The graduation was a happy time for everyone. They were all excited to go to the middle school. They were sitting in the school courtyard, all dressed up with their proud parents. The air was filled with excitement and happiness.
Everyone was happy except Kikimura.
Kikimura was sitting in a tree watching from above. He was looking at the kids, who all looked really happy. He wished he could be happy like them.
Then he saw Makira. She was easy to spot. Kikimuras heart started beating. Maybe she would find him. This would be very embarrassing.
But in reality, everyone forgot about Kikimura. They got caught up in the celebration, which made him feel sadder and lonelier.
Kikimura climbed down from the tree and started walking. He walked faster and faster, not because he was in a hurry, but because he wanted to get away.
The rain started to fall really heavily, making the dirt paths slippery. By the time he got home, his clothes were soaked.
The cold rain was nothing compared to the feeling he got when he got inside the house.
Kikimura lived with his father, who was an old sick man. Very sick, so he had to stay in bed while Kikimura took care of him.
His mom died when he was born, and his dad had never forgiven him for it. In his dad's eyes, Kikimura was not a son. But only a reminder of what he had lost.
The village hated him, too, because of the mother-son curse. Like it was his choice.
Every time Kikimura came home, his dad would yell at him.. But this time it was very quiet.
It was not just quiet.
"Is he sleeping ?" Kikimura started questioning about the quietness.
Kikimura's footsteps on the wood echoed in the house as he walked to his dad's room. He opened the door. Saw his dad lying in bed with his head covered. Something was wrong.
Kikimura went over to the bed. Pulled back the blanket. What he saw would stay with him forever.
His dad's face was pale with open eyes.
Kikimura stepped back in fear. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"Father!" Kikimura shouted for his dad while shaking him with force. It was no use. He was dead.
"Help! My father is not moving", Kikimura ran out of the house into the rain and shouted for help. But no one cares.
The rain was not as heavy by the time Kikimura finished burying his dad.
He had done it all by himself, using a shovel to dig a hole in the ground.
Now Kikimura stood in front of the grave crying. His hair was stuck to his face, and his body was shaking.
"I am sorry", he said to the grave.
"I am sorry, Father. If I had never been born, you would have been happy."
He knelt in the mud. Put his head on the ground and started crying. Not only because of the death of his father, but also because he has no one left.
When Kikimura went back to his house, he felt like he was at a crossroads.
He thought about all the things that had happened to him. He thought about his dad, who had been mean to him his whole life. He thought about Makira, who had been his friend a time ago. He thought about the kids who had made fun of him. The villagers who hated him.
Kikimura felt something inside him change. It was not hope. It was something else.
He packed a bag. Set the house on fire.
He walked away from the village into the darkness.
He turned his head back when he was up the hill and felt good while watching the flames eat up the house.
"Let it all burn!" he thought.
The news about Kikimura's incident got to Makira.
The villagers told her that Kikimura had burned down his house with his father. They said he was probably dead and that it was a good thing.
Makira refused to accept. She felt bad and guilty. She had failed her friend.
That night, Makira made a promise to herself. She would remember Kikimura and carry the weight of the guilt her whole life.
In a forest that was far from the village, a boy was walking through the dark with his bag hanging from his shoulder. The boy had a sad look on his face. The boy did not know where he was going or what kind of person he would become.
The only thing he knows is that it was the first time in his life when he got to choose what he wanted to do.
In a village that was away from the forest, a girl was standing in front of the gates of the magic school. She had a power in her hand, a power that included three elements. She had everything she had ever wanted in her life. Yet she felt like something was missing. She felt like she owed someone something.
Kikimura and Makira's story had gone in different directions after they graduated.
Kikimura did not know that his path would cross again with Makira. Neither he nor she knew that fate or maybe something else had some plans for them.