The Author's POV

She was beautiful.

More so than anyone I'd ever seen in my life.

She was someone whom I couldn't take my eyes away from.

She was the love of my life.

My everything…

***

"What do you think? I think it looks quite nice?"

The air seemed to echo with a soft but endearing voice. It belonged to a beautiful young lady in her early twenties, whose brown hair waved at the ends. Her features were flawless, and her face was soft.

She was beautiful. Extremely so.

"It looks awful."

A man muttered. He recoiled in horror at the sight of the room, which was dominated by the color pink throughout. He cast his gaze in her direction.

"You took this too far."

"Oh, please."

She rolled her eyes while casting a glance toward her belly. It was slightly bulging.

"Since you're training all the time, I took it upon myself to decorate the room. If you're unsatisfied, then you should've spent more time with us."

"Ugh."

After groaning, the man sighed and sat down on a nearby stool. As he continued to survey the surroundings, he eventually gave up and lowered his head.

"You're right. I guess this is the price I have to pay for being busy…"

"Ey."

The woman glared.

"You're making it sound as if it looks terrible. You know, I've put a lot of effort into this place."

"Oh, sure, sure."

The man raised his hands in resignation.

"You're right, and I'm wrong."

The woman smiled. Extremely pleased with the man's words.

"It's good that you know.

***

I was satisfied with my life.

Happy with it.

Every day I would wake up happier than the next.

Life was perfect.

I loved it.

I thought it'd last until my last days.

I could still envision my future back then.

It was beautiful.

So, so beautiful.

Every day I'd wake up with joy just thinking about that future.

I was naïve.

***

The surrounding walls were almost entirely dominated by the color white There was a lingering smell of stale alcohol in the atmosphere, and in the background, there was a faint rhythmical beeping sound.

A husked figure lay on a small bed within the room. There were metal tubes connected to her chest, and there were thinner tubes made of plastic connected to the veins in her arms.

dry, and her eyes were

hand grasped her hand tightly. It belonged to a young man. He looked at

her first steps today. I wasn't there, but I got a video

his phone and played the

with her hair pulled back into a ponytail and sporting a cute little frown was seen approaching the camera. She had just taken two steps when she tripped and fell

her head

"Haha."

finding the little

like you. Even her frown is the

covered his mouth with his hand and rubbed it. His eyes started to redden a little, but he

response came from the woman. Even though it was only slight, Octavious noticed that the corners of her

down the side of his

she's cute too, right? Haha, of course, she is. She looks just like you, so

He pursed his lips.

finally be together and live like a family as we've always

the end of the sentence, his voice began to crack, and warmth

***

was still beautiful to

she was

she was the most beautiful person in

that

So…

did she have

did the world take her away from

***

"Uwaaa! Uwaaa!"

could be heard all throughout. They went on and on and on,

his gaze directed toward the ceiling of the room.

"Hu..huh."

as he took

turned his attention to the right, where a glass pane stood, and looked at his own reflection in the pane. His eyes were sunken in, his hair was a mess, and

'Who is he?'

found himself questioning the look of the man that was reflected on

'That's not me.'

the mirror, adamant in his

"Uwaaa! Uwaaa!"

began to cry again, and Octavious turned his gaze toward the small girl

'She's probably hungry, right?'

why she was crying. Octavious blinked a few times before leaning his head against the sofa and turning his attention to the bottle of milk that was sitting next

a while, he chose to leave it where it was and continued to

"Uwaaa! Uwaaa! "

they'd go for hours, sometimes

to them with his eyes

sound that filled his

only sound that reassured him that he

***

Losing my emotions…

just for the sake of

wanted to forget. Numb myself from

They call me strong.

The strongest human.

that was the

…I'm not strong.

I'm just a coward.

***

[Ashton City Community Orphanage.]

front of him. It belonged to a small chapel, and he could hear the sound of children playing in the background. They seemed

as he gazed at the

at the young girl in his arms, he found himself

for the

this

was a danger to

love her with all of his heart, but...

He didn't deserve her.

"Huh...huh.."

once more as he gazed at the orphanage in the distance. Closing his eyes, he firmed himself to

Just that...

"Dada?"

sudden stop as a sweet voice called out

moment and he lowered

They were so pure...

"Dada?"

again, her little hands reaching out

and he slowly brought his head toward her. Her hands soon touched his cheeks and she let out a series

"Uhum"