Come home | tw Angst

He remembers the summer when he waits, but okaasan doesn’t really come home.
Sun filters through the fresh green of the trees.
A robin sings, and sings.
His sweet voice echoes through the arboreal corridor: Look at me!
An architect designs a wooden cathedral at the end of the old farm road.
To the bugs, birds, and mice, it’s just another big tree being erected.
There is a roofless fiat. Strapped to the back is luggage packed with clothes.
His okaasan leans against the car in Parisian fashion.
The architect is in his tower—Is this voyage just for them?
The sounds of the birds and insects are shrill in his ears.
He realizes how close to the ground his head is. He feels too small.
Why won’t she come to him?
Her lips part to say “I’m home!” at the same time his do.
The stones in his gut just sit there.
Ants crawl on top of his little toenails.

—

Chiyo died when Ellery was small. In the last years of her life she spent a lot of time away from home to visit London, or so she said. Ellery was close to her until she started to distance herself from him and Lars.

I had to add an extra page to Little Death Volume 2 to make the page count even for the print books for several reasons: so that the two page spread where Ellery’s soul is being transmigrated would still work, but I also wanted to show more of Ellery’s memory and show how important his mom is to him, and I wanted to give more room for Ellery’s stabbing scene to breath. This is the page you’ll see right after. The pre-orders for Little Death Volume 1, Volume 2, and the Volume 2 Variant Cover are live, so if you want to secure a copy you can do so here! 🖤🥀