"Why?!"
Edward fell silent and looked down. He couldn't help but remember his past.
Twenty-five years ago.
A young boy was running away with a loaf of bread in his right hand. Behind him was a middle-aged man with a white t-shirt and short pants.
He chased after him while shouting, "Wait, you thief!"
The young boy kept running, trying to avoid getting caught. The water accumulated from the rain splashes every time he stepped on them.
He rushed past a few people that walked normally on the street. However, his luck soon ran out.
The young boy with a ragged and torn shirt fell on the ground, twisting his ankle.
"Argh!" The young boy screamed in pain while holding his ankle. Unfortunately for him, the middle-aged man behind him had caught up and grasped his neck, saying, "Here you are, little shit!"
The man saw a small and dark alley on the side and threw him into the valley.
The boy rolled a few times with grazes all over his body. Blood was scattered all over the ground, but the middle-aged man didn't hesitate to kick him on the stomach.
Bam.
"Gah!" The young boy spat a transparent liquid from his mouth and coughed a few times.
"Little degenerate. Do you think you are the only one who needs this to eat?" The middle-aged man snorted and stomped his head.
Bang.
"Aaaahhh-!" The young boy was wailing as his head started bleeding. The rain poured on him and spread the blood even more.
Seeing the amount of blood flowing to the ground, the middle-aged man hesitated for a moment. Although they lived in a slum area where not many cameras were installed, killing a kid like this would give him trouble.
After considering a few things, the man turned around and walked away. "Hmph. Count yourself lucky today."
The young boy's vision was half red as the blood covered his right eye. His consciousness was fuzzy, and he was about to pass out.
Even then, his stomach loudly growled as if there was a lion inside it. It soon became painful as he didn't remember the last time he ate.
He rolled his body tiredly and found a trash can.
The boy used the last bit of his strength to drag his body to the trash can. As soon as he arrived, he reached inside and grabbed something solid.
He found a can of meat but had been eaten. There was only so little remaining because the person didn't eat it completely.
However, a few maggots were spotted, crawling around the meat. Despite seeing such a thing, the boy grabbed all that remained and swallowed it together with the maggots.
He wanted to throw up but held it and swallowed everything, no matter how disgusting it was.
Even then, it couldn't quench his hunger. Instead, it added to the pain in his stomach.
The boy clutched his stomach while gritting his teeth. His body was shaking and tears were flowing out of his eyes.
Endure.
Endure.
That was the boy's only thought until he felt the rain had stopped.
With the sound of the rain that continued ringing on his ears, the boy realized someone was next to him.
This was the time he first met the couple that soon became Theo's parents.
"Hey, boy." The woman put on a gentle smile and bent down her knees. "Do you want to follow us and become our family?"
The boy was confused and the pain had yet to subside. He couldn't think of anything while his body instinctively extended his hand as if trying to reach the woman.
Unfortunately, he had no memory after that because he passed out.
A few hours later.
The boy woke up. Before opening his eyes and rising from his bed, he heard the conversation between the couple.
"I am sorry, Dear. If only I can give birth to a kid…"
"It's fine. As long as I am with you, I am satisfied," The man replied with a gentle tone. "Hopefully, the kid agrees. His will to survive is so high in this condition, so I know he won't leave us. The three of us can be a family."
It seemed the couple wanted a strong child just because they were afraid the kid would die on them. That was what the boy understood after listening to their conversation.
After that, he gradually opened his eyes and tried to rise from his bed.
This action was noticed by the two as they turned around.
"Ah, did we wake you up?!" The female smiled as both of them approached him.
The boy looked around, still not understanding his situation. He tried to touch his stomach but felt no pain. He reached his head that was supposed to be bleeding but found no blood. He moved his body left and right and felt no pain.
The boy raised his hands and saw white sleeves, making him realize he had changed into other clothes.
Panicked, the boy lifted the white quilt and found long blue pants and moving his ankle was possible.
"Do you feel any discomfort?" The female smiled and sat next to him.
The boy didn't know about their identities, but he understood they were his saviors after recalling the memory in his head.
They seemed to have "fixed" him.
However, there was one thing that couldn't be fixed. It was his stomach.
Growl!
The sound surprised them as the female hurriedly reached the plate of fruit on the table. She grabbed an apple and split it into eight evenly.
"How about eating something light first?" She extended her hand, offering the boy the apple.
Without hesitation, the boy grabbed the apple and devoured it like there's no tomorrow. He simply believed he should eat as much as possible when he had the opportunity.
"Slow down, slow down. The fruit won't be going anywhere." The female smiled.
However, the boy didn't stop and ate everything.
While eating, the female asked, "Do you have a name?"
To their surprise, the boy clutched his head as if he was in pain.
They panicked for a second and tried to stop him, but the boy suddenly muttered in a low voice. "Ed…ward… San…garia…"
"Edward Sangaria..." The female put on a gentle smile and asked, "This may confuse you a bit, but… Do you want to be our son?"
Edward didn't know why but those words put tears in his eyes. He instinctively extended his hand, reaching the female's hand while raising his head.
The moment their eyes intertwined, Edward heard her saying with a huge and genuine smile, "For now, you will be our son. Your name shall be Edward Griffith.. Let's get along from now on."