take a chance with me | ushijima wakatoshi

prologue - loss

Somewhere on the road, Tokyo. July, 25th 2003

In the golden hues of the summer evening, Yoshida Hayato, a devoted loving father set out from Disneyland, with his three sons, Kenzo, Ken'ichi, and Shouta and his beloved daughter, Sana. Laughter echoed through the car as they recounted the joyous moments shared at the magical theme park.

As they traversed the highway, their hearts still filled with the enchantment of the day, tragedy struck with a sudden ferocity. A tire blew out, sending their car spiraling off the road, crashing down an embankment in a cacophony of twisted metal and shattered glass.

When Sana regained consciousness amidst the wreckage, her world had been shattered into a million fragmented pieces. Through tear-blurred eyes, she searched desperately for her father, her heart pounding with fear and dread. Beside her, Hayato lay still, his once vibrant spirit extinguished by the merciless force of the crash.

"Dad? Are you th...ere? Please help me! I'm stuck!". Sana cried and screamed for her father. She was in a lot of pain and visions were blurry. The car was upside down and she barely could breathe. "Shoutaaaa! Kenzo-nichaaaan! Ken'ichi-nichaaan! Wake up!". The sound of people started gathering around the upside down car as they told her and her family members that help was on their way. Sana kept calling for her family members but none of them seemed conscious. They were too quiet and did not seem to try to move or speak. "Oh my god, is that the famous volleyball player? Yoshida Hayato! He's with his kids!". The crowds were murmuring and in shock after some of them trying to help the family out of the car but failing miserably as the car was too damaged to get in.

A strangled cry escaped Sana's lips as she reached out to shake her father, pleading for him to wake up. Hayato started waking up after Sana kept screaming at him for several minutes. "Sa...na?'. Hayato said slowly as he tried to open his eyes, looking for his little girl. "Dad! I'm stuck in the car seat. Help me!!". She cried loudly in pain. "Hey, hey, Dad's here, okay? You're going to be... fine. I pro...mise...". Hayato struggled to utter proper sentences to his daughter as he was also in pain after his head got injured on the steering wheel when he hit the brake, trying to slow down the impact. His injury was too serious as he started coughing up blood and tried to remain calm for his daughter. He knew deep down that he would not make it out alive. 

There were many things he wanted to say to Sana before the inevitable happened. "Sana, listen to me, you will be fine... help is on the way. Try to stay put, okay?". He mumbled those words in whisper as he tried to put pressure on his bleeding abdomen although it was certainly no use. "Dad... Shouta... Nichan... They haven't woken up yet. I tried to wake them up but they're not saying anything... Can you try?. She barely could hear Hayato as she kept trying to wake her brothers. Hayato looked at the back of his seat for his sons but he knew they were never waking up again after looking at the injuries the three of them sustained. Sana wasn't as badly injured when Kenzo wrapped her in his arms when the car turned upside down. Hayato remained calm, holding back his tears so Sana couldn't see them. 

"Hey, hey... they're fine. They're just... ummm resting their... eyes. They must have been tired from the ride you guys just rode." he convinced his youngest daughter. "Ohhh.. o..kay, dad... Are you okay? Are... you hurt?" the girl asked her dad, winced in pain when she tried to get out from the flipped car. 

Hayato was staring at his little girl, weakly. So many thoughts running in his head. This is how he was going to go. He wished to see his kids grow up, graduate, fall in love but those dreams seemed far away now as he was still putting pressure on his bleeding abdomen. The blood would not stop from flowing and worsened with his obtained head injury. He kept thinking of the things he wanted to say to Sana before he passed. He talked to this guy named God in his heart. 

"God, please save her.. I won't ask for anything else...".  "Sana, dear... Please listen to me... I don't... *breathes in deeply*... think that I can hold on any much longer..." the 37 year old man spoke to his daughter softly, tears started forming in his dark grey eyes. "Dad, I don't understand... please... stay... I'm scared...."Sana kept crying as she struggled trying to get out of her seat to get to her father. 

"Listen to me... I love you, my little sunshine. I am so blessed to have... a daughter like you... and tell your mother that I will always love her even when I'm not here anymore... and for me, please live the way you want to. Do not let anyone tell you the way you choose to live and ummm... live vigorously. That way, my wish will have come true. Promise me, dear..." he spoke softly while looking at Sana lovingly. He spoke of his last wish in tears while smiling.

 "Never once I regret the day I chose to marry your mother. Spending everyday with you and your brothers were the best ones I had... I wish there was more time... " Hayato started babbling to distract Sana from the nightmare they were in. How he wished his little girl would at least remember his face without all the mountain pool of blood he was in. 

"Dad, you're hurt... and... why are you speaking like that? Please hold *cough* hold... on for a bit..." the girl was confused with her dad babbling. 

"Promise me, you will live vigorously no matter what path you choose." the father spoke sternly towards his daughter, making sure she heard him.

" I promise, dad... I love you..." 

"Good, thank you, sunshine..."

"Dad? Dad? DAAADDDD!!!" Sana screamed, crying for her father. She kept on screaming, trying to reach her father with her frail tiny arms.  But he remained motionless, his face peaceful yet devoid of life. Anguish gripped her heart like a vice as she realized that her father was gone, leaving behind a chasm of emptiness that threatened to consume her whole.

In the agonizing hours that followed, Sana clung to the fading hope of rescue, her soul weighed down by the heavy burden of loss. Memories of her beloved brothers and her father haunted her, each passing moment a cruel reminder of shattered dreams and irreparable pain.

When help finally arrived, it was too late for Hayato. His life snuffed out in an instant, leaving behind a void that could never be filled. Sana's heart fractured anew as she held onto his lifeless form, her grief overwhelming in its intensity.

The firefighters were pulling out her brothers' and father's corpses while she was just staring at the abyss, exhausted from crying. She knew there was nothing could be done and it felt like her whole world was shattering. Two of them looked at her, pitiful of the little girl's fate, trying to distract her by singing Toxic by Britney Spears. "Great, now I hate Britney Spears." Sana thought while looking at them deliberately.