You know, from all of the times that I have almost given up on myself, someone would always be on my side, reminding me that I am not alone in my journey. That person was my dad, a love of my life that is only left. My mother died when she gave birth to me, as she has a frail body but she still decided to give her life just for me to be born.

Even though I have not seen my mother’s face, just in the old pictures my dad has left on him, I still truly love her and miss her. She was a very strong woman, despite her conditions, she still fought hard and sacrificed her life for me.

About my father, he was actually a martial artist instructor and he owns a small dojo, teaching his students around the neighborhood. The name of the dojo was “Dojo of The Flowing Water”, true to its name as the martial art consists of moves and strikes that can be seen as flowing softly, then turning into a hard raging wave striking and destroying everything in its path, then vice versa.

He also taught me this style of martial arts to protect myself, as sometimes when I was young, I was getting bullied by some of my classmates, for the ridiculous reason of having no mother.

They gang on me and beat me up, but I was not that weak willed so I also retaliate even though I do not have any advantage, especially over the numbers. I was only one against a group of kids beating me up.

And now, the only pillar of my life, continuously guiding me and supporting me has vanished. I was shocked as I did not know the reason why he suddenly vanished. His body was not yet found, so I was relieved but I still did not relax as long as I did not hear any news about my father.

I was currently six years old at that time as I could not sit still, I did some information gathering, thinking about the past few days about my father and his interaction with other people. You can clearly see that I am a smart kid, not befitting of my age.

Then I suddenly remembered that one time I peeked inside a room my father was in, with a few people at his front talking to him but I could only catch the last words the man said to my father.

“…so, I would like for you to sell this building to us, as we will be turning it into one of our branches for our café brand. You don’t have to worry as we will certainly pay you for it.”

“Sorry, but I would like to refuse. I will NOT allow anyone to destroy the hard-work of my ancestors, just for a mere building! You can go ahead and look somewhere.” My dad shouted in a commanding tone as he was quite a hot-headed man.

“Sir, we also have no choice as it is our boss’ wish to build it at this location so I suggest that you hand the ownership of this lot and building instantly or else…” The man in a suit sneered as he said that and followed while pointing to his guard, “Show it to him” The guard stood up and quickly handed a piece of folded paper to my dad.

As soon as my dad saw the writings on the paper, his eyes reddened in rage as he slammed his hand on the table, completely breaking it in half. He then dashed towards the man in a suit, reaching out with his hands to strangle and punch him but was thwarted by one of the guards. These guys were actually professional fighters, so it was an unfair match-up for my dad who was fighting alone.

Though it seems that the guy in a suit could not fight as he was just standing at the room, watching their fight when he suddenly raised his hand, signaling them to stop fighting as they were slightly getting pushed back by my dad. Even though they outnumber him, they could still not defeat him as my dad is a strong fighter.

“Pack up guys, let’s leave. You will dearly pay for this, Mr. Rovis.” The man in the suit said in a threatening tone as he went for the door to get out of the dojo. I quickly hid inside one of the rooms near the sliding door as I did not want to be seen because somehow, I can sense a more dangerous aura from him that I just instinctively hid.

After they left, I ran out of the room to my father to ask what happened. “Dad! What’s with those guys, are you okay?” I shouted at him, completely throwing my body towards him for a hug. I was worried about what happened because it was my first time seeing my father so angry before, and also that was the first time I truly saw him fight as if he was going to kill his enemy.

“Don’t worry, I am completely fine son. Did the man see you on his way outside?” My dad asked while I responded “No, I hid from another room because I was scared.”

“Humuu, I can also see that well. The guy is more dangerous compared to those three I just fought. Okay son enough about that and listen to me, I will probably be gone for a while so I will leave a maid here to guide and look out for you while I am away so be a good boy, okay?”

“Yes dad, I will be a good boy so don’t worry about it.” I responded in a sad tone. I did not know that it would be the last time I would see my father.

Completely remembering the ordeal in the past, I clenched my teeth hard and swore to myself that I would make them pay. Suddenly, knocking sounds could be heard from the sliding door when it opened. It was the maid that my father assigned and it looked like she was in a depressed mood. She looks at me at the eyes for a while then said to me “Bam, I don’t know how to say this but…”

The way her eyes looked at me and her tone of voice made me feel nervous as time goes on without her saying anything. “Your father… Your father is dead.” She told me while her voice was shaking. My vision suddenly blackened, and I was stunned.

I could feel my heart beat, and my lungs feel like they are on fire and that I could breathe them out of my mouth like a dragon. My body became heavy, while my hands felt cold, and I can feel wetness on my cheeks.

My tears were dropping non-stop as I was continuously shaking my head, not believing what I just heard. “No, no, no no no no… This isn’t true, you’re… you’re lying. YOU’RE LYING!!!” I screamed at the maid from the top of my lungs.

I could feel my lungs hurt as if they were bathed in lava. I crouched down and tucked my head between my knees. I could feel like I’m almost going insane, while the maid was suddenly behind me and then hugged me hard, crying along with me.

I hoped that what was happening to me was only a dream. Because of my big emotional fluctuations, I completely blacked out with strength leaving my body.