“How interesting,” she said kindly, “and how many of these shadow creatures do you have?”
“I have 5,” you said, “I got my 5th one just recently so I haven’t had a lot of time to train him. He’s little wild.”
You felt all kinds of emotions well up inside you at the mention of Beast.
“Is it really a good idea to keep him as my summon after all?” you wondered for a split second.
“It must be difficult,” she said kindly, keeping the conversation going, “to control them at times. Can you use all of them at the same time?”
“Not yet,” you said with a small embarrassed chuckle, “I’m working towards it though. One day maybe?”
“Wyen is very strong,” Shoto said from his chair, “I have no doubts he will get to that point sometime very soon.”
“You’ve got rose coloured glasses on,” you joked.
Shoto lifted his hand to the side of his face and touched beside his eye gently.
“I have no glasses on,” he commented and then you realized he hadn’t understood the phrase and you started laughing.
“Sorry,” you laughed, “umm… I should have explained, but that was really funny.”
It was then you heard Mrs Todoroki giggling softly and you looked at her.
She looked so peaceful when she laughed and her whole form brightened as she did so.
“That was amusing,” she said once she had stopped her polite little giggle, “I’m afraid Shoto hasn’t had a lot of experience with phrases like that.”
“Yeah I know, I just recently taught him ‘break a leg’,” you said.
At hearing this phrase, it was almost like Shoto was a sleeper agent that had been awoken by his code.
“Yes, that means good luck,” he said quickly.
You started laughing again and his mum praised him while giggling too. The whole vibe of the room shifting as everyone relaxed.
You all continued to talk about different things and then Mrs Todoroki asked about your parents, if they were well, and where they were.
Understandably, you were a little evasive and answered as diplomatically as you could. It appeared that she wasn’t aware of what was going on outside in the world and you wondered if she had seen the news.
There were no TV’s in her room but you assumed there was one in maybe the common area of the centre.
“I wonder how many people here recognise me from the news?” you wondered.
You and Shoto stayed for about an hour, which was way longer than you thought you woukd be able to manage, but once everything settled you found Mrs Todoroki easy to talk to, and a very sweet and gentle person.
At the end of your visit, you and Shoto stood up to go and she got up as well.
“Thank you, Shoto, for coming to see me again,” she said sweetly as she walked softly towards him and embraced him.
He closed his eyes as her small frame reached out and pulled him in and he didn’t even need to say anything, you could tell he missed her touch.
After she had hugged him she turned to you and hesitated.
You felt the hesitation and then realized that at some point you had put your hands in your pockets and so looked very closed off.
“Does she want to hug me too?” you wondered as you took your hands from your pockets.
She gave you a soft smile and then stepped in so you embraced her.
Her body was very small in your arm and you felt a little protectiveness wash over you.
“I know she’s not my mum, but I would protect her like she was,” you thought, “she’s so gentle and frail.”
She let you go and you nodded as she stepped back
“Thank you for having us today,” you said to her.
“It’s been a pleasure,” she said, “and please look after each other.”
“You have my word,” you said, mimicking what your dad would say in that situation.
She smiled softly and then you looked at Shoto as he nodded and then you both stepped out the door and headed off down the hall.
“She’s really nice,” you sighed to Shoto, “it kinda makes me miss my mum… though mum was never as quiet as that. She was always over the top.”
“I remember,” Shoto said, matching your stride as you headed to the end of the hall and took the corner to make it back to the front door.
As you were walking with him, a carer came walking out from a side hall holding a frail looking lady’s hand.
You saw the side and back profile of her and just judging by the way she was stooped over and how slowly she was walking, you deduced that she might be around 80 years old.
“Everyone here really looks like they’ve been through it,” you thought as you and Shoto came up alongside the lady and her carer, “pardon.” You said as you stepped closer to Shoto so that you didn’t bump them as you passed and you glanced at the lady as you walked past.
Her face was sunken and her eyes looked dull but there was something that looked familiar about her.
You did an initial glance, and then looked away and then looked back to her immediately, stopping just a step ahead of her.
Your heart started pounding as her eyes looked slowly up into yours.
“Mum?” you whispered.
She just looked at you.
You looked at her.
“I’m not supposed to see her. I’m not supposed to be here,” you thought as you stared at her, then her appearance struck you.
You hadn’t seen your mum for maybe a good few months but she looked nothing like what she had looked like before. She looked so frail and done with life, not even her skin colour looked healthy.
“Mum,” you said again.
“Who are you?” she asked.
That question was like a blow to the face with a baseball bat.
“Me? I…” you said.
“Sir, I think you should go,” the carer said and Shoto took your arm with his hand.
“Wyen, we need to go,” he said, quickly stepping in to pull you away.
He was pulling you towards the exit but you were walking backwards, still looking at this shell of a human that resembled a weaker, more frail version of the mother you once knew.
She kept looking after you as you were taken away, her dull eyes still showing no signs of knowing who you were.
“Mum… was… that her?” you asked Shoto numbly as he pulled you from the building as out down the street, “Shoto?”
You turned and stopped him.
“Wyen, you can’t go back in. You weren’t to see her, remember?” he reminded you.
“She looked so frail,” you said, not listening to what he had said, “what happened to her? I know she had a mental breakdown but I didn’t think… she would end up like that?”
“She’s in the best place possible,” Shoto said, repeating things you had said before.
You looked past him back to the institute.
“She didn’t know who I was?” you asked, “she needs help… I… did I do this?”
Shoto took your arm again and you looked at him.
“You can’t blame yourself for this,” he said but you were so torn up inside, thinking about her, how she looked, and how you had been happy she had been out of your life.
“I… I didn’t want her to be pestering me all the time but I didn’t want her to be like this either,” you said as you let Shoto turn you and walk you with him away from the building, heading for the station.
“I know,” he said.
“Do I tell dad? Would I be allowed to go and see her?” you asked Shoto, your bewildered eyes searching his as soon as he looked at you.
“I don’t know,” he replied, “but I don’t like that you saw her like that.”
“Why? Well… yeah… no I know why. No one wants to see their mums like that,” you said looking down at the ground.
For the first time in a while you felt that clench in your chest, that anxiety, that unease, that feeling that you got that preceeded you wanting to do some harm to yourself.
“Shoto,” you said, still looking at the ground, “I don’t feel good. I feel like I want to do something bad to myself,” you said honestly.
He hand on your arm gripped you.
“You will stay with me, Wyen,” he said, “I won’t let you do it. You are stronger than this.”
“I’ve gone so long without doing something like this… I don’t want to either but I’ve got that feeling in my chest. I hate that feeling.”
“It’s ok,” Shoto said, “I’m here. Can you tell your dad you’re staying with me tonight? We can get some clothes from your place and you can come over. I want to help you.”