Tic-Tap
In the dark night of a certain city, a few drops of water appeared in the sky, as if announcing that a long-awaited rain was coming.
They fell softly onto the shoulder of a young man.
He raised his head and looked up at the sky.
Those eyes, staring upward, were empty and sad, as if the coming rain meant nothing to him at all.
He only let out a quiet sigh.
"Haizz…"
He walked through the night where there was not a single person around. From time to time, a few stray cats appeared, wandering silently along the streets.
With a heavy heart, he kept walking without direction—no goal, no place to return to.
He was simply moving forward, step by step.
"I wonder why I'm even here," he thought.
"Walking around like this in an empty night… someone suspicious like me might even get stopped by the police."
His body looked fragile.
He wore only a thin jacket, a simple black shirt underneath, black jeans, and a pair of black sneakers.
His appearance alone made him look even more suspicious if anyone happened to notice him.
But he had no choice—this was the only complete outfit he had left.
"Ah… now I remember why I'm here."
He looked up at the starless night sky again and clenched his fists, his mood sinking as the memories of the day returned.
"I just became an orphan… at the age of eighteen."
A bitter smile appeared on his face.
"Who would have thought?"
"On my eighteenth birthday, the only family I had left… the person who cared for me, who loved me the most…"
"My mother… passed away."
His voice was rough. He had to force himself to say these words—words he never wanted to speak.
Suddenly, more raindrops began to fall.
More and more, until they turned into heavy rain.
The sound of the rain grew thick and heavy, striking his face as if adding another layer to his silent sorrow.
He ignored it, letting the rain flow freely down his face, washing over his loss. His mind drifted back to the moments before his mother's death.
That is at his house, where he have spent 18 years.
The house looks dilapidated and abandoned, but it is the warmest place he can feel in this damn world.
He remembered his gentle and beautiful mother, who raised him alone after his father passed away when he was only ten years old.
She became the only one who carried everything on her shoulders.
Because she worked too hard for too long, she fell ill with a fatal disease—one that even doctors could only regretfully look at, no matter how much money was offered.
She lay on a simple bed, breathing heavily. Her eyes were dim, her body thin, and her once-beautiful face had turned pale. She knew she did not have much time left.
Weakly, she looked at him.
He could only stand there, staring into empty space, knowing deep inside that she could no longer stay with him.
With a faint voice that seemed ready to fade at any moment—yet still full of a mother's gentleness—she spoke:
"Ashfei… my child… come here."
Hearing his name, he snapped back to reality and quickly ran to her bedside.
"Ah… Ash… my little son…"
"I… I'm sorry… I can't… walk with you anymore…"
Her voice grew weaker in his ears.
He lowered his head, unable to say anything, then tremblingly reached out and held her hand.
"Ash… listen to me…"
"Please try to live… even if this world is unfair to you…"
"Even if you never had a happy childhood… even if you suffered more than someone your age ever should…"
Her voice faded little by little.
The more she spoke, the tighter he held her hand, trying desperately to hear every word.
"But remember… this is only a small part of your journey… this is just the beginning…"
Her words became whispers, so soft that he would not have heard them if he were not so close.
Her breathing slowly weakened.
At that moment, he knew—these were her final words.
So he remained silent, listening carefully to her final words.
"So… live well…"
"And…"
"Happy birthday… my dear…"
She wished him a happy birthday with a weak smile, yet behind it was endless love and warmth.
Ashfei looked at his mother. Tears flowed from his eyes, rolling down his cheeks.
He forced himself to smile—the most beautiful smile he could make, a smile he would never forget for the rest of his life.
With a choked voice, he replied:
"Mom… thank you…"
She smiled peacefully and closed her eyes.
At that moment, at that time, her breathing stopped.
Her face relaxed, her eyes slowly closed, and that gentle smile remained.
She had passed away.
Ashfei fell to his knees, still holding his mother's hand.
Tears continued to fall, dripping onto the ground.
From that day on, he swore it would be the last time he cried.
After her death, he sold the house and everything he owned to build a small grave for her in the Ash area, beside his father's grave.
He kept only a little money—just enough to survive for a few days.
If his mother had known, she would have been furious and scolded him.
But Ash did not care.
This was what he wanted to do for his great mother.
After the funeral, the funeral that only him present.
He wandered through the city, feeling lost and empty.
A boy who had lost his father, then his mother, then his home—now walking like a homeless soul.
Remembering his mother's last words, Ash promised to follow her wish: to keep living, to keep existing, and to keep fighting in this cursed world.
He looked up at the night sky under the rain.
A soulless gaze looks at the sky.
Whispered to himself, his voice quiet but filled with firm determination, like a declaration.
"Hey, world… can you hear me?"
"Do you think that after taking my father, my mother, and everything I had, I would fall into despair?"
"Absolutely no."
"Watch closely. This small and sorrowful human will show you what it means for an ant to fight against the heavens."
Those words, though small, but carry a very heavy meaning.
He let the rain carry him away.
It was an unbearable loss for a boy who had just turned eighteen.
And yet, it was also the beginning of everything—the day he started his journey through life.
Ashfei's mother passed away on 02-05-2525.
It is also Ash's 18th birthday.