Alone with the wolf
506 Words
The house felt strangely hollow.
Ren had left at dawn, dressed in his crisp scrubs and humming something classical under his breath.
“Surgery in Osaka,” he said, kissing Lena’s head gently. “I’ll be back tomorrow. Be good, little Takashi.”
Toma followed shortly after, his leather briefcase in hand and his expression unreadable.
“Court’s in session. I won’t be back until late. Don’t go causing political unrest, Lena.”
Then Riku zipped past in a whirlwind of glitter and sunglasses.
“My fans await!” he cried, posing dramatically in the doorway. “Don’t miss me too much!”
Sora was the last to go. Quiet as ever, he simply handed Lena a sketch of her laughing and whispered, “I’ll be in Milan… fashion week.”
He nodded once—and was gone.
---
And just like that… Lena was alone.
Well—
Not completely alone.
Kaito was still in the house.
The only brother who barely looked at her. The one who hadn’t cracked a smile. The one who scared her for reasons she couldn’t name.
She sat on the grand piano bench in the music room, tracing invisible keys with her fingers, pretending not to notice when Kaito passed by the doorway.
For a while, there was silence.
Until…
“Kaito?” she called softly.
He stopped. Turned halfway.
She tilted her head, playing the blind girl to perfection. “Will you help me find my violin?”
His eyes narrowed. “You don’t play.”
“Not professionally. Just… emotionally,” she replied with a fake shy smile.
He said nothing.
But he walked into the room.
And for a split second—just one—she felt his eyes rake across her face like he was studying her.
---
They didn’t speak for a long time.
He helped her find the violin case. Watched her open it. But said nothing.
She placed the bow in her hand, adjusted her grip like she used to overseas… and played a soft, mournful tune. A lullaby her mother once sang.
Halfway through, she stopped.
“I miss her,” she whispered, just loud enough for him to hear. “Do you… do you think she would’ve liked who I’ve become?”
Kaito’s jaw tensed.
Then, voice low, he muttered, “You’re not who I expected, Lena Takashi.”
Before she could ask what he meant, he wheeled himself out of the room.
---
That night, something felt off.
The house was too quiet.
And when she left her room to go downstairs—quietly, carefully, without her cane—she froze at the top of the stairs.
Because there, in the garden, under the moonlight…
Was Kaito.
Standing.
Walking.
Perfectly.
And he wasn’t alone.
There was a man in a dark suit handing him something. A folder.
They spoke in hushed voices, too far for her to hear.
But Lena didn’t need to hear it.
Her heart pounded in her chest.
He’s not paralyzed.
He was lying.
Just like her.
- Writer
