Kimon was sitting in the back seat of the car next to his mom. As the only child in the family, he always got a lot of attention, so he had always been a very spoiled kid. The noisy boy who loved to make trouble was gone, and it was like only a dead piece of flesh was left in his place.
Merida looked at her son, who was silently staring out the window with a blank face. She still couldn't believe how something like this had happened. She and her husband had lived moral and honest lives and had passed those same values on to their dear son. She knew how good and helpful Kimon was because he had taken those values to heart. But despite all that, their son had suffered a terrible trauma. Thoughts like, 'What did little Kimon do to deserve this?' filled Merida's mind.
'Little Kimon, don't worry. Your dad and I will dedicate our lives to helping you get through this. Whatever I need to do to help you overcome this, I will definitely do it.'
Merida was saying these words to herself when the front door of the car opened. A handsome middle-aged man got into the driver's seat and looked back. It was Kimon's dad, Brain. Brain, who had hair as black as Kimon's, was the best dad and husband anyone could ask for. Nothing in this world was more precious to him than his family, and it never would be.
"Alright, my darlings. Everything's ready. All the stuff has been shipped and is on its way. They'll have everything moved into our new house by the time we get there. So, are you ready to hit the road?"
Brain made this announcement in his sweetest voice. He had been working very hard for the past few days. He was a little tired, but he was trying hard not to show it. He had to be strong for his dear wife and son. Actually, his thoughts were similar to his wife's. He had always done good in this life. He had never knowingly hurt anyone. If he had done something unintentionally, he had done his best to make up for it. But despite all this, it was as if life had betrayed him, giving him such a disaster in return. As a father who had always believed in these things, his thoughts were all mixed up. Still, he shook his head and focused on his wife and child. They needed a strong father in this situation. So, he would play his role to the end.
"Yes, honey, I'm ready. Kimon, are you ready too?"
Looking at the unwavering expression on her husband's face, Merida answered with a smile, even though it was a bit forced. No one knew better than she did how affected her husband was. After all, they weren't just husband and wife; they had been childhood friends too. While promising herself that she would spoil him later, she felt proud.
Kimon, who was looking out the window, turned his head to look at his parents. Kimon's answer was a distracted nod. Three days had passed since the court hearing. He didn't really remember how he had gotten home from there. With a blank face, Kimon looked out the window again, taking one last look at the house he had lived in for 13 years. In recent days, his connection with reality had been lost, and that event constantly invaded his mind. The world was now red with blood, and that's all he saw no matter where he looked. Closing his eyes was even more terrifying. The event played in his mind like a movie that kept starting over. Kimon, who had cried for two days straight, seemed to have run out of tears. Both the crying fits and the sleeplessness had worn him out completely. That's why he had had to take a sleeping pill on the third day.
Actually, sleeping was a relief for him. Because, after he fell asleep, he miraculously didn't have any nightmares. It was as if his mind shut down and started to heal after he slept. Sleep was the greatest miracle that saved him from these thought spirals. That's why he constantly wanted to sleep, but it wasn't that easy. He couldn't fall asleep whenever he wanted, and always using medication wasn't an option. For now, he was playing computer games to keep his mind busy. Even though it wasn't as effective as sleep, it was better than nothing.
Looking at the lifeless Kimon was torture for his mother and father. Even though it had only been a few days, they already missed his voice, his smile, his laughter so much. They had made many plans with a specialist doctor to help him heal. The most important of these was to not allow him to exclude himself from the family and to give him the necessary trust.
"My Kimon, I know I've said this before. I'll say it again, and I'll say it every day if I have to. After this incident, we don't and will never look at you any differently. We don't blame you in any way, and we're not angry with you. You are our one and only son. You are the most important person in this world to us. More than anything. We will always love you very much, and nothing can change that. We would both do anything for you, so please don't shut yourself off from us."
"Little Kimon, we both feel the same way."
Brain spoke emotionally and sincerely, holding Kimon's hand. He couldn't remember how many times he had this conversation, nor did he need to. They would keep saying these thoughts until they settled in Kimon's mind. And they knew it was working. It didn't have much effect the first time, but as they continued, they could feel something changing.
Kimon turned his head again to look at the compassionate and sincere expressions on his parents' faces. He let out a small sigh of relief inside. He would be lying if he said he hadn't been afraid at first. Even though he knew his family loved him more than anything in the world, he was afraid of their reaction. His intelligence, which set him far apart from his peers, made him aware of many things. But his little heart was in turmoil. What if they hated him? What if they abandoned him? These thoughts tormented him even more. Fortunately, his parents' intense efforts had reached his little heart. They were the anchors that tied him to this life. Otherwise, he couldn't imagine what would happen.
"Okay, Mommy, Daddy. I'll do my best."
With his mind occupied by his parents' love, he found a moment to compose himself a little. After these words, he looked at his old home one last time and immediately hugged his mother, closing his eyes.
Seeing this, the couple looked at each other. They congratulated each other with small smiles of success on their lips. Immediately after, Brain turned forward and started the car.
"Alright, kids! Hold on tight! We're going to our new home."