Kuro walked on the small alley two big walls in both his left and right side, he was going home, going home confused, alone and a little angry
'that woman, how dare she...' kuro reflected on what had happened just a few minutes before he got out of the house.
He remembered entering the house, 'get out of my house you "devil spawn?"....the hell was she talking about...she even went as far as to.." he remembered the woman feeling the ground then picking up broken peices of wood, he remembered Neara pleading, trying to stop his mother, he aslo remembered Hugo who did not move or say a thing, he just stared at the woman as if he was studying her.
'Hugo....why did he just stand there, was he shocked? Afraid?....well doesn't matter'
And the last thing that happened... The woman started throwing the wood at kuro's direction, her aim was worse than bad but the message was clear, he was not wanted in that house...and he left, after all there was no reason to stay in the first place,that's what he told himself.
He finally reached home and sat on his favorite wooden chair feather in hand paper on desk 'i wonder what those two are up to'. He thought as he had began writing "dear shiro.."
Still in the small makeshift house sat the woman with her precious child standing on her right and Hugo seated on the floor across her, "ma'am if I may ask, why did you kick my friend out of your house, he's the one who found your son and saved him",
"Yes mother!, He's the one who saved me!,why did you chase him away!" Echoed Neara on the verge of tearing up, his mother stroked his short brown hair gently,
"my son things aren't always as they seem" said the mother as she embraced the child in a hug.
"Excuse me ma'am, would you please answer my question" said Hugo, this time his tone now shifting. The woman smiled
"What is your name child?"
"I'm Hugo Pascal and i don't appreciate the way you treated my friend"
The woman's smile faded she saw that the child infron of her wasn't happy with her actions. She extended her arm
"Come closer Hugo,let me feel your face"
Hugo was taken aback by this odd request, he looked at Neara, who simply smiled and nodded,he moved his face closer and closer,and her arm touched his face, the woman froze for a second and smiled,"you are quite the pure soul Hugo your soul resembles that of an innocent child who doesn't know what good or bad is"
'what is she talking about' he thought as the woman tenderly moved her arm all around his face then placed it on his hair and smiled again "I can barely trace any evil in you thou it's still there, what is a human without evil, though in you the evil is barely there, I could definitely miss it on a bad day".
Hugo lost his patients
"Ma'am-" before he could finish the woman spoke once again, "oh yes your question,I haven't answered it yet" the woman stood up and grabbed her walking stick she slowly walked to the door and motioned for Hugo to follow her Hugo nodded and did just that.
She looked at her child "Neara stay here dear"
"Yes mother" she agreed watching the two leave the house
GM-5th street was considerd one of the worst parts of Greyman, terrible worn out buildins, graffiti on almost every single wall, even the people there looked like an eerie bunch, their faces scared, eyes sunken looking at them with glares that said "I want to stab you".
She was a tall woman taller than Hugo that's for sure her eyes grey, her hair long and brown she had rinkles yes but who would notice, and her eyes greyish-white she wasn't the prettiest woman out there but her aura, her presence undoubtedly said "elegant", walking with Hugo with a stick in hand to who knows where.
The two walked, the further they went, the less houses they saw, until they reached a path on the left of the stone sidewalk, from a distance stone was disappearing and grass was appearing.
'where are we?' Hugo thought to himself as the woman walked on ahead motioning Hugo to follow.
As they walked more grass emerged,then more bushes, and before he knew it he was in a forest, he could hear something though it was very faint, beautiful voices coming from each direction of the forest singing a beautiful melody. Hugo was surprised but he was unsually calm for someone who was hearing voices.
The woman looked at Hugo,a puzzled expression on his face,and she smiled "can you hear it?... This is called the forest of choirs it is believed that only the pure can hear the melody,I didn't believe it so I came here once when I was in my twenties"
'does all this have anything to do with my question?' he wondered and the Lady continued
"I came here once and heard this enchanting melody, I rushed back and got two of my friends, I asked them if they could hear anything they said no, I explained that I was hearing a beautiful song but no one believed me, they thought I was delusional, but then after some time it told me that only the pure can hear the choir of the forest."
'it?' he thought, as he looked at the woman.
Hugo saw the pure kindness in the woman's eyes and he wondered if that was really the same woman who called his friend a devil
"I started coming hear often,it was my safe space, each day I would come and walk around, exploring new parts of the forest then I found this-"
Hugo noticed that they stumbled upon a tree about 70 meters tall, branching on every angle, the limbs extendeding to every available space,up down, even looping back to the main stem itself its leaves were black and dry, it's branches were shriveled,like it had not known water.
"I stumbled upon this a certain day as I was exploring a beautiful tree the prettiest I've ever seen, it's light blue leaves, beautiful fruit and the pattern of the branches sent me in awe,it was my favorite spot and every single day I visited it,it got even more beautiful"
She walked to a large protruding root and sat "but as you may have noticed, I have no way of knowing how it looks like now" Hugo noticed a tear forming in the mothers eye, he was filled with pitty and sat beside her.
"The tree...looks as beautiful as ever, the leaves are bright and the pattern of the branches is simply captivating...What happened?" Asked hugo
She looked up "that cursed insect,it took my sight....and it gave me what I wanted the most at that time". Hugo couldn't make any sense of what the woman was saying. He decided to simply remain quite and Let her talk
The womans expression changed from a gentle one to that of regret "I'm sure you've heard of the Grey fly before, every soul in Greyman has, and believe it or not, it is very real and the rumors are true,it grant gifts, and I was one of the people it chose"
She took off her left shoe and on her foot was a tattoo of womans head, lines drawn on her forehead to represent a radiance "it gave me what I wanted and marked me....yes I know this sounds idiotic but-"
"I believe you" said Hugo with a very serious expression, an expression telling the woman that he meant what he said, she was surprised "you do?why so easily"
He then slowly took the lady's hand saying "I can tell when someone is lying, and every word from you radiates honesty"
The woman smiled once again "I was right, your heart is that of gold" Hugo smiled right back, "that's the type of person I strive to be, one that can make another person smile even when it seems all is lost.... ma'am tell me more about this gift of yours,that's the reason you brought me here right?"He said while he let go of the hand
"My gift has been given the name, 'Mother's Insight' and it gives me the ability to take a peek into one's soul, know what type of person they are or will become,see if they are filled with sin or sinful nature, their intentions and even their personality...those are only things that I'm aware of ,my gift always evolves over time"
Hugo listened, of course some things sounded sketchy to him, but not once did he express doubt ,he simply listened attentively
"When your friend....kuro was it? walked in, I could only sense one thing and one thing alone, evil , every inch of his very soul was tainted.... And that's unusual for any human... even the sickest most cold blooded murders, the most disgusting criminals you could think of have at least some light in their hearts, but in his heart was pure darkness,...pure evil and for someone with this gift,just being close to him was like torment"
Hugo looked at the woman again his gentle expression returning to a serious one once again,he stood.
"the grey fly is real,that I believe, you have supernatural powers, that I believe, but saying that Kurokawa Paddington, the man who not only saved your son but carried him all the way to your house is evil, that's no more than an insult to his kindness"
"I don't care what your 'gift' says about him,ive only known him for two days and I'm aware of what kind of a person he is, he might act cold but he's a kind hearted person, with a little push he can be a truly angelic guy I know",the woman spoke,
"I know he saved my child and I am very thankful, but unfortunately,my power never,lies, if it tells me that someone is evil,then that someone is evil, he may be a good person now but sooner or later,his heart will blacken, please Hugo, keep your distance from him"
"I'm sorry but I've heard enough" he said
"I'm leaving, I'm going to go visit my friend Kurokawa," he reached in his pockets and pulled out 50 necroms (approximately $498.9)
"go buy yourself some food for you and your son on the way back" he smiled gently as he handed the money to the woman and started running, heading to visit his friend "have a safe trip on your way back ma'am good bye!" He shouted as he waved.
A poor woman rested on the tree,eyes tearing up, money in her hands,the most money she's held in a long time, she looked at the boy in wonder
"Such a pure soul I have not seen"