All parents damage their children. It cannot be helped. Youth, like pristine glass, absorbs the prints of its handlers. Some parents smudge, others crack, a few shatter childhoods completely into jagged little pieces, beyond repair.

- Mitch Albom, The Five People You Meet in Heaven

After bidding Kora and her companions farewell for the night, Kai headed home. As usual, he took the long way. Home was the last place he wanted to be. But then again, who wanted to rush back to an insane father? Ever since his mother's death eight years ago, Kai's father had never been the same. He would talk as if Kai's mother was still alive and pretended that she was with him. He would even yell at Kai and his siblings if they touched anything that belonged to her. Since his father was always in his own world, Kai became the father and took care of his twin siblings.

Kai strolled down the street and stopped by a small waterway. He watched as a family floated down the water in a small boat, splashing each other and smiling. He sighed. My family used to be like that... Kai walked over them on the bridge and made his way towards the darker side of the city. The houses there weren't the best, and he could say the same about the people. He saw his house in the distance, closed his eyes, and took in a deep breath. He wished he could remain outside forever.

Suddenly, he heard screams coming from his house. Kai's eyes shot open and he ran towards his house. "KAYLEE! ZANE! WHERE ARE YOU!?!" he yelled as he entered the house. "KAI!!!" a voice screamed. Kai saw the back door was open, and the lights in the branding house were on. "Shoot!" was the only word that escaped Kai's lips as he ran through the back door and burst into the branding house. His father had cornered his sister and brother. In one hand, he had a bottle of some type of alcoholic beverage, and in the other, a heated brander.

"GET AWAY FROM THEM!!!" Kai screamed. He ran into the room and shoved his father down as he ran over towards his siblings. "ARE YOU TWO OKAY?!?!" he asked in a panic. Kaylee and Zane nodded, but Kai saw bruises and cuts on their arms and faces. "Kai..." Kaylee whispered before she burst into tears. "It's okay, brother's here now," Kai told them as he pulled them into a hug. "Daddy's scaring me!" Zane cried, nuzzling his face into Kai's shirt.

"KAI!!!!" his father screamed in rage. "GET OUT OF HERE NOW!" Kai commanded his siblings. Zane and Kaylee nodded their heads. They dodged their father and ran out of the branding house. "THEY BROKE MIRIUM'S VASE!!! MIRUIM IS UPSET NOW!' his father growled as he began swinging the brander like a mad man, which he was. "SHE DOESN'T EXIST ANYMORE! MOM IS DEAD, DAD! STOP THIS!" Kai yelled as he evaded his father's swings and latched onto his father's arm in an attempt to stop the brander from hitting anything.

His father shook his arm violently, throwing Kai down onto the hard floor. "IT'S THEIR FAULT! IF THEY HADN'T BEEN BORN, SHE'D STILL BE HERE!" his father screamed. Kai could see tears falling from his father's eyes before he began kicking Kai in the ribs and legs. "YOU KNOW THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Kai yelled. His father grabbed Kai by the throat and threw him against the wall. Kai's vision was getting darker, and his head was throbbing. He felt something drip down his head and neck. Blood...

"IF IT'S NOT THEIR FAULT, THEN IT'S YOUR FAULT!!!" his father growled as he pulled him up by the throat and choked him. Kai had absolutely no air in his lungs