Chapter Text
Jack hid behind the shirt of the man next to him, his eyelids red from crying and puffy like a fish's lips. He cried a lot since learning that his parents had an accident and passed away soon after. An eleven or twelve year old child who was still too naive had to say goodbye to his family. The whole family went camping together. On the highway, they were hit by an out-of-control truck. Luckily during the emergency, the son was pushed out of the car by his mother and survived. The rest, needless to say, is clear.
Jack lost his family that day and so did Phillip. His father left, his mother was murdered, the hatred took forever to let go, and now his sister is gone. In the end, what is left? Jack lost his mother and Phillip lost his last relative.
Christina is Jack's mother and his younger sister. In name, he is his uncle.
Their sudden death made the funeral take place too hastily, with not many guests, only partners, colleagues of Jack's father and friends of his mother. They divided into small groups, black umbrellas adorning the sad scene. The sky is crying for that unfortunate family, drops of water falling on the black cloth. The surrounding air was so cold and scary, Jack could only stand behind his black overcoat. The plants and trees are happy to be bathed in the rain after long, hot days. And the atmosphere of sadness covers them. When the funeral is over, his parents will be buried and this will be the last time he sees them. When this kind of unlucky thing happens, no one can be blamed.
Phillip's heart was as heavy as a stone, he had lost everything, the people he loved had left. In the end, he still couldn't protect anyone. Jack seemed to see his pain, he awkwardly rubbed his black hair against his stomach, comforting him. He knew he shouldn't speak now, he would let actions and silence answer him and comfort him. Phillip gently patted the child's head. He was so young but so good.
The funeral was over, Phillip sold his parents' house, brought him to his home and used the money from the house to feed him. He did it without asking Jack a word, he didn't stop him, he just watched the house being sold. It's not that he didn't tell him, he just didn't want to put the financial burden on his shoulders. The first night in his new home, Jack couldn't sleep. Even though the dinner he cooked was very delicious, even cooking all the dishes he liked and the flavor was enhanced many times, Jack ate until he was full but could not sleep. He let it sleep in his room while he temporarily slept in another room. He thought maybe it was because the bed was unfamiliar so he couldn't sleep peacefully or was it because he missed his father or mother? He didn't know what the frustration in his heart was, as if his heart was tied up, thrown into a box and buried in the ground like what people did to his parents. Annoyed. Why so uncomfortable? He kept closing his eyes and opening them again, looking first at the ceiling and then at the board full of letters hanging on the wall. My room is so boring, it's full of words. If it wasn't dark, he could read them for entertainment. Over here, it's dark and boring, and those words are no longer as attractive as before. He tossed and turned on the bed, finally got up, took the pillow and left the room.
Jack wandered down the dark hallway, like a blind man following the wall to the room where his uncle was. I hope he will let me sleep with him, he told himself. The room near the connecting stairs opened slightly, Jack looked inside, and sure enough, it was his room. Phillip sat on the bed, his head in his hands, his long hair falling down. He looks exactly like the ghosts in horror movies. He looked at him blankly, opening the door. Jack walked up to him. He gently grabbed the hand that was tightly holding the blanket, a bit startled by the tendons on his hand. Now he was startled when he looked at it, clearly unaware of someone entering his room.
Phillip paused slightly. He saw him quickly rubbing his eyes, then raised his head and turned to look at him. His black hair covered most of his face, leaving only his glowing emerald eyes. under the dim moonlight behind them. His eyes were like the eyes of expensive dolls, and also like the cheap diamonds on her shirt or the gems on her mother's ring. That thing is like many other things but certainly nothing will be as brilliant. Jack felt his heart skip a beat, his lungs stopped providing oxygen, and he was afraid he was sick. It cannot become a burden to you, it is not allowed to do that. Phillip slowly lifted his hair, he wanted to see his face and he saw that his eyelids were red like his at the funeral, his cheeks were haggard and tired, his eyes were dull even though they were sparkling. Jack didn't have much of a chance to see his face when they attended the funeral, when he only dared to grab the hem of his shirt and breathed a sigh of relief because he didn't throw his hand away. Phillip is very beautiful. He knew the word beautiful didn't belong to him, but he didn't know how to describe him. He is even more beautiful than his mother. His hair was loose, his eyes glowed, his skin was as white as the clouds in the sky. It climbed onto the bed and obediently sat on its lap like a cat used to sitting on a mattress.He didn't say anything, he let silence fill the space. Phillip hugged him from behind, he felt his soft, velvety skin touching his, his chest rising and falling right behind him. There was a smell that was both sickly and sweet lingering on his nose. Jack once heard his mother say that her brother was a wax artist working for the police agency in the city. It turned out that his hug was so warm, a hug that smelled of wax.
Phillip hugged the little creature into his arms, his heavy heart finally found some freedom. Jack, the crystallization of love, the result of nine months and ten days of his sister with an unknown guy. Oh, Phillip is so bad, he forgot his brother-in-law's name and face. He only remembers Christina. He grabbed its small, soft hand, pressed it, then held it against his own. So small. His arms were small but his whole body was also small. Jack was only as tall as his waist. In Phillip's eyes, he looked exactly like the little dwarfs who guarded the base of the rainbow. Oh how the children are so small, it's as if Jack would break if he was just a little too strong.
"Uncle." Jack spoke first. He didn't mind being touched but felt happy. You can keep touching it all day long. He grabbed his hand, his half-sized hand kept trying to hold the other hand, "Don't cry. If you cry, I'll be sad too."
"Really." He faintly responded to its words of comfort from the bottom of his heart, the corners of his lips curling up into a weak smile. An old man in his early thirties let a child whose nose was still not clean comfort him. That's really funny. He rubbed his face into its soft black hair and sighed.
"Don't laugh. I'm telling the truth!" He turned around, he felt angry because he was looked down upon even though he tried, but then the anger flew away as quickly as it came when Jack saw his smile that seemed to be about to break. His lips were clearly curved into a beautiful half-moon shape, but it still felt like he was sad. He waved his hands awkwardly, not knowing what to do to comfort him.
"Okay, I'm no longer sad. You should go to sleep too. It's not good for children to sleep late." Phillip said happily, he leaned back on the bed, clapped his hand towards the remaining empty mattress, and signaled it.
Jack lay next to him, he stared intently. He pulled it back, hugged it tightly, the smell of milk and wax surrounded it. So sweet, he thought. Why doesn't dad smell as sweet as him? Lying in his arms, his eyelids were heavy. Sleepy, tired, magical. He's like a witch in a fairy tale. It wasn't until he was hugged by him and gradually fell asleep in that warm embrace that Jack realized that letting someone else hug him wasn't so bad. And it turns out lying next to someone makes it so easy to fall asleep. It had been stuck in a state of tension without telling anyone about it since the day they died. Maybe tomorrow he will wake up and thank you. For helping it.