Moonlight Flower

Vol. 02 Backstory #04 [Sora]

A month had passed since they came to Fontaine City where they were staying at Musica's place. 

Within that period, Mion and Sora tried living in the city, exploring things uncommon and new for them. Almost everything was new to them. 

They had part time jobs. Mion was a helper in a convenience store. He was still having difficulty when it comes to the cashier work but he's a fast learner.

Sora, on the other hand, was a mall cleaner/janitor.

On their first salary, they were taught by Musica over video call that they should learn to budget with these partitions - food, transportation, rent (though he said there's no need to pay at all) and travel cost so that they could go anytime they have a clue about Mion's long lost sister.

For Mion, living in the human world was so different from where he came but it's not that hard. People were nice to him, especially some girls that came to the store he was working at because of his distinct looks compared to other men. The manager was very much glad because their sales went up when he came.

For Sora, he felt so happy, excited and free as he was now back in this world were he was born, where humans were really humans who didn't turn to wolves at their freewill.

He then remembered how he came to Mion's world by accident. He was only seven years old back then.

His memories when he was young were still clear as if those just happened yesterday.

Little Sora had a pancake with a lit candle on the middle of it. He had a bruised face but he still looked happy, seeing his birthday cake, and being surrounded by his parents waiting for him to blow the candle.

He lowered his body to come near the candle since they didn't have a table. The plate was laid on the floor with only a cloth to keep it clean. They were living in a small corner of the horse stable.

"Happy birthday, Sora!" His father and mother told him with a happy but weary smile in their sunken faces. "Make a wish."

Little Sora closed his eyes, thought for a while as if making his wish and blew the candle.

They clapped loudly since it wouldn't be heard from outside because it was raining.

"I wish that we could finally get out of here soon. We will have our own house and lots of foods, not just leftovers. And the three of us will live together forever and ever!"

His pure and innocent wish with that hopeful face made his parents hold back their tears but just smiled encouragingly at their skinny son.

Sora took the small pancake with his tiny fingers and divided it into three. "Let's eat, Mama, Papa!" He handed out the two individual pieces to them.

"Son, that's all yours." His father grinned big. "It's your birthday!"

He shook his head, with his hand still holding out the pancake at them. "I'll be happier if we eat together."

They took it and fed their hungry stomachs. After eating, they took the cloth from the floor, cuddled together and wrapped it around them.

The next morning, Sora was startled when he was pulled forcefully from his parents' arms, out of the stables.

"Where are you taking my son?" His mother gushed our tears and was shaking in fear. Her skinny and small body could only followed his boss. He dragged Sora out and forcefully threw him inside a car. As soon as he was inside, it immediately drove away.

Sora's parents could see their only son being taken away. They tried to chase the car but it drove too fast.

"I've sold him for a cheap price," cursed the boss.

She glared at him with those teary but burning eyes. Before she could hurt him, he pushed her on the ground. "You slaves should not lay a hand to your owner."

The car that carried off Sora stopped at a gas station. Before the driver went out of his car, he strictly warned the sobbing boy not to get out, threatening him with a disgusted look on his eyes.

The gas tank was already full but the driver was still at the nearby diner. He kept glancing at his car to check if the boy was still inside. But during the only few minutes he took his eyes off, he did not see Sora anymore in the back seat. He stood up, left his unfinished coffee and hurried to the car. He looked through the window and looked down of the back seat. He was really not seen. He took his keys and opened the driver side's door. To his surprise, Sora slipped through the narrow opened door. Though he was already seven, he was small and skinny. He used that to this advantage and seized the opportunity to flee. Barefoot, sore and bruised, he ran faster with all his might.  He kept looking back to see the pursuer. His heart raced in fear more when the latter went back to his car.

When the man tried to put the key to start the car, he was unable to insert it because the keyhole was filled with tiny bits of paper. He cursed loudly. "That servant boy got away! His previous owner shall pay me double!"

Little Sora kept running without looking back anymore. He also knew that he was now very far from his parents. He stopped when his feet and legs were already tired and felt numb, that made him tripped down face first. He slowly got up, his arms and legs still shaking. He walked straight to the woods until he reached a cave to take a rest that noon.

When he opened his eyes, it was already evening. His whole body ached. His stomach growled in hunger. He slowly sat up. He saw a big approaching figure. His heart raced. A bear came close and bared its teeth at him. Sora had to run faster to get away.

"Mama! Papa!" was all he could scream inside his head as he ran deeper into the dark cave.

He reached the end of the cave. He knew because there was a light that almost blinded him. He saw water flowing down. Yes, beyond the cave was a waterfall. Behind the waterfall was a cave. He reached his hand out to the water, drank and washed his face. He walked on the side to get out. 

He couldn't believed what unfolded before his eyes - a clean white forest, almost frosted because of snow. It was almost knee-length for his height. He hugged himself for warmth but it was no use. His eyes were heavy. He couldn't feel his own legs anymore. He tried to keep awake with the lingering thoughts of his parents.

"I think I'm dying... It seems like my life is only up to seven years. I'm sorry, Mama, Papa. I couldn't make my promise to you of having our own house and lots of foods."

A tear flowed down. It felt a tingling cold streaming down on his face. He finally surrendered, closed his eyes and fell on the cold yet soft bed of snow. For the first time in his childhood life, he felt at peace. His mind and sight went blank and dark.

Behind him, the waterfalls stopped flowing down. It slowly turned into ice - frozen again in time.

So much for his childhood experience. The Sora now could smile and move on with life thanks to Mion who took him in their warm house made of stone. He fed him and trained him to live, survive, to grow food, to hunt for food and to combat against ferocious animals, and many more.

Mion had done so much for young Sora that he wanted to call him his father, but he refused. Yes, how Mion looked now was the same as how he looked 15 years ago. His face, his built, his height. Nothing had changed. Everyone in that place had the same hair of color and they did not age though some had just died without any sickness. Only Sora grew up into a strong and handsome man, that the two of them now looked of the same age bracket. Mion just looked a little older than him. 

Sora realized that the people there were all men. There was no single woman, not even a mother he could look up to and feel a motherly love he missed so much. He also witnessed them turning into wolves of different colors by their own freewill. But during full moon, all of them were forcefully changed into these beautiful creatures, making him the only human among them.

Because of Mion's kindness to a fragile human as him, he swore to return the favor by helping their whole clan survive and continue to thrive on, despite the unknown disease or phenomenon that took some of their lives.