章 89: Chapter 82.5: Hina’s 7th birthday
Hina's seventh birthday dawned like any other day in her young life, filled with the echoes of screaming voices and the suffocating tension that choked her small, fragile world.
The sun filtered weakly through the curtains, casting a dim light over her room. She lay curled in her bed, hugging her knees to her chest, her heart heavy.
The muffled sounds of her parents arguing filled the house like a familiar soundtrack, one that she had grown numb to over the years.
The day was supposed to be special.
It was her birthday.
But for Hina and her parents it was no different from any other day in her isolated existence.
She had long since given up hoping for cake, gifts, or even a kind word.
Her parents were too consumed with their own battles, their lives a storm of anger and violence that swept her along like debris in the wind.
They had forgotten about her birthday, just as they had forgotten about her in almost every other way.
Hina sat up in bed, brushing her hair out of her face.
She was seven now, but she didn't feel any different.
The bruises on her arms and legs were the same.
The hollow ache in her chest was the same.
She wondered, fleetingly, if she would ever feel different, if she would ever know what it was like to be loved, to be cared for.
But she quickly pushed the thought away. Hope, she had learned, was dangerous.
The hours passed slowly that morning.
Hina stayed in her room, trying to avoid her parents, knowing better than to make her presence known.
Her only companion was her loneliness.
She used to speak to the wall or to her toys just to feel some kind of compassion from someone.
"Happy birthday, Hina-Chan!! Happy birthday!!! Happy birthday to you!!!" Hina whispered with a cheerful tone while gently holding her rabbit plushie by his small hands.
"Hehe! You deserve happiness, Hina-Chan!" Hina added.
"Thank you!!!" She said with a grateful tone of voice.
It has been years since Hina's parents showed a sign of affection to her.
They didn't do anything for her.
They just gave her something to eat and a place to sleep.
It looked like Hina was at the same level of a dog.
She used to go and return from school alone everyday, with no one.
And even in the class, she was seen as the "silent one", which is a synonim of "Creep."
But she didn't care so much.
She was okay as long as she could breathe.
The sound of breaking dishes and raised voices echoed through the walls.
She felt small and insignificant, just a shadow in a house that never truly acknowledged her.
Around noon, the arguments stopped, and the house fell into an eerie silence.
Hina flinched at the sudden change, her body tense with the anticipation of what might come next.
She heard footsteps in the hall and instinctively shrank back.
But to her surprise, no one came to her room.
No one shouted for her, no one slammed the door open to scold her for some imagined wrongdoing.
Instead, the silence deepened, and Hina was left alone with her thoughts.
It wasn't until the early afternoon that something unexpected happened.
A knock on the front door.
Hina perked up, curiosity mingling with dread.
Her parents never had visitors.
The knock came again, more insistent this time.
She heard her mother's voice, sharp and irritated, as she stomped toward the door.
A few moments later, the arguing started again, but this time, it was different.
Hina recognized a new voice.
A calm, steady voice that didn't match the usual chaos of her home.
She crept to her bedroom door and listened carefully, her heart racing.
It was a woman's voice, someone familiar.
"Auntie Sakura…" Hina whispered to herself, eyes wide with surprise.
She hadn't seen her aunt in what felt like ages.
Aunt Sakura was her mother's younger sister, and though she didn't visit often, whenever she did, things always felt a little better, a little safer.
She didn't show herself for a lot of time due to her "work" overseas, and Hina thought that she abandoned her.
And that's why Hina wasn't sure why her aunt was here today, but part of her was relieved at the same time.
Maybe her birthday wouldn't be so terrible after all.
The voices grew louder as her parents argued with Sakura, but eventually, the door to Hina's room opened, and there stood her aunt, a kind smile on her face.
Behind her, Hina could still hear her parents muttering angrily, but Sakura paid them no mind.
"Hina," Sakura said softly, kneeling down to Hina's level. "Happy birthday, sweetie."
Hina stared at her aunt, unsure of what to say.
The words felt foreign to her ears.
"Happy birthday."
No one had said those words to her all day, and hearing them now made her heart swell with an unfamiliar emotion.
She blinked rapidly, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to spill.
Hina was a very sensitive girl when she was a child, to the point that she always wanted to talk and give something to the homeless people on the streets.
Sakura's smile softened.
"I thought we could spend some time together, just the two of us. Would you like that?" She said with a motherly tone while gently patting her head.
Sakura loved her niece, and judging from her face, she clearly wanted to take Hina with her.
But a hidden force didn't want to.
Hina nodded slowly, still too overwhelmed to speak.
Her aunt held out a small package, wrapped in colorful paper.
Hina's eyes widened in surprise as she took the gift.
She hadn't expected anything.
"Open it," Sakura encouraged gently.
With trembling hands, Hina tore away the wrapping paper, revealing a small panda plushie.
It was soft and round, with big, dark eyes that seemed to stare back at her with gentle warmth.
Hina clutched it to her chest, feeling an odd sense of comfort wash over her.
It was the first gift she had ever received in years, the first tangible proof that someone cared about her.
Hina perfectly knew that her aunt was the only one who loved her, and that was another reason of why she had never "lost her mind."
The only thing she wanted in that moment was to stay with her forever, and Sakura always said this thing to Hina: "One day, not so far, I'll take you with me, I promise." Her aunt's words were a constant reminder of how humanity could be good.
"Do you like it?" Sakura asked.
Hina nodded again, this time with a small smile. "Thank you," she whispered, looking at the gift with wide eyes.
She was really happy , but she didn't know how to show affection.
Sakura stood and offered her hand. "Let's go.
I thought we could spend the day at the park.
You can play with the other children, and we'll have a nice time."
Hina hesitated.
The thought of being around other children made her stomach twist with anxiety.
She wasn't used to being around others, wasn't used to interacting with anyone outside the chaos of her home.
But her aunt's kind eyes gave her the courage to stand up, take her hand, and follow her out the door.
They walked to the nearby park, where the sounds of laughter and joy filled the air.
Children ran around, playing on the swings and slides, their carefree spirits so different from what Hina had known.
She clutched the panda plushie tightly, staying close to her aunt's side as they entered the park.
Sakura gently nudged her toward the playground. "Go ahead, Hina. Have fun. I'll be right here if you need me."
Hina stood frozen for a moment, her heart pounding in her chest.
The other children were playing, laughing, and shouting, and she felt like an outsider looking in on a world she didn't understand.
She was really scared of having any kind of social interaction.
She took a step back, ready to retreat, when she heard a voice behind her.
"Hey!"
Hina turned and saw a boy, around her age, standing a few feet away.
He had white hair and a friendly smile, and he was looking at her with a curious expression.
"Do you want to play?" he asked.
Hina blinked, unsure of how to respond.
No one had ever asked her to play before.
She glanced at her aunt, who gave her an encouraging nod, and then back at the boy.
After a long pause, she nodded shyly.
The boy smiled brightly. "Come on! We're playing tag!"
He ran off, motioning for her to follow.
Hina hesitated for a moment, but then, clutching her panda to her chest, she took a tentative step forward.
She watched the boy as he ran with the other children, laughing and calling out to them.
For the first time, she felt a small spark of excitement, a tiny flicker of something that felt like happiness.
She didn't know the boy's name, and he didn't ask for hers.
But for that afternoon, none of that mattered.
They ran and played, and for a few precious hours, Hina experienced a world outside the suffocating walls of her home.
She experienced kindness, laughter, and the simple joy of being a child.
As the sun began to set and Sakura called her back, Hina glanced at the boy one last time.
He waved at her before disappearing into the crowd of children.
She didn't know if she would ever see him again, but she would remember this moment forever.
For the first time in her short life, Hina felt something she hadn't known was possible: a flicker of hope.
And as she walked away from the park, holding her aunt's hand and clutching her new panda plushie, she smiled.
Once she was home, Sakura promised her that she would've came to pick her up the next day to go to another place, but deep down, Hina felt a strange sensation in her soul, that was leading her heart to feel negative things…
クリエイターの想い 
Ryukiro
Ryukiro I’d really love to have some comments
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