I'm Sorry || Theo || Hitomi
She could feel her own chest rising and falling as if it were someone else’s heartbeat. She couldn’t… feel, really…not right now. Her blank eyes stared up at the ceiling, her tears retreating back into her tear ducts as she tried to blink away any strays. It was hard to listen to Theo. She tried, but the sounds of loneliness were screaming far louder than anything she had ever heard.
There was something that snapped her back into a quiet lull…
“D-Digitally…?”
She turned to wear she thought Theo’s face could be, finally feeling his hands holding her softly. She tensed up her fingers before relaxing them, over and over again, trying to get some feeling into her body after screaming her lungs out.
“b-bring he… her bac…”
Her voice broke for a moment, a hiccup arising from her diaphragm soon after. She covered her mouth with a trembling hand as she sat up properly and leaned against the cabinets under the counter. Wiping her face with weak movements, she tried to recollect her thoughts for a moment.
“Digi… she…”
Hitomi curled up a little, tucking in her knees close to her chest. It was a bit harder to breathe this way but she felt safer. Safe from what…?
“The… o-only way I could ever connect… w-with my daughter after I…l..lost… lost my e..eyes-sight… w-was through touch… Sh..She never want..wanted spee-eech therapy… and I can only r-remember… si..sign language…”
Her hands shook her very being. She took in a deep breath, which only turned into multiple short, shallow ones. Attempting to catch her breath, Hitomi pushed her legs away from her chest, hunching over as she clutched her fists over her heart. This only turned into another fit of sobs.
“g…god, I… c-cant… I can’t… live like t..th..this.. w-w..wh-hy them,,, wh-why my t-two r..ra-ays of.. s-sunshi-ine…. wh…why were they t..taken away..awa-ay from.. me…”
She hid her face in the palms of her hands as her tears racked her body.
“who too-ook her… who took my b-beautifu-ul daughter… why would a-anyone.. any..anyone thi-ink of.. sh..she was o-only 14 she.. I was suppo-osed to wa-atch her grow… become a v…video game… maker or… the champion of rubik’s c-cub… sh.. why…”
Every word was difficult to interpret. Her nose was running and her eyes wouldn’t stop producing tears. She was a mess- and the boiled water was getting cold.
“I I.. I-I ju-ust.. wa-want to.. ho-.. hol…hold the-em.. them I.. I.. one mo-ore t-time… j-just once… j-just..just.. s-…s-se…see them… ho-ow they..they’ve gro-own… right in.. right in fr..front fro-ont of me and.. they..”
Her form only became smaller again as she tried to speak.
“I… c-ca-an’t…d..do..do th..thi-is… I-I.. I ca-an’t… l…live o-on… I.. c-can..’t… n..no-ot a…a-aga-ain…”
Theo was trying to keep his own breathing steady...but it was getting harder as the anxiety of making sure that Hitomi was alright was continuing to rise...she was already losing everything she had thanks to his news...but did it make it any better that someone who personally knew her daughters for a short amount of time was the one who broke the news...? Most likely not...
Theo was trying to say things that might help but the more he spoke the worse it was getting so maybe he should cease to speak...would the be better...?He wasn’t sure anymore....but he wanted to help Hitomi so he continued to hug her and let her cry as much as she could..grieving was part of the process...he knew it all too well..except he had never allowed himself to grieve the losses of Shizuka and Masae...he felt he didn’t deserve to..
Hitomi had a point though...his idea was flawed...but he at least had tried...there was still a way for her to hear her...but it would never be Masaes own voice...it would be a computer generated one as close as it could get to Masaes...
Theo let her talk...not answering anything...just letting her voice her thoughts...until she mentioned why or how Masae died sending a wave of thoughts though his mind...he couldn’t tell her how or why....it was cruel...but he couldn’t ignore it...
“M-Masae...she....she was taken...by...t-the people who kept us h-hostage in the f-facility....“
Theo didn’t want to say anymore than that...but chances are Hitomi might have known what it meant...if she knew anything about what happend in the previous game...she might have been aware of...the Execution process...
Theo wished he could do more to bring her daughters back but wishing was just a thought process of hope. There was no hope for her daughters to be coming back and it stung him more each time he thought about it....
He knew the thought process she was having all to well..and she deserved better than this..but he was unable to give her what she was wishing for....