"From today, Mu Quinn, you and your sister seize to be member of the Mu family," an elderly man with white beard said to the two young children kneeling before him.
There were other people there — family members, staring at the children with both disgust and hatred.
"But grandfather—" the boy tried to speak but was only shunned by the man.
"Do not call me grandfather ever again. This world has no place for cursed children like the both of you," the man said without remorse.
The girl by the side of the boy began to cry but the boy pulled her to him. "It's fine. Don't listen to what he is saying."
Despite this, the elderly man seemed unbothered. The hatred in his eyes kept increasing as he gazed at the siblings.
"If only I knew that a day like this would come, I'd have never agreed to let your father marry your mother!" He voiced.
The boy having heard enough stood up. After helping his sister up, he faced the man, fists clenched. "Just because we are born unlucky doesn't make us unlucky. You think you're the only one with regrets? Tsk. I regret being born into this family!"
"You—" A young man wanted to speak but the elderly raised his hand. "Hmmph!"
The elderly man did not look pleased but that wasn't because of what the boy said. "You can leave, die. This world has no place for you."
"Hmmph!" The boy pulled a knife from his robes and then cut off the edge of his robe. "As from today, I Quinn seize to be a member of the Mu family. If ever we cross paths in this life, we shall walk past each other."
With that, the boy held his sister's hand tightly and left the Mu family mansion. Once outside the gate, he stopped and gazed at the gate.
"Brother, where do we go from here?" The little girl asked, tears falling from her eyes.
Quinn turned to his sister, forcing a smile though it was only faintly. He wiped the tears off her face with his sleeves, and then patted her on the head. "Wherever our feet carries us."
After the response, he held his sister once more and they walked away.
Back at the Mu mansion, the elderly man was still staring at the entrance when someone came up to him. The others had returned so it was just the two of them.
"Father, are we right about this?" The man asked.
The elderly man already knew who it was that was standing beside him so he didn't turn around, instead he continued to stare at the entrance. "This will make them hate us forever."
The elderly man sighed. "It is better," he replied. Finally turning around, he continued. "It is better for them to hate us," he added and then walked back into his chambers.
The man gazed into the already-night sky and a long sigh also escaped his lips. "I have failed you."
-----
Meanwhile, the Mu siblings had long left the vicinity of the Mu estate and were still on their way, though they were yet to leave the town. It was getting darker and Quinn knew very well that leaving the city at night wasn't a good idea so he decided to stop and not go further.
"Are we not leaving again, brother?" The little girl asked him.
"It is getting late, Zi, so we must stop and rest for the night. Early tomorrow morning, we'll leave immediately before anyone sees us."
The girl was quiet but Quinn knew well that she was bothered about something. "Zi, what is the matter?" He decided to ask. "If you're bothered about anything, I am here to listen to you."
Quinn took her hand and together, they went to a closed medicine store and sat down on the wooden steps there.
"Tell me what is bothering you," he requested.
"Brother, why do grandfather and the family hate us?" She asked, staring into her brother's eyes with her puppy eyes.
Quinn gazed at the innocent girl for a while, he had expected the question but even at that, it was so sudden that he didn't know what to say.
"Are we really cursed like they say?" She continued. "Was that why our mother left us to marry into another family?"
Quinn sighed inwardly. What should he say? He didn't want to believe any of those words but the more he thought about them, the more he was near to believing them.
"Say something, brother," Zi said, more like a plea. "Why were we born different?"
Quinn's heart ached seeing his sister cry. He went closer and pulled her into a hug, "I am sorry, Zi. This is all my fault," he said, his voice breaking. He felt like crying but he couldn't because he had long forgotten what it felt to shed tears. "If only I wasn't born under such circumstance... If only I wasn't born under such ominous sign, none of this would have happened. I am the one to be blamed, not them, not mother."
Silence followed next, a thick suffocating silence that weighed down upon the two siblings. Even Zi's sobs were swallowed by the silence that long stretched itself into the dark night.
After some time, Quinn spoke. "Nevertheless, I will turn my curse into blessing, and change my fate. They abandoned us first so we must let go of whatever relationship we might have had with them in the past. Zi, I will take care of you and make sure that you live a good life out there. The world is vast, there will always be a place to call home."
Zi nodded and smiled. "Thank you, brother."
Quinn nodded and then let her rest her head on his thighs. The night drifted slowly, Zi soon fell asleep on her brother's thighs while Quinn stayed awake all through. He had successfully consoled his sister but there was no one to console him.
The thought of what the future held for them pressed down on him like weight. The fear of not being able to take care of his only family clouded him, the fear of not being able to change his fate almost consumed him. Yet... He knew one thing.
He must defy fate.