T.A series Volume 7: Feathers of Fury

Chapter 42 - 2 years ago

In the middle of a gloomy country that her mother calls 'London', 4-year-old Suzuki Sonoko stood among a crowd of people dressed in black. She gazed around with a mixture of confusion and impatience, her small hand gripping the barrier bars that separated her from the sombre scene across the street.

"I am bored," Sonoko found herself saying to her mother.

Her father and sister were not around at that time and took a different flight due to her sister's commitments in school, so they would be arriving a little late around an hour's time. Her mother gently shushed her, her expression stern yet understanding. "Sonoko, this is a funeral. It's a solemn occasion. You need to be respectful."

"But I don't know anyone here," Sonoko pouted, feeling restless and out of place among the sombre crowd.

Her mother sighed softly, her tone gentle. "I understand, dear. But sometimes, we attend these events to show support for others, even if we don't know them personally."

"Can we go now? I'm tired of standing."

 "We'll leave soon, but let's wait a little longer out of respect." Her mother, dressed in dark attire like everyone else, knelt down to Sonoko's eye level. 

"Why do we have to be here, Okaasan?" Sonoko pouted, her lips forming a small frown. "I don't even know who is the boy who died, so why am I here?"

"I couldn't find a babysitter at the last minute, Sonoko."

"But you could've left me with the maids and butlers," Sonoko finds herself pouting.

"I wanted to, but your father has a point, as the daughter of the Suzuki, you have to attend events as a representative on occasion."

"Not really, Ayako-neesan is the successor, so I don't need to since I am the spare."

Suddenly, the distant sound of drums caught Sonoko's attention, and she turned her head towards the source of the noise. As she looked across the street, she saw a procession approaching. Men dressed in traditional clothing rode on horses, while a hearse behind them was carrying a beautifully adorned casket. The casket was surrounded by a sea of flowers, their vibrant colours contrasting starkly with the solemn atmosphere.

Sonoko watched with wide eyes as the procession came closer. The mourners walked behind the hearse, their faces sombre and their expressions filled with grief. The whole scene was unlike anything she had ever witnessed before.

Amid the mourners, she noticed a girl who appeared to be around her age.

With red lips, and an adorned rose eyepatch, she is dressed in her school uniform of Edgewood Academy. The girl's eyes were red and swollen from crying, and she clutched a large frame of the deceased person, a little dirty blonde-haired boy around the age of 8 smiling in the photo. She looked lost in her grief, her small form standing out amidst the adults around her.

As the procession passed by, Sonoko's gaze lingered on the girl.

That is when the mourners surrounding Sonoko spoke among themselves in awe while voicing out in British English.

 "That girl is....how old is she?"

"Four."

"What is with her eyepatch?"

"The kidnapper of the deceased boy, who is his biological mother, kidnapped her to lure her son whom she lost custody to her ex-husband and mistress. I heard he ran back to save her, but he ended up getting killed by that deranged woman. During that poor girl's captivity, I heard that psycho dug out the little girl's eye."

"Really!?"

"Yeah, and this incident took a week ago. During that period, she stoically rehabilitated herself after learning that the deceased boy picked her family to do his funeral as if he knew this was coming."