A Life Foretold

Chapter 16: Their Life That's Foretold

2116 words.

I took a deep breath, letting the oxygen expand my lunges and then release warm air through my mouth. Breathing is a part of living, and right now, living didn't feel so bad. Breathing like this was releasing the burdens that weighed those lunges for so long.

It was a breath of relief. A real one.

I looked around the room to see the members of Alateen all staring with wide eyes, and then a girl with braided red hair smiled at me. Her cheeks that were full of freckles were blushed while tears dripped down past her dimples. "It's nice to truly meet you, Killua."

Embarrassment made my face warm. "Y-yeah." I scratched my neck sheepishly. "Thanks for listening, I guess."

"I hope you will come again, Killua," the blonde woman, the supervisor, said.

I nodded. "I will. I mean, it's only fair I hear everyone else's' stories, too."

The meeting wrapped up from there, and everyone rose from their seats while saying goodbye to one another. Reluctantly, I did the same.

Where will I go after this?

It was Grandfather's idea to bring me to this meeting.

I haven't seen my mother since...

Suddenly, I noticed the girl with braided hair standing in front of me, and before I could open my mouth to question it, I was wrapped into a warm embrace. She nuzzled her nose in my chest while I awkwardly patted her head, yet it also felt sort of relieving. It reminded me of Alluka.

"Thank you, Killua," she sobbed and then peered up at me with glossy eyes. "I've always been too scared to open up like that. I t-think," she hiccuped, "I think I'm done running away. I now know I'm no longer alone."

Like she snapped into reality of her sudden actions, she straightened up and took a stiff step back. "Sorry. That was weird."

I shook my head. "Don't be. You remind me of my younger sister, Alluka."

She laughed. "I know I look young, but I'm actually nineteen."

"You're older than me? What's your name?"

"Aha, I guess I never introduced myself. I'm Noko Freecss. I've been going here for about three months or so, but I've never really talked during the meetings."

My mouth fell agape. "Freecss!?!"

She tilted her head in confusion.

"You don't happen to know Gon Freecss, do you?"

"Y-yeah... He's my younger brother. Do you know him?"

Oh my god. She's Gon's missing older sister!

My brain still failed to wrap around this news, and I stayed there buffering while she picked up my hand and placed a slip of paper in it. "This is my number. I hope we can become good friends." She began walking away. "See you later, Killua."

"Wait!"

Should I tell her?

"Hm?"

I decided against it.

It would be better to talk to Gon, first.

"Sorry, nevermind. I'll talk about it later."

"Okay." She paused before smiling. "You know, you should write a book."