Thirty Years

Ugly Crier

"Hey-Hey sis, what's wrong?" Via woke up sobbing, hugging her knees to her chest and opened her eyes to see the 10-year old baby face of her younger brother, Asa.

What is this? Am I dreaming?

Stumbling around her brother's figure at the side of her 10-year-old bedroom, Via walked into the bathroom we shared. Staring back at her through her old bathroom mirror was a young girl with sharp eyes. Her hair was long and dark and she had unblemished fair skin. Via was looking at her 10-year-old self.

In a daze, Via walked out of her bedroom to see Asa sitting on her bed with a bewildered look on his face. At 10 years old, his light hair had yet to turn golden brown and he still had some baby fat on his face. Although she was only a few hours older than him, Via still considered him as her baby brother.

Seeing Asa again, healthy and well, Via broke down again. Soft footsteps sounded in the hallway as Maix, her 14-year-old brother, came running in. Although Via saw Asa give him a strange look as if to say "this again?" while gesturing around her as he wrapped her in his embrace, she decided to ignore it as she was too grateful to see them.

Before, Via had never been good at expressing herself. While she was close with her brothers as a child, she eventually lose contact with them until she heard of the severe injuries Sophie's men gave them. Thinking of the last time she saw these two while in both their arms, Via began to calm down. She remember seeing Asa, beaten beyond recognition and Maix, who could never walk again lying in the same hospital room and smiling at her as though she was the one who needed comforting when she rushed in to see them.

I won't ever let that happen again. Sniffling, Via stood up and jumped on Maix's back playfully.

"To the kitchen!" Chuckling to himself, Maix carried her out of her bedroom and brought her to down to the kitchen with Asa following after them.