Playful Memories

Chapter Five

Throb. Throb. Throb.

His head was throbbing from fear. He was losing oxygen, feeling dizzy. He was breathing fast again. He dropped to the floor, his head between his thighs as he held it with his arms.

Pant. Pant. Pant.

“No!” A boy shouted through a gag. “Help!” He shouted some more.

Ichigo could see images he never saw before. What were they? He thought. Then suddenly, it clicked in him! This was the memory that he has somehow forgotten… completely.

As the memories slowly overwhelm him, he could feel hands that held him everywhere. Here and there, and especially down there. Sensations were filling him, sensations that originated from a memory. It was frightening. He could feel fingertips as if there were really caressing his flesh. He could feel a cool breeze over his skin as if he was naked all over. There was a tightened feeling on his wrist and on his ankles like he was tied to a rope.

“Help~” His voice was hesitant, almost losing air.

He could feel the shift of his weight, as he was helped off the floor and transferred to a couch in the living room. To him, it felt like the past was freely replaying in his waking moment, his eyes wide open, unblinking. The dark room seemed like it was the sunny Saturday a long time ago. The playtime that turned to a horrible crime scene repeated in his mind.

He could hear ripping of clothes and pain on his belly, like the pain when he was punched when he was eight. And he could taste cigarette, alcohol and saliva on his mouth, when the old criminal forced himself on him. And the pain! The pain on his behind that made him burst to tears.

“NOOOO!” He shouted. “NOOOO! STOP! NOOOO!” He shouted the way he was never able to shout before.

This was the memory that he yearned to forget! The only memory! But since everything else came with it, he had to choose forgetting everything than nothing at all. This was horrible and he wanted it to stop.

Huge tears fell on his face as he fought to clear the images on his mind. He wanted to get over the images and completely get rid of it in his mind.

“That’s it! That’s it bitches! Do you feel it, my little one? Do you feel my love for you?” They thought he was gone, but he was just listening outside the door.

“Don’t worry! I already called my father.” Yuumi said.

“Why didn’t you call the police instead, Umi?” Yuki was in a panic.

“My father happens to be the head of the police!” She replied strongly. “They will be here any minute now. But those minutes may just spell life or death for all of us!”

And just like that, the door broke open. It swung loosely at the entrance and there stood a man. He was big in built, fit for a fugitive, making him look dangerous and scary. The dark room and the eerie sound of the rain made him more frightening. He was drenched and on his hand was a big tire wrench. It was obvious that he was here to kill.

“One. Two. Three.” He licked his upper lip and bit the lower lip hard. He reached for his pocket and took out a plastic bag. He pulled out a big candle and a match out from the plastic bag and placed it over the table a few inches away from him. “This is my special welcoming candle. I know I won’t get a welcome back party from any of you, so I prepared a candle for myself instead.” Then he lit the candle.

The ill light from the candle, revealed his ugly face. It was wrinkled and a scar from his left lower lid down to his right most jaw was shinny against the light. His eyes were eager to kill and smile was horrible. He no longer looked human to any of them.

When his eyes looked over the two girls trying to protect the boy on the couch, his smile turned up side down. It became a pretentious frown. “What has become of my favorite playmate? Who did that to you?” He said, while taking a few steps closer to them.

Yuki took the nearby jar and threw it to him. “Monster! Leave him alone!”

The jar hit him on the shoulder but it didn’t matter to him. He ignored them. He continued on walking to Ichigo.

“Monster!” Yuki continued.

Yuumi grabbed another jar and threw it at him. He was hit on the head, cutting him. But even though he was bleeding, almost covering his right eye, he continued on. He only stopped when Yuki and Yuumi stood in front of him.

“Get away you f*****g bitches.” He was calm. “I just want to care of my favorite little boy in the neighborhood. So get out!” It was strong said.

“Never!” Yuki shouted at him.

His arm flew across her face, dropping Yuki to the floor, then continued on to Ichigo. It was a heavy arm. Yuumi went beside her and helped her up. “You monster! My father will get you! You will rot in jail this time!”

He stopped and turned his gaze to her. “What did you say? WHAT DID YOU SAY b***h?!” He raised a hand and angled it to hit Yuumi. The moment he moved to punch her, Ichigo grabbed him on the neck and stabbed him on the shoulder with a broken piece of the jar.

There was a loud painful scream from him. He grabbed Ichigo on his back, trying to pull him off of him, but failed. “Not scared anymore, baby boy? Is it because of my love for you? Did it reach you somehow?” He sounded hysterical and insane.

“Are you sick? There is no way you call any of it love! Monster!” Ichigo stayed hanging on his neck. “Psycho!” But with a little more effort, he was able to get Ichigo off him, throwing him on the floor, back first.

It was painful. His head and body was feeling pain everywhere. The moment he opened his eyes, he was terrified to see that Sou had lifted the coffee table and had it centered on him. He was going to drop it on him! But Ichigo couldn’t run away, he was in pain. When he was about to drop it, he could hear Yuki and Yuumi shout on top of their lungs. Then…

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three loud gunshots came from the door. The police! The coffee table almost dropped on Ichigo, but he dodged it, as he rolled away quickly. Sou dropped on the floor, just right behind Ichigo, shivering and groaning from his wounds.

The police hurried in and held the man down. Yuki and Yuumi were brought out of the house, while the terrified Ichigo was carried to the waiting ambulance.

Ichigo could no longer comprehend the sounds he was hearing or turn his head to those who were calling him. Everything seemed on slow motion and nothing made sense until he fainted.

***

He has been confined in the hospital for a week and doctors said he could be discharged any day now. Yuumi visited often and the police were diligent to report the development of the case. The Karagawas extended their heartfelt apologies, but this was unnecessary. It weren’t their fault.

Every day the one person that made his life bright, would walk in the room with her radiant smile and warm touch. The girl he dearly loved and regretfully forgot was holding his hand each day, trying to pull him out of this misery.

One day, as Yuki slowly peeled off an apple for Ichigo, she opened a topic that seemed out of what they were talking about and may trigger the awful things to return.

“Ichi-kun, do you remember the story about the boy and his notebook of memories?”

He nodded, while eating some peeled apples on a saucer on his lap. “What about it?”

“Can I help you tear some pages of that notebook, so whenever the boy flips it to the beginning, he would not come across some horrible pages?” She asked, pausing her peeling.

“I think, it’s better to leave them.” He said with a smile, while turning his gaze outside the window.

He felt more at peace now, to be honest. After that night, a few days ago, after somewhat reliving the past he ran away from, he learned many things from that horrible night. Slowly, he has accepted that certain things happen in a man’s life that no amount of caution could prevent. And everything that happened to him just proved it.

“There were,” he continued, “some things in those pages, in between those horrible pages, foot notes, if you name them, which were brighter than sunlight and calmer than the sea, that those turbulent contents amount to nothing. It’s a matter of perspective, I guess.”

“What are those foot notes?” She was curious, almost dropping the apple, but not looking at him.

“Memories of you.” He simply replied, staring lovingly at the girl who never wanted to leave. “Tearing those also meant, tearing you away from my life. I did it before, didn’t I? Now that I have put them back together, I don’t intend to lose them again.” He tipped her chin to make her look at him.

“Those were memories worth my life. Now that I have realized that, why would I want to throw them away?” He sighed. “I want to face all my problems from now on, and not run or hide or deny their existence. So, will you…,” he looked hopefully at her, “will you stay and become a part of all the pages left in my life?”

What was there to decline? She has never left, in mind and heart for Ichigo. She never forgot him and was willing to take care of him until the end of everything. She was certain and nothing could change that.

“Yes.”

And a new chapter begins.

The End