Echoes of the Rain

One rainy day

Yuri sat at the piano, her fingers hovering over the keys as memories began to flood her mind. As she played, the scene shifted to five years earlier.

Yuri was in her cramped bedroom, hurriedly dressing for her first day at college. The small room was cluttered with clothes hanging on every surface and empty noodle packets littering the floor. The overflowing dustbin stood in the corner, a testament to her chaotic life.

She paused for a moment, glancing out the window. The sky was heavy with dark clouds, signaling the imminent arrival of rain. A frown tugged at her lips; she had always disliked the rain. It reminded her of loneliness, of a life where no one was there to send her off with a smile or a kind word.

Grabbing an umbrella, she headed out the door, the weight of solitude pressing down on her. With no one to wish her well, she locked up and walked to the bus stand, her mind a mix of anxiety and determination for the new chapter in her life.

As Yuri's fingers danced across the piano keys, memories of her childhood resurfaced, blending with the melody. Her thoughts drifted back to when she was just six years old, before her life took a tragic turn.
Yuri had once lived in a happy family, surrounded by the warmth of her mother, father, and her little brother, who was only two years old. They were a close-knit family, full of love and laughter. But everything changed on a rainy day, a day that had left a permanent scar on her heart.

It was a day like any other, except for the relentless rain that poured from the sky. Yuri had just finished school and was waiting to be picked up by her mother. When they arrived, Yuri proudly showed her mother the report card, beaming with joy at having earned the first rank in her class. Her mother, smiling, promised to buy her an ice cream to celebrate.

They stopped near a supermarket, and Yuri's mother prepared to cross the road with her little brother in her arms. The rain had only intensified, making visibility poor and the roads slippery. Yuri waited in the car, excitedly watching her mother and brother through the window.

But then, in the blink of an eye, everything shattered. A car, speeding and out of control, struck them as they crossed the road. Yuri's world slowed to a crawl as she witnessed the horrific scene through the rain-streaked glass. Her mother, holding the umbrella in one hand and her brother in the other, was thrown to the ground. The impact was brutal.

Yuri was frozen in shock for a moment before she bolted out of the car, running towards them, her heart pounding in her chest. "Help! Help!" she screamed, tears streaming down her face. People rushed to the scene, and soon an ambulance arrived to take them to the hospital. But it was too late. The doctors could do nothing-her mother and little brother were gone.

That day, the rain became a symbol of loss and grief for Yuri, a reminder of the family she once had and the life that was torn away from her. As she played the piano, the pain of those memories mingled with the music, creating a haunting melody that filled the room.
The haunting melody continued to flow from Yuri's fingers, each note pulling her deeper into the painful memories of her past. After the tragic accident that took her mother and little brother, Yuri's life unraveled even further.

Her father, once a loving and attentive parent, was shattered by the loss of his wife and son. Overcome with grief and unable to cope with the pain, he began to change. The warmth in his eyes faded, replaced by a cold, distant gaze. He couldn't bear to look at Yuri, the daughter who survived while the rest of his family perished. In his brokenness, he started to blame her, irrationally convinced that she was somehow responsible for the tragedy.

The man who had once held her close now kept her at arm's length, his words sharp and filled with resentment. He could no longer bear to care for her and decided to leave her in the care of his mother-Yuri's grandmother.

Yuri was dropped off at her grandmother's house, a place that should have been a refuge but was far from it. Her grandmother had never been happy with Yuri's mother, disapproving of her son's marriage from the start. She believed that the marriage had brought misfortune to their family, and in her bitterness, she extended that coldness to Yuri. To her, Yuri was a constant reminder of the daughter-in-law she had never accepted, and she treated her with indifference, if not outright disdain.

Yuri's life with her grandmother was lonely and loveless. She was provided for, but the affection and care that a child needed were absent. She grew up in an environment where she was seen as a burden, a symbol of everything that had gone wrong. Despite this, she somehow found the strength to keep going, living in a world where she felt unloved and unwanted.

When Yuri turned twelve, her grandmother passed away due to old age. The death was just another loss in a life that seemed filled with nothing but pain. Now truly alone, Yuri had to fend for herself. She took on part-time jobs to survive, working tirelessly to make ends meet. Each day was a struggle, but she pushed through, determined to carve out a life for herself, even if it was one filled with hardship.

From that time on, Yuri hated rainy days. The rain had taken everything from her-her mother, her brother, her father, and even the semblance of a family. It became a symbol of all her losses, and every drop that fell from the sky was a reminder of the pain she carried in her heart.