Two Months later….

Eliza walks into the kitchen making sure to grab her purse and lock the door as she leaves for work. She walks down the sidewalk and hops into her green car. She places the key into the ignition as a picture of her son hangs off of the keyring. She places her hands at the wheel and drives off down the street. Approaching an intersection, she sees the green light and begins to pass through, when she has a violent coughing fit, closing her eyes for but a moment as the light turns red.

I can’t breathe… She thinks as her eyesight refocuses on the road.

A person waiting at the intersection hammers the gas pedal and comes flying into the intersection right at her. The car honks its horn and Eliza gets a glimpse of the vehicle as it crashes straight into the right side of the car. Her car is thrown off course and tips over, crossing over into a lane of opposing traffic, and comes to a steady sliding stop.

A little while later, Seiren is sitting in class, staring out of the window when he gets a call on the loudspeaker.

“Seiren Kaminari, please report to the main office.”

The other students in class look at him as he gets up.

“I wonder what this is about.” Seiren thinks as he exits the room.

It only takes him a few moments to enter the main office when the principal tells him the news about his mother. His eyes widen and his heart rate increases, he bites his lip enough to make it bleed. He wastes no time running out of the office and down the hall.

“Wait!” They exclaimed.

“I’ve gotta go.” Seiren thinks as he dashes out of the school.

He runs till he reaches the sidewalk.

“Aundi Meridian Hospital. Where is it?” Seiren wonders when he recalls what his mother told him.

He looks at the horizon and sees it in the distance with a bright blue sign. Seiren filled his lungs with air and took off running toward the building. No matter how far it was Seiren would run. A massive twenty-two blocks and roughly 2 miles from where he had been standing, it took him around twenty minutes of running to finally reach the front of the building. Without stopping even for air, he continued into the building. He dragged his heavy legs to the front desk and slammed his hands down as sweat ran down his face.

“Eliza… Kaminari… Which room is she?” Seiren questions.

The receptionist was taken aback by his appearance and heavy breathing but understands that he may have extenuating circumstances.

“She’s in room 222 and a half on the second floor.” When she looked up, Seiren wasn’t even there anymore. He had already taken the doorway to the stairs.

“How could something like this happen? Just when we thought our lives were getting better, something goes and happens.” Seiren thinks as he forces himself to run up the stairs. He arrives at the second floor and walks down the hall. He quickly glances at the numbers above the door plates and spots room 222 and a half with a blank door plate. He rushes into the room and finds his mother sitting in bed, a bandage resting on her cheek and a cast covering her left arm. She hears the tapping of Seiren’s feet as he comes into the room. She looks over to see him and tears fill his eyes as he rushes over to her. He throws his arms around her, making certain not to touch her arm.

“Seiren… You’re covered in sweat, what happened?” She asks.

“Mom you just got into a car accident and you’re asking me if I’m okay?” He questions.

“You’re right… Haha. I’m okay.” She says as he lets her go. “The doctor told me I’m super lucky. That crash could’ve killed anyone or left them with more lasting injuries.”

“What about your arm?” He asks.

“It’s a stress fracture. I panicked when I got hit and threw my left arm to my side. As a result, the pressure of the car flipping on its side caused the fracture.” She explains before she starts coughing violently.

Seiren quickly moves over to her, but she waves her hand grabs the air mask lying on her pillow, and takes a few breaths of air. While that happens, a doctor walks into the room. Eliza takes off the mask and leans back against her bed.

“Dr. Roberts, this is my son, Seiren.” She introduces.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He says holding a clipboard.

Seiren nods, taking a seat in the chair beside his mother.

“So, as I said earlier. We’ve discovered something particularly wrong with your lungs.” The Doctor says.

“Her lungs?” Seiren questions.

“It’s nothing major, Seiren, I’m sure it’s just because I used to smoke when I was younger.” She says.

“It’s not that simple… You have Scarring Lung Syndrome.” He explains. “What you’ve believed to have been coughing fits were a symptom of it.”

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“How bad is it?” She questions with a gulp.

“Scar tissue begins to build rapidly due to damage to them, reducing their elasticity, limiting your ability to breathe… until you cannot breathe anymore.” He explains.

“Is there anything I can do about it?” She asks.

“Now I’m gonna need you to stay calm.” The doctor says. “Unfortunately, most people who have it die within a year.”

“A year…” Seiren repeats as he looks at his mother.

His eyes widen as a gentle expression appears on her face.

“Seiren. It’s going to be okay.” She says as she places a hand over his own.

He looks at her and frowns.

“No, it’s not going to be okay. Doc… Is there anything we can do? From how you explained it, most of the people die in a year, right? That must mean some survive right?” Seiren questions.

The doctor looks at the desperate expression on Seiren’s face and sighs.

“The chances of your mother surviving are very, very slim. There have been a small few who’ve survived the illness. But you can prolong the illness by getting lots of rest and preventing overly strenuous activity. Meaning you won’t be able to work.” He explains.

“I won’t be able to work..? I can’t afford to stop working. Who’ll pay the bills?” She questions.

Seiren balls his hands into fists before standing.

“I will.” He says.

“Seiren, no. You’re still in high school, there’s no way I’m letting you work.” She says.

“Mom, think more about yourself. You’ve always put my well-being before your own. You’ve always been there for me, struggling just so that I’d have a future, is it so wrong that I want the same for you?” He says with tearful eyes.

Eliza covers her mouth with her hand and tears begin to roll down her cheeks.

“I’m sorry… With how our situation has always been, I couldn’t stand it. I couldn’t stand not being able to do anything great for you. Other parents take their children places and experience fun things together, while we barely make it by. I hate myself for not being able to give you the world!” She exclaims while wiping her tears.

“Mom, I’ve never wanted something crazy like the world. Just seeing you work hard for our sakes was enough for me. The fact that I have such an amazing mother is worth a hell of a lot more to me. So don’t worry about the bills. I’ll handle them, I am your son after all.” He says.

His mother beckons to him and tightly hugs him. After a few moments of tenderness, the two release one another, and Eliza turns her attention to Dr. Roberts.

“I’ll…” She begins. “I’ll stop working. To prolong the illness as much as I can.”

“I’m glad you two could come to an understanding.” Dr. Roberts says. “I’m going to get the medicine you’ll need to take to help you recover.”

“Thank you.” She says.

Hours pass by and finally, Eliza is allowed to go home, after a multitude of checkups and the retrieval of her medicine. The formerly orange sky is now a darkish purple color as the stars shine through the sky.

“Freedom!” She shouts after getting out.

“Mom, you shouldn’t scream like that.” He says.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I was just tired of being cooped up in that room.” She says.

The two walk over to the bus stop outside of the building and catch the next bus that stops in front. They step onto the bus and the light flickers. The bus was full of a musky smell and Eliza simply covered her nose.

“It’s been such a long time since I’ve taken public transportation, it’s certainly a lot smellier than I remember it. I already miss my little emerald.” She says.

“It does smell pretty bad in here.” He says.

“Right?” She says as they continue their bus ride home. In a short twenty minutes, they arrived at home. Eliza looks to where her car would have been parked and sighs.

“Little Emerald, thank you for everything these past 13 years.” She whispers as Seiren unlocks the door.

Eliza’s small four-door car, covered with all sorts of scratches and chipped paint, was now just another car on the scrap heap. She offers up a silent prayer for her precious car before heading into the house.

Spring break came like a bolt from the blue and Seiren had been working diligently and still attending school at the same time. Worked weekends at a restaurant in town and worked at a construction agency after school. During the last class before spring break, Seiren was sound asleep.

“Mr. Kaminari, care to read the next passage?!” His teacher yelled.

Seiren snapped out of his sleep to find the whole class with their gazes fixed on him. Instead of answering, he merely tilted his head at the teacher.

“You know what… Milly read the next passage.” The teacher said, shaking his head at Seiren.

While Seiren’s classmate began the passage. Seiren nestled his chin in his palm and stared out the window of the classroom. He listened to the whispers of gossip in the class and merely sighed.

“He’s always sleeping in class, someone like him will probably never get into college.” They whispered.

“Plus he’s super weird, he never really talks all that much and doesn’t have any friends.” They whispered.

College… huh? I never really thought about it, but… What do I want to do with my life…? He wonders.

Before Seiren realized it, someone had been standing at his desk. After snapping back to reality, he realized Kirth had been standing at his desk.

“Hey Seiren, you know class ended a while ago.” He says with a smile.

Seiren jumps up from his seat in surprise.

“—Then spring break…?” He began.

“Has already begun. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” Kirth says.

Seiren tilts his head.

“I and a couple of friends were gonna go and explore the famous “Fading Forest” to the south of Aundi. We were hoping you might tag along.” He says.

“—Sorry, I can’t,” Seiren replies.

“It’s no biggy,” Kirth says as he puts a hand on Seiren’s shoulder. “If you feel up to it, later on, we’re gonna be down by the forest, tomorrow night at around 8.”

Seiren nods, watching as Kirth walks out of the room, giving him a wave before continuing down the hall.