The Bird With One Wing // Klance

Chapter twenty three • hater's show

Flashback:

"Repeat after me!" Eru cleared his throat and sang . "Tweet blue little bird oh tweet tweet tweet! Oh bend down and reach my feet feet feet!"

"Twee' bwoo wittle bird oh twee' twee' twee'! Oh bend down an' weech my fee' fee' fee'!"

I bent down as I sang, back arched and my fingers reaching for my small fat toes. Eru walked besides me and stopped when I stopped. He smiles softly at me and places his hands on his cheeks. "You're the most cutest little brother in the world! Do you know that, Kishi?"

"Kiwi?"

My brother squeezed me tightly and lifts me off my feet, spinning me in circles until I got dizzy. His lips pressed against my soft cheeks and he kisses me at least five times. He lets go of me, finally, and takes my hand under his slightly bigger ones. It's not always easy to be the youngest brother of the family. You have all your siblings looking after you and loving you this much, but sometimes it's challenging to feel tough around older boys.

"Kishi, Do you want to go to the market today?" Eru asked.

"Yes!" I beamed.

Eru drags me out of the house with him. The sunlight shone on my face as we walked out. My blinked several times to adjust my vision.

"Hey!" A man yelled behind us. Eru and I turned around to see our dad running to us from the lake. "Where do you think you're going?"

"To the market, daddy" Eru said, squeezing my hand a little tighter.

"With what money? Get back inside the house. It's a shame to show our faces to the main market with not a penny in our pockets, eh? Maybe another time, children" he says and pats our backs, leading us back inside the house.

"I have a dollar, though. I found it in the bushes!" Eru argued.

"Don't you remember about tax?" Daddy argues back. "You pay one dollar for a bread, they're tax you five dollars more. The government won't change their ways, Eru. And why would you take money sitting in a bush? It could have been child bait!"

"But it wasn't bait!"

"You can't risk your life like that! Don't set your little brother a bad example, do you hear me? He's looking up to you, Eru. You don't want him growing up as a bad person, do you?" Daddy yelled.

He turns from Eru and faces me with his cheeks sucks under his teeth. "And what do you have to say for yourself, mister?"

"Twee' twee' twee'!"

"Fair enough" daddy sighed. "Go on... go help Mayu and Li clean the chicken coop. They can use a hand or two."

"Okay, daddy" Eru said, grabbing my hand again and walking me outside. He makes sure that I don't trip on the stairs, letting me take my time to get down, step by step. "How are you feeling, Kishi?"

"Twee' twee' twee'!"

"You still have that song stuck in your head, huh?" My older brother laughed. "Well... i'm glad you really like it."

--

I made a promise to Lance the other day. He trusts me very well, and kept it. Nothing personal or private, just something he wishes me to do for him. And i'd do anything for my sweet love. Well... anything that I can agree on.

My hands held against the large metal gates, cold under my moist fingertips. They were red now... I didn't know why Spring time was so cold this year. The flowers bloomed already, but it all goes back to people wearing jackets. This was Miami... I thought the weather would be hot all the time. Looks like this year hit bad luck. Things just don't stay the way it is, something's just got to change.