Chapter 100- A Snippet Of The Past (Part 2)
(A//N: 100 Chapters! Wohoo!! First milestone in hopefully many more!)
"Back in our previous world, I was born into a very poor family in a rural town in a very poor country. Our lives were hard and frankly even dangerous. My father was a hunter and my mother was quite ill so she could only stay at home most of the time. She had a weak body and it became even weaker when she gave birth to me." Elise said as she closed her eyes, trying to recall as many details as possible.
"So, even though I was young, I had to take care of the house and the food since she can't do everything alone. I also had to study for school and to also get them out of that extreme poverty."
"Even though we sometimes stay without food for a day or two, we were quite the peaceful and harmonious family. We had our highs and lows like any other family and I loved my parents a lot. That was until one day, my mother's illness grew more threatening and she was bedridden and unconscious."
Elise's face contorted a little bit as she recalled that memory as if it happened yesterday. It was at that point in Elise's life that things started shifting and changing.
"The village doctor told us that she needs immediate professional care in a hospital in the city or she will die. But, forget about paying the costs of the hospital, my father didn't even have enough money to travel to the city nearby."
Rin could imagine how bad that situation is, the father must've felt extremely pressured.
"So, other than taking care of my mother, taking care of the house, and also studying, I had to also search for a job that accepts 7-year-old children just so I can get an extra penny that may or may not end up saving my mother."
'For a small child to bear all of this responsibility.' Rin stopped himself from sighing. The world was truly extra cruel to some people.
"But, luckily, I was able to find that job in the form of one of my talents… Piano."
"We had a bar in the town that everyone attended and I used to frequent that place in the mornings to play the piano. I was clueless about most basic techniques of piano and merely followed my instincts to create beautiful tunes. But, somehow, it worked and I gained traction quickly. I was also able to get a good amount of money just from playing a few random notes to drunk village people. It was exhausting but worth the while since I did all of that to save my mother who probably had a few months to live at most at the time."
Watching his partner's gestures as she spoke, Rin could see that Elise was subtly fighting the urge to stop and just try to forget all of this. Her hands were rubbing against each other from time to time and her mouth subtly shakes when she stops.
"That continued for a while and although I was extremely exhausted, I continued to work hard for the sake of a better future. I was very happy and optimistic since in the fairy tales that I read in children's books before, the princess always ends up living happily ever after. I found myself in the place of that princess and I knew that my life will become better if I did my best."
Elise then rested her back on the bench for a moment trying to compose herself. Rin was on the verge of just telling her to stop but he knew that if he did so that will destroy any progress she did.
"That's until I met a certain person. He was a very popular musician and a wealthy businessman that came to the village for some philanthropy project and ended up stumbling upon me playing the piano. Then, he approached me and offered me a great opportunity to become his disciple since I was supposed 'One of a kind genius'."
"It was great. He promised to save my mother and to move my family to the city where we can live a better life and even find my father a great job in one of his companies. I accepted the offer in a heartbeat since it basically had no downsides and I could finally fix all of our problems. It was just perfect… It was just…"
Covering her face, Elise felt her panic attack coming back to her and she could barely keep herself together. Only she knows how hard it is for her to actually speak about this matter.
"I fucking hate myself for accepting that offer. If I was just a little bit smarter or a little bit more realistic, I would've seen the glaring flaws in that offer and all the bad signs that it wasn't as good as it seemed."
"Anyway… I and my family moved to the city and my mother was hospitalized quickly. We all thought things are now going to get better. But, my mother died soon after because of a medical error during the operation."
"I could barely believe that at the time since I never even entertained the thought of losing my mother. I was so sure that it was the start of 'my happily ever after' that the shock that I got from her death made me incapable of leaving the house for a few weeks. It's laughable, isn't it?"
"..."
Rin could only stay silent, his mouth couldn't utter a single word. No words could actually be said there for Elise to feel better. Nothing could make her feel better other than listening to her.
"The loss of my mother was a strong hit to me, but it was even stronger to my father. He adored my mother greatly. He was so deep in love with her that he barely could leave her alone when he goes out to work when she was still alive and even when she died, he stayed by her side the whole time until she was buried. After that, he completely changed. He started coming back home less and less frequently. He started drinking more alcohol each night until he collapses unconscious."
"I recall him saying 'It's all your fault that my wife died. It's all your fault that I lost what I loved the most. If you weren't just born, if we just didn't try to create a family.' while he was completely drunk."
'To say such a thing to a child. Your daughter, nonetheless.' Rin was shocked. This was no one other than her father and yet he would say such cruel things to her. How can a father be this horrible? Even if he lost his wife, he had a daughter to take care of. She was his last remaining memory of his wife so she should've at least tried to support her till she grew up.
"It really hurt me to hear that but I also was blaming myself for what happened. If I wasn't even born then my father and mother could've lived happily and they would not have had to suffer. So, with that in mind, I started to focus on my piano career more than anything else. Then… I-I… I can't… I just can't say it… Dammit! I need to but I can't. My mouth doesn't want to speak."
She clenched her fist in frustration. Her fear was still deeply rooted in her heart to the point where she can't speak any further than she did now. It was already a miracle that she was able to say all of that without having a panic attack.
"It's ok, you don't have to go any further. I already have a good idea of how much you struggled. But, I know that you told me all of that not to make me feel pity for you, right?"
"Yes."
"If you want my honest opinion, you aren't to be blamed at all in this matter. In fact, I admire how hard you tried to fate the horrible fate that keeps chasing you. It's not easy for anyone to do that, Elise. Most people will either try to run away or even kill themselves but you held on and kept on living. You are really great, Elise. Far greater than I thought."
Then Rin stood up and looked at her with a smile.
"In a sense, aren't we similar? We had hard but still happy lives before things came down on us. It reassures me that I have someone who can understand me to a certain extent. I hope it's the same case for you."
"It… is," Elise murmured with a sigh.
"If I have to say one last thing, though. You gave me a good idea for the future."
"An idea? What is it?"
"Hehehe! That's a secret. I will leave until I actually do it. Anyway, let's go back now before the night, we have a long day tomorrow."
(A//N: The end of the first part of Elise's past. Now, time to get the plot moving for real.)
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This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺