to believe she was too. She wasn't. And she hadn't been since the day she lost them.

The morning air was frigid, the wind whistled a somber tune that brought the beautiful blue sky to tears.

'Perfect weather for a tragic day'

Naruto sat in bed, perfectly still, watching the trees dance to the shrill notes of the wind. She hadn't gotten any sleep the night before. Her mind had been too active to rest.

A loud ringing noise sounded in the still room. The alarm clock blared signaling Naruto to start her day. Naruto sat up shutting the alarm clock off and reading the red digits that marked five AM.

°×°×°×

Naruto moved around the kitchen quietly, she had dressed in her best clothes and curled her long blonde hair. She wore a knee-length floral patterned dress and white flats, she had made sure to dress her best to see her parents.

She was making dango, onigiri, stewed veggies, and ramen her parent's favorite dishes. Once finished she packed all the food and some tea into thermal bentos, and grabbed her coat.

Naruto made her way out of the house, locking the door behind her

The clock had struck 7:17 by the time Naruto had made her way to the cemetery. The wind whipped around the blonde's small frame as she exited the house.

The walk to her parents' resting place was long, but it had been one she endured every year. As morbid as it may sound, Naruto had come to enjoy it; the silence
filled the space around her, the trees that guided her on her way. It had become the only time she could truly be herself. The only time she didn't have to act.

Before she knew it the blonde was turning the corner to the cemetery. With a deep breath, she passed through the erie gates and went in.

°×°×°×

It was 10: 37 at the time Naruto arrived back home. The blonde was drenched from head to toe and covered in mud and leaves from spending all that time kneeling in the graveyard.

She had spent her time telling them about the things going on in her life; how she was doing in school, Sasuke, the new friends she had made. By the end of her rant, the blonde was in tears from the yearning she felt for her family. She yearned for the feeling of her mother's soft hands running through her hair, the rough hands of her fathers wiping away her tears, and even the feeling of sisterhood she never got to taste.

Upon entering her empty house, Naruto discarded her bags on the counter before heading to her parent's bedroom. Still in the condition they left it, as though she expected her parents to come back and pick up where they had left off. But the girl could only dream.

Naruto gave a glance around the room scanning everything as though she'd forget it all. Visiting the graves of her family had always taken its toll on the blonde; making the ache in her heart grow bigger and bigger until it swallowed her whole.