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A car door slammed.
A tall man stumbled out.
How'd I get here without crashin'?
He knew that what he had been doing was a horrible, horrible choice, but he didn't care at that moment. In the least words possible, he had been drunk-driving. The man found a million reasons to justify it, but inside, he knew it was wrong.
Nekomaru's bad choices, though, are not the focus of our little story here.
Let's ask some questions: First of all, why had he been doing such a thing as drinking?
His wife had died in childbirth.
He had been so caught up in the tangled mess of crying babies and funeral arrangements, not having a moment to himself to grieve. Alcohol seemed like the only outlet, the only thing in this earth that could take the pain away, even if for only a little while.
Second and last question: Where was he?
He was at the graveyard where she had been buried; one of her many siblings had implored him to go there. (He couldn't remember which though.)
He started to hobble down the dirt path, leaving the car door open behind him.
What'd he have in there that anyone could take, that anyone could hurt, anyways?
Nekomaru made sure to take his wine bottle though.
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It took a while of staggering and stumbling through gravestones, even knocking over flowers occasionally.
How could he have forgotten where his own WIFE was buried?
A hiccup escaped his mouth as he walked towards the top-right section. Maybe this was where it was?
His eyes scanned the engraved inscriptions. None of them were hers, none had anything even similar to her name, until he reached the very corner. Finally, finally, he had reached hers.
Bending down before it and taking another swig of wine, he read what had been put on hers.
Akane Owari
19xx - 20xx
Beloved wife, mother, and big sister.
Nekomaru had not asked for anything more to be put on. (Now that he thought about it, maybe he could've added something more.. personal. Oh well.)
Now, what to do, what to do?
He had plans for once he was here, but now that he had arrived, they all went out the window. His focus solely remained on the words in front of him.
They reminded him of that awful day- the day that Akane had slipped away in his arms, the day sole parenthood crashed down on top of him.
Speaking of parenthood..
Nekomaru knew he had been an awful father to Toshio and Maemi.
They don't deserve this.
"Mmmmph.."
He hiccuped once more.
"I'mmmmmm... sorrrrryyyyy... Kan-Kannn.."
He internally cringed at his slurred speech.
Maybe it was the alcohol, or how he had bottled everything up, but at the end of 'Kannn', he started sobbing.
It was so hard. So fucking hard, without her.
How was he to manage?
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Bonus, so you don't whine:
Behind the sobbing man, a person stood.
Well, not exactly a person. She was a spirit, an angel come down from the heavens.
She folded her majestic white wings on her back and approached him.
He had once been her husband and was about to become a father, the last time she had seen him.
But that was when everything had gone wrong.
She kneeled and placed an ethereal hand on one of his shaking shoulders. "There's no reason ta' be sorry, 'Maru.. you're doin' alright, considering everything that's happened.."
She shifted her eyes away.
"I'll watch over you three. Promise me.. promise me that you'll be good ta' our lil' twinks."
Then she left.