White Eyes [ E D I T I N G ]

14 - Unravel

A memory is surely an odd thing.

They existed, but they don't come back again, just leaving a trace, and nothing more. It seems that it is pierced to your mind and heart, never letting you to forget. Sometimes making you weep, or smile at the end.

But the worst thing is...

Reliving the memory of saying goodbye to someone you know, and they never come back.

Kurenai loathed suffering.

Her red eyes was fixed on her only daughter as Mirai played with some plush toys. Frankly, Kurenai gets agitated whenever Mirai scattered her playthings on the floor, but this time, she wasn't in the mood to chastise her smiling child. Konohamaru was also present, accompanying his cousin.

Mirai sat on the carpeted floor, hugging a blue penguin plush toy, calling it "Purple".

"Purple!" She giggled as she hugged the toy tighter.

Konohamaru sighed,"Mirai-chan, that's colored blue..."

The brunette child beamed at her cousin,"I know! Purple!"

Konohamaru accepted his defeat.

Their home was small, but at least it was comfortable. It had a living room, two rooms, a kitchen and whatever you see in usual houses. On the right side of the living room, there was a table which held incense sticks, along with the photographs of Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage and his son Asuma Sarutobi. To honor them, Konohamaru put a box of cigars beside there images.

Smoking had been their stress relief.

One time Kurenai asked Konohamaru if he will smoke one day too, just as his grandfather and uncle did but his reply was:

It tastes nasty, kore.

She just laughed at her nephew's remark.

Looking at their pictures make memories flow back again, the past moments becoming fresh once again. It pains her thinking about her daughter being born without being able to see the face of her own father. But Mirai, at first, she always wondered why she has no father. One day, she asked her mother:

Where is Dada?

Kurenai had no choice but to show her child the tomb of her father. Mirai was indeed a child, but she seemed to understand.

When they reached the cemetery, Mirai looked up to her mom and asked:

Why is he inside a gray rectangle?

Kurenai didn't wish her daughter to know what it's like to be alone, to have a missing piece in her heart. But her daughter understood. She coped up fast, and she accepted it. But Kurenai doesn't know if her daughter holds bitterness in her fragile heart.

Kurenai stood up as she told the both of them,"Konohamaru, Mirai...I'm gonna leave now."

Mirai groaned and pouted,"Why do you have to leaf?"

"Leave, not leaf," Kurenai corrected her softly,"I'm gonna meet up with some friends of mine."

Her daughter pouted even more, muttering,"Don't cheat on Dada, he'll get mad in heaven..."

Konohamaru snickered, earning a disappointed look form his aunt. He quickly apologized,"Sorry..."

Kurenai kneeled down in front of Mirai slowly, smiling while patting her hair,"Don't worry. I always love your Dada!"

Before she left, she ran her slender fingers to the picture frame which held his picture, muttering affectionate words and smiled, then left.