The beach.
White sands spanning a kiloter or so, glistening in the midday sun as children and adults alike frolicked. Parasols and picnic blankets littered the sand, coupled with people lying on their stomachs for that sunkissed tan.
Not a cloud was present in the sky. Gentle waves hit the shore with a calm splashing sound as if it was lulling soone to sleep. Indistinct noises filled the area, and joy lingered in the air despite the intense heat that rained down on the place.
It was the perfect atmosphere for the beach, too perfect, in fact, that Haji couldn’t help but let out an exhale of contentnt. Putting his right hand above his head, he tried to pinpoint where his family set up their picnic blanket. This was their first beach trip in years, and he had decided to enjoy every mont of it.
"Co on, big brother, what are you doing there? Spacing out and all..." Akiko nudged him on his side. She wore a light blue swimsuit with white florals as design, and she balanced a floatie on her shoulders.
"An inflatable donut... are you going to take that to the sea? What are you, ten?" Haji teased, grabbing the floatie from her younger sister’s hand before heading to the sea. He jumped on it, feeling the tug as it dropped down before floating in an instant.
"NO! That’s mine!" Akiko pouted, rushing to the water before tugging at his brother, who had already sunk his rear side in the hole of the water donut.
"Of course, it’s yours. I’m just borrowing it." Haji called out, ruffling his sister’s hair before splashing her face with seawater.
Seiji and Mizuki called out from the shore to their daughter and son as they unpacked the sandwiches they had brought to the sea. It was the perfect ti for lunch, and there was no way they’d wait for their children to get back before they started eating.
"Here you go, and here you go. Don’t forget to drink water, okay? We’re by the sea, but that doesn’t an you won’t get dehydrated with all that water around." Seiji reminded them as he handed the two so sandwiches and two water bottles.
After muttering a soft thank you, Haji heartily ate the sandwich he was given. It had been so long since he tasted his mother’s cooking, and he savored every bit of it. Usually, he would cook for himself and his sister whenever their parents weren’t ho— which was most of the ti. He wasn’t half as good at cooking as her mother, though, and that’s why he still preferred his mother’s cooking. Well, everyone in the family preferred her cooking more than anything.
"Are you happy, big brother?" Akiko asked out of the blue as she stared at her with those puppy-like black irises of hers.
It was such a random question, but Haji answered it truthfully. "Yes, I am, why? Are you all right? Why are you asking that out of nowhere?"
With deep longing in her eyes, she smiled before shaking her head. "Hmm... then stay that way, okay? You’re happy when I’m happy, so don’t ever be sad." She continued.
Haji gave his sister a suspicious look, wondering why she was saying all these weird things as if they were normal. Even his parents, who were right there, weren’t even embarrassed by what their daughter said. They just nodded along as if completely agreeing with what she uttered.
Then everything went black.
...
Glimpses of reality appeared in Haji’s vision as he was transferred to a gurney and then rolled towards the ambulance parked right outside the abandoned warehouse.
From afar, he saw Ricardo’s n being rounded up, as well as the flashing lights of the ever-blaring police cars. Ricardo, who had been unconscious all this ti, was also dragged into one of the gurneys. He could’ve sworn that he saw the three debt collectors talking to the police, and it seed like they weren’t wearing any handcuffs. Whatever words they said to trick the police might’ve worked, and Haji was frustrated by it.
gumi was also there, bawling her eyes out while she walked alongside the gurney. Once they got to the ambulance, she seated herself beside him, clasping his arms while muttering a silent prayer under her breath. As ntioned before, these were just glimpses, montary visions that Haji had connected in his brain for everything to make sense. Whatever happened during that ti wasn’t clear to him.
To everyone else, though, it was an entirely different case. Reporters from different news stations flocked to the supposed Ricardo Basilio hideout, and his cris and wrongdoings were brought to light, giving a justifiable conclusion to the countless heinous cris he had committed worldwide. Haji’s past, which had been unintentionally kept as a secret, began to surface. Of course, his parents’ real identities were kept secret, but that doesn’t an their incident wasn’t brought to light once again. The car accident which had happened a year ago was also added to Ricardo’s pile of cris, and even with so of the authorities on his side, there was no way he’d be able to escape trial.
In just a day, Haji’s life had taken a sudden turn. From being mistaken as a delinquent in school to becoming one of the most famous people in the world. Of course, how could he not be famous after he allegedly stood up against Ricardo Basilio and knocked him unconscious? Authorities around the world comnded him for his bravery— that’s the least they could do since they failed to catch Ricardo Basilio in the past. So of them might’ve even helped the criminal in the past. Who knows.
While all these commotions were happening, Haji remained unconscious. He slept through the entire situation while gumi looked after him, barely getting any sleep herself. Ever since that traumatic experience had co to a conclusion, gumi was still out of it. She suffered a mild post-traumatic stress disorder, but she didn’t take it to heart since she was well aware that Haji had it harder than she did.
Knock. Knock.
gumi turned her head away from the door before muttering gently. "Co in,"
"Are you doing all right, gumi?" Kikuchi Saori, gumi’s mother, asked as she entered the room. After taking a brief glance at Haji, she wore a concerned expression before sitting beside her grieving daughter.
After a split second of contemplation, gumi nodded her head in response, wiping off the tears in her eyes as she did so.
"I know this is not the best of tis, but we need to talk... it’s about Haji." Saori continued, clasping her daughter’s hands. The door then slowly opened, and in ca gumi’s father, who seed to be waiting outside for quite so ti now.
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