SnowStorm

[1]

When fear rules, we seek shelter. We seek for comfort. When darkness reigns, we look for the sun. We seek the light. When the water rises, we search for higher ground. We seek for safety.

The solitude of her room was her comfort. It gave her a sense of protection. Her house was her relief. It gave her a sense of safety- something that she was deprived of years ago. It's been six years after that event, and ten years since her mother's death. The haunting memories still fresh in her mind. It was a nightmare. A nightmare she could not seem to escape no matter how much time has passed. It was always there, lurking in the shadows, ready to strike when she's at her weakest.

A knock on her door cut off all of her focus on the past and a voice called out from the other side. She was back in her safe haven, away from the past's grasp. She released a shaky breath.

"Sweetheart, you only have an hour left before the entrance exam starts."

A smile adorned the girl's face as she sat up on her comfortable bed. She got her phone and shoved it in her pocket.

"I'll be out in a second, dad."

She stood and looked at herself in the mirror. Her heterochromic eyes sparkled as she fixed her wavy blue hair. A flash of her Mother's face appeared as she stared at her mirror. Her mother's smiling face gave her a sense of nostalgia. It made the girl miss the good old times.

"Soon, Mom, I'll be a hero like you."

"Sweetheart??"

"Coming dad!"

She glanced at her mirror again and saw herself, not her mother's comforting presence. A small sigh escaped her lips as she got her backpack and exited the room. Her father's never faltering smile met her as she faced him.

"Your mother will be proud, Fuyu."

The girl, Fuyu, gave her father a small smile and wrapped her arms around him. This man saved her from hell and she'll do everything for him. Even if it meant going back to hell to save him and busting them both out of it.

"I'm proud of you too." A hand stroked her hair, giving her comfort. Her father always knew it relaxes her.

"Thanks, Dad. I would never have the chance to take the UA entrance exam if it weren't for you and Gramps pushing me to do it. You two wont stop bothering me to take it."

Both chuckled as they reminisced those moments. Both males had to drag her outside their house to actually train again. Day and night, gramps trained her so she was back in shape while her father was busy doing other things.

They broke the hug and proceeded to go out of their house and to their car. Locking the door behind her, she felt anxious. She was leaving her safe haven. She remembered all the bad times before and it scared her. She took a shaky step forward, feeling the crunch of dirt beneath her feet. It has been a month since she last stepped out of the house to train with her dad and gramps. The bad memories flooding all at once made her hyperventilate. She was terrified.

Toshinori smiled sympathetically at his daughter. He knew her fears. He knew her traumas. He knew her pain, and he'll be damned if he won't be there to help her get through it. Fuyu meant the world to him. She was his precious daughter, his little princess.

"Take a deep breath, sweetheart. You can do it."

Fuyu took a deep breath and exhaled. The bad thoughts and memories started to fade away.  It became easier to breathe. She remembered her mother's comforting presence and thought about her father's never-ending support. A rush of confidence washed over her and she smiled. Her smile seemed to have brightened up everything around her. Toshinori smiled as well. This was one of those rare moments when he can witness this kind of smile- a smile full of hope and innocence.